How the OSS helped John Ford win an Oscar

John Ford already had multiple Academy Awards to his name when the United States entered World War II - three as Best Director for The Informer, Stagecoach, and The Grapes of Wrath. With the support of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the filmmaker, popularly-famed for his work with American Western legend John Wayne, went on to win two more for Best Documentary during the war for his films Battle of Midway and December 7.

Files recently unearthed in the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) CREST database help to illuminate Mr. Ford’s relationship with OSS Director William Donovan and his fellow military fans, who were eager to contribute to the lauded filmmaker’s war effort oeuvre.

As head of OSS’s photographic unit, Mr. Ford had a wide berth for his cinematic efforts, including permission to travel around the Atlantic for his documentary duty …

introductions to American diplomats in foreign lands …

state-of-the-art equipment …

and a full staff.

Shooting for his first wartime award-winning semi-documentary production, the eponymous Battle of Midway, took place during the namesake altercation in the early days of June 1942. A memorandum sent on May 27, 1942 alludes to the upcoming conflict, which it turned out had been found out by the American military in advance, allowing them enough heads up to get Ford onto a ship to the Pacific island - though he may not have known it himself.

“John Ford has gone on a little party with the Marines for about ten days,” wrote M.A. Jones to the Coordinator of Information. “This is very secret, as you know.”

The file includes a description and praise for Ford’s fortitude during the battle …

as well as a description of his wounds …

recommendations that the director be awarded the Purple Heart, for which Naval officers would soon be eligible and which he did receive …

and recommendations for a temporary promotion to Captain, for the ease of his filmmaking …

which he did not receive.

Of course, not all who heard of Ford’s involvement in the war effort were thrilled, like Ms. Agnes McCarthy, whose son was in the Army and seemingly not experiencing any of Ford’s rumored perks …

or actual wartime perks, like gasoline for his station wagon and a direct line to the head of OSS for his leave requests.

Positive responses to the Battle of Midway were very positive …

and led to a request that a film regarding the attack on Pearl Harbor also be produced. That request actually came from two individuals …

and a cinematically-optimized version of their letters appeared at the beginning of the film.

Initially deemed too long by the internal viewing audience …

the 80-minute long version of December 7th was reduced to 30 minutes and became the winner of an Academy Award. OSS, then, became a home to the temporary plaque provided to winners before the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science replaced the wartime awards with real metal ones, unavailable in the early forties due to strict military rationing.