Men of the Sky

Men of the Sky is a 1942 American Technicolor short propaganda film, directed by B. Reeves Eason. The documentary film reenacted the training of a group of United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) pilots. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hollywood rushed to turn out films that would help to help win the war. The studios produced more than features, with countless cartoons and short subjects that were intended to inform the public, boost morale, encourage support of the Red Cross and other organizations that were helping at home and overseas or in recruitment. There were also films that were shown only to members of the armed forces. These films either trained them or entertained them. Men of the Sky is one of the best examples of how Hollywood pitched in and worked to boost morale and also recruit men and women into military service. Along with Don DeFore and Tod Andrews, Eleanor Parker has a leading role. Each of the leads would go on to lengthy screen and television careers. Plot In 1942, the stories of a new group of U.S. Army Air Forces pilots are intertwined. As they receive their wings from Lt. General H.H. Arnold, each of the trainees, Cadet Frank Bickley (Tod Andrews), Cadet Dick Mathews (Don DeFore) and Cadet Jim Morgan (Ray Montgomery) recall their prewar introduction to flight training. In their first assignments as pilots, they are flying aircraft and airlifting matériel to General MacArthur in Australia.