V LIBRARY THE M'JSEUM OFMODSRNART Received: Scanned from the collection of The Museum of Modern Art Library Coordinated by the Media History Digital Library www.mediahistoryproject.org Funded by a donation from University of St Andrews Library & Centre for Film Studies Scanned from the collection of The Museum of Modern Art Library Coordinated by the Media History Digital Library www.mediahistoryproject.org Funded by a donation from University of St Andrews Library & Centre for Film Studies r^- -J •v'^ ©®(§1M W HalEITiP ©I JANUARY 1940 FILM CENTRE 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON On November 1 1939 Petroleum Films Bureau issued its first catalogue of documentary and instructional films. Nineteen films; fourteen sound and five silent, all available free, 35mm. and 16mm. size, on non-inflammable stock. Of this new series of films the film critic of the "Times Educational Supplement" wrote "it is undoubtedly the most significant gift in the field of visual education ever given by an industrial concern to the schools." The films are in three groups: How Oil is Produced, How People Use Oil, and How Motor Cars Work. There are films for teachers of geography, physics, chemistry, mechanics, and civics. A number of the films are suitable for film society programmes. Detailed synopses are available. The group of films on the uses of petroleum contain films dealing with heavy industries, agriculture, transport, and civil engineer- ing. Of TRANSFER OF POWER the film critic of the "Sunday Times" wrote it is "a short but dazzling demonstration of human genius for invention." PETROLEUM FILMS BUREAU 15 HAY HILL BERKELEY SQUARE LONDON Wl ©©©lIMlEiJIP^lB^ S^lEWi ILl^FlTlEIE Due to the circumstances of the war, most publications devoted in whole, or in part, to the Docuznentaxy Film in education and national expression have been suspended. ©(£)©1!MI1S!3^^IB^ milW§ IM^'^mR will be issued to private subscribers in an attempt to fill this gap and to continue the policy and purpose of the late WORLD FILM NEWS in as far as the documentary approach to everyday living is concerned, with particular reference to films and radio. It will be produced monthly at the price of 3d. per issue in its present format and mailed post free to subscribers. It will not be on sale generally to the public. If, at the end of six months, the demand justifies, the NEWS LETTER will be printed instead of duphcated. ©®©1S^1EKI!F^11^^ SJI^Wi ILUl'^lI^ is produced imder the auspices of Film Centre, London, in association with American Film Center, New York. Editorial Board: Thomas Baird, Arthur Elton, John Grierson, Paul Rotha and Basil Wright. Outside contributions will be welcomed; but no fees will be paid. If you are interested in this first number, please fill in the subscription form below and mail it back to our office, 34 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.l Bulk orders: We are prepared to deliver from 3 to 50 copies in bulk to Schools, Film Societies and similar organisations. Please send me copy or copies of DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER for 3 or 6 months at the rate of 3d. per copy (post free) for which I enclose P.O., stamps or cheque value s. d. NAME ADDRESS. (Postal Orders and Cheques payable to Film Centre Ltd.) ..4" Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2013 Iittp://arcliive.org/details/doc.um01film January 1940 34 So ho oCi\:.arG j^oQcion Price 3cl Issued only to privr.os suUGoribers, DOJU:.L.lJTAi^Y I^IiA/S LETTER Gonti/]ues the policy and purpose of v;oRLD Fiii'.i ij£r;/s by ezoressing the docu'iisnte.ry idea EDITORIAL 30ARD: Thomas Baird Jrthijj? Elton John Gr i er son Paul Ro tha ■ Ba s i 1 V.t igh t xUBLISrlfc.B.BY FlLl,i CE^xT'RE , LOxiDOil, IN J^SSOClATIOE wITH Al'I^RICJi: FiE: CEETER, h.LV/ YOrX. V/AR AI.-3 FOR BOCU 1.1 E N T A R Y For ten yeers, ,3roups of peo^^le in vario^:.s countries have been reporting, analysing and docujr.enting contenporsry social proolenis. For this they have developed nevv techniques. Sone of these still rely on the printed -.'yord; the Arierican and British Gallup Surveys, P.E.Po, iviass Observation are ready ezairiples. But tV'io relatively ne?i/ media have been found especially suitable - Radio and Film. Radio has made its greatest advance in the U.S.A. , Film in Great Britain, In both, after much ezperiiiient and research, dramatic techniques have been created. Audiences -and spheres of influence have been investigated, classified, and captured. More than r.oderate successes have been achieved. The doc^-jnentary idea (dramatisation of fact) is no longer merely theory. It has become a practical weapon in the drive towards social progress. 2. In the CTirrent I'var the value of this vvea_pon has been, as far as we iLnoYi , denied, oj no Oxie, .j-o.t its use, in filra terns, after four riionths of ¥;ar, appears to oe in d-nger of neglect. On this point the flovv of oritioisn is strong, although there is surely a limit to ill-considered atte^npts to allocate blarae rather than to iTxaKe constructive suggestions. To us, at any rate, it is more urgent to evali;atc, end to understand clearly, the various roles v/hicn the doc^jjnentary idea can nov; fill. Y/er, Wiiatever its iif^modiate aims, tends to produce dis- location - economic, socj.al, and L'Oral. To vjrge v;ar success- fully it is necessnry to overcome these dislocations. To neglect them, even among the many U-i^gencies of combo t, is to lay up a snore of miseries in the imxiiediate end in the more distent future. Var dislocates (not rlv^cys adversely) the indivicu-'^l end the community life v^/ith equel impertin.l'ity. It tends to crush into a short spaco movemients vvhich in peace v^/ould develop slov^ly, end v/ith the blessed out-of-stepness vvhich is the strength of democratic system. For ex^imiple , this v-'-r may produce ^n rd p.o_Q_ concentre tion of industries in a given r^ren vvhich v.ill l-'-t^r becoFie - second Jarrov;. This sort of problem must be foreseen, stated, and a solution must be offered. On the other hand, the v.ar produces a mass-movement like Evaci:.ation, vjhich bears vvitiiin it the irmnediate seeds of social progress - the chance to revie^'v and to reform the Education- al system. Public Health Gerviees, Child \.'elfare , the Housing Problem, and indeed the vhole relation bet\/een l.'ovm and Country life. Sucn possibilities ere neither chimerical nor unattainable; and examples could be multiplied. It is necesvsary, therefore, to studj'" the im_pact of war on the social schemie , and to do it ceaselessly throughout the period of conflict. Here the documentary idea in film, has a great con- trioution to make. It can undertake this basic v>/ork - -v.hich, because it is m.ore ia danger of neglect - v;e mention first. It can also, often in the samie act, contribute forcefully to ad ho_c_ efforts in m.any branches of "war activity. Technical training, both civil and military, public instruction in m^atters like rationing and agriculture, propaganda and civic education on the home front, in the Erapire, and in neutrcl coijuitries - all these are typical endeavours in v/hich the docijimentary idea is of vital importance. I\fo thing could be better propaganda - both internal and external - than a v;ide analysis of the effect of the v«ar on our demiocratic stete, and of the coiistructive actj.ons vvhich a nation can - if it yjHI - initiate in the midst of a v^orld vvhich seems bent on self destruction. 3. \7 0 R L D F I L II G E IM T E E V.liile the doc-amsntary idea for social progress can v.ith triith be claimed to be British in origin, doc-umentary had, in fact, a spontaneous grov/th in many countries. The links betvveen docu- mentary film producing countries at first sprang from the relation among v; orders in a common genre and among students of social subjects vvho found the films of special value in their study and their teaching. In Great Britain, the beginnings at the Empire Marketing Board and the Post Office, and their developmient at Film Centre, in the U.S.A., Ariierican Doc^om^entary Films Inc. and, later, American Film Center and similar organisations in Gaxiada, France, Sv^eden, Denmark and Holland, have represented the systemiatic planning of production and distribution on a national scale. But the interchange of documentary film, people betv>/een country and country \^as boYind to begin an international cooperation vjhich v^ould achieve a more than friendly basis. A clearing house for inform.ation and a film exchange, both of international scope, rapidly became necessities. International Film Center has been created to m.eet these needs. Founded in the United States, -^.ith a disting^j^ished Bocrd of Directors, it yiIII coopercte directly v/ith all countries v;ho h?ve a nationally- organised documentary film- movement. A m.ore propitiov;.s international situation mxight have greeted this project but novv, \-jhen m.any of the potential members are at ?var, the setting up of International Fi3.m Center is of great sig- nificance. It expresses the aim to discuss the issues v.liich are beyond v^ar. By their co^xrage, its founders nov; give every nation a chance to help kee^ alive that spirit of freedom and inquiry v\hich the documentary idea serves. A M ERICA SPONSORS 3 R I T I S rl DOG U M E IT T -^. R Y V/elcoFie nevjs is that the Rockefeller Foundation has decided to finance a project for the examination of the effects and pros- pects resulting from, the impact of v/ar on British democracy. The v/ork is being carried out jointly by P,E.P. and Film Centre, and the first steps have already been taken. This practical interest is evidence of the comraonsense which, in the U.S.A. at least, is able to distinguish betvveen a legitim^ate comrflon interest in social progress and attempts (Iq^ss legitim.ate to neutrals) to inject "war propaganda into seemingly harmless material. It is already clear that Great Britain is not going to take the latter co-ijirse. The gesture by the Rockefeller Foundation is a friendly, and indeed practical recognition of this fact. V/e hope it will stimulate similar action over here. 4. IT 0 T E S OF T K E Li 0 N T H SIR KEIIIIETH CLARK'S ArrOIlTTMSIJT AS FliM CHIEF IT THE i/III.'ISTRY of Information, in the rjlaco of Sir Joseph Ball (vmo has resigned.) , will be ^-"velcomed hy everyone save the less iraaginative of V/ardour Street. Sir Kenneth v;as a nembcr of the Empire Marketing Board and Post Office poster comi'Aittees, and has an ezcellent background of ezperienct; in Public Relations. There is every hope that he will take imjinediate steps to end the inertia whicxh has till now more or less immcbilisod the personnel of (cr"-on,: otner brrinohe', of cinema) doc\;u.i-..ntrry. Ineido.utr..lly , the Ministry must not be saddled with all the blame for this. T-i^r^ hr-s been a great spate of mxmoranda - many of them of a tiriie- serving nature. Tncre has also been undignified lobbying by people v^ho should know better. 17o hope that, by now, the responsible persons at the Alinictry have realised that the Doeuiontary Movt.^.ient as a whole is less interested in petty financial rackets than in its assured aoility to assist in the national effort, \Tar-.t is needed from the Ministry is approval, goodwill, cooperation, and initiative - especially initiative. Sir Kennct.i is j::ost likel^'- to supply them. THE BRITISH COIjI^CIL'S KH,W COiivIITTEE ON FILMS (V;HICH TAKES the place of the old Joint Co-:.-..;dttee ) is reported to have sufficient funds at its disposal to finance production and dis- tribution of a number of quality documentaries. V/ith its com- mission to make cultural films for use overseas, it is in a positioii to produce a picture of our democracy which will also be of great value for use in this country. The programjnes should be well-planned, and subject m^atter should not be limited by a too-narrow view of the pres-umed tastes of foreign audiences. The Cji--- ittee should also see that tne films are economically produced. Over-lavish expenditure will only reduce the amount available for distribution, wnich, if it is imaginatively and properly done, will be by far the Fxost expensive item. ^HONOURS FOR EE^TSRELL COVERAG-E SINCE V/AR BEGAN ARE SHARED BY funsters FlOiiagan and Allen and some anonymous amateurs who happened to be on the spot when news was in the making. Flanagan and Allen's burlesque appendices to Gcumont reels decorate thr3 theatre of war with Palladium trappings. Flanagan ' g intimate interrogation of a hydrodynamically distressed German prisoner equals in news value and considerably betters in entertainirient the solemnly observed mud-wallowings of distin^^^ished visitors to the WwCtorn Front. Amongst the amateurs who have supplied newsreels with first hand evidence of the war at sea, the outstanding coii- tributor is the British destroyer officer who photographed in admirable detail for Movietone an aerial attack -upon his ship. From Dr. Goebbels via a neutral country to Prr amount camie G'^ri.ian propaganda for Polish courage in scenes of the shelling of > 5. V/esteplatte . Guns and car.eras both were operated with Teutonic thoroughness to warn the world what a corner of a Blitzkrieg; looks like. These are the test action saots of the war to date and the most boomsranging propaganda » D-ibious propaganda too was the British sequence showing the testing of a fifteen inch gmn. "Bang goes £2000", says the coiorientator , and the audience gives up hope of ever paying for the war. Ma^lor congratulations must bo reserved for ourselves in the audience - we are still alive to complain that this is the screen's dullest war. A FEW MOUTHS AOO STUART LEGG TOOiv UP A GOVEHmiEi\TT POST IN Canada to handle Canadian films. Since then John Grierson has been appointed Governnexnt Film Commissioner to administrate the recent Films Act. ' Raymond Spottiswood, author of Th_e__Gra_mmar of the Film has gone up fromx Hollyvy/ood and Evelyn Spice has joined the ijlilt. Production is beixig mapped out and some film.s have been finished, including Legg's "The Case of Charlie Gordon" which has been included in The Museum of iuodern Art Filmi Library shows in ]ievj York. SUBTLRRAi'lEAXl MOVEIvEIITS IN HOLLT^/OOD my ERUPT INTO A FIRST- class public issue. About a. year ago John Steinbeck's TIES GR.4Pi:,S OF V/RATH, was hailed by all as "the great American novel". It was the story of the hardships of the dispossessed Mid- V/estern farmers. It was a great success in democracy-conscious America but as "the pgreat American novel" its style and beauty put it beyond polemics. Radical and Republican, banker and farmer, rich and poor, bowed before Art. Darryl Zanuck and 20th Century Foz bought the film rights. Henry Fonda plays lead and John Steinbeck himself blesses the scenario. But these two good augurs, and the thought of the 250,000,000 weekly cinema audiences (which is a pretty powerful lot of people .compared wi. th the odd millions who read even a best seller), have been too much for Associated Farmers, the laissez fa ire pressure group. They have raised /il00,000 to prevent tne film being made or shown. THE MUSEUIv-I OF MODERN ART FILIvI LIER.flRY, FEW YORK, H-^^S NOT/ -/ launched its programme series of THE NON-FICTION FIB/I: FROM TTNTN-A Tx^RoTy^Djl^^ pliIIHiTTFHFEn5~^'inTTI?rr~br~, the Uniued Si:ates in 193 7-"3S7 There are 12 prograimr.es in all, ranging _ from Flaherty's NANOOK to NORTH SEA and the Amxerican THE CITY, giving a comprehensive survey of the development of doc-jmcn- tary. Richard Griffith supplied an authoritative prograi,ime note. 6. DOGULIEI^TARY F 1 L 1.1 REVIS7/S THE FILM OF TEE LIOIJTH ' " ' Tin^FIRjT DAYS Production: G.P.O. Film Unit, Producer: Cavalcanti. Editing: H.'^. Mc Naught on. Ccrrnrientary ">/i/ritt3n and spoken by Robert Sinclair. Distribution: l.B.P.C. TI-IIS IS A VALUABLE REPORTAGE, 2I0T OlILY OF THE EVENTS, BUT alfjo of the atmosphere irTTo'ndon during the first days of SeiioSKber 1959. Cavalcam:i and has team of producers and c-;''.ora- iD.c:i must take a major credit for their enterprise, for it coul'I • not be made today -- it vvas one of those moments that fly. Lut THE FIRST DAYS does more than report; it interprets. ¥i"|-.h a restraint which contrasts -- oh how favouraoly -- with the r'ordage and Merlery of THE LION HAS WINGS, it reveals the attitude of ^:he ordinary person to this war, and it sensibly (instead of hvG'ceri- cally) reminds us of the idiocy and vvaste of war-in-general (note especially Sinclair's brilliant comjnents on sandbags and arsenals.) It sums up the feelings of bewildered sincer.'ty wj.th which the citizens of London faced the calamity so long dreaded. The shape of the filra is episodic, but the effect is not jerky, partly because of the excellent cutting of sound and picture, but chiefly, one suspects, because the meditative cjuelity is given first place. In fact, the most deliberately built-up incidents are the least successful, as for example the good-bye. scene between boy and girl over a bunch of roses. The filmis real quality ;i :-- be .it illustrated by the sequence of the troop-train leaving a London Terminus; the military band in terms exactly opposite '^o those of V/AR IS PiELL, the glimpse of women's faces through the impat^sive platform grille, and the vast cloud of steam — a baj^rage? a burning duir.p? a gas attack? — with which the lo^^.o- motive, slow-ly released, signals its final going. This is a illm cf internptional as well rs national validity. As sensible war- morale it is very good; as anti-W'cr propaganda (without any defeatism.) it is eve^n better; and as a democratic statement it is absolutely first-class. THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE Production: Realist Film Unit. Direction: Frank Saincbury. CamLera: A.E. Jeakins. Distribution: V/orkers' Film Assoc ^ai^. ion ;• ■ 145 w'ardour Street, London, \7.1. (55 mm. and 16x^^.1.)' THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE STARTS V/ITH A SEC.UENCE SHOV/ING THE grim hard lives of the people after the Industrial Revolution. 7. 'We see a typical father and his ST'iall son leaving their soiialid room at the call of the knocker up, the little boy to go to v^ork picking up pieces ijinder the benches in the mills. The film goes on to tell of the early efforts of the men to discuss v-orking con- ditions. But these mieetings, which eventually lead to the Trade Unions, were broken up ''oj the police. All through the film the sense of struggle and determination is sustained. Famious people and incidents of the workers - tne Tolpuddle Martyrs - are sketched in. The fiM ends vn.th typical scenes in an industrial district today. The same father that v/e saw in the opening sequence sets off to work with his small son on his back. But this time he does not leave him at the m.ill gates; today he takes him. to a nursery school instead. By sincere direction, good casting and the best interior camerawork we have seen for a long time, an amibitious story has oeen well told. WIEGS OVER EivJPIRE Production: Strand Film Company. Assembly: Stuart Legg, Distribution: Theatrical ( Anglo -Ameri can ) , AS BLERIOT'S VffiIRD i^IAGHIlHC CffilES PUTTEHIIC- ACROSS TliE Channel, the voice of ''The Times" proclaims; "The sea is no longer a barrier. The political and strategic situations of certain countries will be transformied" . It might have added the domestic situations of millions of families in Europe, China and Abyssinia. The purpose of this film is to show that flight can Fxean movement and not paralysis, vitality and not death, building up and not blowing to pieces. Taking as its example the Empire air routes, it shows how aviation helps the adi'iini- strator, tne agricultural expert, the tusinessmian, and the man who wants to keep in touch with his friends on the other side of the earth. The use of library material and natural souind give it brecdth and authenticity. The reconstructed scenes -^.re not strained, and the comraentrry binds the filmi firmly together. THE CITY Production: C.P.O. Film Unit. Producer: Cavalcanti. Director: Ralph Elton. Camera: II. Fowle. Commentary: Herbert Hodge. Distribution: Anglo-American. STARTI]}IG WITH A GEESRAL SURVEY OF OVERGROWIT LOiroOW, AIID (by implicabion) the need for widespread planning, this film then concentrates on a single issue, that of Transport. If anything, the argwiient is too simplified, but this Fiatters little because of tne excellent general impression it gives of this vital problem. Continuity is helped by Hodge's friendly commentary, and by three brilliantly directed interviews with Sir Charles Bressej'-. Ralph Elton has a nice sense of hiuaour; and an eye for significant detail; his images carry a lot of weight in punching hom^e the general argument. Cam.erawork and cutting are excellent. 8. THE LI OH HAS 17I?ia3 Production: London Filr.i Productions, Producer: A. Korda, Directors: Adrian Brunei, Ivlichael Pov/ell, Brian Desirond Hurst. Associate Producer and Scenario: Ian Dalryinple. CoFirientary: E.y.H. EmiTj.ett. Distribution: United Artists. THIS FIIM WIS :.IADE TO HLASSlJEE U3 ^T HOME AIj^D TO INSTRUCT neutral countries in the ^justice of our cause and our abiliHy to vjin tiie v;ar. Ncwsreel clips, doc^ientary cuts, material shot, scenes from FISB OVEn LK 'iL-'-ivD , fictitious scenes, and reconstrvic- tions of events, are linked oy Emiuett. Effective are the im- pressionistic "Lilliput'' sequences on Britain and ITazi (Germany, the ICiel Raid reconstruction and the repulse of an air attack on Britain. But the fevv shots of the actual Kiel raiders getting out of their machines without a v/ord or a e^esture, either from them or from Emiaett, make it unnecessary to say that the previous scenes v^ere faked. Puerile it is that all the successes should be on our side, that the Nazi pilots are cov^ardly morons (rememlcr, - "Kaiser, The Beast of Berlin"?), that the Nazi air coinzmand is ignorant of the balloon barrage. Finally, Merle Oberon svjns up for the vjomen of England, Sne starts talking to Ralph Richardson beneath a Denham tree. The camera moves up until, as she gulps "and - kindliness", she is in full-close-up. Sadly she turns from the audience to Richardson - her audience: he is asleep, a smile of forbearence lingering on his face. This may be "realism" but it is poor understanding of the psyciiology of film propaganda. 