Jan 22, 2016 With a royal ease, John Ford knew how to make the audience laugh and knew how to make it cry. The only thing that he did not know how to More. John Ford 'I make Westerns' In the annals of American film, no name shines more brightly than that of John Ford. Director and filmmaker for more than a half a century, he stands pre-eminent in his craft - not only as a creator of individual films of surpassing excellence, but as a master among those who transformed the early motion pictures into a compelling new art form that.
(Redirected from December 7th (film))
December 7th: The Movie | |
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Directed by | John Ford Gregg Toland |
Produced by | United States Army Air Forces |
Written by | Budd Schulberg (uncredited) |
Starring | Walter Huston Dana Andrews Harry Davenport |
Music by | Alfred Newman |
Cinematography | Gregg Toland |
Edited by | Robert Parrish |
Distributed by | Office of War Information |
| |
32 minutes (censored ver.); 82 minutes | |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
December 7th: The Movie is a 1943 propaganda film produced by the US Navy and directed by John Ford and Gregg Toland, about the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the event which sparked the Pacific War and American involvement in World War II.
Production background[edit]
The film begins with a chronological breakdown of the events of December 7, starting with the town of Honolulu gradually waking up and coming to life in the morning. A young private is credited with intercepting some vital information which his superiors dismiss; other sailors play baseball or attend religious services (where the chaplain immediately concludes the service with the statement, 'Men, man your battle stations, and God bless you!').
Then, 'like locusts', the Japanese planes start humming over the air above Oahu, and begin the now infamous attack on American military installations on the island, including the sinking of the Arizona, and the bombing of Hickam Field. All the while, back in Washington, Japanese diplomats are still talking with Secretary of StateCordell Hull.
An animated sequence is then shown, with radio towers over Japan, broadcasting a fictional speech by Prime Minister Hideki Tojo. The narrator contradicts most of the 'facts' that the Japanese leader tells his listeners in Tokyo, Nagasaki and Otaru, and Kobe (the height of the radio towers shown is assumed to be proportional to the respective station's carrier power: 500 kW for Tokyo; 50 kW for Nagasaki and Otaru; and 10 kW for Kobe).
After the attack, Honolulu is not the same; the island is put under martial law, barbed wire and other protective barriers are set up in case of invasion and even children have to be evacuated and given gas masks. The film is notable for its sympathetic depiction of the Japanese in Hawaii, and the difficulties they subsequently had to go through.
Censorship[edit]
Started within days of the attack, the original film was 82 minutes long and asked some embarrassing questions, such as why there was no long-range reconnaissance and no short-range air patrols. Further, the film had a lot of time devoted to the culture of the 160,000 Japanese-Americans in Hawaii and their response to the attack. For these reasons the long version of the film was censored for decades and the shorter 32-minute version released.[1]
Awards[edit]
The 32-minute censored version of the film won an Oscar at the 16th Academy Awards in 1944 for Best Documentary Short Subject.[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^IMBD
- ^'New York Times: December 7th'. NY Times. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
External links[edit]
- December 7th: The Movie is available for free download at the Internet Archive (32 min. version; the full 82 minute version can be found on YouTube)
- December 7th: The Movie on IMDb
- Searching for John Ford by Joseph McBride (Univ. of Mississippi Press, 2011) - the filming and production of December 7th is discussed intermittently on pp. 348–386.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=December_7th:_The_Movie&oldid=916295518'
7 Women | |
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Directed by | John Ford |
Produced by | Bernard Smith John Ford |
Written by | Janet Green John McCormick |
Based on | short story 'Chinese Finale' by Norah Lofts |
Starring | Anne Bancroft Margaret Leighton Flora Robson Sue Lyon |
Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
Cinematography | Joseph LaShelle |
Edited by | Otho Lovering |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date | |
Running time | 87 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English Mandarin |
Budget | $2.3 million[1] |
7 Women, also known as Seven Women, is a 1966 drama film directed by John Ford and starring Anne Bancroft, Sue Lyon, Margaret Leighton, Flora Robson, Mildred Dunnock, Betty Field, Anna Lee, with Eddie Albert, Mike Mazurki and Woody Strode. Made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was produced by Bernard Smith and John Ford, from a screenplay by Janet Green and John McCormick, based on the short story 'Chinese Finale' by Norah Lofts. The music score was by Elmer Bernstein and the cinematography by Joseph LaShelle. This was the last feature film directed by Ford, ending a career that spanned approximately fifty three years.
