Back home

December 7th

26 votes

"Docudrama" about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 and its results, the recovering of the ships, the improving of defense in Hawaii and the US efforts to beat back the Japanese reinforcements.

Status: Released

Released Date: 1943-03-01

Runtime: 32 mins

Director: John Ford, Gregg Toland

Writer: Budd Schulberg

Spoken language: English

Genres: History, War, Action, Documentary

Original title: December 7th

Production Companies: Navy Department, U.S. War Department

Production Countries: United States of America

Cast

Uncle Sam 'U.S.'

Walter Huston

Mr. 'C'

Harry Davenport

Ghost of US sailor killed at Pearl Harbor

Dana Andrews

World War I Ghost Soldier

Paul Hurst

Single Voice of the Dead Servicemen (voice)

George O'Brien

Narrator (voice)

James Kevin McGuinness

Shinto Priest (uncredited)

Philip Ahn

Self (uncredited)

Addie Allen

Reporter (uncredited)

Ralph Byrd

Wounded Officer (uncredited)

James Conaty

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Emperor Hirohito of Japan

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Adolf Hitler

Self (uncredited)

James E. Kelley

Self (uncredited)

Mrs. James E. Kelley

Reviews

Geronimo1967

Though technically a docu-drama, this is really more of a conspiratorial retrospective on just how the Japanese managed to catch the US military on the hop, disastrously, on this fateful day. It’s narrated, of sorts, by way of a supposed conversation between a notional “Uncle Sam” (Walter Huston) and “Mr. C” (Harry Davenport). They start off by extolling the virtues of the multi-national/ethnic population that has revolutionised the economy of Hawaii, especially with sugar cane and pineapples, but gradually start to take a more menacing tone about those 157,000 who make up around a third of the population and who have Japanese roots. Were they all just proud of their provenance and their Shinto religion, or were some part of a network of fifth columnists feeding sensitive information about fleet movements and other sensitive military activity to Japan via it’s consulate - shown here fairly cheek by jowl with the Nazi chargé d’affaires. Those speculative and generalising dramatic sequences don’t really add much to the film, but there’s no getting away from the effectiveness of parts of the edit showing the attack on Pearl Harbor. Using a surprisingly comprehensive collection of real film (clearly intercut with some especially shot action reconstructions) we see about five minutes of the sustained attack on the facility, it’s ships and it’s adjacent air forces bases as they take quite an hammering from the over 200 aircraft that took the defenders completely by surprise. By the conclusion of this feature, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there was nothing serviceable left either afloat on capable of flying, and as a tool to galvanise anti-Japanese’s wartime sentiment it probably worked rather well in 1943. There are better films depicting the events of December 7th, but few that better use such a wide array of photography.

2025-08-20

talisencrw

This was solid. Recently I have taken an interest in both the propaganda films and wartime documentaries of World War II from both sides. I especially wanted to see this, since I love Ford's 'They Were Expendable' so much. Definitely worth the effort to find if you have a similar inclination for the material. I have always wondered if a truly 'objective', 'unbiased' documentary can be made. Simply the decisions a director makes in what to capture and what not to makes such a gesture impossible, doesn't it? I especially feel this is the case when it comes to nationalistic documents, such as this. I have NO idea what its competition was, but this deservedly won Ford an Oscar for Best Documentary: Short Subject--this was a fine work he was well to be proud of.

2016-07-16

Recommendations

2.7

Gung Ho!

1943-12-20

A true-life epic that revolves around an exclusive bataillon of the U.S. Marine Corps during World W

Pearl Harbor, l’histoire vraie d’une attaque surprise

2025-05-02

3.3

They Were Expendable

1945-12-07

After a demonstration of new PT boats, navy brass are still unconvinced of their viability in combat

3.3

In Harm's Way

1965-04-06

A Naval officer, reprimanded after Pearl Harbor, is later promoted to Rear Admiral and gets a second

3.3

The Final Countdown

1980-01-31

During routine manoeuvres near Hawaii in 1980, the aircraft-carrier USS Nimitz is caught in a strang

3.5

Tora! Tora! Tora!

1970-01-26

In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos

Sleeping Tigers: The Asahi Baseball Story

2003-04-01

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, all persons of Japanese descent in Canada were sent to in

National Geographic: Untold Stories of World War II

1998-01-01

Showcases 3 major events during World War 2 involving both the Europeans & Pacific conflicts. The Ra

3.3

Air Force

1943-03-20

The crew of an Air Force bomber arrives in Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the Japanese attack and

3.6

From Here to Eternity

1953-08-28

In 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his captain's

2.9

1941

1979-12-14

In the days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, panic grips California, where a military officer leads

History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige

1991-04-10

This film is a poetic composition of recorded history and non-recorded memory. Filmmaker Rea Tajiri’

Operation Pacific

1951-01-27

During WWII, Duke E. Gifford is second in command of the USS Thunderfish, a submarine which is firin

3.9

Pearl Harbor: The world on fire

2021-12-03

Hawaii, Pacific Ocean. In this heavenly place, one of the most memorable battles of the Second World

3.5

Pearl Harbor: 75 Years Later

2016-12-03

This two-hour special looks back at Dec. 7, 1941 - the date that has indeed lived in infamy, as Pres

Quand Pearl Harbor changea le destin de la France

2021-12-07

2.9

Wake Island

1942-08-11

In late 1941, with no hope of relief or re-supply, a small band of United States Marines tries to ke

3.5

Pearl Harbor

2001-05-21

The lifelong friendship between Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker is put to the ultimate test when the

4.2

September 11: The New Pearl Harbor

2013-09-12

"September 11: The New Pearl Harbor" is a 5-hour documentary that summarizes 12 years of public deba

Secrets of the Unknown: Pearl Harbor

1987-01-01

Pearl Harbor reveals information indicating that the United States Navy could have prevented the Dec