Underplayed Gems

The Tanks Are Coming (1941)

The Tanks Are Coming poster
Directed by
B. Reeves Eason
Genre
documentary film, propaganda film
Country
United States
Runtime
20 min
Rating
5.7 of 10 from 10 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

This short film shows American tank units training and moving in the field using Technicolor. It was made to encourage recruitment and to display military equipment to the public before the US entered World War II.

patrioticinstructionalupbeatauthenticfast-pacedvisually lushnostalgiceducational

What happens

The Tanks Are Coming is a 1941 American Technicolor short film directed by B. Reeves Eason and written by Owen Crump. It is primarily a recruitment film, but can also be regarded as a propaganda film or a documentary with some light relief. Like Dive Bomber (of the same year) it is a pre-Pearl Harbor film, made with the co-operation of the relevant branch of the US armed forces, showing off US military material to the US public, in lavish Technicolor. This material is shown in motion, both on the road and in the field; training equipment and methods are also featured. It was nominated for an Academy Award at the 14th Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel). (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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