Warclouds in the Pacific
| Warclouds in the Pacific | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Stuart Legg |
| Produced by | Stuart Legg |
| Written by | Stuart Legg |
| Narrated by | Lorne Greene |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures of Canada |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 20 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Warclouds in the Pacific is a 1941 Canadian short documentary film, part of the Canada Carries On series of short films by the National Film Board of Canada.[1] The film was produced, written and directed by Stuart Legg and narrated by Lorne Greene. Warclouds in the Pacific, which warned of an imminent Japanese attack, was released just one week before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Plot
In 1941, tensions in the Pacific are accentuated by Imperial Japan engaged in the Sino-Japanese War, as well as threatening to go to war with the other great powers in the region, Great Britain and the United States. Throughout the 1900s, global trade has allowed for great advances in industry and technology, but the militaristic government of Japan in the late 1930s, has chosen to align itself with Nazi Germany, further sending danger signals abroad.
In leaving behind its feudal history, Japan has become an economic and military superpower but its rise to prominence has repercussions for Canada. Westerners who have observed the frenzied activity in Japanese naval yards, have begun to leave the country, while Japanese-Canadians who have adopted their new homeland, are fearful for what may come. Western nations, including Canada, are ramping up military preparations, knowing that combatant nations already at war may soon be entangled in a Pacific conflict.
Cast
- Emperor Hirohito as Himself (archive footage)
- Henry Pu-yi as Himself (archive footage)
Production
Warclouds in the Pacific was the fifth of the Canada Carries On series, produced with financial backing from the Wartime Information Board, served as a portent of a future Pacific war.[1] The documentary was created as a morale boosting propaganda film during the Second World War. [2] Location footage in Vancouver and Victoria was supplemented by stock footage of Hong Kong.[3]
The narrator of Warclouds in the Pacific was Lorne Greene, known for his work on both radio broadcasts as a news announcer at CBC as well as narrating many of the Canada Carries On series.[4] His sonorous recitation led to his nickname, "The Voice of Canada", and to some observers, the "voice-of-God".[3] When reading grim battle statistics or as in Warclouds in the Pacific, narrating a particularly serious topic such as Canada going to war, he was "The Voice of Doom".[5]
Reception
As part of the Canada Carries On series, Warclouds in the Pacific was produced in 35 mm for the theatrical market. Each film was shown over a six-month period as part of the shorts or newsreel segments in approximately 800 theatres across Canada. Along with others in the Canada Carries On series, Warclouds in the Pacific received widespread circulation and, in particular, "greatly helped to draw attention to Canada's film board."[6]
The NFB had an arrangement with Famous Players theatres to ensure that Canadians from coast-to-coast could see the documentary series, with further distribution by Columbia Pictures.[7] After the six-month theatrical tour ended, individual films were made available on 16 mm to schools, libraries, churches and factories, extending the life of these films for another year or two. They were also made available to film libraries operated by university and provincial authorities.[1]
Honours
Along with Churchill's Island, another NFB production directed by Stuart Legg, Warclouds in the Pacific was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject), albeit losing to Churchill's Island.[8][9]
Clips from Warclouds in the Pacific was in John Kramer's docementary, Has Anybody Here Seen Canada? A History of Canadian Movies 1939-1953 (1979) and later incorporated into Colin Browne’s 1986 documentary, The Image Before Us, "... where the images of fear and war were contrasted with the reality of Canada’s wartime treatment of Japanese-Canadians."[10]
References
Notes
- 1 2 3 Ohayon, Albert. "Propaganda cinema at the NFB." National Film Board of Canada (NFB.ca), July 13, 2009. Retrieved: January 9, 2016.
- ↑ Morris, Peter. "Film Reference Library: Canada Carries On." Canadian Film Encyclopedia. Retrieved: January 9, 2016.
- 1 2 Rist 2001, p. 37.
- ↑ Bennett 2004, p. 254.
- ↑ "Bonanza's Canadian Lorne Greene." Bite Size Canada. Retrieved: January 9, 2016.
- ↑ Rist 2001, p. 124.
- ↑ Ellis and McLane 2005, p. 122.
- ↑ "The 14th Academy Awards (1942); nominees and winners." oscars.org. Retrieved: January 9, 2016.
- ↑ "War Clouds in the Pacific.' The New York Times. Retrieved: January 9, 2016.
- ↑ Killas, Harry. "The Image Before Us: A History Of Film In British Columbia - Take 2 » Warclouds In The Pacific." The Cinematheque, January 2016. Retrieved: January 9, 2016.
Bibliography
- Bennett, Linda Greene. My Father's Voice: The Biography of Lorne Greene. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse, Inc., 2004. ISBN 978-0-595-33283-0.
- Ellis, Jack C. and Betsy A. McLane. "Theatrical Series". New History of Documentary Film. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. ISBN 978-1-4411-2457-9.
- Rist, Peter. Guide to the Cinema(s) of Canada. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. ISBN 978-0-3132-9931-5.