Documentary about the construction of the Stilwell Road - originally called The Ledo Road - a 478-mile passage from Assam, India, to Ledo, Burma, during World War II.Documentary about the construction of the Stilwell Road - originally called The Ledo Road - a 478-mile passage from Assam, India, to Ledo, Burma, during World War II.Documentary about the construction of the Stilwell Road - originally called The Ledo Road - a 478-mile passage from Assam, India, to Ledo, Burma, during World War II.
Photos
Ronald Reagan
- Self - Narrator
- (voice)
Harold Alexander
- Self - Reads Map
- (archive footage)
- (as Gen. Harold Alexander)
John Allison
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as Col. John Allison)
Claude Auchinleck
- Self - Studies Map with Wavell
- (archive footage)
- (as Gen. Sir Claude Auchinleck)
Alan Brooke
- Self - in Conference at Quebec
- (archive footage)
Claire Chennault
- Self - Leaves Car
- (archive footage)
- (as Gen. Claire Chenault)
Kai-Shek Chiang
- Self
- (archive footage)
Winston Churchill
- Self - at Quebec with FDR
- (archive footage)
Philip Cochran
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as Col. Philip Cochran)
Ernest J. King
- Self - in Conference at Quebec
- (archive footage)
William D. Leahy
- Self - in Conference at Quebec
- (archive footage)
Douglas MacArthur
- Self - with Nimitz
- (archive footage)
George C. Marshall
- Self - in Conference at Quebec
- (archive footage)
Frank Merrill
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as Brig. Gen. Frank Merrill)
Louis Mountbatten
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as Adm. Lord Louis Mountbaten)
Chester W. Nimitz
- Self - with MacArthur
- (archive footage)
William D. Old
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as Brig. Gen. William D. Old)
Lewis A. Pick
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as Col. Lewis A. Pick)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film received its initial telecast Monday 26 November 1945 on New York City's pioneer television station WNBT (Channel 1).
Featured review
Horrific task surmounted by unsubduable will.
An excellent tribute to the 63000 men who constructed the 478 mile road from Ledo, Assam, into East Burma, this documentary depicts many of the extraordinary achievements of military engineering required for the passage's completion, a 26 month ordeal completed in 1945 by bordering massive gorges, overstriding raging rapids and invading some of the world's most impenetrable jungles, with a cost of many lives and 150 million dollars. "We got run out of Burma, and it is humiliating as Hell", early in the film states "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, Commander of troops in the CBI (China-Burma-India) Theatre, and the veteran warrior, serving as Chiang Kai-shek's chief of staff returned with a vengeance at the head of his doughty troops, aided later appreciably by personnel from Australia, New Zealand and India under the leadership of British General Ord Wingate, whom we see just prior to his final, fatal flight. Incisively edited, and briskly narrated by Ronald Reagan, the 51 minute work reveals the ongoing testing endured by the construction crews (28000 engineers), in addition to support personnel such as medical staff, maintenance workers for the heavy machinery, et alia, and is replete with combat footage recording the manner in which the original Ledo Road was expanded into the Stilwell Road (renamed in 1945 by Chiang Kai-shek) despite vigourous Japanese opposition, enabling crucial supplies to move from India to China.
helpful•141
- rsoonsa
- Apr 12, 2003
Details
- Runtime51 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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