Tad Pole . . . were pivotal in allowing America to defeat her sneak attackers and triumph with a resounding victory in World War Two, but THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY proves that these successful nuclear bombings were merely the icing on the U.S. cupcakes. When Midway turned the tide on the Pacific Theater, future President Harry "I pushed the button" Truman was selling hats or something, and A-Bombs were not yet even a gleam in his eye. However, as the Japanese aircraft carriers that had blind-sided Pearl Harbor began littering the seabed around Midway, Japanese Prime Minister Tojo told the Emperor that he could already feel a hangman's noose tightening around his neck. How could he expect anything else, as THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY shows Japan always going out of its way to bomb U.S. hospitals and churches? But the hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers" blares as this war crimes carnage is documented during the final portion of THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY to remind viewers that God was on America's side.

blitzebill This brief film using real footage about the Battle of Midway is significant for several reasons.The most important is that it shared an important battlefield of WW II (in color no less) with the general American public, who relied on every scrap of news they could get. Radio, newspapers and news reels were the most popular, so seeing this short in their neighborhood theater was just as important.Second, if you want to generate enlistment in your military forces, sure this type of film might accomplish that. And to boot, show some pride in your country's war accomplishments against a vicious enemy.Third, take note that the cameramen risked their lives as much as the soldiers, sailors and airmen, and deserve as much credit. Director John Ford was injured while recording with his camera.This may not be a polished Hollywood filmmaking result, but it was never intended to be.

Richard Burin John Ford's celebrated 19-minute documentary about America's first major victory of World War Two earned him a shrapnel wound, a Purple Heart and an Oscar. The first 10 is impressive without being that interesting - hard-won battle footage that largely consists of some stuff setting on fire, the camera shaking, the film cutting, then something else setting on fire - though the raising of the flag is a lovely moment, narrator Irving Pichel intoning: "Yes, this really happened". The second half is more obviously Fordian, the elegiac tone reinforced by hymns, slanting shadows and Jane Darwell's frenzied, corny, but effective narration. Audiences wept and fainted during the passage where she urges ambulance-men to rush injured soldiers to a hospital. Ford would make his definitive statement on the war, and the nature of heroism, with 1945's They Were Expendable, but this short is well worth a look.

Michael_Elliott Battle of Midway, The (1942) *** (out of 4) Henry Fonda and Donald Crisp add narration to the battle scenes shot by John Ford where the director was even wounded by enemy fire. There's really no story being told in this documentary but instead we just see a part of history in beautiful Technicolor. God knows everyone has seen countless war films but there's something unique seeing real ones here. They certainly look a lot different than what we've seen in countless fake movies.Ford's World War 2 shorts are out there in various forms ranging from public domain companies to the Ford at Fox set. Quality various but the version in the Fox set is the best.