''Men Against the Arctic'' is a 1955 American

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

directed by

Winston Hibler Winston Murray Hunt Hibler (October 8, 1910 – August 8, 1976) was an American screenwriter, film producer, director and narrator associated with Walt Disney Studios. Biography and career Hibler was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Octob ...

. It was part of Disney's '' People & Places'' series. It won an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

at the

28th Academy Awards The 28th Academy Awards were held on March 21, 1956 to honor the films of 1955, at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, California. At just 90 minutes, '' Marty'' became the shortest film to win Best Picture, as well as the second to have ...

in 1956 for Documentary Short Subject. It was also entered into the

6th Berlin International Film Festival The 6th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 June to 3 July 1956. The FIAPF granted the festival the "A status" during this year, which was previously only reserved for Cannes and Venice. The awards for the first time, we ...

Overview

The short film describes the

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

ships of the era, used to break through thick

pack ice Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...

off the coast of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

. The narrator describes the processes through which helicopters perform reconnaissance missions to avoid the icebreakers encountering large icebergs and other obstacles. The difficultly in making large deliveries by ship to base stations, such as

Thule Thule ( grc-gre, Θούλη, Thoúlē; la, Thūlē) is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek and Latin literature, Roman literature and cartography. Modern interpretations have included Orkney, Shet ...

, is shown through the film's dramatic filmography of Arctic glaciers and icebergs, highlighting too the remote nature of the work.

Cast

as Narrator (voice)

References

External links

*
''Men Against the Arctic''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* 1955 films 1955 short films 1955 documentary films 1950s short documentary films American short documentary films Best Documentary Short Subject Academy Award winners Disney documentary films Documentary films about the Arctic Films produced by Ben Sharpsteen Films produced by Walt Disney Films scored by Oliver Wallace Disney short films Films with screenplays by Winston Hibler Films directed by Winston Hibler 1950s English-language films 1950s American films {{arctic-stub