Combat America

Rating:
Summary: Clark Gable Flies with the Eighth
Review: This DVD is basically a World War II documentary film made for Stateside audiences about life in the Mighty Eighth Air Force in England and in the deadly skies over Europe. Narrated by Clark Gable, who actually flew around five missions in B-17's before heading off to safer locales, the film follows the daily lives of the men of the 351st Bomb Group based in England and follows the men into the air. It has some excellent--if jerky-- footage of air combat. Another big plus about this film is that it is in color, which wasn't used much in the war. Though the spoken sequences come across as staged and corny, it is important to remember that the only real actor in the film is Gable. It is also a good example of World War II, rally-around-the-flag wartime propaganda, though it is honest enough to show planes full of American boys falling from the sky. For anyone interested in the air war over Europe, B-17's, or films made to support the war effort, this is a worthwhile DVD. However, be advised that the quality of the picture is less than perfect, because it is taken from a forties-era movie. The program runs 62 minutes.

Rating:
Summary: Clark Gable Flies with the Eighth
Review: This DVD is basically a World War II documentary film made for Stateside audiences about life in the Mighty Eighth Air Force in England and in the deadly skies over Europe. Narrated by Clark Gable, who actually flew around five missions in B-17's before heading off to safer locales, the film follows the daily lives of the men of the 351st Bomb Group based in England and follows the men into the air. It has some excellent--if jerky-- footage of air combat. Another big plus about this film is that it is in color, which wasn't used much in the war. Though the spoken sequences come across as staged and corny, it is important to remember that the only real actor in the film is Gable. It is also a good example of World War II, rally-around-the-flag wartime propaganda, though it is honest enough to show planes full of American boys falling from the sky. For anyone interested in the air war over Europe, B-17's, or films made to support the war effort, this is a worthwhile DVD. However, be advised that the quality of the picture is less than perfect, because it is taken from a forties-era movie. The program runs 62 minutes.