American
Women Go to War 1941-45:The Untold Story - Eleven restored films
“What
did Mom, Grandma or Great Grandma do during World War 2?” Find out
in these 11 inspirational & informative films.
The Hidden Army: America's Women (1944, B&W, 17:00) The film
opens in a remarkable flash forward to the future from 1944. Germany has been defeated and Adolf Hitler sits in a dark prison,
writing his memoirs, “The Losing Fight,” working on chapter 25,
”The Hidden Army.” In1939 his experts in War Planning had told
him in the coming War, the USA wasn't a threat because its armed
forces were weak and it couldn't put a large army in the field and
man defense plants at the same time. The very idea of American women
going to work is scoffed at because they are “the most decadent on
earth” & “spend more money in a year on cosmetics then their
Navy spends on ships.” Boy were they wrong! American women soon
made up 20% the work force in defense industries and replaced men in
in 100s of thousands of other civilian jobs. They're shown working
in everything from aircraft plants to steel mills. See how they made
a huge difference!
It's Your War Too! (1944, B&W, 10:00) The Women's Army Corps
(founded in 1941 as the “The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps,
popularly know as “the WACS”) mission was to replace servicemen
for front line duty with women who could perform the same jobs as
well or better. This recruiting film first dispels myths about the
WACs (Yes, you can keep your own hair style) and then extolls the
benefits of joining up, including better chow, world travel,
training for new jobs, and of course, serving your country. The films
shows many of the important jobs done by WACs beyod stereotypical
clerical clerical work, including air traffic control, aircraft
engine repair & maintenance, radio & telecommunications,
weapons testing & much more. By war's end,there were 150,000
women in the WACs, releasing enough men for seven combat divisions!
You're in the Army Now (1944, B&W, 10:00) This film shows what to
expect when you join the WACs, A plucky group of women, with
differing backgrounds and ages, is followed from enlistment, through
physical evaluation & testing, to basic training, specialist
skills training and assignment to a field units for active duty.
Informative & entertaining.
Battle Stations (1944, B&W, 10:00) Narrated by Hollywood legends
Ginger Rogers & James Cagney. U.S. Coast Guardsmen served in the
thick of battle, from piloting landing craft in amphibious landings
to hunting subs at sea. In 1942 the Coast Guard established their
Women's Reserve known as the SPARS (after the motto Semper Paratus -
Always Ready) The film shows the wide variety of jobs replacing men
that SPARs performed in the Coast Guard.
The Army Nurse (1945, B&W, 16:00) Many servicemen's fondest
memories from World War 2 are of Army Nurses who treated, them,
comforted them and often saved lives. The film shows nurses providing
their vital rolls in field & general hospitals, on board trains
and in the air on all fronts, around the World. Also covers their
training..
Women in the News (1944, B&W, 5:00) Three newsreels show women
serving on location in a wide variety of roles, including Army WACS,
Air WACs, WAVEs & Army and Navy Nurses.
Women in Defense (1941, B&W, 11:00) Narrated by Academy Award
Winner Katherine Hepburn. This documentary is an overview of women
working in a wide variety of defense work,including building
aircraft, sewing parachutes, lab work, producing artillery ammunition
and much more.
Women of Steel (1943, B&W, 11:00) Produced in cooperation with
Republic Steel. Jobs in heavy industries like steel were once
thought of as suitable for men only. By the middle of World War 2,
that myth was shattered as 1,000s of women moved into jobs
traditionally performed by men, including blast furnace tending,
crane operation, welding and steel fabrication. In some cases,women
filled the same jobs that their brothers or husbands had before they
went to war. On scene interviews with working women about their jobs
are especially interesting
Glamour Girls 1943 (1943, B&W, 11:00) This film shows how a
nationwide “Employment Service Program” was developed to
systematically recruit, train and deploy women into to tens of
thousands of jobs traditionally held by men, from assembling aircraft
engines to delivering the milk. An added bonus is rare film footage
of women doing defense work in World War 1.
No Excuses (1944, B&W, 10:00) Produced by 20th Century
Fox and staring John Archer (“White Heat”). This film is framed
by a soldier at the front writing home to his mother about the
sacrifices he and his men are making in combat and thanking her for
supporting him at home for all the time she is putting into the war
effort like working in a blood bank and running a day care center.
Then the question is asked of the women in the audience, “What are
you doing to help win the war? Are you a slacker? Do you want to be
driven from your homes like refugees in Europe? Join the war effort
now. No Excuses!”
Bonus Feature: Night Shift: British Women Working in Defense (1942,
B&W, 10:00) Before America entered World War 2, British women
were already working in defense plants. This film was shot on
location in an arms factory during the night shift. You'll see
thousands women performing intricate precision machine work
producing canons from breeches to barrels. And of course, this being
Britain, there's tea time and enthusiastic group singalongs during
midnight lunch breaks.
