The Battle of Gettysburg

An MGM Short Subject.

THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG in 1863 was a turning point in America's history.

This short film, narrated by Leslie Nielsen, relates the story of the great pivotal battle during the War Between The States. Dispassionate & evenhanded, it deals with its subject in a noncontroversial manner. Touching upon each of the major aspects of the days of engagement, the film ends with Abraham Lincoln's beautiful Gettysburg Address.

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Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.

This bizarre little educational short attempts to tell the story of the battle of Gettysburg without a single live actor appearing on screen. Leslie Nielsen narrates as we are treated to footage of empty fields, cannons, and statues of Civil War Heroes. Some sequences are quite informative, though a long way from being entertaining. This is probably a film better suited to Civil War enthusiasts than the average viewer.

I noticed something very strange about this film when I looked on IMDb--it was nominated in two different categories for an Oscar (Best Short, Two Reels and Best Documentary Short). It is very odd that it was nominated twice--that's for sure.

Leslie Nielsen narrates this odd retelling of history. I say odd because no live actors are used in the film...none! It was filmed at Gettysburg and the sound effects of war and the narration were all supplemented with pictures of the battlefield as well as statues and art (such as from the Gettysburg Cyclorama) from this national battlefield memorial and the nearby country. While this may sound pretty dumb, it worked pretty well--mostly because the sound effects and storytelling were very compelling. A highly unusual film that will likely appeal mostly to Civil War buffs and history teachers. See it for yourself and let me know what you think.

Imagine the dry, didactic verbiage of your fourth grade history textbook come to life, set to still images of the illustrations within the book that occasionally cut to shots of famous memorial statues and on-location pans of Gettysburg, and you have The Battle of Gettysburg. If you recall those days in high school history class, where the teacher would lecture you about history you've already memorized and regurgitated enough times to be able to author a textbook about the events and your experiences learning said material, The Battle of Gettysburg might trigger post-traumatic stress disorder that even the glorious colors and wide-angle camera lens of early CinemaScope, nor Leslie Nielsen's soothing narration, couldn't cure. The approach director Herman Hoffman and writer Dore Schary take is one of incredibly redundant, historical prose, that lacks any kind of emotional attachment to the battle and the noteworthy figures that were involved, let alone sacrificed, in Gettysburg. Shockingly dry and almost unbearably long at thirty minutes, it's stunning to see such acclaim for a short that would've probably drove kids batty and restless if shown in schools.

Narrated by: Leslie Nielsen. Directed by: Herman Hoffman.

This is a no-frills, no-thrills and no-action short documentary about The Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The July 1-3, 1863 battle was considered a key battle in the war. It was the largest and bloodiest by far. More than 165,000 Union and Confederate troops were engaged. And it had more than 50,000 casualties.

MGM sent a crew to, Pennsylvania, to film the Gettysburg National Military Park. Dore Schary wrote the script for this dry documentary. It uses voice over and background war sounds. Leslie Nielsen tells the story of the battle as the camera moves from one place to another.

This is a bare-bones documentary that won't appeal to many people. But what I especially like and credit the film industry for, is its shooting of real places of history for posterity. This 30-minute short picture did get two Oscar nominations.

Those who like history, scenic places and travel should enjoy this brief glimpse of Gettysburg. Of course nothing beats going there when one can.