1941
Movie, 1979, The '70s, Set in Los Angeles after Pearl Harbor
1941 is #5 of 35 in release order and #5 of 35 in chronological order in the Steven Spielberg.
The story
In the days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, panic grips California, where a military officer leads a mob chasing a Japanese sub.
1941 recap
1941 (1979) is a slapstick comedy set in Los Angeles six days after Pearl Harbor, when a Japanese submarine surfaces offshore and the city panics. Steven Spielberg directs a script by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. Commander Akiro Mitamura (Toshiro Mifune) and a German observer, Captain von Kleinschmidt (Christopher Lee), decide to hit Hollywood. On shore, a tank crew under Sergeant Frank Tree (Dan Aykroyd) includes the hothead Corporal Chuck Sitarski (Treat Williams), who clashes with diner dishwasher Wally Stephens (Bobby Di Cicco) over Betty Douglas (Dianne Kay) and a jitterbug contest. Her father Ward (Ned Beatty) gets an anti-aircraft gun in his front yard. Captain Wild Bill Kelso (John Belushi), a reckless pilot, hunts for the enemy, and an aide, Captain Loomis Birkhead (Tim Matheson), takes Donna Stratton (Nancy Allen), who is aroused by aircraft, up in a bomber. A dance hall riot spills into a night of friendly fire. 1941 follows Close Encounters and precedes Raiders of the Lost Ark.
1941 ending explained
1941 ends with the morning after the chaos. The submarine trades fire with Ward's gun, and a hit sends the amusement park's Ferris wheel rolling into the sea. The tank charges onto the pier and plunges into the water, and Kelso swims to the submarine and demands to be taken to Tokyo; the crew obliges. General Stilwell (Robert Stack) arrives at the wrecked Douglas house, Ward hangs a Christmas wreath on his door and the remains of the house slide down the hill. Stilwell tells Tree it is going to be a long war.
Post-credits scenes
No. 1941 has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch 1941
1941 is streaming on Fawesome in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 5.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes 37%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Close Encounters of the Third Kind, before Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- Chronological order: after Close Encounters of the Third Kind, before Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Cast
- Dan Aykroyd as Sgt. Frank Tree
- Ned Beatty as Ward Douglas
- John Belushi as Capt. Wild Bill Kelso
- Lorraine Gary as Joan Douglas
- Murray Hamilton as Claude Crumn
- Christopher Lee as Capt. Wolfgang von Kleinschmidt
- Tim Matheson as Capt. Loomis Birkhead
- Toshirō Mifune as Cmdr. Akiro Mitamura
- Warren Oates as Col. 'Madman' Maddox
- Robert Stack as Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell
- Treat Williams as Cpl. Chuck 'Stretch' Sitarski
- Nancy Allen as Donna Stratton
Directed by Steven Spielberg.