From the World War I Centennial News Podcast

Spotlight on the Media: 'The Hello Girls' Documentary Executive Producer Jim Theres

In March 8th's edition of the World War I Centennial News Podcast, Episode 113, host Theo Mayer spoke with Jim Theres, executive producer of 'The Hello Girls,' about the remarkable history of these women and his acclaimed film highlighting their service. The following is a transcript of the interview, edited for clarity:  

Theo Mayer: And for our spotlight on the media segment, the Hello Girls has really become one of the great themes of interest for the WW1 Centennial. In 2017, author and historian Dr. Elizabeth Cobbs wrote a book about how, in 1918, the US Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France. They were masters of the latest technology, the telephone switchboards. General John J. Pershing, Commander of the American expeditionary force, demanded female wire experts when he discovered that the inexperienced doughboys were unable to keep him connected with the troops under fire. And he was pretty clear that without communications, for even an hour, they would lose the fight. The Hello Girls story spawned the book. There's a stage play that was produced in New York. There was an initiative in the US Congress to honor these women with their own Congressional Gold Medal. And as powerful as anything, there was a documentary film that tells about these women and their struggle not only during the war, but for decades after, as they fought for recognition and their veteran's benefits. Jim Theres is the Executive Producer and Director of that documentary, and he's been on the podcast before. Jim is joining us again today. Jim, welcome back.

Jim Theres: Yes, hi. It's great to be back. Thank you.

Jim Theres (right), pictured here during an interview with Wisconsin Public Television, produced the award-winning 'The Hello Girls' documentary Theo Mayer: So Jim, what did we miss in the setup that the listener should know about these remarkable women and their struggle?

Jim Theres: Six groups went overseas. A seventh group was waiting on the docks to go overseas when the armistice hit, but the initial groups were told that they needed to be French and English speakers. All the women had signed on for the duration of the war. And then the following contingents of women who were put overseas, that wasn't a necessary requirement, because we now needed trainers. It started out as English and French speaking women, and then grew to include women who worked with the switchboard, so they could train the troops.

Theo Mayer: So Jim, we have a key anniversary for the Hello Girls, 101 years ago. What is it?

Jim Theres: Yes, March 6th, the first contingent of women, 33 women sailed overseas. And very interesting comment: Grace Banker, who was the leader of that expedition of those women, she made a comment in her diary. She said, basically, "I'm in charge of 33 women. One is 19, and the other is quite old, I think. She's 35."The documentary chronicles the service of the Hello Girls, as well as their post-war struggle for recognition and benefits

Theo Mayer: And where did they take off from?

Jim Theres: New York. And they dodged some German submarines and landed first in England, and then over to France. By the end of March, early April, the groups went to Le Havre, and they ended up in Paris. And then from there, they scattered all over, kinda like a spiderweb of communications. There were groups in Paris. There were groups in Chaumont. There were groups north, but they were all very close within our artillery range, and certainly airplane bombing range of the war.

Theo Mayer: I have a question. After the armistice, when did these women get to ship home?

Jim Theres: So it was interesting, one of the earlier historians, he talked about the Paris Peace Conference. Some of the women were sent there. Some of the women went to Cologne for the occupation of Germany. That's where Grace Banker went, and that's where she received a Distinguished Service medal. And there a few other spots throughout France, but they were there throughout the Peace Conference, and then they gradually started coming home. The last of the women came home in January of 1920.

Theo Mayer: Wow. I did not know that. So Jim, your documentary has become a favorite in the documentary film festival circuit. And you've had showings for Congress. Tell us about some of the successes and the awards and special showings.

Jim Theres: Yeah. When you make it, you try to be humble, but it's always nice to be recognized, you know? We've been to about 30 film festivals. So getting selected is kinda the first hurdle. Three of them were Academy Award qualifying festivals, which is kinda neat. And then we were nominated for six awards, variant awards about the documentary, and won four of those awards: For Best Documentary, People's Choice, and all that. As for the crowds, I've played to as many as 400, and as few as 50, but people always come out, because they're very interested in these women.

Theo Mayer: So, Jim, tell us about some of the special showings, because I mentioned the one for Congress, but you've had some really great showings that are in government and other specialty places.

