Introduction

The Battle of Midway is a 1942 American short documentary film directed by John Ford.

It is a montage of colour footage of the Battle of Midway with voice overs of various narrators, including Johnny Governali, Donald Crisp, Henry Fonda, and Jane Darwell.

Find out more in the docuseries “Five Came Back“.

Outline

The film begins with a male narrator (Ray Milland) explaining where Midway Island is and its strategic importance.

About five minutes into the film the format changes somewhat, with more leisurely pictures of the G.I.s at work on the island, and then a female voice over. The female voice over (Verna Felton) takes the personality of a middle aged woman from Springfield, Ohio, who is a mother-type figure pointing out how she recognises a boy from her home town. The boy is Army Air Force pilot William E. “Junior” Kinney. Then stock footage of the Kinney family back home is introduced.

Abruptly the narrative turns to the battle itself with approximately five minutes dedicated to the defence of the island, the naval battle, and the aftermath. At the end the various known Japanese losses are shown (four aircraft carriers, battleships, aircraft etc.) and then brushed over with red paint.

Production & Filming Details

• Narrator(s): Donald Crisp.
• Director(s): John Ford.
• Producer(s): John Ford.
• Writer(s): Dudley Nichols and James Kevin McGuinness.
• Music: Alfred Newman.
• Cinematography: John Ford, Jack MacKenzie, and Kenneth M. Pier.
• Editor(s): John Ford and Robert Parrish.
• Production: US Navy.
• Distributor(s): 20th Century Fox.
• Release Date: 14 September 1942.
• Running Time: 18 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.