677. 25 December, 1946

Jim continues to dominate!

In memoriam. As we say goodbye to 1946 (tomorrow we'll visit 1947!) we also must bid farewell to this man. On the whole, he'd rather be in Philadelphia.

676. Fall, 1946

Jim got #675!

Early rumblings of troubles to come: who is this?

675. South Africa, 1946

Amy & Jim got #674!

Violence and tragedy brought these two men together.

674. At the Movies, 1946

Jim got #673!

People who think post-war film was all family values and apple pie clearly didn't see this one.

673. Texarkana, 1946

DesiLinguist got #672!

Between February and May, 1946, Texarkana was petrified by a serial killer. He was never identified with certainty. Although some people he attacked did survive, no one saw his face because he wore a very creepy hood.

672. U.S., 1946

Jim got #671!

Widely assumed to be the first programmable computer (it isn't; see #586, back in 1941). But it is still impressive, and introduces the computer age to the US. It has 17,468 vacuum tubes (that keep burning out) and reads punchcards.

671. 1946

#670 is a forgotten film!

Who is this?

670. Arabia, 1946

Jim got #669!

This girl was separated from her father by the war, but now she's made a new friend.

669. U.S., 1946

Nora got #668!

Who is this?

668. South Carolina, 1946

Nora & Jim got #667!

Next film!

667. London, 1946

Jim got #666!

Here's our next film. Let's try it with no hints. OK, maybe we need a hint. His wife was once mistress to a dashing writer. Unfortunately, he has come back around...
Second look!

666. 1946

Nora got #665!

Given where we are, I thought this next film might be appropriate. He's going to give someone a second chance to make, well, bad...

665. Maine, 1946

Jim got #664!

Now that the war period is over we'll be moving along a bit more quickly, at least for a while. And we start with...

Born this year: Diane Keaton, David Lynch, Gene Siskel, Gregory Hines, Tyne Daly, Alan Rickman, Barry Bostwick, Liza Minelli, Timothy Dalton, Tim Curry, Talia Shire, Candice Bergen, Cher, the Donald, Sylvester Stallone, Cheech Marin, Linda Ronstadt, Tommy Lee Jones, Oliver Stone, Suzanne Somers, Sally Field, Patty Duke, Steven Spielberg, and Susan Lucci!

664. At the Movies, 1945

Nora got #663!

The daughter may be pretty, but she's ungrateful, haughty, greedy, and licentious. She wants to be a singer.

663. Napa Valley, 1945

Jim got #662!

This veteran gets more than he bargained for when he offers to help a young woman in trouble.

662. Cleveland, 1945

Jim got #661!

Families and friends were reunited, but much had changed over the years. Kids had grown into young men, wives had strayed. Everyone had to adjust.

661. New York, 1945

Jim got #660!

After the war, soldiers came home to marry their girlfriends and work on the Baby Boomer generation (and sometimes to work in their fathers' businesses).

U.S., 14 Aug. 1945

"But now the war has lasted for nearly four years. Despite the best that has been done by everyone-the gallant fighting of the military and naval forces, the diligence and assiduity of our servants of the State and the devoted service of our 100,000,000 people-the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage, while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interest. "Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, it would not only result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization." --Emperor Hirohito's radio broadcast, announcing the unconditional surrender of the Empire of Japan

Japan, 6 Aug. 1945

U.S., 8 May 1945

V-E DAY!

Berlin, 30 Apr. 1945

No other event in human history has inspired as many films as World War II. Since 1939 we've seen 75 films about the war, and yet there are many, many others. All too often Hollywood enhances a story to make it more dramatic, but WWII films have the opposite problem--it's difficult to accurately depict something so massive, and some aspects of the war we prefer not to remember. Consequently we'll count down the final days of the war with actual images, and by tomorrow, it will all be over.

The Russians took Berlin and the world turned a blind eye to what happened there next. This famous photo was actually staged--according to witnesses, the Reichstag was not taken until after 11:00 pm and this photo was obviously taken in the daytime. You can see Russian troops below and there is no fighting. Nevertheless, the image is as famous as the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima. One might also think of it as a sonogram for the Cold War.