Jim Theres: Right. So we screened the film at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City to a wonderful crowd, the Truman Library, near there. I think Independence is where that is. And the Women's Memorial was the world premiere, March 3rd of 2018. The National Archives, we screened it there. And one that I was particularly interested in was George Washington's estate down at Mount Vernon. And when we go to those venues, the people that organize them always get huge, huge crowds.

Theo Mayer: We have Elizabeth Cobb coming back on the show in a few weeks. She just penned an article that came out this week in the Washington Post, and there's some others coming up. What do you think about all the buzz? I mean, it's really starting to take off again.

Jim Theres: Yes. Senators Jon Tester and Marsha Blackburn, they have submitted legislation for the women to receive a Congressional Gold Medal. Of course, that's all gonna be posthumously. The last ones died in the mid 1980s. But certainly, a great recognition for the women solidifies that they were indeed part of the army, and contributed significantly. By the time they were done, they had connected over 26 million calls. These weren't always just General to General. They were part of the battle rhythm, and they would help the forward observers call in the artillery, so they were very much part of the war.

Theo Mayer: Where can people see the film?

Jim Theres: So very soon, I'm gonna put it online for viewing. We're still going through the tail end of the festival cycle. The film wasn't complete by March of 2018, and I had entered some women's film festivals, and none of them selected us. But this year, with the film complete, about five or six have selected us now, which is great. Because this is really an important audience. And it's still going, so I'm gonna hold off a little bit, and probably at the summer, we're going to make it available on line.

The Hello Girls, seen here operating switchboards, were vital to battlefield communicationTheo Mayer: I've spoken with a number of people who've seen it. And people's reaction to the film is always, at the very least, powerful. It really affects people, and the female audience really feels empowered by it, I think. Do you have that experience?

Jim Theres: Yes. I have a Q&A whenever I have the ability to attend, which is more often than not. The Q&A is always very robust. I remember the National Archives had to flick the lights on and off, because they were like, "Look, you gotta get outta here, now." Q&As go a solid 20 to 30 minutes, and we leave questions on the table, and then people come up to me afterward, and continue to talk. One gentleman, just last Saturday, it was Sedona, Arizona, came up to me after, and we got to talking. He was a former veteran, and he just said to me, "You know, I don't know what it is about this film, but it just really struck me." And he had tears in his eyes. So that's the kind of emotion that the film drives in the audience.

Theo Mayer: Well, as a documentary filmmaker, it's partly about great storytelling, but knowing and picking a great story is probably equal, if not more important. What's next for you?

Jim Theres: Yeah, so I'm staying with this theme. I showed the film, the Hello Girls, somewhere in town, here. And someone came up to me and said, "Have you ever heard of the 6888th?" I said, "No, I have not." This is a World War II story. The 6888th was the only all-black female Battalion, led by a black female, Charity Adams. And their mission was very simple, very short: To clear the backlog of mail. And in six months, they cleared over 17 million pieces of mail that were sitting in huge warehouses. Really, an amazing feat.

Theo Mayer: Oh, that's great. Well, Jim, thanks for coming by. It's always enlightening to speak with you.

Jim Theres: Oh yeah, my pleasure. And I really lit up when I got the email, and I said, "Of course I'll be there."

Theo Mayer: Well, thank you, Jim.

Jim Theres: Thank you.

Theo Mayer: Jim Ferris is the Executive Producer and Director of the documentary the Hello Girls. And hot off the presses, just this week, Jim received a special recognition award at the Army Women's Foundation Hall of Fame induction ceremony, for spotlighting America's first female soldiers. Learn more about the Hello Girls and the film by following the link in the podcast notes.

Links:

https://www.military.com/off-duty/2018/02/12/hello-girls-documentary-celebrates-wwi-female-telephone-operators.html
https://www.npr.org/2017/04/06/522596006/the-hello-girls-chronicles-the-women-who-fought-for-america-and-for-recognitionhttps://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2018/07/05/ignored-for-decades-wwi-heroines-could-be-recognized-with-congressional-gold-medal/
https://wptblog.org/2018/06/directors-cut-jim-theres-the-hello-girls/