| The Tanks Are Coming | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | B. Reeves Eason |
| Produced by | Gordon Hollingshead |
| Written by | Owen Crump |
| Music by | William Lava |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | 1941 |
| Running time | 20 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Tanks Are Coming is a 1941 Technicolor short movie. It is primarily a recruitment movie, but can also be regarded as a propaganda movie or a documentary with some light relief. Like Dive Bomber (of the same year) it is a pre-Pearl Harbor movie, made with the co-operation of the relevant branch of the US armed forces, showing off US military material to the US public, in lavish Technicolor. This material is shown in motion, both on the road and in the field; training equipment and methods are also featured.
It was nominated for an Oscar, in the category Best Short Subject.
New York taxicab driver Malowski (George Tobias) and his cab Betsy enlist in the "First Armored Force" and get caught up in large-scale mechanized maneuvers. The tank featured in the short was the U.S Army's M2 Light Tank.
George Tobias as Malowski
William Travis (i.e. Richard Travis) as Pete
Byron Barr [later known as Gig Young] as Jim Allen
Frank Wilcox as Colonel