REPORT FROM THE FRONT
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Year Published: 1918
Format: 16mm
Description: Hollywood star Humphrey Bogart expressed his disappointment on multiple occasions about being too old to serve in WWII, but the veteran actor did his part working for the USO and making this film, "Report from the Front". The plot of this 3 minute short is simple: As Humphrey Bogart (clad in his distinctive overcoat and trademark fedora) and his wife Mayo Methot arrive home after a Red Cross tour, they are met by reporters who ask Bogie about the work of the Red Cross overseas. The film then shows footage of U.S. servicemen fighting, relaxing, and being cared for by the Red Cross including by the nurse corps. According to A. M. Sperber’s book "Bogart", Bogie arrived on the Warner Brothers set with his four page monologue memorized and insisted on Methot being included in the short. He made a few rewrites to the script to make the final plea for donations a little stronger. The plane in the background is, by the way, only a set. Still with the outfit Bogie is wearing and the plane tail looking somewhat similar to the end scene of Casablanca, it's hard not to see this short as a great postscript for that film, the most wonderful drama to emerge from WWII. Incidentally, Bogart was a U.S. Navy veteran who served in 1918, spending most of his career on a converted passenger ship the USS Leviathan that ferried troops to and from Europe. He was at one time AWOL from ship but managed to get an honorable discharge nonetheless.
Complete Record:
Transcription
[Music] always the poor guy trying to be back from all they talk to the swell job our boys doing our boys are doing a great job on our trip overseas my wife and I saw a thousands of American boys in Africa and Italy and you can be awfully proud of them we did the best we could to entertain them there's an organization that's looking after them in every theater of the war that's the American Red Cross wherever the Armed Forces go there too goes the Red Cross but our pilots and Bombardier and navigators come back from the mission over Germany as a Red Cross Club 'mobile waiting on the field ready with coffee and doughnuts ready with friendliness when they've in so many of these missions that the men of the plane crews must have a rest they go to a Red Cross rest Club man who's worried by bad news from home or on no news loses his efficiency the Red Cross field director is a link between that man and his family is his illness or other worries at home not enough money to meet the emergency the Red Cross helps out whenever our men get leave in combat areas the Red Cross is on hand they establish homes away from home with clean beds in American food reading rooms and recreation facilities get news from home through the Red Cross field director you read the hometown paper shoot some pool play some ping-pong dance with an American Girl pilot ray with food that's not GI is much different from K writing in Melbourne Australia every Sunday morning the Red Cross there's 3000 plates of ham and eggs the Army and Navy nurses Corps are recruited for the Red Cross the Red Cross trains the nurse's aides who release graduate nurses for war Duty the special recreation program in hospitals teaches the men new skills helping take their minds off their pain their disablement well American has taken prisoner the Red Cross never stops trying to get them food and male blood plasma that gift of our blood to our men and administered for the Medical Corps is collected by Red Cross blood banks a blood donor gives a pint of blood at one time frequently wounded man needs several quarts of precious plasma to restore life and one of our men is wounded surgical dressings for his wounds are supplied by Red Cross those bandages and swabs and compresses that American women are rolling and folding all over this country reach the wounded through the indispensable Army and Navy Medical Corps all this and much more the American Red Cross is doing for our men at home and abroad 1944 is the invasion year that means more blood plasma more bandages for our wounded more aid and comfort for our prisoners of war more aid to our fighters and their families your generous gift is needed to carry on this work ninety cents out of every dollar will go to the service of the men and women of our armed forces the Red Cross is a fair side and the Red Cross is you regardless of whether you've already given remember the need is greater than ever make a generous donation in this theater now
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