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In 1934, American producer Louis de Rochemont along with Roy E. Larsen from Time, Inc created the innovative March of Time documentary newsreels that differed from other newsreels by offering detailed, lively accounts and dramatizations of current news. De Rochemont directed the first episode, "The Ramparts We Watch," a chronicle of the effects of Europe's WW II upon average Americans. Prior to becoming a filmmaker, de Rochemont served six years in the U.S. Navy as an officer. After he left, he began working for different newsreel companies and did everything from filming to administrative tasks. Once the March of Time series was well under way, he left in 1943 to work with Fox where he set to work producing the documentary The Fighting Lady, which he made in conjunction with the Navy. This film won an Academy Award in 1944. He continued working with Fox through the war and for a while after making docudramas of true stories-- Boomerang! (1947). Eventually, he and former workers from the March of Time teamed up to form Louis de Rochemont Associates and continued producing through 1961.