Polar Outpost (1957) User Reviews

DEW Line

[boblipton · 5/10 · 18 June 2023]

This late RKO short is about the Defense Early Warning Line, it's purpose, its building, and its operation.... should it ever be needed.

With ten minutes to cover its subject, it bookends the building of one DEW outpost, stressing the difficulty of getting supplies to the Canadian tundra, confronted by cold water and lack of roads, utterly inaccessible to humanity.... and here come the neighbors, Inuits, to pay a social call.

This short bounces along, never emphasizing the humor in those two statements, but concentrates on the food provided by onsite cooks, with an emphasis on doughnuts and the constant training.

The genius behind the "Spruce Goose" blows the whistle . . .

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 15 December 2018]

. . . against yet ANOTHER U.S. Military boondoggle with this cleverly constructed live-action short, POLAR OUTPOST. On its surface, POLAR OUTPOST pretends to be a videotaped letter home from a USAF "Captain Dick" to his construction contractor dad. However, taken at face value, Dick is the wordiest dullard in the history of podcasts, droning on and on with expository clauses connected by the occasional "meanwhile." Dick spools such drivel as "I mentally tip my cap," "Assignments such as mine require lots of dedication," and "It may be sacrilege to say that the cooks here make donuts better than Mom's." After a lengthy, condescending, and Racist visit to the village formerly known as "Nome," POLAR OUTPOST concludes with the USAF purposely shooting down one of its own $11 million target drones (or $1.5 billion, adjusted for inflation). As the teenager who landed his Piper Cub at the Kremlin's gate to Red Square proved a few years back, the Myth of Russian Military Might has now been used for about 75 years to bleed American resources dry while lining the pockets of Fat Cat One Per Center "defense contractors." POLAR OUTPOST simply represents another Brick in the Wall of America's Tomb.

Spirited Examination Of An Arctic Radar Installation

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 10 January 2001]

An RKO-PATHÉ Short Subject.

Standing near the top of the world, silent & strong, the POLAR OUTPOST is but one of a string of fortresses waiting for the approach of the flying enemy. Ever vigilant, armed to the teeth, its mere presence allows peaceful Americans & Canadians to sleep well, knowing that their airborne bodyguard never slumbers.

This well-made & exciting 1957 documentary gave many North Americans their first look at the remarkable DEW (Distant Early Warning) Line, the air bases maintained near the Arctic Circle, in full cooperation between America & Canada, to guard against possible air attack over the North Pole from the Soviet Union. The film looks at the development of one typical base, as seen through the letter home of American Air Force Captain Richard Crane, from the initial selection of the site - right down to the eventual output of its bountiful kitchen. Some of the difficulties in maintaining a modern military community under such harsh environmental conditions are also examined.

Made with the full cooperation of the United States Air Force, Eisenhower Era audiences were reminded by POLAR OUTPOST how their defense tax dollars were being well spent.

Worth Checking Out

[Michael_Elliott · 4 December 2009]

Polar Outpost (1957)

*** (out of 4)

Surprisingly entertaining look at the Dew (Distant Early Warning) System, which was one of the many programs made by the U.S. during the Cold War to throw off any possible surprise attacks by Russia. I was really shocked at how entertaining this thing was as there have been quite a few shorts from RKO-Pathe that had interesting ideas but the execution was a letdown. That's not the case here because this two-reeler really has some terrific images and a pretty interesting story as well. Instead of showing us the technical stuff behind the system, we instead get to see what all it took to put it in place. We see the arctic being ripped apart so that airplanes could land. We see the shores having rocks removed or blown out of the water so that ships could come in. We see the houses built, the chefs brought in to cook and various other items like this to make life possible for those brought in to protect the country. All of this makes for some great entertainment and makes this worth spending fifteen-minutes on.