1/Ye avvait \vith interest reports of audience reaction from overseas, THE OBEDIENT FLM:E Production: Science Fxlms. Director: Norman McLaren. Camera: Frank Goodliffe. Distribution: British Commericai Gas Association. (;55 "mm, and 16 m_m, ) TIIE OBEDIENT FLAIvIE IS DIVIDED INTO TFIEORY .^ND PKAGTICE. It sho\vs Y^hj for economy and usefulness, the housewife needs instant, flexible heat. Clear diagrams show how this is achieved and explains the advantages of automatic regulations of oven-heat. Some of the horrors of bad cooking are driven home by speeded-up action, which gives an ordinary cake a new and refreshing aspect. The pictorial treatment, however, dem.ands a more natural manner than the coimmentator , a woman, adopts. An ordinary gas burner has been m^ade into a surprisingly beautiful thing. 9. F I L M S ACROSS C A IT 1 D A Ths first vvinter of the now World l/ar sees Canacla eiiibarking on an arabitious prograrnme of film prcdTiction and distribution designed to present a oomprelxensive picture both of lier immediate vvar activities and of her longer range social and econonic purposes. The nevv film plans are being dravai up hy John G-rierson at ths rec.uest of the lion. V/. D. Euler, Dominion Minister of Trade and Commerce and Ghairmian of the National Film Losrd, the body recently set up by jlct of Parliament to coordin&te all G-overnment film activities. G-rierscn, temporarily acting as Govermr.ent Filmi Com- missioner, is tne executive head of the jjoard. The picture of Canada to be given by the National Film Board has already awakened \;ide interest on account of its careful planning. .'The British iJorth American Act of 1867 left Canadian education in the hands of tne Provinces. 'I2:us the Federal G-cvcrn- Ficnt , in taking up the miodern m.edia of puolic education, is free from the v.eighty academ.ic tradition native to the central eduC'^ •ion authorities of som^e other countries, notably Great Britain. j. ^ is free to plan intensive film, programiiaes in any fields of public 'vvelfare - healtn, domestic progress, national unity - it mjay con- sider necessary. It is free to attune its films to the m^any different levels of discourse dem^imilian v^/hom he executed. Maximilian is brilliantly played by Brian Arierne. Paul Muni com.petently keeps the balance. Bette Davis' part has been cut to an unconvincing sketch of the Erapress Carlo tta. But the dramatic quality of the film, comes from the fact tnat reality is a matter of half tones, and the conflict of good and good charged with pathetic tragedy. The issue is between benevolent despotism and democracy. Juarez and Maxim.ilian both display courage, sincerity, faith; both are good men and in the grey lights of everyday coming and going both have much right on their side. But in the cold, white light of the last dawn only one can be right. Maximilian half fulfills democracy witn his proposal of constitutional monarchy. Juarez demands for his people the fullest fulfilment. He speaks 7«ell on behalf of democracy and he m.ight well have quoted these lines from Dos Passes "A'G least a man needs to be not jailed notafraid nothungry notcold not without love, not a worker for a power he has never seen that cares nothing for the uses and needs of a man or a woman or a child." FILM Li IN THE ?I£LD abnormal oonclitions arc proof oi' tne .indirjpensabie part ohat the film plays in the nation's ed"'j.cational life. In evacuated schools, teachers lack n-aoh of their normal eoiiipment and are in charge of c las sec not onl^'- for the nornol six ho^jrs a day Lut often for nearly twenty-four and are forced to use every ex- pedient to Iceep interest and variety. The nev/ locale can help. The countryside is in r,ieny cases a nev/ and exciting discovery, iiut as daylight has shortened more of the school \-vork has had to be dene indoors. The film is helpin^c the teacher through the lojiger and more exacting day. Tne figij.res of the JTi&tionol film libraries, the iimpire Library, the C-.P.J., G-.B.I., the Gas Industry, and tne Oil Industry all report an increase in their normal traffic. There is nevv's of novel uses for the fiimiS. The London School, for example, nov/ evacuated to tne Lortii V/est of England, borro^'vs com- plete prograriimes fx-cm. each of the libraries giving three shovvings of eacn programjr.G. In the jr.orning, to pupils of the London School; in the afternoon to children of the local school; and in the evening to an adult audience drev;n from villagers and evacuees. The samie hind of intensive u.'io is developing all over the country. For this there has oeen no official support. Organisation has been spontaneous. Instigation has been miainly oy the school teachers. Organisers of community centres, field v^orkers of the Social Service Groups, the V/.L.ii. lecturers, the Film Societies, the V/om.e'n's Institutes and the Tovmswomen's Guilds, have played their part. VHierever a pro^'ector, it has been pressed inco service. Y/hatevor film.s available, they have been booked to the 1 imi t . In Scotland., xhe S.E.F.A., with provisional backing from tne Scottish Ministry of Inf orm.ation, have carried out a highly organized experimeni: providing films for evacuees, \'vhich has had the high claim of thousands of children, hundreds of teachers, the Scottish Press, and the Scottisn Local ^'authorities. The Secretory?' reports: "Volunteers v-iere readily forthcomiing to take charge of the travelling Film. Units. Teacher operators v/ere chosen for their experience of handling cinema apporetus, and had to provide their 14. own cars. Each v;as provided v.'itL silsnt 16 .mi'rio projector, equipixent , a porta ole screen and filxaSo This Scheiie v^as pvt into' operation at a vveek'a notice. Within t^^o v/eeks tvienty "Units vvere covering ti^entj County Reception Areas. They gave 482 shovvs to 8 total audience of 55,823. jivacuees . . . , . » . » . « , . » » c 17,787 jjocal Children ..,.,»..« ^5 , b79 Adults ,.,...,00 4,ob2 formally, the shov/S were given in sci-ools, and in school time; but m iTiaa'j cases the snov/S were ^'ivcn in hails, in rooias, and on one occasion in the Icitchcn of a private house, often under difficult conditions Of light and projection. JnPiiQe of ectivitv was greatly euctended by using Battery i-royo'ctors. in 184 out of 482 shows, Lattery Projection was ei'iployed; and as these shows were al;nost invariably given in the renote areas, where the children were most isolated, the vaiv'e of this worh was important out of all proportion to the trouble involved and to the size of audience. It "./as na'chetic, reports one operator, to study tii3 intensity'- of tne children's Joy. The Unit left with an escort of cheering children. iCvery visit \.as followed ^3;/ demands for more, tne general request being triat tnsse shows should be given weekly." The ezperir.ient has proved that it is prr. cticable to bring film sho\/s to children in reception areas, provided e sufficient financial Docking is obtained to equip and to maintain Film Units. These Units can with ease achieve a standard of tvvo sho\1ST0^JE A Darryl Zanuck Production, directed 'oy Henry King, distributed by 20uu Gcn-cury Fox, Certificate U. THIS IS THE STORY OF J iMEl/SPAFER MAil .'ED OF ^E AFRICAN e:;.-pedition. It is not a "missionary film.''. The Livingstone part of the story is negligible and negligibly acted by Sir Gedric H'^^rdv^icke , Buc Spencer Tracy is fine, whether he is inter- vievving Red Indians in Wyoming or seeking the lost Livingstone in the darkest of dark Africa. There are ti>o climaxes in the f.ilm. : the first at the end of the African trail ?/Jien Tracy finds Livingstone, and the second wlien he confronts the Royal Jeogra- pmical Socie-cy with irrefutaole evidence of Livingstone's, being 16. alive 8.nd of his valuable j^eo.^rephioal surveys. Bv.t the Ro^'-al Geographical Society refutes the first end invalide.tcs the second, T/hereupon Tracy raolces a iioving Uuni-li/.e spt^ech. Tue bach- {^T-Dund to the "rsafari'^ is beautifully and e::citingl3r photo£:rf3piiod with a quality v/hich s'oiell noys, whose literary taste nas not yet declined, i/vill reG0i;j;nise as fij der 'n^Ct^f^^'^- pl-'juuss of the iv!' sai are good enouj^h for anybody's EchooldG\s. The tossing V/nite mj'j^riS OF T.al SEA A P^ r- an oun t P i c t a r e , by Poraiucunt, Certificate directed by Fr&nk Lloyd -p" ' ^r>to u, THIS IS A STOiiY 0-F TjiL ZULY STliAi^a EI^^IID^S AND 0.? THL i'lHST Atlantic crossings of steari ooats. It is not quite the true story but, as is often the Cf3 '^e ■; t enougn. l/ill Fyffe is the origin; .s very good being true Scots engineer and his passion lor, and faitn m, his engines nas a genuine ring, Pirectcr FranK Lloyd alv"/ays raakes the sea real enough, and the G-reenocic of the film is one of the fev; plav^sible Scots villeges of tne screen. If history on the screen v^ere never less accurate than this teachers Yvould hevs less to worry aboat. JIJAi;{SZ TxIE HEVTLV/ OF TiilS Flili 01^ ANOOhlER PAGS bTLL BE sufficient to reeorjiend it to consideration of all teachers. It mahes one cose for der.iocracy, and tnat is recorrj;iendaticn enougn in these tii.ieso THE L^UNC;;rIIIIG OF THE P.F.b. FIL:I LIBEAhY IN Mt-H TIME IS bravely significant It shc^'vs the genuine desire of documentary groups oo put their resources at the best disposal of those in the country vvho are striviiig for continuity jr. public education and trying to articulate the problerus of the vvcrtime situation. It indicates their univillingness to i/'/ait on. the nard-to-come-by official decision to support tne idta of public education in wartime. The iifimedi^- te and continuing demand for the nei^'v films indicates the soundness of the sponsor's ^,udgment to operate this vvell planned project. All the films acnieve. a high standard of tecnnical shill, ronging from the hijaTianly-ob served treatment of Miss x-^uby Grierson' s^ GAi^GO FOR ARDE0SSA5[ to the beautiful sim- plicity of explanation in Ej.ton and Bell's TRANSFER OF PO\";LR. 17, SOME BEiii^n myj:Zi:^TMUJi3 in the ]!Iaki;^g- Ivlost production stopped inevitnbly in tiie v^eeks following the o^Jitbreak of yiot but it we s xiot long before ivcrl-: on soi.ie suspended films vias resumed, .>.B, Instruct ional did not stop at all oq Leacock's film for the Interne tj.onal V.ool Secretpriat. Botli iVv.alist j?ilTii unit's -'Tne Tidies'' film by iiotha and the Cas Industry'; economic resources filra by j^:nstey 'v^ere restarted before October. 1,/orh has subsequently been resumed by J, J), Davidson on his technical oil filji, Vvhile Ilav/es' Liperial .'.irv^ays film hps uecn finished by Lllitt at titrand. October sn.; tn^j iir^tisn ^^i^uncil's Film Coina/iittee hand out several filns: one on ovacu*: tion to Strand, one on "laipire round the Atlantic" to G. f. Ijis'^ruetioiiril , one on Britisn life to Henlist Filir). Unit , one on ".London Hivor" to British riliiis, and one to Lea Lye. All of tiiese are e:i:pressly for foreign distributioa; jesturo to he^j^p units together and worlting. o" The eupa.;;j.^o o^ __:.:.ry w^ tt rn\d G-.l.u. ijx±j.u. unit v.hile Liahing their Air Force film hsve received wide press reports, Tr^e British Unit of Llarch of Tine have cor.ipleted scenes on tne activities of the British Red Cross to be compiled into an intcr- n^ticnel story. Tnree films of life in the levy, Army and Air Force and one on the life of deep-sea fishermen are in hand et Bonnie iiaincs' British Foundation Pictures, to be called 'Mo's Somevvhcre at Sea'', ''He's Somei^hure in France'', "He's in the lir" and ''Fisliing in V/?:rtimo". Spectator Films report they hcve no^v completed loint of Viev/ Ho. 6 "Odds and Evens*', a film ouout betting. Ct.B, Instructional have ,iust finished their first series of SIX "Secrefcs of Life" in Dufevcolour. Llsry Field is now mnkini o a diagram film aoout the circulation of money for the Manchester University, as i^cll as the British GoLncil film about the "British E:.npire round the Atlantic", Donald Cnrter mmHces an Amy film. dealing v^ith Ant i -Air cm ft G-uns a.ad Sear chli, Hits. G.B.I, else have in hand a Seed Production film for the University of \7ales, Tne Ministry of Agriculture have Gomrr.issioned British Films to make "Backjrsrd Front", an experiment in htjrr.orous instruction v.ith Claude Da^iipier nnd 2..' r . Middleton, to explain hovj tlie nation's food supply can be increased by cultivating one's ovjd. backyard. The sam.e firr^, under Andrew Buciianan, is also moking "Fire", Vvhich shovvs the nation's firefighting services and the training of the Auxiliary Fire Service, as v.-ell as finishing the Port of Lonc.oa .iuthority's film "City of Ships", Msontim.e it appears that officially-sponsored documentaries Vvill come from both the reorganised Films Section of the Ivmnistry of Information and the new Film Goram.ittee at the British Council, as well as from Government Departments direct. 18. V/HEH£ TO GET FILIvIS All over the co-^ntry the 'booking of films for noii-tiie?trical audiences is incireasing, Each, nonth vie shall p"u.blish a list of British Film Libraries and reviev^s of their catalogues so that borrov/ers raay extend tneir activities. C-lTiLOGUE OF ejLiLy films k selected catalogue of those Filirs of all Lands (dating froiTi 1896 to 19o»4 inclusive) vvhich are still available in this country. Compiled, v/ith Introductions, uy A, Vesselo. Published by the British Film Institute, 4 Great Russell Street, Lo ndo n , V/ . C . 1 . "f r i c e ■ 2/ 6 d , "ITo'w that the film has forty years of e::cistence behind it'^, say the Governors of the British Film Institute, "the tim.e is ripe for a record to be compiled of material available for its study.'' V/e agree, as v^e agreed ten years bacit. But here it is, a list of some 700 films, all of ;vnich, claims the compiler, are obtainable in Britain; although when v^e put the claim to the test, it did not always vjork. .^11 the same, here is an adjnirable collection of films from v;nicii any group studying the development of the movie can pick o representative selection of programmes. Vesselo 's notes and classification are, in general, well done; but there are numerous errors and omissions v»hich arc v\*orth noting for a second edition vvhich vve hope the catalogue v;ill achieve. Among themi v^e note ?/ith surprise that Potcmxkin vvas made in 1918, Other points are: Stroheim: might have ueen given a mention vdth Th e Lie r r y - G o - h o un d rnd Schoedsac--: v>ith Grass; the unnamed director of The Last Perf ormiance v.as Paul Fcjos; 'lusalava , Len Lye's first film, v,8.s uncoloured; Flaherty did not edit In du s t r i a 1 Br i t a in ; Domesd-'^y England vvas made by Garruthers, not I.Iaurice Brovvne ; -instey did dot direct Gr r n t o n Tr a vd e r ; and Deserter v^as not the first Soviet sound filmi. But this is cnicken-food criticism of •what is a valuable job of great use to all follov^ers of the film. IJote the good arra^ of V/e sterns and careful annotation of early Ghaplins. The Museum of Llodern Art Film Library, with its wealth of material,' might well follow the British Film Institute's le-^d in this respect and issue a catalogue. 19. SOivIE FIUR LIBRARIES I\TQTE : BoTTOvievs of films ere a^ked to apply as iLuch. in arlvanoe as possible, to give alternative dates for tooKings, arxd to return the films im- mediately after they have teen sjiovm so that others may m.ai^e use of tnem-. BRITISH GOM^iERGIAL GAS JlSSOOI ATIOiY^ ^as Industry ilo^^se, 1, G-rosvenor Place, London, S.V/,1. First class films on Social subjects, domestic science, and the manufacture of gf?^. Such filFiS as Ghildren at Schcol and Ifevv Yforlds for Old. Sound end a fevv silent, I^o hire cha"rge for appiroved displays. 35 mm, and 16 miii, EivIPIRE Fli^vl LIBRARY, Lrnperial Institute, London, S.v;.7. One of the best na-cional libraries in the country. Films primarily of Empire sub^jects, Vv'ith a useful subject index. Silent and sound. Ho hire charge miade for appro"ved displays. Mostly 16 mm, with a fe'w 35 mjri, G-AUliONT-BRITISH II\!S'.raGTIOEAL, Filrn House, \;firdour Street, London, V/.l. Gatalog^ae ]^!o , o (1939). Many films Oxn scientific subjects, geography, hygiene, history, language, natura]. history, sport. Excellent educational m.aterial, Soujid and silent. Feature and story film.s also available. Hire charge: 5/ - a reel sound, 2/6 a reel silent, "with reduced charge for subsequent days. 35 mm. and 16 Fim, Q-P.O. FILM LIBRARY, Imperial Institute, London, S.V/.7. Catalogue 1937 and supplemients. Over 100 first class films, mostly centred round corrmiuni cat ions, Supplci:ient includes many docrjaentarics such as 2T_i S-^^i_^- i 1 • So^-uid and silent. Ho hire charge for approve d""drsplay"sT 35 mmi, and 16 mmi. HATIOHAL FILM LIBRARY, British Film Institute, 4 Great Russell Street, London, VJ,G,1, Only full members of the British Fi.lm Institute m.ay borrovv ios films, A large cata- logue containing some im.portant early German films and Nanooh of the North, otherwise industry, medicine, health and tra'-ieY. Sound and silent. Hire charge: 2/6 a reel (35 mm.), 1/6 a reel (16 mm.) first day, with a reduced charge for subsequent periods, PLTROLELTVI FimS BUREAU, 15 Hay Hill, Berkeley Square, London W,l. The first new film catalogue to be issued since the war, Tw'enty-three new films of high quality. Technical and Documentary, Sound and a few silent, Ho hire charge for approved displays, 35 iimi, and 16 mjTQ. (To be continued ) NEWS Oi? FIL I.I S 0 C i E The inportarxce of maintaining Gult'j.r8i traditions i; where being stressed, and it i,^o^.ld be tragio if financial or black- out difficulties v;ere to destroy the Pilrn • Society Movement in Britain, "Ihe continued activity of the Scottish Societies shovys that tne probler.i can be dealt with, and it is ^mderstood that in London the father of ell Fiin Gocietj.es u-'^ill heep going, though poscibly -'vith a reduced programae. Of the ten ineriiber societies of the Federation of Scottish Fili'ii Societies, five are operating this season: Edinburgh, Aoerdeen, Dundee, Ayrshire and Lochaber (Fort V.'illiam). In most cases memberships are reduced and this, combined Vvith the effects of the blach-out, the uncertainty of film transport and increased costs generally, has meant dif f ic".„lties vvhich v\*ould not have arisen in a norm.al season. The societies felt, iiovvever, that they ought not to give up v/ithout a striiggle and, vvith the Federation maintaining its service, continuance vvas rriade easier. Great courage has been shown by the Lochaber Society wnich, despite its comparatively tiny membership, is running a norm.al season and meeting its -comrfiitraents. Most ambitious is the Film Society of Ayrshire vvnich has planned a season of tv.elve per- formances and the opening of a oranch at Saltcoats. Edinburgh, exposed to the dangers of the front line, has cut its normal programme of sixteen perform^ances to eight. 0'..ing to the decision of the St, Andrev;s Magistrates forbidding the holding of Sunday afternoon performances, the Diundee and St. Andrei'^s Society is operating only in Dundee. It is hoped that the decision may be reversed. The Aberdeen Society reports a satisfactory miembership. The G-lasgow Society has discontinued its activities for the present b\it the Cosmo Cinema is giving filmgoers a generous season of Continental filLis. DOCUMENTARY LfEV/S lETTER V/ILL ^^KLCOME hWIS AlH) OPIillOIJS FROM FILM SOCIETY SECRETARIES. COPY SHOULD REACH THIS OFFICE EOT LAT^R TKAH THE 16TH OF Trin. LiOETH. THERE V'ILL BE PERMAKEITT SP-iCE RESERVED FOR 2 PAGES OF EEV;S , S^D ARTICLES OF SPECIAL IMPORTANCE TO FIIM SOCIETIES. READERS OF DOCmiE-ITARY EEV/S LETTER WILL BE lATTERESTED HI these pamphlets, obtainable from. 34 Soho Square, London, VM. Price 3d. each post free. SEARCHLIGHT Oil DEMOCRACY by John Grierson. (An undelivered lecture to The British Institute of Adult Education). THE STORY OF THE DOGUIvJEIJTARY Fim by John Grierson (Reprinted from the Fortnightly Re'view). (A few copies only) THE CimEI/i AID THE lEFORIvLlTIOIl SERVICES by Thomas Baird. (An undelivered lecture to The Association of Special Libraries and the Information Bureaux. ) El. BOOi: REVIEW TriE IiTDIM FIIM by Y,Ji, Fazalbiioy. The Bombay Radio Iress. Rg. 2 FALSE FACTS (OR ITOITE AT ALL) ABOUT IlIDIAN FiniS KWE TJIITIL novy made it impossible to xorm any sane judgrrxent on the subject. Mr. Fazalbhoyj in '^ritin^ this reasoned and detailed study, has put us all in his debt. Readers of DOCUiSKTARY EEV/S LETTER v^ill find value in the chapters on lewsreel, Education and National Planning. The author is conscious that filers vJiich are liable to the insertion of propaganda are a tRO-edged weapon in India's present political set-up; but he stresses tne need for a . -eal Indian newsreel service, and for a "wide supply of Educational films. He plans a Film Service uiider the control of a Central Board of Visual Educatio.n, and he sensibly claiiiis that the G-overn- mient cannot long disassociate itself from such a project. The extent of India's film problems can, by the v.