The Battle of Midway - 1942

This short 18-minute film briefly takes footage from the Midway battle and presents it to the audience.

It was shot while renowned director John Ford (who worked a lot with John Wayne) was on the island for purposes of shooting footage for the Navy. He was actually injured in the process.

The film itself is strange. The tone is all over the place. We're lighthearted as we watch the "natives" - seagulls. Then we're serious as the battle begins. Afterwards, we check in with the pilots and ask how many we've taken out today. It's lighthearted. Then we're somber as we remember the dead. The reflective music is abruptly interrupted by a patriotic march as we take stock of the Japanese losses and end with a red painted "V" for victory.

I could barely understand the narrators, and the mother figure was the absolute worst. "Oh, dear Johnny. I know him. He's a sweet boy from down the road." Or some such nonsense. I appreciate that Ford had footage of the boys just hanging out waiting for something to happen, but he should've left Granny in the kitchen.

I read that Ford spliced in footage of Franklin Roosevelt's son, and the president's reaction was that he wanted every mother in America to see the movie. It also protected Ford from censorship. That being said, I didn't really see anything graphic that would warrant cutting. 

This movie reminded me of Combat America, where Clark Gable gave the audience an inside look of the 351st bombardment group. I think that was one a bit more interesting, though.

Overall, I think the footage was (and still is) significant, but for some reason, the way it was put together didn't really resonate with me. That surprised me, since I've enjoyed most things I've seen where John Ford was involved. Oh well, can't win 'em all I suppose.