Report from the Aleutians

1943

47m

IMDb RATING

5.9/10

YOUR RATING

Rate

POPULARITY

Play trailer

0 Videos

6 Images

Documentary

War

History

A documentary propaganda film produced by the U.S. Army Signal Corps about the Aleutian Islands Campaign during World War II. The film opens with a map showing the strategic importance of the island, and the thrust of the 1942 Japanese offensive into Midway and Dutch Harbor. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Directors

John Huston

Writers

John Huston(writer by)

Stars

John Huston

Walter Huston

Milton Ashkin

See production, box office & company info

Photos6

Top cast

John Huston

Narrator (voice)

Walter Huston

Voices of officers (voice)

Milton Ashkin

Himself - USAAF Fighter Pilot (as Maj. Milton Ashkin)

Lyle A. Bean

Himself - USAAF Fighter Pilot (as Lt. Lyle A. Bean)

Directors

John Huston

Writers

John Huston(writer by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews1

Review

Featured review

6/10

Isn’t it interesting that when large-scale civilian projects are commissioned, even now, they can take years yet when the military get their teeth into something - it can be achieved in weeks, or even days? In this considerably more sophisticated than your usual wartime propaganda exercise designed for internal consumption in the USA, we see just how effectively the American forces have overcome the natural terrain and hostile climate of these remote islands at the bottom of the Bering Sea to reclaim land and build facilities capable of taking the war in the Pacific Ocean much close to their Japanese foe. Using an extensive and impressive collection of films, this follows the activities at work and at play of those tasked with building this base as well as those operating out of it. We go on extended missions over enemy territory for both reconnaissance and more deadly purposes; see how the men relax, how they worship and for a time it is almost as if we are there living with them. John Huston made the film and he narrates it with an impassioned pride that offers us less in the way of superlatives and a little more of the sense of the peril and menace as the bombing runs expose these gents to a formidable array of defensive systems that are in in no way overwhelmed by these “harassing” missions. It’s clearly trying to point out that this is a battle for the longer-term: there are no quick victories to be had here. There’s a stoicism evident amongst the airmen in this film that is about as far removed from Hollywood as you can get, and though some judicious editing might have better condensed it’s message from an overlong forty minutes, it’s a good example of bravery and wartime photography working tandem.

Geronimo196706 Jul, 2025