Thursday, October 6, 2011

1944 - THE FIGHTING LADY, documentary from World War II with lots of shooting


Another interesting documentary/propaganda film made during World War II the chief selling point in this film is the photography with the camera mounted right next to the fighter's guns.



The film proposes to tell the story of the aircraft carrier Yorktown.  The film was shot in 16mm color and it's very well done 

.

The head of 20th Century Fox Studios Darryl F. Zanuck saw this film and was so impressed with it that he decided to release it.  Zanuck must have taken the film and given it the big studio polish, Alfred Newman was the music director and the actor Robert Taylor narrated the film.



The footage of the attacking fighters has been used repeatedly in other documentaries and war films.  Watching The Fighting Lady allows the viewer to see these scenes in the context that was intended.  The strafing of the Japanese ships is still amazing to watch. 

61 minutes.

No comments: