MISTER PUSH -A-BUTTON
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Year Published: 1961
Format: 16mm
Description: "Mr. Push-a-Button", a 1961 U.S. Navy film about the education and responsibilities of a Naval officer, starts with images of the U.S. Navy's mothball or reserve fleet, as a Navy officer receives new orders transferring him from reserve duties to the fleet and in particular, managing one of the U.S. Navy's new surface-to-air guided missile systems aboard the cruiser USS Canberra CA-70. The title of the film comes from the fear that the officer in the film expresses that "men are being replaced by machines" and that automation will replace men in the Navy. He realizes over the course of the film (and during an odd dream sequence seen at 15:20) that nothing can replace the human element when it comes to managing shipboard systems. The film is primarily about managing crewmen aboard ship, and the complex role of an officer thrust into a new position with which he has little experience. At 22:43, a full scale alert drill is undertaken aboard ship. The weapon system seen in the film appears to be the Terrier, The Convair RIM-2 Terrier was a two-stage medium-range naval surface-to-air missile (SAM), and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. It underwent significant upgrades while in service, starting with a beam-riding system with 10 nautical miles (19 km) range at a speed of Mach 1.8, and ending as a semi-active radar homing system with a range of 40 nautical miles (74 km) at speeds as high as Mach 3. It was replaced in service by the RIM-67 Standard ER (SM-1ER). Features images of USS Hartley DE-1029, USS Warrington DD-843, USS Joseph P. Kennedy DD-850, and USS Intrepid CV-11 appears at the 21:00 mark. The film was produced by Lieutenant Commander Edward Wayne "Brad" Bradford, who also made "A Day in the Life of the President" featuring John F. Kennedy. USS Canberra (CA-70/CAG-2) was a Baltimore-class cruiser and later a Boston-class guided missile cruiser of the United States Navy. Originally to be named USS Pittsburgh, the ship was renamed before launch to honor the loss of the Australian cruiser HMAS Canberra during the Battle of Savo Island. USS Canberra is the only USN warship named for a foreign warship or a foreign capital city. The ship entered service in 1943, and served in the Pacific theater of World War II until she was torpedoed during the Aerial Battle of Taiwan-Okinawa and forced to return to the United States for repairs. Placed in reserve after the war, Canberra was selected for conversion into the second guided-missile carrying warship in the USN fleet. Following the conversion, she was host to the ceremony for selecting the Unknown Soldier representing World War II in 1958, undertook an eight-month round-the-world cruise in 1960, participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis naval blockade in 1962, and was deployed to the Vietnam War on five occasions between 1965 and 1969. Canberra was decommissioned in 1970, struck in 1978, and broken up in 1980. One of her propellers is preserved at the Los Angeles Maritime Museum, while the ship's bell was donated to the Australian National Maritime Museum in 2001.
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Transcription
[Music] [Music] [Music] And what kind of a day will this be? A day like all days in the mothball fleet. Check the gate, right? Nothing changes. Nothing ever changes. Empty ships. Out of date. Check the watermark. Right. [Music] [Music] Check the lines. Uh-huh. Brother, 8 months of this is enough. I want out. [Music] Mr. Liot. Yes. Your order, sir. Oh, thank you. Will there be anything else, sir? Oh, no, no, no. Thank you. That's all. [Music] 40 minutes. I better make it 30. All right. 35. [Music] Yes, baby. [Music] With my compliments, ma'am. Oh, golly. and wine. Wow. All right, sailor. What have you been up to? Allow me, man. Your orders. You got your orders. Missiles, baby. The modern navy. All right, old lady. Beware. North Missile School first, then the Canberra. Canber guided missile cruiser. You are the wife of the Canberra's new missile officer. Start packing, mate. Oh, right after dinner. You realize what a break this is? Of course, dear. Missiles. Guided missiles. Finally, after all these months. Wonderful. Simply wonderful. [Music] Dan. Yeah. What are missiles? I mean, really, gentlemen, gunpowder first extended the reach of weapons beyond the strength of a man's arm. Aircraft further extended the reach of naval weapons beyond that of a ship's guns. Missiles are further extending our naval military capability. This class will be particularly concerned with surfaceto-air guided missiles. These weapons are most effective because they can change their direction in flight. No matter how much the aircraft may bo and weave, missile will seek out and destroy it. These systems are very effective in extending the capabilities of our fleets at sea, maintaining freedom of the seas in peace time and control of the seas for our own purposes in time of war. Gentlemen, you will be working with automatic systems. You will be able to fight by merely pushing a button. Firepower is the word at Damn Neck. It's like a big engineering college on this lonely strip of beach in Virginia with just one thing on its mind. The theory and practice of finding targets and hitting them. Our missile course is 10 weeks long. 10 weeks. The reading alone is enough for a year. And the instructors are in a hurry. [Music] All in all, a very solid course. We cover both the missiles and the systems for guiding them home. [Music] This is beautiful equipment to work with. [Music] Instantly responsive, practically foolproof. Get a kick out of running it. Davis 85.1. Good enough. Haw 71.8. Well, Jackson 91.3. Hey, that's not bad. Kingsbury 76.9. Made it. Liot 97.6. 97.6. Laur 77.2 two McLaren 86.5 Peterson [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] That's a very awkward procedure, Mr. Franchini. Sir, the men, they don't work smoothly. They can't really. They're new men, sir. Good, but new. There are always new men. [Music] [Music] What do you mean? Well, even with new men, you can still depend on the equipment. That is if you keep on top of things. [Music] Well, Mr. Francini been doing well the past few weeks. Yes, sir. System's been working perfectly. I hope the system can keep it up. You have any suggestions for improving it? I'd like to hear about them. [Music] Mr. Ligot, please dial 214. [Music] Come in. Yes, Mr. Liot. Sit down, please. Thank you, sir. Your department's been right on schedule with a good performance during the ship's exercise. Thank you, sir. However, the proficiency reports on the men in your division have not been very good. I know that, sir. I'm sure that'll improve. I've been chiefly concerned with operational performance. Understand me clearly, Mr. Leot. Machines and electrons can help a great deal, but they're useless without a good crew. That's all. Thank you, sir. [Music] Now, Tambber expects to tie up in Norfolk at 18:30. Liberty will commence for sections 1 and 2 at 18:45. [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Mr. Leot, sir. Yes. Afraid we're going to be a little short-handed next week. Oh, Cooper, emergency leave. Just come in. Which one is Cooper? First class in the after magazine. He runs a control panel. Do you have someone to replace him? Bergman knows the panel pretty well. Pretty well. We are joining a task force next week, Mr. Franchi. Yes, sir. And we've got to depend on a man who knows his job just pretty well. We'll get by, sir. We'd better. the system were completely mechanized, I wouldn't have to put up with things like this. [Music] Look, Helen, the trouble with these old Navy hands is they hate new ideas. They don't want to think about them. But darling, it's hard to change. They simply won't face the fact that men are becoming obsolete. Oh dear. I hope not. No, I mean the emphasis today, it's more and more on machines and less and less on manpower, automation. But you'll always have to have people around to start things and stop them. Sure, it's a few. Dan, why did that man have to go? Huh? What was his name? Uh, Cooper, why did he have to take emergency leave? I don't know. I forgot to ask. Oh, damn. Oh, damn. Oh, damn. [Music] Oh, damn. Understand me clearly, Mr. Leot. You will be able to fight. Push a button. Push a button. [Music] [Music] Rangini Cooper Francini. Do you hear me? This is Mr. Leot. [Music] on report. Every one of them understand me clearly, Mr. Leot. [Music] You will be able to fight by merely pushing a button. [Music] Understand there are always new men. This can't be stored. door. There are always new men. We'll make our Hello. Hey, somebody. Where are they? It's got to be someone. Beautiful equipment. Wait a minute. I'll find them. Hello. Hello. Answer me. Anyone? Answer me. [Music] We'll make out. We'll make out. We'll make out. [Applause] There's just got to be a crew. [Music] This ship's useless. [Music] [Applause] [Applause] You will be able to fight by merely pushing a button. We'll hang out. Beautiful equipment. Foolproof equipment. Beautiful. Beautiful. Oh, damn. Oh, damn. Oh, damn. [Music] Ship's no good without a crew. Damn. What's the matter? an air defense exercise. So, we'll be in the spotlight. The launcher crew will be running dummies up each time. Any questions? But sir, why bother running them up? The admiral's 30 m away. Because the important thing is to give each man training in his job. Sometimes we overlook this. We forget who wins the battles. How is the admiral mean? They tell me [Applause] [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Sir, the Cambara has just moved into position. Very well. Well, sir, we have not yet alerted the missile ships about using warheads today. That's right. Shall I pass the word now, sir? No, I'll tell you when. [Music] General quarters. General quarters. All hands man your battle stations. All hands man your battle stations. This is a drill. This is a drill. [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music] Mr. Leot, we have Mogi Romeo 5 at 030. Assign director 10 to Romeo 5. Director 10 is assigned, sir. Launcher one ready. Launcher one ready, sir. Assign launcher one. Looks good. Coming in fine. All right. Simulate fire. At that range, we'd have a splash right now. Pass a word. Bridge weapons. Splash Romeo 5. Check combat for any more bogeies in the area. Camber reports. Splash Romeo 5. Splash indeed. Sounds like we're playing games. It's our 14th so far. How about our big drones are coming in now? Yes, sir. In whose sector? Can bear, sir. Fine. Tell Cam bear to take it with a warhead. Let's see if they really can shoot. [Music] Commander Bogey Delta 2 closing fast. Check negative. I flag combat delta 2 closing fast. Warheads Frenchie. How long will it take? They're bringing the dummies down now. This has to be done manually. I know. About another 45 seconds, sir. [Music] How's it look? It's coming in fast, sir. You're not kidding. It's tight. [Music] Piser systemized. This is delta warning red. [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] Okay, this one's for real. [Music] [Applause] The last missile shot was a warhead. Radar reports a direct hit. Now secure from General Quarters. [Music] I guess some things you have to learn the hard way. gentlemen. [Applause] Uh curious about saying that we're going to be going to uh maybe next weekend. [Music] It's been a good exercise, sir. Yes, they're ready for operational duties. Well, let's get below. All engines ahead, Paul. Next, indicate 180 RPM. Indicate 180 RPM. [Applause] [Music]
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