-ay, be judged from somie of the statistics. In India there is only one cinema to every quarter of a m.illion inhabitants (and this estimate apparently includes road-shovv services. ) The author is thus right in stressing the need for large-scale and long-term planning. V/e hope that a copy of this important and adi.airable docum.ent v.ill be on sale over hero. EUROPEAIT STRU3-GLES HAVE GIVEIT RISE TO A PROLIFIC IJ>D SOME- tim.es quite brilliant school of American journalists vvhose de- tachm.ent from local national vie^jvs has brought perspective into our close-up world. Early summ.er saw Herbert Kline, late of Spain and Czechoslovalcia, with P. A. Mayer and the Czech cameraman Hackenschmat , set foot in England convinced of European war and anxious to film Britain's rehearsal for it. They shot in London and the provinces, in Danzig just before the coup, in Poland v^hen the bombers came, in London again after the declaration, and just recently in France, Those of us vmo sai/v the rough-cut film - now safely in Hew York - know that this unit has got something which vjill live, which if finished in the same restrained, under- stated approach as it was shot, wall be the m.ost significant war film to date. "Lights Out In Europe" they are namiing it, and Warners will release. Kline, with Ivens is making a new genre of docai'.entary - political filmi journalism. THE B.B.C. APPEARS TO BE SO CONCERNED lE^ ITS FOREIGN BROAD- casts (which are admirable) that the Hjme Front is neglected. So far the Home Service has failed to rise to the occasion, particularly as regard^ News Services and Feature Programmes. For advance in both of these the B.B.C. might well turn to the U.S.A., Yvhich does them so well. Meantime we are left v^/ith ITIvEi - the one stroke of genius in the humdr'um wartime evening. ©i^iipa^iE irmiE WfJ^ [^ ©©a i^g^iiiii(§^a(6)i^^aa IS— Continuing all its activities in the educational film field by supplying films and equipment for use by schools, institutes, clubs etc. in town and covmtry all over the United Kingdom. Issuing a new series of SECRETS OF LIFE in colour which will meet the request so often made by the countless admirers and users of this famous series. Coming shortly to the public cinemas, they will ultimately be available for non-theatrical distribution. Alive to evacuation problems. For evacuated audiences, G.B.I, experts will plan special pro- grammes at your request designed to meet every purpose — education, entertainment, sport, religious use and subject teaching. FOR ALL INFORMATION WRITE ©ID Snstructional films bureau film house WARDOUR STREET LONDON GERRARD 9292 A USEFUL FILM LIBRARY THAT MEETS THE WARTIME DEMAND Educational Films on DIET ♦ SCIENCE • HEALTH DOMESTIC SCIENCE Famous successes include: * HOUSING PROBLEMS * THE NUTRITION FILM * CHILDREN AT SCHOOL * THE SMOKE MENACE MANY evacuated city teachers faced with deficiency in school equipment have increased the use of films in the classroom. In the evenings too these films are being run again in many villages for adult audiences. Although there is as yet no official plan to supply these 'non-theatrical' films a number of film libraries are providing on request all the films they can. THE GAS INDUSTRY which serves a large educational audience in peace time has now issued a pamphlet listing some 25 films. All filmsi are available free of charge in ^5 mm and 16 mm, sound versions on application to: the film officer, The British Commercial Gas Association, i Grosvenor Flac.:, London, S.W.i STOP PRESS NEWS A neiu edition PLAN FOR LIVING A diagrammaticacccuntofthe basic principles of good diet — with a se- quence on economical cooking. A new film THE OBEDIENT FLAME The absorbing story of the gas flame, and how science increases its efli- ciency. Produced by Arthur Elton, famous for his clear scientific de- monstrations. Directed by Norman McLaren whose novelty films at the G.P.O. have been so successful. To he released soon CONSERVING NATIONAL WEALTH Edgar Anstey, the producer of The hlutriiion Film and former British Director of the March of Time, has almost completed this topical film. He emphasises the value of the by- products of coal and their service to ntedicinc, agriculture and to the nation's defence. Owntd and pihlisheJ by nim C.intrt iJd, f^.^ohn Square, T ^tiJnn,jr.T. UBLISHED MONTHLY BY FILM CENTRE, 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W1 THREEPENCE NOTES OF THE MONTH FILMS AT THE NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR An American appreciation of I he British con- tribution STORY FILM OF THE MONTH A review of Mr Smith goes to Washington children's film of THE MONTH Children and a teacher review Gulliver's Travels PUBLIC REACTION : The Lion has Wings A Mass-Observation Report on audience reaction 7 BRITISH DOCUMENTARY ACTIVITY Current production Notes from Units at Work 1 DOCUMENTARY IN THE UNITED STATES A monthly letter from American Film Center 8 NON-THEATRICAL DISTRIBUTION IN GREAT BRITAIN A Statement of the war-time situation 11 FILM CATALOGUE OF THE MONTH The Empire Film Library catalogue reviewed 11 NON-THEATRICAL FILM LIBRARIES Where to get non-theatrical films 12 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS Reviews of new films now available 13 DUTCH DOCUMENTARY A Survey of the Documentary Activities of Holland 14 FILM SOCIETY NEWS News of the Societies who are carrying on 14 BOOK REVIEW Nobody Ordered Wolves : a novel about the film industry Qnistry of Information R KENNETH CLARK, it is understood, has now submitted s plans to the Treasury. These are not yet public, but r Kenneth has already indicated that he is fully alive to e several contributions which can be made by fea- |res, by newsreels, and by documentaries. Propaganda by ture films is strictly limited by considerations of box-office, id it seems clear that the Ministry can do little more than ist producers in the choice of suitable story subjects. As for wsreels, their major need is for the fullestpossibleco-operation fid the least amount of censorship. The documentary problem not necessarily one of direct war-propaganda, but short films, lether cultural from the British Council or informational Dm the Ministry, can do an immense amount on world reens to show Britain at work. In some countries the em- lasis must be laid on our energy and determination in the esent conflict; in others what is needed is analysis and amatisation of our social structure. Furthermore, it is vital at far more attention be given to seeing that overseas distribution runs to maximum and significant audiences. We believe, however, that much of this distribution, especially in certain key-countries, is at its most valuable in the non- theatrical field; and that there is also a strong need for a re- development of non-theatrical technique at home, preferably with the goodwill of the Trade, who must by now be beginning to realise that genuine non-theatrical shows are no threat to the takings of local cinemas. (A wider analysis of non-theatrical needs will be found on another page.) Meantime, it is to be hoped that all sections of the Film Industry will back Sir Kenneth in his efforts to see that the fullest value is obtained from this important weapon. Reels Without News WITH GRACiE FIELDS leaving for Hollywood the newsreels will soon have more trouble than ever to find scenes of the war. It would be a pity if we had to fall back for our lighter news sequences upon such questionable humour as the much- publicised Unity Mitford item. If we are to laugh at the expense 1 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER FEBRUARY 1940 of our pro-Nazis there is bigger game than Miss Mitford to be after. In general the newsreels tend to become cruder and heavier in editorial comment. The Gaumont reel is the worst offender and habitually whips up feeling either with a bludgeon or a sugar-boiler's ladle. Paramount News remains the most liberally-minded of the reels, and frequently shows courage and a welcome balance of judgment in its com- mentaries. Newsreel up-to-the-minute coverage of the war is suffering from the scrappiness and padding which must almost inevit- ably result from the nature of the war and the tyranny of bi- weekly release dates. To satisfy public demand for fuller stories, there would seem to be a special opportunity for the March of Time style of treatment with its more leisured collection and shaping of sequences. March of Time MARCH OF TIME, unfortunately, since the outbreak of war seems scarcely to have been able to maintain the remarkable quality of its work as the screen's historian of European crises. Battle Fleets of Britain, the first war-time release, had to be based almost exclusively on peace-time shooting. Although unusually loosely constructed it added a charac- teristic March of Time element to other earher screen accounts of the men and ships of the British Navy by including an analysis of the defensive strategy which determines the dis- tribution of Allied sea-power in the world's oceans. The November issue — Soldiers with Wings — was a thematically unpretentious description of the U.S. Army Air Corps, de- pending for its effect less upon dramatic shape than upon out- standingly beautiful photography and upon the topical interest of all aspects of aerial warfare. In its December release. News- fronts of War — 1940, March of Time returned to a more highly dramatic style of treatment than it had lately employed. The item reviewed the outstanding world events of 1939 in terms of the news gathering and distributing services of the Associated Press and finished with an estimate of the importance and nature of Stalin's present and future policy. For January the reel comes right back to the top of its form with Uncle Sam — Farmer, a beautifully documented survey of one of the problems of the United States. It shows how U.S. agriculture brought its troubles upon itself by pursuing a blind short-term policy in the last war and points a moral now that the circumstances are likely to be repeated. Here is a first-class documentary on one of the long-term economic aspects of war which might well be imitated in this country. Progress Marches On LAST YEAR a feature film from the U.S.A., called Bofs Town, tugged at a million heart-strings. Its story was based on a real reform effort in the States by Father Flanagan. Now Assistant Prosecutor L. Bond, of the Adelaide Police Court, writes that the picture has impelled him to start a similar scheme. He hopes soon to see one in every large Australian town. All this is good ammunition for Trade people who don't like clerical onslaughts on the bad influence of the cinema. If feature films can pull off these exciting and sentimental efforts, we commend the idea to any British producers who are not fully committed to spies, comic Tommies, murder dramas, and mademoiselles. Broadcasting IT IS NOT EASY to tell whether the constant protests against the alleged dilapidation of the B.B.C. Home Service really represent popular opinion. Some say that the average licence- holder is (and always was) content with light music, variety, and lashings of cinema organ, and that, therefore, the B.B.C, must cater mostly for the majority. Others retort that it is the B.B.C.'s job to raise the public's taste, not pander to it. But, in point of fact, programmes in recent weeks have improved, and oppressed minorities have less to complain of — provided the> can adjust their hours of listening to times other than the evening. Complaints, indeed, are often really about times ol broadcasts; and here certain classes, such as classical music, lovers, may have legitimate grievances. In general it seems thai the B.B.C. is still rather too complacent about the fare i' offers; and heaven knows why we still have no alternativ{ programme. The B.E.F. programmes radiated on the Londor Regional wave-length seem — apart from an occasional Gracit — to be either dull or unsuitable. Rude remarks about th« News Bulletin have been answered in part by Edward Ward' superb relays from Finland ; these challenge the best of tb U.S.A. link-ups, and both in style and matter they shoul< quickly cancel the dreary recitations by other so-calle* observers. In regard to the question of the times of thos broadcast items which appeal to smaUish numbers of listener we hope shortly to publish some suggestions as to how th problem could be met. ta Documentary News Letter THE FIRST ISSUE of Documentary News Letter was a succes! This is not an editorial judgment, nor a literary one. It strangely enough a "box-office" one. We are not accustome to box-office acclaim ; nor do we entirely trust it. But the fai remains that many wrote to tell us how glad they were to s< our first number and, more important, many filled up the litt blue form. The response has been so unquestionable that v have had no hesitation in going into print immediate! instead of waiting for six months, as we had intended. Our audience is a varied one. There are teachers cravii any scraps of news about educational films; there are the fil societies, who, carrying on in spite of difficulties, are anxious hear of their fellow-adventurers and of the latest worth-u h films, and there are the newsreel and specialised audiences \vl like to know something of the why and wherefore of t cinema. There are also the journaUsts and the odd man Wardour Street with a thought above the ballyhoo. Last . there is the biggest group of all, those who are using doc- mentary films non-theatrically to try and sec the life of tl. country and its people in a richer and more real context th i the theatrical cinema usually offers. We believed that, in these days when many periodicals ; : ceasing publication, a news letter, however humble, woii be welcome. The response to the first issue proves that we w<; right. But we need many more subscriptions if we are ) enlarge the scope' of the newsletter and to improve cr sources of information and discussion. to DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER FEBRUARY 1940 FILMS AT THE NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR BY RICHARD GRIFFITH This article is an extract from Richard Griffith's survey of the films at the New York World's Fair. It is based on an exhaustive study which he has prepared for American Fihn Center and is reproduced now with the permission of "Films," a new American quarterly. Griffith is an American. FHE ONLY FOCAL exhibit of films in operation throughout the Fair was that contained in the Little Theatre of the Science and Education Building. This programme, supervised by PhiHp McConnell, is worth extended analysis. It made a valiant effort to gather and show all the most important films on its thematic subjects, science, education, medicine, and social problems, and therefore provides a key to the extent to which the motion picture is serving these activities today. Pare Lorentz's famous and popular government films. The Plow ihat Broke the Plains 'and The River, represent well what documentary has done to dramatise the conservation of national resources. Though they are romantic rather than scientific in approach, though the solutions they offer are not adequate, they do give full state- ment to their problems — a statement expressed, moreover, in terms of urgent need. The British documentary movement has sent a selection of films representing its approach to social problems as expressed in such subjects as nutrition {Enough to Eat?), housing {Housing Problems, Kensal House), local government {The Londoners), ind education {Children at School). Of unequal merit techni- cally, these films indicate the magnitude of the task the British movement has tackled. The wide range of subjects reveals a disposition to present a complete picture of the modern effort ;o reorganise society on a scientific basis. Some of them, like Housing Problems and Enough to Eat?, have already influenced lational policy, and all of them have contributed to the repu- tation of the documentary film as an agency for bringing the jrdinary citizen in touch with the forces which govern his life. The Little Theatre's programme on social problems might ivell pretend to represent the best achievement of the docu- ■nentary film. The high standard here may be attributed largely ;o the fact that documentary technicians themselves are deeply nterested in such subjects. I Of all the government exhibits at the Fair, the British Pavilion probably had the best opportunity to gain prestige ;)y appealing to special groups of the film public. The British ilocumentary film is world famous, and educators, publicists, ind technicians have long been curious to see examples of its vork. Instead, only a small group of documentaries is to be |;een, and the selection is random. Song of Ceylon is there, and Shipyard and The Londoners are occasionally shown, but such iiistorically important pictures as Industrial Britain, Coal Face ind The Saving of Bill Blewitt are absent. Housing Problems imd Enough to Eat?, which are the most socially important, the nost influential, and the most British of these films, are shown iit the Science and Education Building but not at the national ;xhibit. In place of these, the Pavilion offers a heterogeneous ■ollection of travelogues and "interest" films, incompetent nough and dull enough to alienate the most passionately Anglophile group, much more a lay audience accustomed to he tempo of American films. So many of these pictures are below the lowest possible level of audience acceptance that one at first imagines them to have been selected at random by men who had never seen any of them. But repeated visits to the exhibit gradually reveal a motive for the choice, focussed in the British Newsreel which opens each programme. Before the outbreak of the war, the items in this reel were devoted almost wholly to such "events" as the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, the visit of Their Majesties to a children's camp, the opening of a garden party by the Duchess of Kent. Since the war was declared, the reel has displayed the might of the military. As with the news- reel, so with the rest of the programme : these unimaginative and rather pompous films on British landscapes, monuments and sports, project the England of tradition and stability. They summon the past to reinforce the present, saying with J. B. Priestley in "English Journey", "Damn you; I'm all right." The documentary movement in England has devoted itself over a period of ten years to dramatising the Britain of today. Whatever the success or failure of its more ambitious aims, it has never failed to do the primary job of urging the citizen to accept social responsibility. An excellent example of the way this job has been done under present conditions of sponsorship is contained in the new film. Men of Africa. Presented by the Colonial Empire Marketing Board, the film is intended by its sponsors as a defence of British colonial government. Using the same propagandist methods as those employed in the Hall of Colonial Administration at the British Pavilion, it tells how England is trying to raise the living standard of her primitive subjects. By medical care, by education, by scientific agricul- ture, tropical colonies and their inhabitants are put on an equal footing with the rest of the Empire. The film thus states that Britain's right to govern colonies is determined by the extent to which she fits them to govern themselves. In articulating this idea Alexander Shaw's direction has transformed the film from an apology for the British Empire into an inculcation of England's responsibility toward subject populations. Few of the important documentaries embodying this ap- proach are at the British Pavilion, and the films actually shown there have little relation to England today. They are, in fact, wholly opposed to the function for which the documentary film has become famous. Nevertheless, the British Cinema is one of the best-attended theatres at the Fair. This may be partly accounted for by the fact that, even at its worst, the technical ingenuity of the British fact film is higher than the average of the Fair. Most popular of all films at the British Theatre are the instructional — Mary Field's and Percy Smith's Secrets of Life series, the Strand fi^lms of the London Zoo, and two remarkable engineering pictures by Arthur Elton, The Transfer of Power and Springs. Only in this category is the best of Britain's film work to be seen at its national exhibit. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER FEBRUARY 1940 STORY FILM OF THE MONTH MR SMITH GOES TO WASfflNGTON IF THE ANGELS wcrc tempted again to take sides in a world war, and decided to come to the aid of our Minister of Information, their first in- structions would send our official propagandists scurrying off to substitute the remaining bookings of The Lion Has Wings with immediate showings of Mr Smith Goes to Washington. Not because The Lion Has Wings is a particu- larly bad film, and not because Columbia Pic- tures sent Mr Smith to Washington to say any- thing whatsoever about our immediate national troubles. Not even because Mr Smith is con- cerned to flatter the existing phase of the demo- cratic method of government for which we are fighting. But director Frank Capra has made the screen's best piece of pro-democratic propa- ganda by revealing democracy as open to more exploitation and abuse than Dr Goebbels could readily invent in ninety minutes, and yet as being inherently susceptible of transformation into something to make you cheer your head off when it is seen with the vision, and quickened with the vitality, of any man "who has learned to tell human rights from a punch in the nose". The phrase is Mr Smith's. In the person of James Stewart he goes as a profoundly un- sophisticated Senator to Washington and is criminally exploited by his State's political racketeers. He uncovers their hypocrisies and is faced with a choice between serving the political machine or being destroyed by it. Mr Smith will not submit, is framed on a false charge, broken and disgraced. And all the other Mr Smiths who stayed at home are likely to go on being ex- ploited and abused; their public funds filched and wasted ; their press controlled by corrupt politicians ; their police employed as a racketeers' private army. The film shirks none of these grow- ing pains of democracy in evolution, and the agony of them is sufficient to drive Mr Smith beyond the acquiescent cynicism of his friends into a black despairing hatred of the system of government he has idealised. And then the brooding interrogation of Mr Abraham Lincoln in stone (assisted by Jean Arthur, since Mr Smith and all of us need also the warmer stimulation of flesh and blood) works the democratic miracle upon Mr Smith. He is reminded that Abe also had his racketeers, that such parasites on the body democratic are not big men but "just throw big shadows", that laws and constitutions are made in the long demo- cratic run by the Mr Lincolns and preserved by the Mr Smiths ; and it is up to men of their kidney to use those laws and constitutions, not as phrases to be reverently recited, mere words memorable and dead, but as weapons to fight with and tools to build with. So Mr Smith goes back to the Senate and, using his democratic weapons, fights and breaks the corrupt political machine. Mr Smith Goes to Washington is a remarkable compound of qualities. In theme reminiscent of Mr Deeds Goes to Town, it is in every way an advance on the earlier film. Brilliantly cast and with magnificent dialogue, it is almost com- pletely free of Capra's former weakness for smart-aleck sentimentalities. No film has estahn lished its background with greater authenticity and no film has built to a more powerful climax. Yet amidst all its excitements it contrives quite naturally and palatably to explain essential de- tails of the American system of government which even an instructional film for jurists