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Men from the Sky (1942)

1942 · Short film · 20 min

  • War
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Synopsis

This 1942 Warner Bros. propaganda film, directed by B. Reeves Eason, gives viewers a look at a reenactment of the training of U.S. Army Air Forces cadets. The film opens with Lt. General Henry H. Arnold climbing out of a plane at an airfield. He looks over a group of graduating cadets at the start of the wings-awarding ceremony. Arnold speaks to the graduates about their roles in the current climate (01:52). The graduates stand at attention, surrounded by what appear to be Vultee BT-13 Valiant planes (03:51). Arnold pins wings on the aviation cadets. The film then cuts to shots of the cadets prior to attending the academy (telling their stories): a young boy plays with a model airplane in a garage (04:24); a young man crunches budget numbers at the kitchen table, then is shown sitting on the front porch with his young wife; 06:40 a college student greets his family on a campus (06:40); another young man picks violets for his sweetheart (07:50), then he is shown kissing her goodbye at a train station. The new cadets get off a bus at the academy and walk onto the airfield (08:55). A Commanding Officer speaks to the new cadets. Cadets sit in a classroom and learn about aerodynamics. Several cadets are shown the instruments in a mock cockpit. Cadets fly bi-planes (likely Stearman Model 75s, also known as the PT-13 Kaydet) with their flight instructors. A training plane lands and totters on its landing gear. The film features several shots of young pilots in the cockpits of…

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Details

Running time
20 minutes
Collection
Ephemeral Films

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