"Gable flew bombing missions with the 351st until he was ordered to stop by "the Brass." He felt he had to share the danger and experience what these B-17 crews were going through to make an honest film. I digitally color corrected a copy of this film from the National Archives. Zeno
"Combat America" was produced, written, directed, and narrated by Clark Gable while he was on assignment with the 8th Air Force, developing a gunnery training film. Though it packs plenty of very exciting color combat footage and doesn't flinch in showing high cost of the war in the air, in many ways, it's as much a warm home movie as a hard bitten, wartime "information" film.
Gable tells the story of the men of the 351st Bombardment group, flying from the cool early morning mists of Colorado to the frigid skies over Germany. His affection and admiration for these men comes through loud and clear. This film is like a Kodachrome album out of the past, giving us snapshots of life on a front line American bomber base in the U.K. in 1943.