would have found none too easy to handle. But these are details. Here is a film that opens a window on to something worth fighting for. Here is a film which reveals an opportunity which dictatorship, whether from the right or left, whether home or foreign-made, would take away from us — the future oppor- tunity to send, not only our Mr Smiths to Washington, but our Mr Browns to West- minster, to build our system of government the way we want it built. Thank you, Mr Smith. FILM OF THE MONTH FOR CHILDREN GuUiver's Travels. A Paramount picture. Pro- duction : Max Fleischer. Direction : Dave Fleischer. Cert. U. Reviewed by an educationist Gulliver's travels may have been satire a few hundred years ago, but today it takes a lot of work to find it anything but one of the world's best stories. Children love it : at least they love to have it told to them. Which is to say that the essential story is the first thing and the fantastic detail the next. Let's not worry about satire: the thing's a fairy tale. Max Fleischer got that bit right anyway, but in order to make his fairy tale palatable to grown-ups he had to introduce boy and girl as Prince and Princess. This childish intrusion is going to bore the children but con- siderably less than most films do, sO let it pass. Nobody except the Film Society is going to com- pare it with Snow White, so let that pass too. I prophesy that the children are going to like the colour, shout with glee at Gabby, the bizarre little town crier of Lilliput, and quake with him when he discovers Gulliver on the beach. They will shriek with delight at the Heath Robinsonish engineering feat of trussing up Gulliver and pulling him through the streets. The film is full of the kind of incident which children like ; the discovery of Gulliver's watch, the firing of the pistol, the table-top cabaret and the conquest of the Blefcscu fleet. They won't have time to mind the music or the love story. On the whole Gulliver is almost as good as you would wish it for a Saturday morning. That is my guess. What two children did think of it xomes next. Reviewed by a schoolboy GULLIVER'S TRAVELS dcscrves the very highest of praise; it completely fulfilled my expectations. It is as prolific in songs and laughter as was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. To single out any figure for individual praise is not an easy task, but of some, however, men- tion must be made. Gabby, the town crier of Lilliput, though of secondary importance to the plot, is by far the most comic person in a land of comic people. The two kings, Bombo and Little, have all the characteristics of stage clowns, but their lack of regal dignity only adds to the wealth of humour. Gulliver does not really justify his position as the central figure until the end of the film. Then, however, he atones for this by uniting the warring countries of Lilliput and Blefescu for ever. It was not only the Lilliputians who were sorry when Gulliver sailed his boat away into the blue. Reviewed by another schoolboy ON THE WHOLE I liked Gulliver's Travels, mosi of it making me roar with laughter. I thought the storm scene very good, th( lighting effects beautiful, and the scene when; the Lilliputians looked for Gulliver while actu ally standing on his chest the funniest. The tw( kings taking fingerfuls of icing off the weddinj, cake, and the binding of Gulliver amused mi very much too. I liked Gabby, the town crier, and the littli Blefescan spy most, while the great wealth of de tail on every object impressed me tremendously I did not like the Prince and Princess at all, a they seemed unnatural and obviously drawings whereas Kings Little and Bombo appeared ver human, and I would have been quite as happ with a less fortunate end for the pair! Altogether I think Max Fleischer, theproducei did well, but that Disney could have done better r on this page next nuonth THE STARS LOOK DOWN THE WIZARD OF OZ DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER FEBRUARY 1940 PUBLIC REACTION FHE LION HAS WINGS [Precis of a survey made hy Mass-Observation, an jrganisaiion attempting to analyse British public ipinion, run by Tom Harrisson and Charles Madge.] 5F TWO HUNDRED people interviewed the weeic Defore Christmas, 55 per cent had seen the film, in exceptionally high figure, partly because the ilm was released without bars and partly because ;o many went from a "sense of duty", a quality iccentuated in war-time. For example : — "My father says 'Oh, it's magnificent, you must go and see it'. He hasn't seen it himself, but he thinks it right to talk like that." (Man, 20, middle class.) "I didn't go as it was a war picture. I know it was propaganda but I didn't go." (Woman, 60, working class.) "I must see that picture. I don't like aeroplane pictures, but I feel it's my duty." (Woman, 50, middle class.) Fostering this tendency was the method of ad- j/ertising the film, which sometimes took the form !)f aeroplane displays, but more often of civic re- ;eptions or formal parades of soldiers or air brce men at the opening. At Southampton, for [;xample, the Mayor gave the film a send-oflT at WO cinemas, while at Croydon fifty air force men narched through the streets to the Odeon. At jiigh Wycombe, the Air Ministry organised a lisplay. 7i"„ of those who had seen the film said that ihey had liked it, 38% of them liking it very much, hese being mainly women, and, to a lesser ex- ent, older men. But a qualitative analysis of the easons given for the like or dislike of the film ieveals that, of all who had seen it, 44% found omething positive to praise, while 43% criticised he lack of story and 21° '„ criticised the propa- ganda element. A very large proportion of those k'ho liked the film contented themselves with a BW words, "very nice", "I enjoyed it", "it was |ery good", while very few of those who disliked he film failed to give reasons in detail. Most riticise the story: — "There was no continuation, it was just a collection of snapshots. It could have been good with a story." (Man, 30, worker.) "Topping, but the love element might have been cut out; that was silly." (Woman, 50, middle class.) People, especially the working classes, con- ervatively resented the "lack of story", felt more trongly it was propaganda. Some were content b dismiss the film with the one word "propa- ;anda" ; others were more explicit : — "I think it un-British to shove propaganda down your throat like that ; they should regard us as more intelligent than that." (Man, 20, worker.) "I didn't like it at all, it was propaganda. Nobody wants to see that sort of thing, it's not entertainment." (Woman, 25, working class.) 17% of the survey said that they could not relieve the film: — "I was thinking that it looked very beautiful, but with my experience of Government de- partments 1 didn't believe it. But it emphasises the bravery of the R.A.F." (Woman, 40, middle class.) Some, however, were impressed by the revela- tion of our air defences. "It was fine to see how it all works. So many don't know." (Man, 45, middle class.) "I think all people who are nervous should go and see it." (Woman, 25, working class.) "We feel quite safe now because we know all that Hitler does and as soon as his planes leave the ground we know all about it." (Woman, 40, middle class.) The Press, on the other hand, was almost un- animous in praising the film. 83% of Press criti- cism was favourable to The Lion Has Wings, and 58% praised the film greatly. Of all the critics only Graham Greene mentioned what one in every twenty men-in-the-street interviewed spon- taneously complained of, namely, that some sequences were from The Gap, a film made some years ago to prove how weak our defences were. The Aeroplane, in an article entitled "The Uni- corn Has Tailplanes", was highly sarcastic especially at the technical details:— "It is one of the most essential features of any air picture that the characters should take off in one sort of aeroplane, fly in another sort, and alight in a third entirely different sort. . . . "One moment the Germans are a formation of Tiger Moths, the next they are an Empire flying boat or a B.A.C. Drone. Only the pilots remain the same, which seems a pity, they are such an evil looking lot." Observer reports of audience response to The Lion Has Wings were made at the Leicester Square Theatre, London, at Cricklewood, at Tottenham Court Road, at Streatham, and in "Work town". Altogether 143 response points were noted in the film, but only eight sequences got a response at every show: — • (1) First sight of the King at his Scottish camp. Loud claps. (2) First sight of Hitler. Boos or hisses. (3) Second sight of Hitler. Boos or hisses. (4) Sight of children being looked after in opening sequence. Murmurs of sympathy. (5) Emmett's remark about "Scotsmen throw- ing heavy things about". Laughs. (6) The Royal Family doing the "Chestnut Tree". Loud laughs. (7) One of the airmen on the Kiel raid deciding that his party will have to be put off" until the next night. Laughs. (8) The pilot asking his operator to get Mr Middleton on the wireless. Laughs. Bewildered comment was caused by the sudden flash-back to Queen Elizabeth; the scene at the end which the New Statesman described as "Miss Oberon stating her war aims", caused a great deal of adverse comment, as did the end of the arma- ment-making scene. The end of the film was generally clapped very half-heartedly and not at all at "Worktown". In brief, the film was widely seen ; in at least two cinemas it broke all existing records despite concurrent showings. Yet while a large percent- age of those who saw it and an overwhelming majority of the Press praised it, the film may not have had such an encouraging effect as was hoped. Many of those who said they liked the film apparently only did so because they thought it the right thing to say, and those who did not like it time and time again objected to both propaganda and story. It seems likely that famous actors confuse matters if they are dragged into a picture only because of the box-oflice value of their names, and that the propaganda of the film needs to be much more subtle. What most won public confidence in this picture was the humour of everyday life. EDITORIAL NOTE. These, and many other con- clusions reached by Mass-Observation studies, make it clear that a fully-organised study of audi- ence reactions, if sufficiently well-financed, would be immensely valuable to the Film Trade, to docu- mentary film-makers, and quite possibly to the Ministry of Information. Mass-Observation is planning schemes for this on a nation-wide coverage, and any readers of documentary news LETTER who would like to help should write to Mr Tom Harrisson, Mass-Observation, 82 Ladbroke Road, London, W.l. LONDON SCIENTIFIC FILM SOCIETY The L.S.F.S. was the first London Film Society to open after the outbreak of war. Its programmes are balanced between films for the layman and films for the scientist. Join the London Scientific Film Society, 30 Bedford Row, W.C.I. CHAncery 5201. Subscription 15/- or 10/- for a season of four shows. Guest tickets, 3/9 and 2/6. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER FEBRUARY 1940 REALIST FILM UNIT SPRING J^^Q FILMS A FILM OF A NATIONAL NEWSPAPER FOR "THE TIMES" DIRECTED BY PAUL ROTHA A FILM OF NATIONAL RESOURCES FOR THE GAS INDUSTRY DIRECTED BY EDGAR ANSTEY A FILM OF LIFE IN GREAT BRITAIN FOR THE BRITISH COUNCIL DIRECTED BY JOHN TAYLOR & PHILIP LEACOCK 111 CHARING CROSS ROAD LONDON WC2 . DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER FEBRUARY 1940 BRITISH DOCUMENTARY ACTIVITY THE NEW YEAR secs the British documentary people busier than they have been for the past six months. Film Centre is drawing up a general report — from a film point of view — on the changes brought about in social living in Great Britain by the war — and, as part of the report, is preparing detailed scenarios, with research memoranda, on four social subjects. Three of these, and the personnel now working on each, are : Evacuation (Basil Wright and Paul Fletcher), The Preservation of Cultural Life (Arthur Elton and Stanley Hawes), and Food Problems: Rationing and Nutrition (Edgar Anstey, R. I. Grierson and Ralph Bond). The fourth subject is not yet fixed but consideration is being given to Public Opinion (Paul Rotha and Donald Alex- ander). This project is being carried out in co- operation with P.E.P. This is one of the most comprehensive and carefully planned projects for documenting life in film terms yet undertaken. Most of the films commissioned last October by the British Council are either finished or are nearing show-copies. They are the G.P.O. Film Unit's S.S. Ionian by Humphrey Jennings ; Realist Film Unit's film of British life by John Taylor and Philip Leacock; British Films' London River; a Len Lye colour abstract; G.B. Instructional's British Empire Round Atlantic, by Mary Field, and On Guard in the Air by Bruce Woolfe; Strand Films' These Children Are Safe by Alex Shaw; two from Paramount, Britain Shoulders Arms and Royal Review; two from British Movietone, Women in Wartime and IVar Comes to London; and Thoroughbred, a film about horses, by Pathe. Each film has 'oeen de- signed primarily for overseas distribution. Publicity Films report that Montgomery Tully has just finished Circus, a film for the National Savings Committee, and a film for the Ford Motor Company about Dagenham. Also in hand at Merton Park Studios is a film dealing with the National Register. John Lewis is doing a film for Cadbury on food rationing and Tully has started out on a film dealing with industrial machinery behind the war. British Colloids have commis- sioned a technical film from Publicity Films. Another item in the Merton Park sche- dule is a film on the manufacture of liquid oxygen. Cecil Musk continues in charge of all production. The G.P.O. Film Unit reports that Harry Watt's Balloon Barrage is finished and that the whole Unit is working on a munitions subject. Realist Film Unit hopes to have Rotha's "The Times" film. The Thunderer, ready by the middle of February ; Walter Leigh is writing the music with Constant Lambert conducting the Sadlers Wells Theatre Orchestra. At G.B. Instructional, Mary Field is now engaged on a series of four films for the National Federation of Women's Institutes. She has also completed, for theatrical release. Babes in the Wood, a film about young animals ; Valley of the Sun, a film of the River Douro ; and Men Against Mountains, which deals with afforestation. Science Films have in hand Government work of a confidential kind. From Spectator Films will come at least two new Points of View, "Is Efficiency a Vice?" and "Is Craftsmanship Better than Mass-Production?" The Shell Film Unit has Cinemagazine No. 4 ready, is working on a film about Fuel Oil and is making versions of eleven films in Dutch, French, Portuguese and Spanish. March of Time states that one of its units is joining the B.E.F. in France. During the month two films, The Gift of Health and Sport at the Local, have been made by a new unit, Cameo Films, directed by James Carr and photographed by Robert Gee. A. P. Herbert comments the pub one. DOCUMENTARY IN THE UNITED STATES Pare Lorentz' success with The Plow and The River well earned the promotion of his out- fit. It is now the U.S. Film Service with a govern- mental production programme line-up. Con- gress has not yet made an appropriation to cover the distribution activities of the Service but mean- while the cameras are turning. Lorentz himself has two films in production. Behold the Man is about unemployment in America. It has already had a radio production by the Columbia Work- shop in America and by the B.B.C. in England. From the radio versions we judge that it marks yet another step forward for Lorentz, with dialogue and characterisation more intimate than anything in The Plow or The River. His other film is based on Paul de Kruif 's Fight for Life, and deals with the Chicago Maternity Center. Joris Ivens is back from Ohio with most of the footage for his rural electrification film, to be called Power in the Land. The fourth film in the U.S. Film Service list is one for the AAA and is ■ being directed by Robert Flaherty. Flaherty is in the Middle West and if we know anything his cameras will be grinding to some purpose. * * * Design for Living sounds like Noel Coward but this time it is another design and another way of life: it is the title of Willard van Dyke's 16 mm. two-reeler on one of New York's progressive girls' colleges. The film has been sponsored by the Alumnae Association of the Sarah Lawrence jCollege to show the advantages of the progressive leducation which the school provides. * * * , Films is a new quarterly devoted to the dis- 'jCussion and analysis of the cinema. It deals ..mainly with the aesthetics of films and most of the contributors to the first issue are technicians. Mainly they talk of practice but there is also theoretical discussion and two scenarios are re- printed. Leading articles are The Cinematised Child by Edgar Dale, and Sound in Films by Alberto Cavalcanti. Kurt London writes on Film Music of the Quarter and Richard Griffith on Films at the World's Fair. The editorial board is headed by Jay Leyda, whose articles in Cinema Quarterly and World Film News will be re- membered. Films is issued by Kamin Publishers, 15 West 56th Street, New York City, and costs two dollars per annum. * * * The Association of School Film Libraries acts as agent and headquarters for the hundreds of regional, state, university and school film libraries throughout the U.S. and the first volume of its revised catalogue represents a fair offering at the end of one year's working. One item catches our eye. Listed for the first time and not available elsewhere to educational organisations are ten March of Time subjects, including Maginot Line and Nazi Germany, some on U.S. services such as coastguards and one or two on social problems like Prison Reform and Refugees. These are a notable addition to the non- theatrical films of America and their use in schools and colleges is already providing the basis of thoughtful discussion. * * * American Film Center has just issued a circular recommending and describing thirty selected 16 mm. films available for special non-theatrical uses. Designed to articulate the demand for non- theatrical films, the subjects are grouped as fol- lows: Public Administration, Community Life, Education, Ethnology, Animals, Workers and Jobs, and Health. This pamphlet will help dis- cussion groups throughout the country to choose wisely the material for their meetings. * * * Human Relations. Another group of films now providing fruitful discussion in United States educational circles is the series of shorts pro- duced by the PEA's Commission on Human Relations. These shorts are re-edited Hollywood features. Shorn of subsidiary plots and cut down to two reels, the essential problems of the films are presented as case studies of social, racial and personality problems. There is ample evidence that the films are promoting lively dis- cussion and the diehards who still denounce the movies for trespassing on the school are shouted down loudest of all by the children themselves. A new catalogue (just issued to replace an earlier edition which sold at the rate of five hundred a month) gives outlines of the films and teacher's notes, along with a provoca- tive account of the project's means and ends by Alice V. Keliher. * * * The Museum of Modern Art Film Library announces that a new series of ten programmes of French, German and Russian films will be shown in its auditorium daily for an indefinite period. The films include The Italian Straw Hat, Maedchen in Uniform, Kino-Pravda, Potemkin, and Arsenal. The programmes will be shown in rotation so that by attending on ten consecutive days, or by attending on a set day for ten weeks, the complete cycle can be seen. This rotation technique has been tried out already with great success. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER FEBRUARY 1940 m rivrr ill i 1 ij MONTHLY THREEPENCE NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 1940 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is issued only to private sub- scribers and continues the policy and purpose of World Film News by expressing the documentary idea towards everyday living. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is produced under the auspices of Film Centre, London, in asso- ciation with American Film Center, New York. EDITORIAL BOARD Thomas Baird Arthur Elton John Grierson Paul Rotha Basil Wright Outside contributions will be welcomed but no fees will be paid. We are prepared to deliver from 3 — 50 copies in bulk to Schools, Film Societies and other organi- sations. Owned and published by FILM CENTRE LTD. 