John Huston
Plot[edit]
![7 Women John Ford Download 7 Women John Ford Download](/uploads/1/2/5/0/125079633/415247244.jpg)
In rural China, in 1935, all but one of the white residents of a remote Christian mission post are women. The strict Miss Agatha Andrews (Margaret Leighton) is the head of the mission, assisted by the meek Miss Argent (Mildred Dunnock). Charles Pether (Eddie Albert) is a mission teacher who always wanted to be a pastor; his peevish, panicky, self-centred and domineering middle-aged wife Florrie (Betty Field) is pregnant for the first time. Emma Clark (Sue Lyon) is the only young staff member, whom Miss Andrews treats as if she was her daughter.
The mission is elated to learn that a much-needed doctor is arriving. However, they are shocked to discover that Dr. Cartwright (Anne Bancroft) is a New York woman who smokes, drinks alcohol, swears, wears pants and short hair, disdains religion and sits before grace. She and Miss Andrews are soon at odds. Emma, who has led a very sheltered life, is fascinated by the newcomer, much to Miss Andrews's dismay.
After she has settled in, Dr. Cartwright urges Miss Andrews to provide money to send Florrie Pether to a modern facility, as her age means that giving birth is high risk, but Andrews refuses.
Meanwhile, there are rumors of atrocities committed by the militia of Mongolianwarlord Tunga Khan (Mike Mazurki). Miss Andrews is certain that the mission will be safe, as they are American citizens. After a nearby, even poorer British mission is sacked by Tunga Khan, Miss Andrews reluctantly accepts survivors Miss Binns (Flora Robson), Mrs. Russell (Anna Lee) and Miss Ling (Jane Chang), but only for a short time, as she is unwilling to harbor those of any other denomination for long.
Immediately after the arrival of the survivors, a cholera outbreak erupts. Dr. Cartwright quickly takes command, treating all the Chinese of the area. Miss Andrews's initial hostility to her subsides when Emma gets sick and she implores Dr. Cartwright to save her life. After the emergency is over and Emma is well again, the relationship between Andrews and Cartwright starts to soften. but deteriorates when Cartwright shows up drunk in the dining room with a bottle of whiskey, and tries to make all the pious women drink as well.
One night, Charles and Cartwright see a fire on the horizon and hear gunfire. The next morning, the Chinese soldiers of the nearby garrison evacuate in a hurry, as Tunga Khan and his men are believed to be approaching. Miss Andrews is still convinced the mision is untouchable, but Charles is now determined to be assertive. He and Kim, an English speaking male Chinese mission staff member, drive out to investigate the situation, while urging everyone else to be prepared to leave the mission, despite Miss Andrews's opposition. After a while, they hear the car's horn, but once the gate is opened, bandits on horseback charge in firing their guns and quickly take over the mission. Before being executed by the bandits, Kim tells the women Charles was murdered when he tried to rescue a woman being assaulted by Tunga Khan's men. Then Miss Ling, coming from a powerful Mandarin family, is taken away to act as Tunga Khan's young wife's servant, while the seven white women are herded into a shed.
They watch as Tunga Khan has every Chinese in the mission executed, women and children included, to Emma's shock. Tunga Khan comes into the shed and tries to take Emma. Realizing that they are mostly American women, he decides to ask for a ransom.
With Miss Andrews panicking and Florrie in labor, Dr. Cartwright asks for her desperately needed medical bag. Tunga Khan offers to exchange it for her sexual submission to him. The doctor agrees, and helps Florrie give birth to a baby boy. After Cartwright goes to fulfill her end of the bargain, an increasingly deranged Andrews vilifies her, calling her 'whore of Babylon'. The others, however, understand the sacrifice the doctor has made and why.
In the evening, the Mongols gather in a circle and organize wrestling matches for entertainment, with Dr. Cartwright watching the spectacle at Tunga Khan's side, as his new concubine. When the lean warrior (Woody Strode) who had been ogling Cartwright all evening steps into the ring to face the winner of a bout, Tunga Khan insists on accepting the challenge himself and breaks the man's neck.
