Report from the Aleutians

During the war, Hollywood became an official propaganda arm of the US government. This unusual relationship meant that Hollywood could use its money and expertise to make high quality films...much higher than the military itself could normally make. That's why the likes of John Ford and Frank Capra made documentaries...very good ones at that. In the case of "Report from the Aleutians", the young but very successful John Huston helmed this project.

The film is about a portion of WWII that few would remember today. Believe it or not, war DID affect Alaska and some tough battles between Japanese and American troops occurred. This coincided, at times, with the attack on Midway Island....as the Aleutian attack was meant as a diversion...one that ultimately failed.

Using excellent footage of the day, nice narration (by the director's father, Walter) and an overall high quality of the project make this one worth seeing...especially if you are a history lover like me.

In recognizing Memorial Day, I decided to watch some wartime documentaries made by John Huston during World War II starting with this one which took place at the outpost of Adak concerning a bombing mission over Japan-occupied Kiska. Huston narrates with some additional voice overs by his father, Walter. Suitable mood music permeates most of the film which adds to the color footage's appeal. When the actual flying sequences are shown, one gets some sense of excitement though since dialogue is kept to a minimum and there are few explosions, it doesn't seem Hollywood-made to provide unbridled joy to victory. Worth seeing. Watched this on Internet Archive.

Director John Huston, while a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1943, creates an Academy Award winning documentary, which he narrates with assistance from his actor father Walter, treating of the Armed Forces' successful effort to prevent the fall of the Aleutian Islands to advancing Japanese troops who had captured several islets. Although no claim can be reasonably made that this location was of major strategic importance during the War, it presented enormous tactical and logistic difficulty for those assigned there, and Huston's color film demonstrates the determined ensemble work upon the outpost of Adak by a wide range of military specialists who combat loneliness and boredom along with notably severe weather conditions. The work was made over a six month period, and is climaxed by the preparations for, followed by an actual filming of, a bombing run over Japanese-occupied Kiska, wherein Huston nearly lost his life, and which is significant for its combat footage and for the atmosphere of suspense present in the viewer who wonders if all will return safely.

A nice and fairly accurate portrayal of combat in the Aleutians. One item I thought very interesting was the lack of mention regarding the large Canadian contribution to this theater. I would have to guess it was not considered appropriate for the home audience in the US at the time. Considering the minor theater the Aleutins seemed to be view as it is a great tribute to this campaign. I found the scenes of vastness of the area amazing. The views of old aircraft in action would be of great interest to aviation fans. For most people, I'm sure this is film will be the only views of the Aleutian Islands most people will ever see! Certainly require viewing for any WWll buff!

John Huston directed, wrote, and narrated this documentary about this lesser known part of the WWII Pacific theater. It's in color. Japan had invaded Alaska. It's a long range battle as these two military forces launch air raids and fight over these remote islands. This is an important witness to those events since there isn't that much visual from this long ranging faraway battle.

If there is an issue, it is the lack of bang bang footage. This part of the war doesn't have much close combat. A lot of the film are the preparations and sparse bases in empty landscapes. It does close with a bombing run and that's very compelling footage.