First Motion Picture Unit

A U.S. Army Air Forces documentary produced by the First Motion Picture Unit and narrated by Clark Gable, who interrupted his superstar career to enlist after the death of his wife Carole Lombard. The film follows a single B-17 Flying Fortress crew of the 351st Bombardment Group from training in the United States through combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe — Gable himself flew five missions over Germany gathering footage. Built to sell war bonds and reassure audiences about what their sons were facing, it doubles as an unusually frank portrait of daylight bombing at its most dangerous. As a work of the United States government it is in the public domain.

Documentary · War

A U.S. Army Air Forces docudrama training film directed by Robert B. Sinclair and produced by Ronald Reagan. The film dramatizes the experiences of a five-man American bomber crew shot down over Italy and captured by German forces. Though reminded to provide only name, rank, and serial number, the crew members gradually fall prey to the clever interrogation techniques of their Nazi captors at Dulag Luft, revealing seemingly harmless information that is pieced together into valuable military intelligence. The film stars Lloyd Nolan, Arthur Kennedy, Mel Tormé, Craig Stevens, and Peter Van Eyck. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature in 1945. As a U.S. government work, it is in the public domain.

War · Drama

A documentary film directed by William Keighley for the First Motion Picture Unit of the U.S. Army Air Forces. The film describes the preparation and mounting of an Eighth Air Force daylight bombing raid on Nazi Germany industrial targets in East Prussia, including Anklam, the air base at Marienburg, and Gdynia in occupied Poland. From target selection through briefing, takeoff, combat footage of B-17 and B-24 bombers, and post-mission interrogation, the film provides a comprehensive account of a single bombing mission. The film was also shown in civilian theaters in connection with war bond drives. As a U.S. government work, it is in the public domain.

Documentary · War

An Army Air Forces short about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black military pilots in American history, made by the First Motion Picture Unit and narrated by Captain Ronald Reagan — the future president's own unit produced the film. It follows Black cadets through flight training at Tuskegee and into combat over Europe with the 332nd Fighter Group, pushing back against the Army's own official skepticism that Black men could fly fighters. Short, pointed, and a remarkable artifact of what the wartime government chose to say on film. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain.

War · Documentary · Short

A U.S. Army Air Forces docudrama training film directed by Robert B. Sinclair and produced by Ronald Reagan. The film dramatizes the experiences of a five-man American bomber crew shot down over Italy and captured by German forces. Though reminded to provide only name, rank, and serial number, the crew members gradually fall prey to the clever interrogation techniques of their Nazi captors at Dulag Luft, revealing seemingly harmless information that is pieced together into valuable military intelligence. The film stars Lloyd Nolan, Arthur Kennedy, Mel Tormé, Craig Stevens, and Peter Van Eyck. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature in 1945. As a U.S. government work, it is in the public domain.

War · Drama

A documentary film directed by William Keighley for the First Motion Picture Unit of the U.S. Army Air Forces. The film describes the preparation and mounting of an Eighth Air Force daylight bombing raid on Nazi Germany industrial targets in East Prussia, including Anklam, the air base at Marienburg, and Gdynia in occupied Poland. From target selection through briefing, takeoff, combat footage of B-17 and B-24 bombers, and post-mission interrogation, the film provides a comprehensive account of a single bombing mission. The film was also shown in civilian theaters in connection with war bond drives. As a U.S. government work, it is in the public domain.

Documentary · War