Army Champions
This Pete Smith Specialty short focuses on the young men who have signed up for the U.S. Army. The film uses the analogy of the speed, accuracy, and teamwork of sports and how these qualities are translated into the weapons training of American soldiers. We watch target practice by Army personnel with shoulder weapons, mortars, and various artillery pieces.
Status
Released
Original Language
EN
Budget
—
Revenue
—
Release Date
October 11, 1941
Popularity
1
Director
Paul Vogel
Writer
Julian Harmon
Producer
Pete Smith
Where to Watch
Cast
Reviews
CinemaSerf
I am usually a fan of these Pete Smith films, but this one is really quite dull. His normally tongue-in-cheek commentary is replaced with something altogether more contrived as we see an array of guns at the disposal of American soldiers that get steadily bigger and more accurate as this repetitive ten minutes rumbles on. There are the usual “best in the world” superlatives, of course, and it all looks like a dawdle when nobody is shooting back so I suppose it might just work as a morale-booster for a domestic audience getting used to FDRs new armaments policy, but as a film it’s archive you might have seen before coupled with an off-form commentary.
