

December 7th
"Docudrama" about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 and its results, the recovering of the ships, the improving of defense in Hawaii and the US efforts to beat back the Japanese reinforcements.
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Cast

Walter Huston
Uncle Sam 'U.S.'

Harry Davenport
Mr. 'C'

Dana Andrews
Ghost of US sailor killed at Pearl Harbor

Paul Hurst
World War I Ghost Soldier

George O'Brien
Single Voice of the Dead Servicemen (voice)

James Kevin McGuinness
Narrator (voice)

Philip Ahn
Shinto Priest (uncredited)
Addie Allen
Self (uncredited)

Ralph Byrd
Reporter (uncredited)
James Conaty
Wounded Officer (uncredited)

Emperor Hirohito of Japan
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Adolf Hitler
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Reviews
talisencrw
This was solid. Recently I have taken an interest in both the propaganda films and wartime documentaries of World War II from both sides. I especially wanted to see this, since I love Ford's 'They Were Expendable' so much. Definitely worth the effort to find if you have a similar inclination for the material. I have always wondered if a truly 'objective', 'unbiased' documentary can be made. Simply the decisions a director makes in what to capture and what not to makes such a gesture impossible, doesn't it? I especially feel this is the case when it comes to nationalistic documents, such as this. I have NO idea what its competition was, but this deservedly won Ford an Oscar for Best Documentary: Short Subject--this was a fine work he was well to be proud of.