Video: Leningrad trams resume operations (at 6:53)
(Wednesday, April 15, 1942, on the Eastern Front of World War II) — The Leningrad tram system resumed operation today, the 248th day of the Siege of Leningrad, after several months of being down for lack of power.
Video: India rejects dominion status offer (at :35)
(Saturday, April 11, 1942) — Dominant Hindu and Moslem (Muslim) parties today rejected Britain’s offer of dominion status after the war and Sir Stafford Cripps, special emissary of the British war cabinet, announced the proposal he had bought from London had been withdrawn.
Image: Japanese tanks and infantry advance through Bataan jungle
(Friday, April 3, 1942, during the Pacific theater of World War II) — Japanese forces today began their final assault on Bataan against American and Filipino troops who surrendered six days later; the capitulation was followed by the notorious Bataan Death March.
Video: MacArthur 'I shall return' speech re-enacted (at 4:00)
(Friday, March 20, 1942, during World War II) — General Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, made his famous speech regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he says: “I came out of Bataan and I shall return.”
Video: MacArthur in Australia (at 10:39)
(Tuesday, March 17, 1942, during World War II) — General Douglas MacArthur today became Supreme Commander of the United Nations forces in the Southwestern Pacific.
This dramatic shift of command and promotion for the dashing officer who has held the Japanese at bay on the Island of Luzon for three months and ten days was announced by the War Department simultaneously with his arrival in Australia.
Video: '49th Parallel' trailer
(Thursday, March 5, 1942) — 49th Parallel, a film about a stranded German U-boat crew that tries to evade capture in Canada during World War II, premiered tonight in New York (it had already premiered in London on Oct. 8, 1941).
Directed by Michael Powell, the film stars Leslie Howard, Laurence Olivier and Raymond Massey.
(Saturday, February 28, 1942, during World War II) — The heavy cruiser USS Houston and the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth came under attack today by Japanese forces during Battle of Sunda Strait in the Netherlands East Indies. Both were sunk shortly after midnight. The Houston lost 693 men while the Perth lost 353.
(Thursday, February 26, 1942) — How Green Was My Valley, the story of Welsh coalminers in changing times, was named Best Picture of 1941 (beating out Citizen Kane) tonight at the 14th Academy Awards at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The film’s director, John Ford, also won for Best Director.
Gary Cooper (Sergeant York) won Best Actor while Joan Fontaine (Suspicion) won Best Actress.
'To Be or Not to Be' trailer
(Sunday, February 15, 1942) — To Be or Not to Be, a comedy about a troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying troops, premiered tonight in Los Angeles.
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, the film stars Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack, Felix Bressart, Lionel Atwill, Stanley Ridges and Sig Ruman. The film was released two months after actress Carole Lombard was killed in an airplane crash.
'Kings Row' clip
(Monday, February 2, 1942) — Kings Row, a story of young people growing up in a small American town at the turn of the twentieth century, beset by social pressure, dark secrets, and the challenges and tragedies one must face as a result of these hard facts, premiered tonight at the Astor in New York City.
Directed by Sam Wood, the film stars Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, and future U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Reagan and most film critics considered Kings Row his best movie.