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W.l GERRARD 4253 NON-THEATRICAL DISTRIBUTION IN GREAT BRITAIN This article is a digest of a much longer statement of the war-time situation in the field of non-theatrical film distribution. Copies of the fuller text can be obtained on application to Film Centre Ltd., 34 Soho Square, London, W.I. Please enclose threepence with your request to cover postage and dispatch. UK WHEN WAR broke out much of the non- theatrical woric of films vanished overnight. Audiences were disbanded in schools, in workers' institutes, in Adult Education bodies, and in film societies and study groups. It looked as though a period of stagnation was going to undo the value of the significant and rapidly growing distribu- tion of educational and documentary films. But the enquiring cultural life of a nation cannot be put on a shelf, and before long evacuated teachers were organising shows both instructional and entertaining for their evacuated pupils. The pro- jectors used were soon pressed into the service of local schools, and in the evenings the villages and evacuated adults gathered round for a third session. Hundreds of adult groups and societies have been formed. Soon, the adult groups and societies revived and their postponed programmes were once more put into effect. The demand for 16mm. films greatly increased. All the national film libraries report an increase in traflic and the 1938 figure of 29,000 dispatches from the Em- pire Film Library went up to 37,000 in 1939, and that period includes the one dead month of September. Reports from the Provinces A teacher from the North of England writes : "The film has been a boon in our school since evacuation has meant the shift system. Here, in , half the day we are obliged to use a building with four rooms suitable as classrooms, but we have a good sized hall. Weekly film programmes have enabled us to instruct and amuse a big crowd of youngsters at the same time. We have therefore organised background shows independent of the ordinary curricular limits. This successful venture has proved that regular background shows are worthwhile and valuable as a humanising influence. We should like to continue them in peace-time, and in school hours. A good war- time slogan would be 'A sound projector for every village hall, community centre and co- operative hair." An observer in Manchester says: "The sound projector owned by the city education authority has been taken round to various reception areas and used for school and evening shows, and lent to certain areas for use in the schools. Silent projectors have been dis- tributed to various evacuated Manchester schools, and have also been made available to all the schools in these reception areas. These projectors have been particularly useful where there have been double shifts. Some projectors have been used to a limited extent for small groups of non-evacuated children ini Manchester. All films for this purpose have been supplied from the Manchester Education Committee's library, through the same organ- isation, and in the same way, as books." In Scotland, the teachers organised, on their own initiative, a non-theatrical scheme operating on twenty travelling projectors in twenty areas— (a report of this appeared in our last issue). This voluntary scheme was supported for two months by the Scottish Ministry of Information. Now future plans depend largely on what attitude is taken by the Scottish Office. An interesting development has also been seen in districts where teachers organised themselves into committees and approached the local cinema managers for the use of their theatres The Odeon circuit reports that it has organised about forty shows of this kind. Their local mana- gers co-operated with local reception or teachers committees. Sometimes these committees wen ready to hand, in such cases as the Bath Chil dren's Cinema Council. At other times, thi education authority took the initiative am organised the shows with the assistance of th' local managers. A Glorious Makeshift The whole situation reflects the continuin bravery of the teachers and the informal educa tors. Their effort is magnificent. It is a glorioi makeshift. Sometimes makeshifts get by i peace-time, but in war-time we are apt to si: them for what they are. Today a national noi theatrical plan is necessary, and this plan mu: be based on the needs of the war-time con munity. A prominent educationist said: "Two thin{ are specially needed. The first is the provision ( more sound projectors obtainable on loan or hu at reasonably low rates. The other is, simpi more films. As to projectors, I hope that Loc Education Authorities in particular, will nt consider that the provision of this necessa' piece of equipment for their Senior Schools is luxury in war-time. An educational project' should be a valuable aid to teachers in receptic areas and the fact that it could also be used provide social and educational amenities for t older population is an additional merit. T Board of Education is encouraging Educatit Authorities to help voluntary services concern with youth : and this is one of the services th can render. In the matter of films, the question supply is equally urgent. A new standard w set when the Post Office Film Unit began , work; and the films which have since been spo sored by other organisations show further pos 0- ia m mil ■St t \ DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER FEBRUARY 1940 }ilities. They have aroused an interest which annot at present be adequately met." We shall probably see in time that these needs lardly differ from the long term needs of the lemocratic community in peace. It is on these leeds that the plan must be prepared. The Fundamental Needs rhere is first of all the need of the schools. SVith improvised educational facilities in many ases the lack of proper educational equipment is .Iready being seriously felt. Film lessons can »mpensate, and when the new curriculum, which nust replace the old, is being formulated, film nust bulk large in the scheme. A school inspector says: "With money and transport taken for granted, the following film activities should be arranged for the Schools Films for curricular use, for background teaching and for amusement must be provided to the schools in the reception areas through regional libraries. There should be a sound projector in each school in the rural areas, and this should serve the needs of the whole village as well as the school. In towns a projector is necessary in each neighbourhood for the use of groups of schools and local organisations. A scheme similar to the Scottish scheme must be operated in England, with regular tours of 16 mm. pro- jectors to those areas which do not come into the category of having a projector for the exclusive use of the village or neighbourhood. The use of films for general educational pur- poses should be extended to all places where people can get together. Institutes, clubs, associations, would serve as foci for the cul- tural life of the district or the village." Secondly, the Adult Education field, which includes the Workers' Educational Association, the University Extension, the literary and debating societies, the village institutes, calls for special treatment. These are going to be the dis- cussion groups of the war. In many of them local problems and difficulties will find a nightly airing. Authoritative films would help to guide the dis- cussions and civic co-operation would thereby be facilitated. The third great group in the community to whom film can offer a valuable service is the women's audience. This will be one of the im- portant information areas during the war. Food and economy are largely women's problems. They will require information, help and guidance. Films directed to the existing large audiences of women in the country are today a fundamental need. Next comes the Army, Navy and the civilian service groups. Here the demand is mainly for entertainment, but many of the recruits to all the services — active and civilian — have much to learn about the techniques and instruments of their job. Astonishingly enough, the Army Educa- tional Committee was dissolved immediately war was declared. Technical films in peace-time have proved serviceable to industries, and might again provide the basis of a quick and effective tech- nical education for the services. There are also special needs of limited sections of the community in war-time. Farmers for in- stance might welcome the latest agricultural knowledge if it were attractively portrayed in films. Money All this involves capital expenditure in terms of projectors and auxiliary apparatus; alterations in local budgets as well as direct appropriations from the Treasury; centralised and regional planning, firstly of production and secondly of distribution ; and the regional operation of dis- tribution. There is in existence a supply of film which in peace-time did something of a job. Today the first needs of production are bound to be war needs, and related to war, and much new production will have to be initiated from official departments. But if a wide non-theatrical distribution scheme were to be started many sources of production, momentarily dried up, would flow again. While wide and directive non-theatrical dis- tribution is absolutely vital during the war, its value will continue and increase when the war is over. The acquiring of a wide non-theatrical scheme by Great Britain would be of pemianent value, and of the greatest use in the post-war period, when education of this nature will be vital to the reconstruction and betterment of our social and civic communities. i FILM PlLlMTIOi ^ A New Quarterly Edited by Jay Leyda 2 Dollars a Year PubUshed by Kamin Publishers 15 West 56th Street New York NY .1 ^^-^__»^^^^^^^^^^^-^^.^_^ hi on ri Survey of Films at New York World's Fair by Richard Griffith 4 u Study Guides to a new Series of Agricultural Films 10 SI Study Guides to the Human Relations Series of Short Films )«« (Selected List of Thirty 16 mm. Films for Discussion Groups for particulars and prices apply AMERICAN FILM CENTER INC 45 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA NEW YORK NY Volume One of School Film Library Catalogue for particulars and prices apply ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL FILM LIBRARIES 9 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA NEW YORK NY 10 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER FEBRUARY 1940 3 NULLI SECUNDUS itf ANGLO-AMERICAN FILM CORPORATION LIMITED 123 WARDOUR STREET LONDON Wl kt -;|te Kl THE LEADING DISTRIBUTORS OF FEATURETTES THAT MATTER DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER FEBRUARY 1940 11 FILM CATALOGUE OF THE. MONTH he Empire Film Library. (New Edition Sep- imber, 1939.) Price Id. post free, from the nperial Institute, South Kensington, S.W.7. HIS CATALOGUE is an indispensable seven- ennyworth for every teacher or social worker 'ho uses films. Since the 1937 edition was pub- shed, borrowers have had to manage with sup- lementary lists printed on cumbersome galley- roof sheets; this new and complete list with its ell-arranged subject index is, therefore, oppor- ine. An improvement in future editions would e some sort of loose-leaf binding to allow for the isertion of additional lists. In a short preface, the Director of the Imperial astitute contributes a note on the work of the ibrary and on its remarkable growth. During le last four years, the number of registered bor- Dwers has increased from under two thousand to iree thousand five hundred ; on this basis, some undreds of thousands of children and adults lust see the Empire Library films each year. It is encouraging to find that considerable dditions have been made to the number of opies of those films most in demand. Nothing is lid, however, about the standards which govern le acceptance of films for inclusion in the .ibrary. Although, in general, experience shows that the level of films issued by the Library is extremely high, occasionally a film on an over- seas topic is so completely lacking in film crafts- manship as to be valueless; such a film as The Gate of China is, in the reviewer's opinion, a case in point. An examination of the catalogue re- veals, too, the presence in the Library of one or two films which will offend the educationalist through overstressed publicity. (It is a minor de- fect of the catalogue that the origin of many films is not specified.) Commercially sponsored films are permissible in the school cinema if the element of publicity in them is slight, and their positive educational value is great. The films issued by the Petroleum Films Bureau are one indication that some industries at least recognise the wisdom of creating instructional films free from a narrowly competitive spirit. But it must be admitted that a certain amount of undesirable advertising has, in the past, found its way into the schoolroom through the film. On these grounds, certain films off'ered by industry might have been gently but firmly refused. The Empire Film Library is a unique institu- tion, and its new catalogue is a reminder of the debt of gratitude due to the Director from all those who seek to broaden the horizons of their pupils through films, slides and other visual aids. NON-THEATRICAL FILM LIBRARIES Note: Borrowers of films are asked to apply as much in advance as possible, to give alternative dates for book- ings, and to return the films immediately after they have been shown so that others may make use of them. The terms of hire are liable to alteration with short notice. Educational & General Services, Little Holt, Merton Lane, Highgate, London, N.6. A very wide selection of silent films of all kinds, particu- larly of overseas interest, and a few sound films. A hire charge is made and prints may be pur- chased outright. 16 mm. Ensign Film Library, 88-89 High Holborn, Lon- don, W.C.I. Wide selection of all types of film including fiction, comedies, documentaries and films of geography, animal life and industry (many silent films). Some films may be bought outright. Hire charge: 2.?. 6d. a reel (first day), \s. a reel for each subsequent day. 16 mm. Kodak Ltd., Kingsway, London, W.C.2. (a) Kodascope Library. Silent films of every kind, instructional, documentary, feature, western and comedy. Strong on early American comedies — Harry Langdon, Reginald Denny, Stan Laurel and Chaplin, etc. Hire charge: 2s. 6d. per reel per day. 16 mm. and 8 mm. (A separate List of Educational Films, extracted from the above, is also published. A number of films have teaching notes.) (b) Medical Film Library. Circulation re- stricted to members of medical profession. Some colour films. A hire charge is made and some prints are also for outright sale. 16 mm. silent. Pathescope, North Circular Road, Cricklewood, London, N.W.2. Wide selection of silent films, including cartoons, comedies, drama, documentary, travel, sport and interest subjects ; also good selection of early American and Ger- man films. Hire charge : 2s. a reel silent, 2s. a reel sound, with reduction for extra days. Prices increased at weekends. 9.5 mm. Religious Film Library, 104 High Holborn, Lon- don, W.C.I. Sound films of religious and temper- ance appeal and a useful list of supporting films from other sources. Silent films are available. Hire charge : 3^. a reel (silent), 5.?. a reel (sound). 16 mm. Workers' Film Association, 145 Wardour Street, London, W.l. Some outstanding sound films of democratic and co-operative interest, with an excellent selection of films from other sources. Full notes and suggestions for complete pro- grammes. Sound and silent. For sale or hire. 35 mm. and 16 mm. Sound-Film Services, 10 Park Place, Cardiflf. Library of selected sound films including Mass- ingham's And so to Work and Pollard's Dragon of Wales. Rome and Sahara have French com- mentaries. In addition to specialised films some subjects of general entertainment nature. Hire charges : per reel ; first day 5^., subsequent days \s. 6d., weekend 5s. 6d. All 16 mm. Southern Railway Film Library, General Manager's Office, Waterloo Station, S.E.I. Seven silent films (one in colour) of a general nature, including Building an Electric Coach, South African Fruit (Southampton Docks to Covent Garden), and films on seaside towns. One film of Bournemouth on 9.5 mm. No hire charges made for approved borrowers. 12 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER FEBRUARY 1940 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS These Children are Safe. A Strand Film. Pro- duction: Taylor. Direction: Shaw. Camera: Jago. Music: Alwyn. Commentary: Hilton. Distribution: Anglo-American (theatrical). THIS IS SPONSORED by the British Council and will be widely shown abroad. Shaw has stuck very closely to the title. The children we see are safe and happy. Their health and educational problems are being dealt with — in various sur- roundings. Everyone is being helpful and pleasant. Whether or no this is a fully accurate picture of conditions in the early autumn of 1939 (conditions now are hardly relevant, being so different), it is quite certain that it is a fairly wide and genuine reportage of the kids adapting them- selves to their new surroundings. It is superbly well directed (Shaw has a special genius with children) and the photography is outstandingly good. A fellow-critic has described Hilton's commentary as "coy". We concur. Shaw's work needed something better. Transfer of Power. Production: Elton. Direction: Bell. Photography: Beadle. Diagrams: Hodker. and Protection of Fruit. Production: Elton. Direction: Tharp. Photography: Rodwell and Hillier. Dis- tribution: Non-theatrical from Petroleum Films Bureau, 15 Hay Hill, W.l. 35 mm. and 16 mm. TRANSFER OF POWER has Created a new style of diagrammatic film, one of the most difficult forms of documentary. It is interesting to com- pare its treatment with the Atlantic Film efforts along the same lines, as in Mouvements Vibra- toires. Transfer of Power, just as efficient as the latter, avoids somehow the cold and dry French approach. Transfer of Power is perfect, too, in many other ways ; not only are the diagrams themselves treated with simplicity and imagination, but the difficult balance between the diagrams and the straight shooting is fully attained. And, above all, clear explanation, both by visuals and com- mentary, of such an intricate subject, is success- fully achieved. This clarity is the main problem in films of this kind. Protection of Fruit is a documentary film in which the reason for production is the use of oil in the orchards of various countries. Its main purpose is the showing of the life history, effect and prevention of different types of fruit pests. The diagrams and photography are good. The microscopic camera work excellent. Protection of Fruit has not only a pleasant quality of its own but a kind of Wellsian touch about it. African Skyway. A Strand Film. Presented: Taylor. Camera: Jago. Sound cutting: EUitt. Distribution: Anglo-American (theatrical). By a civil aviation expert. ALL WHO ENJOY travclogues will like African Skyway — a new film for Imperial Airways — which runs for about 30 minutes. It is well con- nected and one's interest is held throughout. I was quite sorry when the film ended. The film deals with the air route pioneered by Imperial Airways from Cairo to Cape Town. The flying is incidental to the film, which shows life at several of the towns which are ports of call on the route. I would have preferred a little more of this because one had only a brief ghmpse of Khartoum after quite a long stay in Cairo ; simi- larly, I would have liked to have visited places in between Kisumu and Durban. The film, in my opinion, could be lengthened without the risk of its interest flagging. It opens with some shots of various jungle animals taken presumably from a low-flying air- craft. I found it hard to accustom myself to the movement for a few moments. It might have been better to have a few shots first from a stationary camera to allow the eye to become focussed. The photography is excellent throughout. The high-lights to my mind were a flying boat land- ing among the dense shipping in Alexandria harbour, a really glorious shot of the Murchison Falls, native women descending from a bus at the equator, and the Sunday native dance at a South African gold mine. The sound is good and not obtrusive, while the commentary is adequate and never facetious, which is rather unusual these days. If you use the air mail you must see this film and next time you stick on your blue label you will stop and think of the many stages through which your letter passes on its destination and the wonderful organisation behind the Empire air routes. Karoo. Production: G.B.I. Direction and Photo- graphy: Schauder. Editing: Chambers. Com- mentary: Emmett. Distribution : G.F.D. (theatrical). AS THE TRAVELLER on the "Union Express" from Cape Town to Johannesburg starts his journey, he climbs through magnificent moun- tain scenery and comes out on a dry, brown, dull plain, covered with sparse shrubs and grasses, through which the train rolls monotonously for hours. This is the Karoo, an area of about 100,000 square miles, more than three thousand feet above sea-level, with an annual rainfall which seldom exceeds twelve inches. This region is the location of the film Karoo, which tells the story of a typical sheep farmer, showing his continual efforts to provide water for his flocks, the protection of the sheep, the shear- ing, and the sale of the crop in Port Elizabeth. It is one of a series of films made by Leon Schauder in collaboration with G.B.I., and as a serious attempt, by a South African, to show an aspect of South African life on the screen, it marks a great step forward in the development of that country's films. The director has chosen his types with care, and no one will easily forget the old farmer. The shooting, too, is frequently impressive, and always attractive. But here lies one of the film's weaknesses, for the director seems to prefer a pretty picture to a lucid one, and in his concern with pictorial beauty he fails to get to real grips with his subject. There seems, for instance, to be no justification for including the Cape Town sequence, except as an excuse to use the shots of a liner leaving Table Bay. The appropriate Afrikaans music could have been morecftective by being more sparingly used. Love on the Wing. Production: G.P.O. Direction: McLaren. Camera: Jones and Gamage. Dufay- color. 35 mm. Distribution : not fixed. IH'CI 001 *.' By an artist and commercial designer I SUPPOSE IT is inevitable that what first strikes an artist about this film is the painted back-| * ground. The action all takes place in front of onei i of those bare Chiricoesque settings that seem to have crept into the repertoire of even the com- mercial studios. In the unfamiliar world of the, gjvi films one clings to the familiar fantasy. It's a very, ^^ pleasant world this one, nice colour and looks ) j^^ warm. When the action starts it looks like ballet broken loose from the laws of gravity. Bouquets are certainly due to Mr McLaren for his handling, of the story. The little figures, drawn in simple, fat white outline, grow and change with alarming and gay vitality. Possibly the action is a little fast for the unsophisticated eye. Some of theJjiQ, allusion of the drawing is lost because such extreme simplification of ideas (lovers kissing become two mouths kissing and so on) requires a little interval for the idea to get across to the audience. I suspect that Mr McLaren has tried to. |^ force too many pictorial ideas into the film.| i^j. Anyway it's a fault on the right side. j ~.