Prof. Boerner's Explorations

Edited by Gerald Boerner

    
Commentary:

I look back at the movies of the World War II era (1939-1946) and think of two types of movies — the military-sponsored “propaganda” movies about the war effort and the few great movies like Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, the Maltese Falcon and Citizen Kane. Yes, I enjoyed watching the former type of move on DVD or late night movie channels, but I really love watching watching the latter group even more. They show excellence in production and plot. They featured great actors and actresses like Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Between the great screenwriting, iconic phrases, and images of the exotic make these movies hard to put out of one’s mind.

I often wish that today’s movies were produced with such care to the use of light and shadows, the emotions and interactions exhibited by the actors, and the great set design. Casablanca has all of these elements and more. It was a movie that rode on the shirtsleeves of historical events but was good entertainment at the same time. It won the Academy Award for Best Film in 1944 along with two other Oscars for Best Director (Michael Curtiz) and Best Writing/Screenplay (Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch).

What a contrast to many of our present-day movie blockbusters that rely upon CGI effects and gimmicks like 3D presentations. While these technologies have come a long way over the years and permit the movie maker to do some things that would otherwise be impossible. But I sometimes feel that these technologically-enhanced movies are done more to raise ticket prices than to produce a better movie. Perhaps its time to get back to good, solid moviemaking and shun some of the special effects. Time will tell what will happen.

But now let’s turn our attention to our exploration of the Oscar-winning movie, Casablanca. Play it again, Sam… GLB

These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2011 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved

[ 3553 Words ]
    

Quotations Related to Casablanca:

“If it’s December 1941 in Casablanca, what time is it in New York?”
— Howard Koch

“Well everybody in Casablanca has problems. Yours may work out.”
— Humphrey Bogart

“I was born when you kissed me. I died when you left me. I lived a few weeks while you loved me.”
— Humphrey Bogart

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Edited by Gerald Boerner

    
Commentary:

The story of the Tuskegee Airmen is one of the bright spots in the story about segregated minority military units during World War II. This unit was formed against the wishes of many of the Army Air Force leaders who thought that African American soldiers were did not have the intelligence to learn to fly. However, this group was formed and stationed in the middle of the Jim Crow south. They went through their preliminary training with the intent of “washing” them out before they completed their training.

However, Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady, took up their cause. To demonstrate her confidence in their ability, she took to the air with one of the Tuskegee pilots. Following the successful flight, the pressure was on the training personnel to have them complete their training and be deployed to escort duty in the North African invasion, Operation Torch.

They served brilliantly. Although some of the white pilots refused to allow them to escort their bombers on bombing missions, they gained the reputation of staying with their bombers in the face of German Luftwaffe pilots who attempted to down the bombers. It wasn’t long before they were being requested as escorts by the bomber crews. As the war moved north to the airfields in Italy. They continued flying their support missions and excelled once they were equipped with the new North American P-51 fighters. These planes allowed them to escort their bombers all the way into Germany and back.

You may have seen the excellent movie made that depicted the true heroics of these Tuskegee Airmen. Surviving members of the group were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor by President George W. Bush in recognition of their outstanding service.

But now it’s time to get into our exploration of the trials and successes of these Tuskegee Airmen… GLB

These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2011 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved

[ 3264 Words ]
    

Quotations Related to Veterans Day:

“I had an idea of who they were, but not to the extent of their contributions.”
— Captain Gonzales

“The more I learned about it, the more I knew that (flying) was what I wanted to do.”
— Captain Edwards, Recruiter

“Their story shouldn’t be reserved just for February. Their story should be celebrated throughout the year.”
— Captain Gonzales

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Edited by Gerald Boerner

Commentary

Due to injury, this commentary will be added later. Please check back. Thank you.  GLB

These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2010 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved

[ 3467 Words ]

Quotations Related to INVASION

“Each new generation is a fresh invasion of savages.”
— Hervey Allen

“An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.”
— Victor Hugo

“For a war correspondent to miss an invasion is like refusing a date with Lana Turner.”
— Robert Capa

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