UNITED NEWS [Series Title]

Edition of US-produced wartime newsreel, featuring the bitter fighting in Manila, capital of the Philippines; the charitable collection of clothes for donation to overseas refugees; preliminary discussions before the 1945 San Francisco conference on world security, and progress of American forces fighting into Germany at Cologne and Remagen.

Part 1: no United News main titles. 'Manila entirely freed in savage last-ditch battle'; high wide shot over Manila with the Pasig River and the Quezon Bridge in the foreground and large buildings, including Manila City Hall, and palls of smoke in the background. Looking down on a group of American infantry advancing cautiously along the outside of the Rizal stadium. Troops inside the stadium. Group of troops sheltering close to a bank of stadium seating. Two Sherman medium tanks, one named 'A.P.O Tokyo' [Army Post Office], on the overground stadium pitch and firing their machine guns (at enemy targets within the stadium?). Different angle shows a stadium dug-out (?) under fire. A wounded man is carried away, the tanks still firing in the background. 'A.P.O. Tokyo' passes close to camera; the tank's side is marked with an upward pointing chevron and the figure '4'. A dead Japanese soldier lying near a small wheeled cart, with American troops sheltering by a nearby wall. High wide shot showing Manila City Hall under fire. View from the rear of a self-propelled gun firing across a river (the River Pasig?); the shell's impact can be seen in the distance. Looking down on a tank firing its main gun. A large two-storey building is struck by a phosphorous shell. A heavy field gun is fired across the river. Another large building, this one featuring a tall column or chimney, is hit (Manila City Hall can be seen in the background). More shelling, including with phosphorous. An anti-tank gun is fired. View of the building with chimney from a window; the chimney is hit by a shell but does not collapse. Anti-tank gun. A small building is shelled; a hoarding in the background reads 'Insular ice plant and cold storage'. An American (gunner?) looking through binoculars. American gunners firing a heavy gun at almost zero elevation (i.e. at close range); a man sitting on the gun's trail grins as the gun's recoil bounces him up and down. Shell impacts in the distance. American infantry on the roof of a building with Manila City Hall in the background. Distant shot, apparently showing Japanese running across open ground near the City Hall. The infantry fire at them. Large riverfront building, smouldering, with American assault boats crossing the river. Group watching, one with binoculars. The troops in the boats reach the far bank. Infantry shelter by a wall. A flamethrower operator torches a suspected Japanese position. An infantryman uses a phosphorous grenade. The curved frontage of the Manila Post Office, with troops moving inside. A building with a loudspeaker mounted on its roof, with a flag flying. American walking wounded and stretcher cases. Wide shot; troops near the City Hall suddenly take cover. Treating a casualty with an intravenous drip. Close-up face of the wounded man; a dressing is held to his head. Further heavy shelling. Infantry (37th Infantry Division?) going forward, including a flamethrower operator. Entering the walled city of Intramuros. Clearing bunkers with grenades. A number of Japanese corpses. High wide shot showing a pontoon footbridge across the Pasig. Philippino civilians cross the bridge, some carrying small children, and including two elderly nuns. Close-ups of civilian refugees including children. A soldier gives a child a drink; the child is lying on a dirty mattress amongst rubble. Dead civilians lying in the street; with close-ups showing their hands tied behind their backs. View of the city from an aircraft showing devastation. At Corregidor General Douglas MacArthur comes ashore. He is saluted by troops and gives an address. A United States flag is hoisted.

Part 2: '75,000 tons of US clothing for liberated peoples'; a berthed ship with clothing being loaded aboard. View of cargo net with sacks marked 'UNRRA'. Domestic interior; a civilian family pick clothes and shoes that can be donated and pack them into cardboard boxes. At a warehouse donations are sorted. At the offices of the United National Clothing Collection, shipbuilding magnate Henry Kaiser holds a placard 'What can you spare that they can wear?' and a poster with the same slogan and a poster featuring a photograph of two young boys dressed in rags.

Part 3: 'San Francisco plans for United Nations parley'; high wide view of San Francisco, looking towards San Francisco Bay. View of a broad diagonal street, possibly Market Street, and the Bay Bridge. Views of buildings in San Francisco, including the War Memorial Buildings, San Francisco City Hall and the Golden Gate Bridge. In Washington D.C. an interior; a meeting with Edward Stettinius, US Secretary of State and six others in attendance. The group enter the White House for discussions with President Roosevelt in the Oval Office. Close-up; Stettinius addresses the camera and speaks of the British, American, Chinese and Soviet proposals made at Dumbarton Oaks, and his confidence in a settlement for world security from the San Francisco conference.

Part 4: 'Allied armies push on after Rhine crossing'; wide shot, view of Cologne cathedral in foggy conditions. American infantry of First Army follow a group of Sherman medium tanks. A Sherman emerges from a cloud of smoke, passing a stationary No.3 tram (apparently on the Heumarkt route) near a large bridge with low arches. American troops remove a large girder from the road. The tram is towed along by a Sherman. View through a window showing a street and a spreading cloud of dust. Telephoto view of a street with dust and a building collapsing. A figure walks across a road, apparently calm despite tracer fire close to him, suddenly breaking into a run after a particularly close burst. American infantry going forward. An American soldier, whose helmet has a large gouge taken from it by a near miss or ricochet, speaks on a field telephone. Close-up of his damaged helmet. Soldier with binoculars. A telephoto shot shows a stationary and smoking German Panther tank with its turret trained towards the cameraman's position; the tank's crew are seen bailing out and running away as further gunfire hits the tank and sets it on fire. A view from the same position (though taken with a wider-angle lens); camera pans from the still-burning Panther tank to the twin spires of Cologne cathedral which loom close by. Alternative view of Cologne (round face on street level). At Remagen; wide view of the captured Ludendorff bridge. American personnel and light vehicles crossing the bridge. An M10 Wolverine tank destroyer with the bridge in the background. A half-track passes. A quadruple 20mm anti-aircraft gun in action. Wide shot of the bridge with a bomb landing in the river. German prisoners are marched away under guard. United News end title (only four frames).

35mm