Admirable film.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

. . . while the other was sentenced to eight years in the White House shooting gallery. That's the story of THE REAR GUNNER, where Burgess Meredith is blasting away at the Enemy, and Ronald Reagan is just his pilot, along for the ride. It is men like Meredith's R.E.L.A. "Peewee" Williams who are presented as the REAL war heroes, "the budding Galahads of Gunnery." Though some of these "Freedom Fighters" seem to be in it primarily to improve their odds of winning carnival midway shooting gallery Kewpie doll prizes (like PeeWee's classmate, "Benny"), most of these "flexible gunners" were too small to make their high school football teams, making them the perfect fit for the cramped quarters of the B-24 bomber gunnery positions. PeeWee wins a Distinguished Service Medal for his success in launching sneak attacks from the rear position. He's shown here bringing down several Japanese Zero fighter planes, thanks to his boyhood pursuit of gunning down "black killer" crows in Kansas. (The latter were decimating the duck population.) One might sum up by saying that PeeWee won one (or two, or three) for the Gipper.

The Aircraft in the movie is a B-24 Liberator and not a B-17 Flying Fortress. The B-17 was the first long range heavy bomber used by the U.S.A.A.F. The B-24 could carry a heavier bomb load. The B-24 could fly longer range than the B-17, which is was designed to augment in the arsenal of air power. The rear gun position did not look as in the movie, but was probably used to allow the viewer to see Burgess Meredith. The top turret shown in the film was never used on the B-24 or the B-17. That turret would have been found on the Martin bomber of the 30s and not used afterwards. In several shots they also showed Lockheed Hudsons as the bomber being flown. Hudsons were used greatly by the Brits, especially in their "moonlight squadron" operations. Agents were flown in Hudsons to occupied territory in the Hudson, although this was not the only use for the Hudson. A multitude of craft were used to parachute them.

Following Pearl Harbor, Hollywood rushed to turn out films that would help to win the war. They produced more than features. There were countless cartoons and short subjects that were intended to inform the public, boost morale, encourage support of the Red Cross and other organizations that were helping at home and over seas or recruit men into the service. There were also films that were shown only to members of the armed forces. These films either trained them or entertained them."Rear Gunner" is one of the best examples of how Hollywood pitched in and worked to boost morale and also recruit men into the service. It has a mission and it does it with pride and a very solid conviction. This film is a real time machine of its era showing the American attitude towards the war. It is also interesting to get a glimpse of just what a rear gunner did and how he learned to do it.Burgess Meredith was one of the finest and most versatile film actors of the 20th century. Unfortunately most people today know him only for his appearance in the "Grumpy Old Men" films. In "Rear Gunner" he takes a part that is about as standard as they come. There's very little in the words to indicate anything about Pee-Wee's personality. But Meredith takes this shallow part and makes Pee-Wee a real guy. He's quiet and smart without a hint of arrogance, exactly the kind of guy Americans at least claimed to admire then. And Pee-Wee's gentle stutter works well because Meredith soft pedals it thus making it seem real."Rear Gunner" allows us to reach through the screen and touch the American mind from WWII. It also happens to be entertaining.

"A short film bout a B-17 gunner starring Burgess Meredith and Ronald Reagan. Approximately 20 minutes - B & W."I guess, back in 1943, you were supposed to join the armed forces after seeing this short film. It's pretty much a recruitment film. Meredith plays a stuttering soldier who finds his place as a rear gunner aboard a B-17. Ronald Reagan plays the part of the pilot.I found this film on a DVD of WWII films that I bought at Wal-Mart for about five dollars.It's a great film to make fun of with your friends. Just imagine all the lines from Rocky and Grumpy Old Men that you can quote while watching Meredith shoot down Japanese fighters over the Pacific.