660. Germany, Apr. 1945

Jim recogized #659!

The Russians have surrounded Berlin and within days the city will fall. The brutality the Russians have visited on German citizens leaves little doubt what fate will befall those who cannot escape. Hitler makes his last public appearance to a group of young boys before disappearing into his bunker for the last time. (Foreign film).

659. Germany, Mar. 1945

Jim got #658!

The Allies attempt to take over a bridge on the Rhine--if the Germans don't destroy it first. With the Allies in Germany and Japan, can the end of the war be far away?

Iwo Jima, 23 Feb. 1945

There are a number of memorable images from 1945. This is one of them. Only three of the six men raising the flag will survive the war. Those three men appear with John Wayne in the movie Sands of Iwo Jima (see #658 below--that's them in the picture).

658. Pacific Theater, Feb. 1945

Amy & DesiLinguist got #657!

The Allies are now only 650 miles from Tokyo. This sergeant is tough on his men, but they'll have to be tough to survive the enemy strategy: fight from tunnels underground don't plan on surviving kill 10 Americans for each one of their own deaths.

657. Philippines, Jan. 1945

Jim & Nora got #656!

The Allies launched a daring rescue of some POWs.

656. Augsburg, Jan. 1945

Jim got #655!

This picture looks like a remake of Hogan's Heroes, but it's not.

Welcome to

Born this year: Victoria Principal, Tom Selleck, Mia Farrow, Dirk Benedict, Linda Hunt, Priscilla Presley, Steve Martin, Henry Winkler, Goldie Hawn, and Better Midler!

655. France, 25 Dec. 1944

Jim got #654!

Our last film for 1944...

654. Europe, Dec. 1944

Jim got #653!

Hitler sent a quarter million troops across an 85-mile stretch of the Allied front, from southern Belgium into Luxembourg.

653. U.S., Oct. 1944

Jim got #652!

This couple left the Red Skelton Show to start their own radio program.

652. The Netherlands, Sept. 1944

Nora got #651!

This is one of many men involved in Operation Market Garden, an attempt to secure some strategic bridges. If they succeed, the war could be over by Christmas.

651. Scotland, 1944

Nora & Nathan busted up Jim's streak of 9 in a row! Can they go 2 for 2?

War is Hell!

650. Poland, 1944

Jim got #649!

This captive says that the Russians are coming to liberate the camp--he heard it on the radio!

649. 1944

Jim got #648! He's answered 8 in a row!

Here's a sergeant who doesn't quite know how to handle his back-woods Georgia draftees.

648. The Pacific, 1944

Jim got #647!

"Why, I could just scream!"

647. Europe, June 1944

Nora & Jim tied on #646!

The Germans have a heavy water plant in Norway, which they're using to develop an atomic bomb. Their mission: blow it up.

646. Mariana Islands, 15 June 1944

Jim got #645!

By now Allied advances in the Pacific resulted in the capture of the Solomon Islands, the Gilbert Islands, the Marshall Islands and the Papuan peninsula of New Guinea. This brought the Allies up against the main Japanese defense line in the Pacific: the Caroline Islands, Palau Islands and Mariana Islands. If the Allies took the Marianas, then Tokyo would be in striking distance.

645. Omaha Beach, 6 June 1944

Jim got #644!

Despite heavy losses, the Allies carried the day.

644. Omaha Beach, 6 June 1944

Nora & Jim got #643!

At another part of Omaha beach, a WWI veteran leads his troops into battle.

643. Omaha Beach, 6 June 1944

Jim got #642!

The highly anticipated Allied attack finally came in Normandy--Operation Overlord...

642. Occupied France, May 1944

Jim got #641!

The Germans know the Allies are planning an attack--they just don't know when or where. So they have a plan: take a captured soldier, make him appear aged, and convince him he has amnesia and the war is over. Once he's convinced, he'll talk about the US strategy. Clever idea, but will it work?

641. UK, May 1944

Nora & Roy got #640!

American soldiers flooded the UK in the weeks leading up to D-Day. Inevitably there were culture clashes with the Brits.