Best Documentary Movies of 1942

A depiction of life in wartime England during the Second World War. Director Humphrey Jennings visits many aspects of civilian life and of the turmoil and privation caused by the war, all without narration.

John Ford splices together footage of Torpedo Squadron 8, all but one of whom were later shot down and killed in the Battle of Midway.

Winning Your Wings is a 1942 short American World War II recruitment film produced by Warner Bros. Studios for the US Army Air Forces, starring Jimmy Stewart. It was aimed at young men who were thinking about joining the Air Force.

This short looks at the illness anthropophobia, the fear of people. In 1901, young Catherine Starr, who lives in a small English coastal town, has an argument with her fiancé. He leaves her house, goes off to serve in the Boer War, and dies of malaria. Catherine blames herself for his death and fears others will also blame her. She does not leave her house for forty years. Groceries are delivered to the house, but no one sees who retrieves them. When the Nazis bomb her house in September 1941, she is forced to cope with the outside world.

This Passing Parade series entry looks at three instances of people who either caused or were the victims of errors.

This short film shows U.S. Marines in training at a number of unidentified bases, with a focus on hand-to-hand combat.

This Vitaphone 'Technicolor Special' (production number 8001) portrays the behind-the-scenes story of the building and manning, during World War Two, of the USA supply line to Victory against the Axis powers, the United States Merchant Marine service.

No information available regarding the film's director. Just under 10 minutes of over an hour's footage survive.

1942 Oscar nominated documentary