page_title: First Motion Picture Unit
section_title: Life at Fort Roach
hierarchical_section_title: First Motion Picture Unit / Life at Fort Roach
caption_attribution_description: English: Captain Ronald Reagan in the Army Air Force working for the 1st Motion Picture Unit in Culver City, California. 1943-44.
context_page_description: The First Motion Picture Unit, later 18th AAF Base Unit, was the primary film production unit of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, and was the first military unit made up entirely of professionals from the film industry. It produced more than 400 propaganda and training films, which were notable for being informative as well as entertaining. Films for which the unit is known include Resisting Enemy Interrogation, Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress and The Last Bomb—all of which were released in theatres. Veteran actors such as Clark Gable, William Holden, Clayton Moore, Ronald Reagan, and DeForest Kelley, and directors such as John Sturges served with the FMPU. The unit also produced training films and trained combat cameramen. FMPU personnel served with distinction during World War II.
  First Motion Picture Unit is also the eponymous title of a 1943 self-produced documentary about the unit narrated by radio and television announcer Ken Carpenter.
context_section_description: Personnel assigned to the FMPU included some of the most well known film professionals of the day, as well as filmmakers who would have great success after the war. Actors such as Clark Gable, William Holden and Alan Ladd, and directors including Richard L. Bare and John Sturges served with the unit. Future president Ronald Reagan, who transferred from the cavalry reserve, was a captain in the unit. He was the personnel officer and was responsible for maintaining personnel files and orienting new recruits to the operational aspects of Fort Roach. Later he was appointed adjutant. Like the other notable actors Reagan appeared in the films produced by the unit, but to avoid distracting the audience they were eventually relegated to narrating the films.
  The FMPU was unique in comparison to other military units in the methods employed to obtain recruits. Many members were well into middle age and unsuitable for combat duty. Few of the men in the FMPU were ever sent to a war zone. Due to its special mission, the unit was able to bypass the normal recruiting channels and was empowered to draft directly. Basic Training was not as rigorous as that experienced by most servicemen. According to former unit member Howard Landres, Basic Training was mandatory, "but it wasn’t the basic-basic."
  Military decorum at Fort Roach was less formal than in most units. Saluting was optional, and unit members called each other by their first names. Hal Roach Studios did not have barracks, so commuting from home was commonplace. Men from out of the area were billeted at nearby Page Military Academy.
caption: Capt. Ronald Reagan at Fort Roach
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