^ ny U ain aim igai Mia alwl ina ^SA l»aie imiK Uen tead itai Cargo for Ardrossan. Direction: R. I. Grierson. Assistant: Keen. Camera: Jeakins. Production: R.F.U. Distribution: Anglo-American (theatri- cal). HERE IS AN unpretentious documentary wdth tlti|lilisti( precious virtue of never getting too big for its: boots, which Miss Grierson keeps firmly to the ground she has chosen — the relationship between two sharply contrasting yet economically in- separable communities. The mode of life of the Scottish island of Islay is shaped by the mixed cargoes which arrive byl steamer from Glasgow, ninety miles away — aui adulteration of native simplicities which ha?- been known to provide many a pessimistic theme for the primitive-seeking escapists amongst our directors. The oil tankers which tie up at the wharves of Ardrossan bring, not only to Glasgow but also to the people of Islay the means tc tempting modem comforts and untraditiona! mechanisations. Yet Miss Grierson finds nc slackening of moral fibre in her islanders. She observes and records their day to day behaviom with an unsentimental affection which illum- inates the least spectacular of the human virtues and demonstrates that the people of Islay an no more likely to be seduced by commerc< than is the Chief Tester back in Glasgow whonr we see supervising, with magnificent composure the first try-out of his enormous new Diese engine. The film ends with a reminder that even oi from Ardrossan cannot still the troubled water which condition the life of a small island. Ye the storm sequence is not used as a melodramati' climax. Here again, economy and under-state ment, and a brilliant but unobtrusive camera present commonplace drama in terms of thos 'less obvious but more fundamental elements tha seem to spring quickest to the eye of our womei directors. lei Biar sail ijie iiiii'a WEI DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER FEBRUARY 1940 13 ecrets of Life. Production: G.B.I. Direction: lary Field. Photography: Smith, Pike, Burden. 'ommentary: Emmett. Colour System: Dufay- olor. Distribution: G.F.D. (theatrical). RUCE wooLFE's "Sccrets of Life" have been en on the country's screens for so long that one lUSt applaud the tenacity, imagination, and bove all patience, which have made them pos- ible. The present series represents a fresh stage f progress. They are photographed in Dufay- olor. The very quietness and somewhat subdued Dnes are appropriate to films of natural history. )ufaycolor, moreover, with its single negative, lakes the task of the cameraman easier. Some if the more cumbersome systems would make uch photography of wild life impossible. In ertain shots the colour is very beautiful. A oung badger, with his black and white striped oat, enjoying himself in a pool of muddy v-ater, and a shot of the edge of a pond, with its tony bottom showing through the clear water, re lovely things. If colour does not unduly limit the camera- lan in terms of exposure and focus, filming wild features should be easier. The difficulty of get- ing animals to do what the director wants is ■resumably the same, but colour permits greater ifferentiation. A male stickleback is clearly dis- inguished from a female by his pink throat, /hereas in monotone both would look identical. Microphotography, too, is aided by colour nd when the blood of an embryo newt develops rom a colourless to a fairly red fluid, the change ; easily discernible and scientifically important. Vrtistic though colour films can be, their greatest mportance is probably scientific. Accurate oiour therefore becomes essential. Colour is a definite approach towards realism. V water-beetle, or a dragon-fly larva in colour ^ much more real, and less photographic. Jnderwater life becomes something terrifying, istead of quaint and charming. But in these ■articular films it is difficult to estimate this ealism, because when comparison becomes pos- ibie the commentator usually makes some crack hich serves to distract the attention. The production maintains the standard which ,iMormer films in the series have set. But it is per- ^ pissible to criticise the commentaries. A com- nentary can be interesting, informative, and Is I .musing, without being facetious, and it is a ;3 loubtful pleasure to sit through a whole ten ,,,(^inutes of Emmett's rather overwhelming harivari. -J DUTCH DOCUMENTARY THOUGH THE SIZE of the world population speaking Dutch is relatively small, Holland has shown considerable activity in peace-time in the making of documentary films, more so for ex- ample than Belgium, Denmark, Norway or Sweden. Perhaps the most interesting docu- mentary film maker is Dr J. C. Mol of Multifilm (Haarlem). Dr Mol is a specialist in natural history, and his films are the only ones which we know which can be compared with those of Percy Smith and Mary Field (G.B.I.). His study of the life cycle of the mosquito is one of the most remarkable films of its kind ever made. He has also made colour films of the formation of crystals out of solution and a number of black and white films on the same subject. Unfortun- ately he has not the backing of a system of distribution. r^ The brothers de Haas (Visie-Film, Amster- dam) are also well known for the high level of their work.. Until war broke out they were making a picture for the centenary of the Dutch Railways. Other films are De Ballade van Hoogen Hoed (Ballad of the Silk Hat), a highbrow film in the early avant garde style, and a documentary for K.L.M. on the Dutch East Indies. Working independently is Otto von Neyenhofi", a freelance documentary director. His films are well up to the level of work in other countries. In his RijksmAseiim he has taken a static subject, a picture gallery, and made it live. Jan Teunissen, the director of Pierement and Sabbath, was recently working in Paris. Joris Ivens, whose films date back to the early days of documentary, has made social films in Russia, Spain and China and is at present in New York. One of the commercial film studios, Barnstijn Filmstad at the Hague, has made a three-reeler of the Dutch broadcasting company A.V.R.O. which, though a little uninspired in treatment, is finely photographed and recorded. Unfortun- ately, the full length film released in 1938, de- scribing the rise of Holland as a Colonial and European power, seems to have died an un- timely death. Few people have seen the film and it is said to have been a commercial failure. It was directed by a Paris trained English director instead of use being made of the abundant Dutch talent available. There are several fine cameramen in Holland and the work of Andor von Barsy, a Hungarian by birth, can be compared with any exterior photography in the world. Dutch documentary distribution is also in ad- vance of that in many other countries. Public cinemas are hired on Sunday and weekday morn- ings by private groups of restricted membership who have come together for cultural reasons; the movement is a flourishing one, and the theatres cost anything from £2 to £20 a time. The movement is analogous to the work of Film Societies in England. In other cases money is collected at the door, and the shows appear often to be run as an ordinary commercial speculation. The films, however, have a specialised appeal. There is no formal membership, and any member of the public may come in. Certain municipalities have forbidden the use of cinemas on Sunday mornings on religious grounds, but no objections are raised in the Hague, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Haarlem, Utrecht, Leeuwarden and Nijmegen. In no circumstances are the cinemas opened before 11 a.m. There is also a travelling road-show movement similar to that operating in England and handling films of an advertising nature. Co-ordinating all distribution activities is the Nederlandsche Vereeniging voor Cultureele Films. This organisation serves as a national film library. The main demand is for silent films. But it is to be noted that few of the Dutch schools, which number over 1,500, possess even silent projectors. The N.V.C.F. not only collates information and publishes a catalogue but im- ports non-theatrical films from abroad and enters directly into the field of distribution. It hires films to those who hold projectors, it hires pro- jectors to those who hold films, and it organises shows in cinemas, mostly to adult education groups. N.V.C.F., though oflicially recognised, is financed by private subscription. There is also another group, the Cinema- tografische Volksuniversitait. (Manager: Dr N. H. Wolf.) Dr Wolf is an ex-veterinary surgeon who also edits the paper Den Kiinst. He organises Sunday morning shows up and down Holland of films varying from Vertov's Russian film on women to Frank Buck's Bring 'Em Back Alive. His organisation is without official backing. ,■; llOLUlilL^TAIn .>L" S LLTTIjn renders Mciil he interested in these pamphlets THE STORY OF THE DOCUMENTARY FILM by John Grierson Reprinted from the Fortnightly Review SEARCHLIGHT ON DEMOCRACY by John Grierson a lecture to The British Institute of Adult Education THE CINEMA AND THE INFORMATION SERVICES by Thomas Baird a leeture to The Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux obtainable price 3d. each (post free), from 34 Soho Square, London, W.l 14 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER FEBRUARY 1940 FILM SOCIETY NEWS AFTER AN AUTUMN scason ill which London, for the first time in many years, was virtually without Film Society performances, it is good news that the London Scientific Film Society has opened up again. Programmes in the past have been of especial value in the work of interpreting science to the layman, and the wide scope and catho- licity of its shows have been enthusiastically received. It is very important that this enter- prising body should be fully supported, as war- time conditions tend to make its existence pre- carious. At the first performance of the season seven films were shown, including several "Secrets of Life" films, a Len Lye colour-experi- ment. Bell's film on Gears, and Cavalcanti's Men in Danger. Subscriptions for the season of four performances cost lO.v. or 15^., and membership can be obtained from the Secretary, 30 Bedford Row, W.C.I ; telephone: Chancery 5201. Meantime, there is much encouraging news from the provinces. The Lochaber Film Society, which flourishes exceedingly in the relatively sparsely populated district of Fort William, Scotland, is not merely giving good shows, but arranging link-ups of great civic value. When, for instance, it showed The Londoners (John Taylor's L.C.C. Jubilee Film), members of the Fort William Town Council received special invitations, and local Post Office workers are invited when G.P.O. Film Unit productions are shown. Moreover, the secretary reports that the local cinema has been persuaded to play Professor Mamlock — prob- ably the first time a foreign language film has been shown commercially in such a small town. In the Manchester area both the Manchester and Salford Film Society and the Merseyside Film Institute Society are centres of great activity. Manchester and Salford report that within three days of mailing the prospectus for the season membership reached 200, and is still climbing. Programmes already announced include Peter the Great, Amphitryon, Roads Across Britain, Spare Time, and Drame de Shanghai. The two societies also gave a joint performance which in- cluded a talk by Herbert Hodge. The Merseyside Film Institute Society also sponsors special film shows at the Philharmonic Hall, which include a wide variety of documentaries and other shorts, and feature films such as Green Pastures. Both Societies also run sub-standard lecture meetings, at which pioneer films like Caligari are shown and discussed. Other Societies still in action include Edinburgh, Tyneside, Birmingham, Street, and Sheffield. We should be glad of full monthly re- ports from these and any other societies. Our press day is the 12th of each month. This page should be a useful forum for the exchange of news and views between all Film Societies, but it can only achieve this end if all secretaries will co- operate. Correspondence on Film Society topics will be welcomed. BOOK REVIEW Nobody Ordered Wolves. Jeff"rey Dell. Heine^ mann. Is. 6d. IF ONE TAKES this book as a skit on the British Film Industry, it is very funny. Extravagarice, waste, stupidity, subservience and crooked deal- ing are the proper materials for humour. But when one realises that Mr Dell's material is only very slightly distorted in the telling and that the diflference between straight reporting and a work of fiction is conditioned more by the laws of libel than of creation, laughter remains but is tinged with indignation. Dell's story, the respective fortunes of Philipi Hardcastle, storywriter, and Napoleon Bott, the colossus of the British Film Industry, departs from the truth chiefly in that Mr Bott ends up a bankrupt, whereas his counterparts in real life prosper and wax fat. Nobody Ordered Wolves does not discover a new novelist to the public. Outside the film business, his story is rather weak. The construc- tion of the book is loose and diversions such a^| the career of Miss De la Roche, nee Amji Spragget, instructive though they are, are! irrelevant. But his knowledge of the film world, his characterisation of Bott, Mr Cripps, Miss Carr and a dozen others, is accurate and amus- ing. It is a change from the showdown novel of Hollywood, because the British Film Industry, while imitating the worst features of Hollywood, has introduced a number of quirks of its own. A FILM ABOUT SCIENTIFIC COOKERY PRODUCED BY ARTHUR ELTON DIRECTED BY NORMAN McLAREN RUNNING TIME 18 MINUTES T~^HIS is a two-reel film. The first part is a scientific description of the gas -*- flame. Its flexibility is discussed and then it is shown as the basis of the gas cooker. This sequence is mainly in diagram, and the special qualities of a gas flame are thus made clear. The scientific accuracy of the "Regulo" and its work- ing are depicted. ' I ^HE second part of the film shows the gas cooker at work, and many difi'erent ■*■ styles of cooking are demonstrated. AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE FROM: THE BRITISH COMMERCIAL GAS ASSOCIATION, 1 GROSVENOR PLACE, LONDON, S.W.I DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER FEBRUARY 1940 15 Last year Merton Park Studios Ltd. — associated with Publicity Films Ltd. and Sound-Services Ltd. — produced films for the Ministry of Labour, the British Electrical Development Association, the Ford Motor Company, the Co-operative Wholesale Society, Cadbury Brothers Ltd., the Crown Agents for the Colonies, the Millers' Mutual Association, Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Company Ltd., Hoover Ltd., the National Savings Committee, the Gas Light and Coke Com- pany, the School for the Blind, Chokladfabriken Marabou and many others. The films were about electrical machinery in mines, helping the unemployed in distressed areas, how to sell chocolates, electricity in rural areas, Claude Hulbert, how to cook, circuses, Palestine, some of Mr Cochran's Young Ladies, the wheat trade and many other trades, products and subjects. Now we are making films about food rationing, how motor cars are made, colloids in medicine, industry in war-time, the National Register, and the manufacture of liquid oxygen. We believe in the budgeting and control of costs during progress of production and in scheduling to meet delivery dates; in provision of adequate equipment and studios; in the assignment of technicians from a pool of technical personnel; and in the general supervision necessary to secure a high technical standard of quality. We also believe in giving the maximum liberty of expression to our creative workers. We think that is why we can cope successfully with such an extraordinary variety of subjects and produce films which achieve the objects for which they have been made. ^ STRAND FILMS MAKERS OF QUALITY SHORTS Films completed for release this quarter THESE CHILDREN ARE SAFE GULLIBLE GULL MEN OF AFRICA AFRICAN SKYWAY WINGS OVER THE EMPIRE SYDNEY EASTBOUND "... notable practitioners in this department (Documentary Films) News Chronicle DONALD TAYLOR, Managing Director Owned and published by Flint Centre Ltd.t 34 Soho Square, London^ W. I » and printed by Simson Shand Ltd,, The Shenval Press, London and Hertford I NEWS LEnER VOL 1 No 3 PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY FILM CENTRE 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W1 THREEPENCE 1 NOTES OF THE MONTH 3 NATIONAL PUBLICITY 4 THE CANADIAN FRONT A report from Ottawa on production progress 5 SOUR GRAPES? A discussion of an attack on Hollywood's Grapes of Wrath 6 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS 7 STORY FILM OF THE MONTH Reviews of The Stars Look Down 9 children's FILM OF THE MONTH Reviews of The Wizard of Oz 10 FILMS FOR PRIMITIVE PEOPLES The development of new educational techniques 13 DOCUMENTARY IN THE U.S.A. News from American Film Center 13 BRITISH DOCUMENTARY ACTIVITY Current production notes 15 FILM SOCIETY NEWS IVith reviews of the latest Foreign Films 16 BOOK REVIEWS The Film Answers Back, War Begins at Home, and others 17 NON-THEATRICAL FILM LIBRARIES IVith a review of the British Council Filtn Catalogue 18 CORRESPONDENCE 18 FACT AND OPINION News and views from all quarters The Imperial Theme WAR BRINGS TO normally unthinking citizens a deeper con- sciousness of the Commonwealth. It may even, during the next few years, gradually get people into the way of realising the difference between the Dominions and the Crown Colonies a point on which there is still widespread ignorance. And as the question of Imperialism is likely to loom larger and larger i|both during the war and after, this is all to the good. By the >ame token, it looks as though the cinema will soon become m important factor in Imperial relations. Elsewhere in this ssue will be found encouraging news of Canada's first drive owards a film policy of her own ; and, at the other end of the icale, news of the first efforts to harness the experience of ;ducational film technique to the needs of primitive peoples in Africa and elsewhere. Meantime John Grierson is visiting New Zealand and Australia, under the aegis of the Imperial Rela- ions Trust, and it is to be hoped that his experience in drafting Canadian film policy will be of assistance to the Governments )f those Dominions too. Some form of inter-Dominion public relations service would be of immense value in peacetime, let alone in war; and the idea of establishing Empire Cinemas in London and in all main Dominion cities is perhaps not en- tirely chimerical. If their size was no greater than that of our present newsreel theatres, and if quality productions from the Dominions and Colonies were readily and constantly available, they could probably command good and regular audiences. It is certainly true that whatever mandatory (or other) system might arrive in the future, the continuance of relationships between Britain and overseas would and could not cease. The future of films in this matter is important, and the prospects are already very promising. The Film Society Movement THE PRESERVATION of Cultural activities during wartime is a matter of vital national importance. Last autumn there was some ground for fearing that this side of our life was going to be severely curtailed. Since then, however, there have been several significant movements, such as the provision by London casts and companies of good plays in the provinces, 1 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 the return of Sunday afternoon concerts, the re-opening of many Galleries, and the public-spirited efforts of Myra Hess and her colleagues in providing lunch-hour music in the National Gallery. To this list may now be added the determina- tion of the Film Society movement to play its part. The black outlook of last September might well have been an incentive to film societies — many of which operate on slender finances — to play safe by closing down for the duration. Almost the re- verse has happened. As is revealed on another page of this issue, many societies have continued their work, and in some cases have expanded their activities. For this in several cases they have been rewarded with increased membership. In Scotland, where the movement is strengthened by a well- organised Federation, six out of ten member societies are in full operation. In the English provinces, activities in such centres as Tyneside and Manchester are in full swing. London, which tended to lag behind, has at last got two societies in operation, although the Film Society itself shows (most re- grettably) no signs of life. It is impossible to underestimate the value of the work of the Film Society movement in improving audience approach to the cinema, in making important cultural films available to large numbers of people who would otherwise never have a chance of seeing them, and in en- couraging free criticism and discussion of the Film. Their wartime energies should reap deserved rewards in increased membership and greater financial prosperity. Anthropology THE APPEARANCE at the London Polytechnic Cinema of a most admirable travelogue entitled Dark Rapture is a rem'mdeT of the curious lack of serious anthropological material so far re- corded by the film. Expeditions to tropical or little-explored countries are hazardous and expensive undertakings, and the result has in most cases been that the financiers — or the com- panies to whom the material is sold — have seldom scrupled to substitute sensationalism for accuracy, and even to indulge in enough palpable fakery to cast suspicion on the genuine material. Honourable exceptions, such as Moana, Grass, Nanook, Chang, Voyage au Congo, Song of Ceylon are few and far between. Yet Dark Rapture shows that nothing is lost by sticking closely to the genuine; its interest, even in those sequences which are truly sensational, is never fictitious, while as a pure documentation of the habits and customs of the little-known tribes of Central Africa, it is surely of scientific as well as generalised value. The problem of anthropological study by film is thus proved to be largely financial ; and as it is difficult to expect commercial film companies to place box- office principles second to scientific integrity, it is to be pre- sumed that genuine films of this type will continue to be rare, unless some other solution is found. Would it not be possible for Governments with Colonial possessions, and Geographical and Ethnographical institutes all over the world, to form and finance a central international organisation which would enable competent film makers to record