Attack! Battle of New Britain (1944)

Writer:

Robert Presnell Sr. (writer)

Release Date:

20 June 1944 (USA)

Genre:

War | Documentary

Plot:

Documentary film depicting the attack by Allied forces on the Japanese strong-holds of Arawe Beach and Cape Gloucester, New Britain, in the South Pacific theatre of the Second World War in 1943. |

Plot Keywords:

Propaganda | WWII | New Britain | New Guinea | South Seas

Cast

Leo Genn	...	Narrator
Burgess Meredith	...	Narrator
Anthony Veiller	...	Narrator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Walter Krueger	...	Himself (with MacArthur, in staging area on New Guinea)
Douglas MacArthur	...	Himself (in New Guinea, just before attack on New Britain)

Also Known As:

Attack! (USA) (review title)
Attack: The Battle for New Britain (USA) (video box title)

Runtime:

54 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Arawe Beach, New Britain, Papua New Guinea

Company:

U.S. Office of War Information

Movie Connections:

Featured in Victory at Sea (1954)

Impressive

This is really an impressive war documentary made up of completely live action footage. These are real soldiers and this is a real invasion. Once you've seen this you can understand what all those war films have been trying to achieve. However, there are the unpleasant shots of dead Japanese soldiers and injured Americans and some blatant racism in the form of the 'nips' to the 'fuzzy-wuzzy' natives of New Britain. But it is extremely educational and does what a narrative simulated war film can not do. In my opinion anyway. You do have to put up with the blatant propaganda too but this actually helps put the documentary in it's war era context, providing an insight into social and political opinion of the time.

"Not ghosts from Pearl harbor but American boys - Tom, Dick and Johnny. The boys who used to play baseball in the vacant lot on Saturday afternoons, the youngsters who drove jalopies and sang the popular songs. You may have wondered sometimes if they'd amount to anything. Well, here they are giving all they've got." This piece of narration is typical of the documentary and can be annoying at times. The footage is amazing though and definitely worth a look.