Marines in the Making

A hilarious (unintentionally so) Pete Smith short film that documents the training techniques of a group of rugged marines. The film points out the similarities between the conditioning exercises used by athletic teams and those of the military, and it juxtaposes footage from a football practice with that of basic training.

All of the testosterone-fueled machismo is absurd, and it makes our fighting men look like fools. But the film is also kind of scary in its embrace of violence and the glamour with which it treats the ability to kill another human being. Of course I know that's the whole point of basic training, and that this was just one of the countless short films used as propaganda pieces during the war, but that doesn't make it any less disturbing.

But for those who are interested, the film will instruct you how to "zap a Jap, nix a Nazi, and fricassee a Fascist." Put that on a resume.

God bless the USMC. Many of the young men in this film paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country on lonely islands in the Pacific, and will forever live in our hearts and memories. When viewed in the context of the horrible and devious tactics of the enemy (witness the fate of the marines on Wake Island), criticism of the contents of this film, and the impression to be made on a still grieving American population (Pearl Harbor occurred only a few months prior to the making of this film) is greatly misplaced and wholly unwarranted. If only our 2014 political leadership had the same commitment to resolution of the world's threats as the greatest generation.

A Smith called Pete narrates this short about the training and conditioning of Marines in this wartime, Oscar-nominated short subject. Don't take the nomination too seriously; in 1942, everyone got short-listed for an Academy Award, like a participation trophy.

We get to see the trainees stripped to the waist, learning to fight dirty. We get to see them marching in a complicated drill to "Garryowen"; and we get to hear an improbably young-looking Stephen McNally recite a poem about his rifle.

MGM presents A Pete Smith Specialty. Marine training has been updated. Former football coach Major Dick Henley is incorporating his former job into the new training. Some of it is a little funny. As they go to the hand to hand combat, I am also a little surprised to hear the word, "Jujutsu" in 40's American use. It does make sense with the war raging on. The safety gear on bayonet practice is unlikely to be widely used. I don't see them making too much of that gear. This was probably used to recruit and also raise the general public's morale. It should do well in either case. This is good solid propaganda.

Pete Smith's usually irreverent style of commentary is a bit hemmed-in in this film as it's propagandist purpose doesn't really allow him to let loose. He still manages to include some deprecating, anti-Japanese, "Tojo" sentiment as we learn just how comprehensive the US Marine's training programme is. These brave and decent young soldiers are having to learn new underhand and squalid techniques so that they can give as good as they get with their dishonourable foes expert in martial arts and fighting with sharp sticks. The last two minutes is akin to a vow - to the soldier and to his Nation - about the relationship he will have with his rifle but that's a bit on the jingoistic side, even for the time, and rather spoils the tongue-in-cheek element that could have been more effective by turning this into more of a recruitment film.