Cartwright manages to convince Tunga Khan to let the other women go, including Miss Ling. Before Miss Argent leaves, she sees the doctor hide a bottle that she had earlier called poison. She urges Cartwright not to do what she is planning, but to no avail. With the others safely away, Cartwright, now in a geisha outfit, goes to Tunga Khan's room and secretly poisons two drinks. She subserviently offers a cup to Tunga Khan, as she utters, 'So long, ya bastard.' After Tunga Khan drinks, he immediately keels over dead. Then, after a moment's hesitation, Cartwright drinks from the second cup.
Cast[edit]
- Anne Bancroft as Dr. D. R. Cartwright
- Sue Lyon as Emma Clark, Mission Staff
- Margaret Leighton as Agatha Andrews, Head of Mission
- Flora Robson as Miss Binns, Head of British Mission
- Mildred Dunnock as Jane Argent, Andrews' Assistant
- Betty Field as Mrs. Florrie Pether, Charles' pregnant wife
- Anna Lee as Mrs. Russell, Mission Staff
- Eddie Albert as Charles Pether, Mission Teacher
- Mike Mazurki as Tunga Khan, Bandit Leader
- Woody Strode as Lean Warrior
- Jane Chang as Miss Ling, Mission Staff
- Hans William Lee as Kim, Mission Staff
- H. W. Gim as Coolie
- Irene Tsu as Chinese Girl
Acclaim[edit]
The film also appeared in several lists. These include:
- Most Misappreciated American Films of All Time (1977, Andrew Sarris)
- Most Misappreciated American Films of All Time (1977, Pascal Bonitzer)
- Most Misappreciated American Films of All Time (1977, Serge Daney)
- Most Important American Films (1977, Enno Patalas)
- Most Important American Films (1977, Luc Moullet)
- Genre Favorites: Adventure (1993)
- Alternative Choices to Sight and Sound's 360 Films Classics List (1998)
- 100 Essential Films (2003–Present, Slant Magazine)
- Favorite Films (1975, Syndicat Francais de la Critique de Cinema)
Cahiers du cinéma voted it the 6th best film of 1966[2] and Andrew Sarris rated it the third-best of 1966 (only being beaten by Blow-up and Gertrud).[3]
The film is currently ranked #847 on the They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? (TSPDT) list of the 1000 greatest films of all time. The list is based on a poll of 1,825 film critics, scholars, and cinephiles, as well as a culling of over 900 existing 'greatest film' lists.
Production[edit]
The original story, Chinese Finale, was presented as an episode of Alcoa Theatre in March 1960 with Hilda Plowright as Miss Andrews and Jan Sterling as Dr. Mary Cartwright.[4]
John Ford considered both Katharine Hepburn and Jennifer Jones for the role of Dr. Cartwright, and Rosalind Russell lobbied for the part, but eventually Patricia Neal was cast. Ford began the film on 8 February 1965 on the MGM backlot, but after three days of filming, Neal had a stroke. Anne Bancroft took over the role of Dr. Cartwright but Ford was unhappy with Bancroft and called her 'the mistress of monotone'.[5] Ford originally considered Carol Lynley for the role played in the film by MGM contract star Sue Lyon, whom the studio insisted on.[6] Shooting finished on April 12, only six days behind schedule.[1]
Ford chose Otho Lovering to edit the film; they had first worked together on Stagecoach (1939). Lovering edited most of Ford's feature films in the 1960s.
The film was not released until 1966.
Analysis[edit]
As Ford was a devout Catholic, the film shows the difference between the claim of being moral and the act of morals; the stark contrast between compassion and sacrifice to the austere holier-than-thou philosophy.[7]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
7 Women John Ford Download For Pc
- ^ abNat Segaloff, Final Cuts: The Last Films of 50 Great Directors, Bear Manor Media, 2013, p.103-105, ISBN978-1593932336
- ^'Cahiers du Cinema Top 10's - 1966'. Alumnus.caltech.eduaccessdate =12 October 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
- ^'Andrew Sarris Top 10's - 1966'. Alumnue.caltech.edu. Archived from the original on 10 February 2001. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- ^'Alcoa Theatre (1957–1960) : Chinese Finale'. IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
- ^p. 332 Davis,Ronald L. John Ford: Hollywood's Old Master University of Oklahoma Press, 1997
- ^'ROLES THAT COULDA, SHOULDA BEEN: CAROL LYNLEY'. Sixties Cinema. September 11, 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^'Ten Underappreciated John Ford Films'. Dvdbeaver.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
External links[edit]
- 7 Women on IMDb
Barbara Ford
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=7_Women&oldid=913839603'