the social and religious life of races, many of which, through impact with the West, are already losing the purity of their aboriginal culture? Such a plan — certainly in times of peace — would be welcomed not merely by the expert, but by the man-in-the-street in all parts of the world. The Imperial Institute SIR HARRY LINDSAY'S Annual Report makes, as usual, brave reading, especially the sections dealing with the Empire and G.P.O. Film Libraries. The demand for the films, which are largely used by schools, guilds, and all sorts of educational institutions, has once again increased. In 1939 some 37,000 copies were loaned, and at the same time the stock of films has been increased by 300 copies. A new and complete catalogue has also been issued. If anyone ever doubted the immense value of the service represented by this Library, the magnificent service it has supplied to teachers during the difficult conditions of evacuation are a significant answer. The real problem of the Library is to provide enough films to meet the demand. Ordinary wear and tear, no less than frequent careless handling on the part of inexperienced borrowers, make the life of the average print remarkably short. The Institute's own allocation for renewals and purchase of films is inevitably but regrettably small, and were it not for grants from such bodies as the Imperial Relations Trust, and presentations by Empire Governments, commercial concerns and the like, it would ht almost impossible for the Institute to fulfil its minimum func-. tions in this matter. There is a strong case to be made for some form of extra grant to strengthen this service on which sc many educationists have now learnt to rely, and which the; could, if its scope were widened, use to an even greater extent ! An International Convention UNDER THE Geneva Convention of 1933 countries pledge( themselves to exempt certified educational films from custom, duties. The convention has already been ratified by a numb of nations, including Belgium, Italy, Sweden, India, and thi United Kingdom. Under the original arrangement exemptio; from duty was acquired through a certificate issued by thi International Institute of Educational Cinematography i Rome. As far as this country was concerned, the exemptio was in the hands of the Board of Education acting on thi advice of the British Film Institute. The situation todaj. however, is somewhat different. In 1938 an agreement waj made at Geneva transferring the certification of films from thi Rome Institute (now defunct) to the International Institute c Intellectual Co-operation in Paris. The United Kingdom ha not yet ratified this agreement, but is expected to do so ver shortly. The free circulation of cultural films becomes mor and more important every year, and the sooner the new agrei ment is regularised over here the better. Not only film societiC' but also scientific and educational associations of all sor depend on being freed from crippling import duties, and tl' stress of war must not be allowed to modify the provisions < the original convention. til Comings and Goings THOMAS BAiRD hasTesigned from our Editorial Board on h appointment to the Film Division of the Ministry of Inform tion. We are sorry to lose him, but glad to report that Edg Anstey (Film Centre) is taking his place. i DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 NATIONAL PUBLICITY IN WARTIME, no Icss than in peace, films which seek honestly to portray civiUsed communities cannot avoid social problems. Education, housing, food supply, working conditions, indi- vidual liberty ; these are the things for which men fight in war- time no less than in peace. A people at war may attempt to re- ject the consideration of them in its propaganda, but only at the risk of presenting to the world the hollow shell of a nation. Today, national publicity has become a wartime weapon and the necessity arises to reconsider the motive and angle of ap- proach in filming sociological subjects. The social organisa- tion of any community is immature, and reporting by film in this field, whether British or foreign, can seldom be exclusively iDi| favourable if the whole story is to be told honestly. Since frank- ness in self-criticism is always a potential gift to the counter- propagandist, peacetime standards of objectivity which re- jected partisanship and ill-founded self-congratulation must be at)l|justified anew, or modified to satisfy the demands of the war effort. In a war between countries professing rival social ideologies which compete for world support, the temptation is away from truth in advertising. Are the rewards for resisting limitemptation to be found only in heaven, or is truth a sword to ioijwhich we can trust our destinies even in modern warfare? Britain's wartime record in honest self-examination, particu- :hi larly the record of the press, gives as yet no cause for shame. No Men country at war in modern times has enjoyed greater freedom of editorial comment, although in broadcasting our record is Scarcely so good. In films, .although there have been as yet edjj Insufficient releases of subjects related to the war, or to the goj [British social system, to reveal the current tendencies, a few iiuiK bbservations may be made. To set against the implicit criti- jdtl pisms of private coal ownership and trade unions permitted in lUiiii ^he Stars Look Down is the shelving of the plan to film Love fv tl \>n the Dole. I Our policy of national publicity by film is yet to be deter- ned, and in drafting it we begin with the advantage of clean slate. But a policy must be written and it must a policy which provides for the screen examination f social issues, whether controversial or not. For these never be official secrets. If we continue to starve our ema audiences at home or abroad of information on prin- iples so vital that we are willing to go to war for them, it must le at the cost of throwing those principles open to world-wide loubt. Once the decision is taken to reveal that Britain is in "act a democracy we are faced with a further choice. We can present for the examination of a critical world a democracy hat never fails; or we can present a democracy that often )artially succeeds. Fiction or fact? In the long run fact will pay )est; will it pay us best in the comparatively short run of war? In reviewing the British Council's film on evacuation The Hmes says: ''These Children Are Safe, good as it is, would have been even better had it always been remembered that it is the duty of a documentary camera to give a portrait of its sub- ject that does not slur over its less pleasant features." lere is a definition of documentary duties with which no one can decently quarrel. Yet the consequences of accepting it to- day must be faced. It means that when we are pubHcising to the world our national wartime achievements we shall not pre- tend that things are better than they are, that we are always right, that our system of government is perfect. It means that we must not conceal unpleasant truths in obedience to the fear that by revealing them we furnish Dr Goebbels with ammunition to use against us. These are the consequences of a poUcy of frank and honest screening of our wartime social problems. What risks do they entail of loss of prestige and support abroad, or of faltering resolution at home? If we may seem to make a present of anti-British propa- ganda to Dr Goebbels that need not disturb us. He is unlikely to be kept in ignorance of any British social problem by its absence from the screen. He is in fact more likely to make capital of suppression than of frank admission, since, in com- menting on The Stars Look Down, his Hamburg announcer was mainly concerned to draw attention to the omission of Cronin's House of Commons scene. What would be the effect at home of films fairly representing the critical domestic issues of the day? Would British morale be weakened by films which articulated the inevitable dislocations of war, which propounded solution and counter-solution, which took the man-in-the-street to the legislator's table and showed him where he fitted into the scheme of things, and why? The man-in-the-street must believe it is his war or lose it ; and he cannot fight blindfold. Can it be argued that to admit that our democracy is no lightning cure for every wartime ill would deprive the neutral countries of all faith in us and all hope in our victory? If so, the American film tradition of self-criticism should already have laid democracy low before a totaUtarian blow could be struck. But that has hardly been the effect of such public laundering of democratic dirty Hnen as we have seen in films like Black Fury, They Gave Him a Gun, They Never Forget, and many courageous March of Time items ; films of a type which America has certainly not abandoned in her lately inten- sified determination to preserve the system of Government she is still prepared to criticise in Mr Smith Goes to Washington and Dust be My Destiny. What influences have such films had upon our own estimate of American prospects of success in overcoming any obstacle, internal or external, and evolving a better order of things? Controversy is the life-blood of democracy and America, by her self-criticism, has demon- strated a vitahty which springs from roots in the people. By her freedom of speech, the essential symbol of democracy, America has demonstrated a full-blooded vigour which has done much to give her the reputation of the world's greatest democracy. Today the strength of a nation is measured by the satisfaction of its people. Britain has a record in social service unsurpassed in the world, and publicity for the progress made since the last war in such fields as housing and nutrition can be used to win us support abroad and to reinforce our determination at home. But it is not enough to record our past achievements. Com- DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 placent and over-optimistic publicity is distrusted in a world which has put up the barriers against tendentious propaganda. To carry conviction we must show that the vigorous demo- cratic spirit which fought for British social reform still lives to preserve, in spite of war, a maximum of our gains and even in certain fields to increase them. The choice of method in national film publicity still lies open. We can make films of a democracy of contented cowmen. Or we can show a people who, by debate and discussion, are arguing their way towards better things ; a people who believe that the threat of foreign totalitarian stupidities is the immediate but not the only obstacle to be overcome, who believe that the sacrifice of democratic practices in fighting that threat would leave Britain without hope of a better national order in the post-war world. THE CANADIAN FRONT In the January issue our Canadian Correspondent outlined the plan and purpose of Ottawa's new film policy. This new dispatch describes the immediate action which is being taken to put that policy into action. The article was written at the end of January ; hence the references to the late Lord Tweedsmuir. IN SEPTEMBER Canada did not hurry to formalise a Ministry of Public Information. She preferred to watch and to profit by the mistakes made elsewhere, meanwhile letting the existing media of information carry on with only such censorship regulations as military discretion demanded. As a result she now possesses a Department of Public Information whose pattern may well be a source of envy to others. Instead of the massive British band-wagon — point-blank target for every wit — she has a small, mobile "flying-squad" of men, each experienced in one medium of information (press, radio, films, etc.) and mainly concerned in the direction of policy and the giving of encour- agement to the existing service provided by that medium. Co- ordination is falling naturally and spontaneously into the hands of a single adviser who works in close touch with the Prime Minister. This light-weight organisation, shaped more by the course of events than by the dictate of authority, is one which England has long claimed as her own special method of administration ; and observers abroad were the more astonished to see so abrupt and strange a departure from it as that repre- sented by the first structure of the Ministry of Information. In Canada the National Film Board, with the Film Com- missioner as executive, acts as the film wing of Public Informa- tion service. The last four weeks have seen the swift initiation by the Board of a war film service which will appeal to many different levels of discussion. They have seen the first of these films hit the screen in theatres from Atlantic to Pacific ; they have seen the mobilisation of all available production units to maintain the flow. On January 12th the first Canadian War Loan was scheduled for public announcement. Shortly before Christmas the Board placed in production a one-reel news story emphasising the importance of the industrial and economic war fronts of Canada, and explaining the loan method of financing them. The Board provided the script and production supervision. The film was made by Associated Screen News in Montreal. Production, which included the shooting of a discussion be- tween Mr Mackenzie King and a group of cabinet ministers, was completed in three weeks. At the time of writing, the film is showing in more than 700 of the 1,100 theatres in the country. So successful has this War Loan film been in obtaining blanket coverage at theatre level for a Government statement that a series to appear every two months is now planned, each film to give dramatic information on one aspect of Canada at war. The general approach of the series will be that of showing to the people of Canada how their fellow-citizens are getting on in their new-found occupations, and of keeping visual and human contacts alive in spite of the distances created by the war. The first of the series — a one-reeler on the work of the Navy — is in production, and this will be followed by such items as Canadian women in the war, the work of the Exchange and Supply Boards, and, it is hoped, a news story on the Canadian forces in England. The idea has been enthusiastically received by the trade, and programme space is being reserved for the series. It has been suggested in public discussion that the two- monthly release should as soon as possible become monthly, and that the alternate months might be filled by films of a similar nature from the United Kingdom. The March of Time unit, whose arrival in Canada to produce a big item on this country's war eff'ort was recently announced (see DNL, January), has now nearly completed its work/ Scheduled for release in February, the film is eagerly awaitec in Canada, but the Film Board is perhaps even more interested in the fact that March of Time has showing time in 11,00( theatres throughout the world, and that foreign versions ir several languages are to be issued. On the newsreel side proper, the Board has recently api pointed a contact-man to work with Associated Screen New and the American reels. His duties will presumably be to watcl for war items of immediate interest both to home and oversea; audiences, to arrange special facilities and effects for newsree units, and to develop Canada's place on the world's new; screens. A rumour which has gained strength over the last few day has aroused interested conjecture in connection with th theatre approach to Canadian war information. This rumou has it that Walter Wanger, and possibly other first-line Holh wood creative men, are shortly due in Ottawa. In a reccr broadcast the Government Film Commissioner stressed th fact that when he was in Hollywood in September, the younge producers were showing concern at the insistance of the olc timers that war meajit "give 'em froth", and were determine that Hollywood should face the issue of this war boldly on th screen without distortion of facts. Mr Grierson has since ar nounced that a Cavalcade of Canada is now due, and that sue a film would obviously derive great benefit from the associatio idu Ll DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 with it of the Governor-General (Lord Tweedsmuir, formerly John Buchan). In the light of these statements the possible interest of Wanger in Canada is not without significance. On the non-theatrical side, a production programme com- prising some 17 films is under way. Of these, one group is closely linked with the war information service. The impetus given to Canadian industry by the European conflict has served to focus public attention on the vast natural resources of the country. The time is thus ripe for a discussion on the screen of the use of this natural wealth, both immediately in war, and in the decades to come when Canada will be planning her economy and her social affairs in peace. Each film of the series will deal with a different "front" of natural wealth — the forests, the mines, the wheatlands, the fisheries, etc. Stress will be laid on the change of attitude in recent years from the "mining" of soil and sea in the past to the planned conservation of today, and the need for wider and more co-ordinated planning in the future will be urged. Audiences for these films will be mobilised both among the associations of professionals engaged in the industries concerned, and among all those groups of forward- looking people now coming together in Canada to further the post-war interests of the nation. SOUR GRAPES? ij-llt A NOVEL WHICH made a considerable sensation in the U.S.A. and in this country was John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. It was a best-seller, and its theme was the dispossession of the 30 i Oklahoma farming families and their pathetic trek to Cali- fornia— land of broken promise, where they found themselves exploited in the orange groves and starving amid plenty. As a piece of writing the book was widely praised. As a social in- dictment it naturally raised considerable controversy in the States, where the issues are closely in the public eye; while in this country the situation described tended, of course, to be taken for granted, and the controversial element was accord- ingly much less of a factor. When Darryl Zanuck bought the film rights, and allocated John Ford (ace director, and recently famed for Stage Coach), the news was received with interest here, and with very mixed feelings in the States. This is in many ways understandable, and it is certainly no business of ours to interfere with what United States citizens may do in regard to a film story which AOil;they may consider as doubtful prestige value to their country faiij on the screens of the world. But it is, perhaps, permissible restJ to comment on the principles involved. For some years now ill documentary people over here have been noting with increasing admiration those trends in American cinema which have not [feared to choose subject matter dealing with the major social I, af ! problems of the United States. In many ways, Hollywood \e) has been, in certain big productions, the screen's major prota- ni gonist of democracy ; and to most people in Britain the filming er^sl I of The Grapes of Wrath seemed to be a continuation of this v^ra I policy rather than a new departure. ne« I But following close on the attempt by Associated Farmers (a capital-investment pressure group) to prevent the showing Vila) |of the film comes an attack by the Motion Picture Herald (an .ji li j influential trade paper), under the initials of Martin Quigley, ^0 Ithe Editor-in-Chief. The attack is interesting. The production Ho|! merits of the film are — not ungenerously — conceded; but, in [jca iQuigley's own words, "the mistake is not in the execution for ^jjll I screen purposes of the Steinbeck story. It is in its selection in ,ij(ij ithe first place as material suitable for the screen." In fact, the „; oil Ifilm is under suspicion as "soap-box propaganda", and the ^iiH loriginal story is, again according to Quigley, "a chaotic jumble ,,nlllof philosophic and sociological suggestion and argument", . !«although he generously grants that "much of the coarseness, vulgarity, and all the filth and obscenity have been chipped away" by the producers. On another page of the same issue of the Motion Picture Herald is a somewhat half-hearted and evasive review. As yet it is impossible for us to estimate either the box-office or aesthetic values of the film version of The Grapes of Wrath, but from the documentary point of view we are bound to consider, with real interest, any movement from influential quarters directed against a trend in Hollywood production which coincides with many democratic ideals. It would indeed appear that one of the major distinctions implied by the Quigley attack is the distinction between a big studio produc- tion with world-coverage and a documentary production with limited, if not local, circulation. The latter, because of its comparative lack of pulling power, may be permitted to deal with — to quote Quigley once more — "a stark and drab depic- tion of a group of incidents in human misery . . . guided by the heavy and designing hand of John Steinbeck" ; whereas the former will fall under the criticism that "the entertainment motion picture is no place for social, political, and economic argument". In this country we have from time to time seen evidence of a similar attitude, and we have hitherto (in wel- coming films like They Won't Forget, Dust be My Destiny, Black Legion, and Gabriel over the White House) looked largely to the United States in fighting an attitude which tends to kowtow to religious or political influence in the choice of screen subjects. Hollywood has shown us that social and economic problems can be box-office, and as regards The Grapes of Wrath we have no evidence so far that the world's cinema-goers will reject it as entertainment. On the contrary, latest reports froni New York indicate that the premiere of the film at Broadway's important Rivoli Cinema has proved a record-breaking success. Moreover, a number of New York newspapers have printed reviews of The Grapes of Wrath which can only be described as extraordinarily eulogistic. These facts, to say the least of it, suggest that the Motion Picture Herald may be a little late on the draw. It is, as we have already said, no business of ours to interfere with United States film affairs, but we, as a younger branch of a national film industry which is just — in such features as The Stars Look Down — groping towards a similar technique, are bound to foUow with close and sympathetic interest the efforts of enlightened Hollywood producers to provide what Quigley caUs "demagogic preachment" and what we call "democratic discussion" within the limits of the entertainment cinemas of the world. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS Five British Council Films Thoroughbred (Pathe Pictures. Editor: A. Curtice). Swingmg the Lambeth Walk (Len Lye on Dufay- color). War Comes to London (British Movietonews. Editor : Gerald Sanger). Britain Shoulders Arms (British Paramount News. Editor: G. T. Cummins). These Children Are Safe (The Strand Film Company). Reviewed in detail, in DNL, February. By a Publicity Officer Thoroughbred is a pleasant, county-ish, very pre-war, film about English horses being the best in the world. Its camerawork is excellent. Its story is intelligently told. It has everything: pearlies' ponies in Regent's Park for the Van Horse Parade ; shire horses on the stud farm; ploughing matches over once-idle acres ; trouble at Tatten- ham Corner ; four-in-hands on the Windsor road ; and my special friends, the brewers' handsome drayhorses. Swinging the Lambeth Walk, though a long way ahead of most of us, is pre-war, too. This is one of Mr Len Lye's screen experiments in setting colour to music. I have poor eyes. In giving me a headache this film may have robbed me of objectivity. I allow its technical interest : I don't see its cultural value at this moment. War Comes to London shows what happened when crisis reached climax; headlines getting bigger, faces getting longer, photographers doffing caps to Cabinet Ministers in Downing Street (always a bad sign), caterpillars of evacuee children threading their way to stations, gas- masks being lost, sandbags being filled. . . . Despite skilful editing, the film is a bit jerky : in the manner of a collection of newsreel shots. That is forgivable. The fault of War Comes to London is that the story of the quickening of a nation's pulse is told without the speeding up of the film's own tempo. The film has one terrific moment : when, fifteen minutes after the tired voice of Mr Chamberlain has told waiting millions that they are at war, the sirens wail for the first time and London takes cover. In on-the-spot reporting like this, film has everything else in the guard's van. War Comes to London ends with columns of marching soldiers; Britain Shoulders Arms begins with them. But these soldiers are marching not to battle stations but from railway stations : march- ing home, weary of war, in 1918. Thereafter this nation laid down its arms and worked for peace, its most militant show the Aldershot Tattoo, its pacifism so passionate that when war loomed near military service had to be made compulsory. You know the theme — and you can't do much now about the parts you don't like. Paramount have taken on the difficult job of showing what happened before the lion took wings : when the lion wanted only to laze in the sun ; willing even to share the sun (so long as it had the biggest share) ; but not, it finally appears. willing to be pushed into the shade. The film manages to show the lion, its tail tied up in any number of knots, stirring. And, stirring from the comatose, the animal is not uninteresting. There are brilliant shots of the Aldershot Tattoo by floodlight; close-ups of the army mechanising; pictures of Britain swinging into action. And a crisp commentary manages to avoid jingoism. "We've got the men . . ." etc., is discovered to be just as effective pianissimo. These Children Are Safe, a little over-senti- mentalised by Professor Hilton's commentary, is the best rounded film of the lot (which makes it odd that it should need to be cut to one reel before going abroad). Nevertheless these last three films do present a Britain with something to say for itself, and most of it worth saying. War Songs of China. Distribution: Progressive Film Institute. 1 reel. THE SONGS are sung first by a soloist, illustrated by the words, pointed by our old friend the dancing ball, and then by a chorus, illustrated either by natural scenes or, in one case, by car- toon. The cartoon is remarkable, in that it is cut closely to the words and in draughtsmanship and technique has an authentically Chinese quality. Quite apart from the musical interest, the cartoon sequence makes the film well worth seeing. The 400 Million. Production: History Today, Inc. Direction: Ivens and Ferno. Editing: Helen Van Dongen. Music: Hans Eisler. Commentary: Dudley Nichols. Speaker: Frederic March. 5 reels. JORis IVENS AND JOHN FERNO havc made a great film. They have covered a war which is being fought on a dozen, ill-defined fronts : they have suggested some of the history that went to the making of the war and they have sketched in some of its wider implications. Finally they have told their story in one hour of moving, lucid and beautifully photographed film. They could have made it the easy way. A few shots of babies' shat- tered bodies, some well-chosen, noble faces, the enemy advancing across the fields and some frightened refugees, and yet another war would have been "put across". But the makers chose the more difficult method. The film was obviously carefully and comprehensively shot and although perhaps it appears to have been shaped in the cutting room rather than on paper, it has a definite form. And it is a form which seems particularly appropriate to such a vast and strag- gling battle. Like the campaign itself the film organises the disorganised, now following a thread out from Chiang Kai-Chek's headquarters to the borders of Manchuria, then returning to the centre and working out again to the East. But all the time it is showing the tenacity of pur- pose of a great nation fighting for its freedom and the rapid building up of a new and determined ' spirit. There is no false emotionalism. The pictures have been left to speak for themselves and in allowing this the makers have chosen well. The wise and lovely face of Madame Sun Yat Sen, the young and fervent political speakers in the towns, and the indomitable spirit which is im- plicit in every movement of the Chinese soldiers speak for freedom and the spirit of China in a way that no commentator or cleverly contrived sound track could ever achieve. This film brings a war to life. The newsreels have given us the bombing of the big cities. Now we are taken into the towns and villages. On to the plains where the stone gods sit; into the fields where the reaper drops his sickle at the hur- ried call and takes up his rifle from its hiding- ' place in the straw; into the shattered village where the housewife hunts for the grinding stone among the debris of her shattered home. This is the picture of a country at war. It is no longer the land of the willow pattern plate or of the Good ' Earth ; there is a new will and a new purpose in China today. China is being reborn and it is the great virtue of the 400 Million that this feeling of regeneration is conveyed in every foot. jli ilir siio Ml Crisis in the Pacific. March of Time No. 10, Fifth Year. Distribution: R.K.O. Radio Pictures. Running time: 18 minutes. ONE OF THE handicaps under which March of Time labours is that most people find it hard to dislike any of its items. The reel has so polished and refined its own formula that the critical facul ties of the audience are disarmed by the speed and courageous assurance with which the com^ mentator whisks them from one idea to the next As they get their breath at the end of the film, they are conscious of a glow of self-satisfaction at having joined in the pursuit of so much information. The audience is rarely left in a mood to reconsider at leisure the crowd of facts, which have been presented. The persisting imi pression too often is that they have seen a March of Time which was very good, rather than thai they have seen a fact film on a subject of majoi importance: the style makes more impressior than the subject matter. March of Time's latest release begins with ar analysis of the strategy of the war in Europe then moves on to the more terrible war stil raging in China ; from China it leaps to Tokio t( warn us that Europe's preoccupations are then regarded as favourable to a year of wide) Japanese conquest in 1940. From Tokio we pro ceed to Hongkong to be reminded that Britain' China Squadron can now look for few reinforce, ments from home. From Hongkong the stor takes us to the United States, which March c Time says is the one nation whose support c Britain in the Pacific may act as a check o Japan's militarists. But, we learn, the Unite, States has been supplying Japan with a la proportion of the raw materials of conques Moreover, for fear of ofTcnding Japan, Congre;, ^ has rejected a bill for the militarisation c America's island of Guam, the complete fortifiG tion of which is regarded by the U.S. Navy < essential to American power in the Pacific. So tl film settles down at last in Guam for its princip sequences. We gather that in spite of Congress tl U.S. Navy will somehow manage to fortify tl at m tie ma icol Ell M Ml iiii m al DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 island and we are shown a little of its present way 3f life under a naval dictatorship. Previously we lave broken our twenty minutes' journey across iie world to consider Philippine independence, vhich is relevant to the story. In conclusion we ire told that all the facts add up to prove \merica's determination to keep war out of the IVestern hemisphere. This lightning survey is tough going. American ludiences will doubtless find the problems more ^^miliar than they are in Europe, but even when he principle is accepted of telling more than can je assimilated rather than less, there still remains I limit beyond which the description of inter- jational affairs may drive the man-in-the-street ;o give up in despair before the complexities and »ntradictions. The solution would seem to be to ell more of the story by picture and less by com- nentary. Less ground will be covered more ilowly, but it will be covered more surely. The itmosphere and mood of a country and the iharacter and problems of its people are com- nunicated with better and more permanent effect )y picture and dialogue than by an abstract voice. Ve need not look beyond March of Time for the >roof of it. Can we please have more items like 'Uncle Sam — Farmer"? •.F.B. (Petroleum Films Bureau) Cinemagazines. "reduction : Elton and Baylis. Distiihution: "Jon-theatrical, available on 35 mm. and 16 mm. iverage running lime: 7 to 10 mins. HIS SERIES of one-reelers, of which Number 4 5 just released, represents an important innova- ion in industrial public relations on an inter- lational scale. An issue normally contains three eparate items each dealing with the function of ome single cog in the complex machine of lodem hfe. Number Three contains a descrip- ion of the operation of the airport on Lake Lisumu, and a beautifully photographed de- cription of the Mauretania leaving dock for her rials. Finally it shows Mr Teddam making a cart- wheel while he comments on his ancient craft dth the assurance of Sacha Guitry and the ative simplicity of Walt Whitman ; a miniature lasterpiece of photography and editing by Peter laylis. Number Four shows how the Australian "'^^ lush is cleared, the use of "Propagas" for weld- ig, and the moving of a railway bridge over- ight between trains. The references to the wide- ■ _ sread use of oil and oil products are always im- licit and never underlined. Usually one of the iree items in each release contains no oil refer- ice whatsoever. The films provide an essential mtrast in a non-theatrical programme of weightier propaganda and help to create the best ackground for all good public relations by idustry — a perspective of the inter-relationship the modem world of industry and commerce. Technically the P.F.B. Cinemagazines are un- rpassed in any field. Jobs are never dis- iated from the people who do them, and alism is achieved by ingenious adaptation of iOtographic style to subject matter and a first ^('^ Jte use of sound. Commentary is used sparingly, ^1*'' nd never distracts one's attention from the >' Teen image. Foreign versions are available '^ /erseas in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and P\ Utch ; other languages will probably follow. STORY FILM OF THE MONTH THE STARS LOOK DOWN By a Film Critic WHEN MAX SHACH bought Dr Cronui's Stars Look Down some years back, he announced that Karl Grune (publicised as the director of Kameradschaft, by the way), would direct. Our hearts sank. They were raised again last year when the rights were transferred and Carol Reed slated as director. During production we learnt that the model-makers were closely studying the fine studio-work of Metzner's pit interiors in Kameradschaft. Perhaps it was this gossip which first suggested that the film would be mainly about a mine disaster. When a film departs from the novel from which it is taken, usually it is to the good. But The Stars Look Down film not only departs from but ignores wholly this book's theme. The book had three parts : except for the love story, the film uses only the first. This is merely the bare setting of the stage for a drama that the film never reaches. You may not like Dr Cronin's work, but you caimot ignore his theme of conflict between vested interests and common labour. The im- portant passages of the book (excluding the pit disaster) were the mine-owner's hearing of his son before the conscientious-objector's tribunal, the burning of the Neptune pit despite Arthur Barrass' progressive attempts to improve condi- tions, the "Tynecastle" election which sent Fenwick to Westminster, his realisation that a lone M.P. can do nothing without his party's support and assent, the betrayal of the miners' interests by the Labour Government, and the second election when Joe, the profiteer, beats Fenwick to it. None of these is in the film. Nor does it try to span the passage of time — pre-war, war, and post-war, so essential to the story. Fenwick in the book ends by going back to the pit realising the subtlety with which members of His Majesty's Opposition have their teeth drawn ; Fenwick in the film ends by starting out into the world to put wrong right : he just catches the 10.15 "up" train to nowhere in particular — an idealist, a crank, a daffy without even the equip- ment with which Mr Smith went to Washington. Therein lies the impotence of this film. Not only does it imply — not state, note — imply that Unionism is a negative, often harmful, thing, but it makes the hero prompted by motives which are those of an "intellectual" dreamer, a man bom out of his class. (Remember a similar treatment of the young Socialist in the South Riding film ; a cough-wracked consumptive, therefore forgiven his "odd" views.) There is no effort to develop Fenwick's character. Young Barrass appears scarcely at all. Nor, to anyone familiar with the Northumberland coal fields, does the film get anywhere near the real people. Apart from the brilliance of Emlyn Williams's Joe (not a typical working class character, note) these people are people of the studios. We see nothing of authentic "Tynecastle" life, so well described by Cronin. Reference again to the book reveals that seldom has there been such a guide for detail to a director. Most of it is ignored. Maybe this failure to get to grips with the thing is summarised by the fact that the only authentic shots of coal- mining— except for a few pithead scenes — are stock material bought, we suggest, from Jack Holmes's G.B.L film The Mine. We would have liked to welcome this as the great film its distributors claim, and to have seen it as the big job which one day Carol Reed will do. So let's be fair. He has directed a well-made film centred round a colliery village in the New- castle field, a film in which he has honestly tried to portray mining life. He has a first-class open- ing sequence, a good scene when young Fenwick pleads for the nationalisation of the coal indus- try.. . and a terrifying flood disaster in the mine. He has, a rare virtue in British films, the support of some excellent small-part playing. The sets are mostly admirable and the photography of high quality. But he has no more than this; except our thanks that the film was made at all. By a Coal Owner I HAVE NOT read the novel of The Stars Look Down, but I hope, for Dr Cronin's sake, it is more convincing than the film. For this is a film that lacks almost completely any feeling of reality. There is some clever direction, and some interesting camera angles, but the whole thing is studio from beginning to end. The scenes at the mine itself, and the disaster of the flooding of Scupperhole, inevitably recall Kameradschaft. And how weak this film looks in comparison. The emotional tension in Kamerad- schaft was almost unbearable and the horror wholly convincing ; how vividly I remember the old grandfather watching over his grandson, the frightened eyes of the pit ponies, the frantic tapping on the pipes. But the entombed scenes in The Stars Look Down have in them nothing memorable : the young lad, the religious fanatic, the footballer — they all just missed being real people. The coal-owner in the film is an astonishing travesty — a ridiculous figure straight from melo- drama. He stalks about the pit with a sneer on his face, pretends for some odd reason that he has lost the plans of the old workings, and seems to be passionately anxious to have his mine flooded. What is the point of all this? If the film is supposed to be propaganda against the owners, this utterly unreal figure is not going to help. The whole business of the lost plans baffled me ; and I never understood why the owner appeared at the last minute with the plans and promptly lost both them and his own life. The best thing in the film is the acting of Emlyn Williams ; he runs away with every scene in which he appears. The domestic affairs of Mr Redgrave and Miss Lockwood occupied far too much of the film and I found them tedious. By a Durham coal miner THIS FILM of the life of the mining community, in its general setting, is an example of that which can be witnessed in many parts of the British coal field ; in its particular it shows the danger to DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 NULLI SECUNDUS ANGLO-AMERICAN FILM CORPORATION LIMITED 123 WARDOUR STREET LONDON Wl THE LEADING DISTRIBUTORS OF FEATURETTES THAT MATTER DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 I which the miner is subject at his work ; how the determined ambition of one to equip himself to work in the interest of fellow-men is in the particular instance frustrated by contact and association with the "non-mining" world, with consequent delay in doing effective work owing to attempting to meet the desires and social ideas of a "non-mining" wife and the earnest desire of a miner husband whose heart is devoted to the cause of his fellow-miners. The film gives abundant evidence of the ready and strong sense of unionism among the miners but it over-emphasises the influence of unofficial unionism. The portrayed indifference of the official union representatives is incredible be- cause just as Mr Fenwick had acquired, from ex- perience, knowledge and zeal that the workings of the pit should be worked with due regard to plans of previous workings, so miners' union representatives are men of zeal and ability ac- quired from similar experience. Nevertheless, the cause of the mining disaster emphasises the im- portance of all parties concerned with the work- ings of the pit paying very close regard to the plan of the workings as a whole. The mining disaster and the accompanying scenes of the workings in the pit are very good ; so realistic that nobody could fail to be gripped with horror that fellow-citizens are regularly in danger of such tragedy. These scenes will be particularly understood by the mining com- munity and the human tragedy attending such scenes will be fully appreciated by all classes after having seen this film. All who have knowledge and experience of mining life in all its aspects will appreciate and enjoy this successful result of film production. Allowing for inconsistencies with actual practice, such as the union's indifference and disregard for the dispute, and the suggestion that a miner, having become a schoolteacher by profession, as such is appointed a miners' union official, the film is so far the most complete attempt to cover mining life in all its aspects, individual, family and village : in the home, in the pit and in associa- tion as fellow-workers. One thing which will be appreciated in the story of this film is that it is free from any suggestion that the mining com- munity is any less moral than any other class in society. The Stars Look Down is as yet the most successful attempt to present to the public the lot of our mining folk and will undoubtedly assist understanding and appreciation of the human and material difficulties which have confronted and do confront the miner in order that the nation shall have coal. Next Month THE INSIDE STORY OF U.F.A. EDUCATIONAL FILMS UNDER THE NAZI REGIME FILM OF THE MONTH FOR CHILDREN THE WIZARD OF OZ By an Educationist THIS IS A fairy tale and it has an "A" certificate. This means that unless local authorities do some- thing about it, children may only see this film if they go in the company of an adult. We presume that a "U" certificate has been withheld because there are frightening sequences in the film. And this is true. Children (and adults) are quite likely to be scared by the witch and all her parapher- nalia of magic. They are likely to be scared more than when they see the footprints in the sand over Robinson Crusoe's shoulder, but considerably less than when they get in the barrel with Jim Hawkins or 'hear Old Pew come tapping up the road. But that is literature, and maybe films are different. I believe they are, and the witch in the Wizard is the realest witch I have ever seen. Parents must therefore judge (or guess) for them- selves. For us, if we had to arrange a children's matinee we would agitate until the local authority gave permission for the Wizard io he shown or we would rally sufficient teachers to provide the "A" quota. For the Wizard of Oz is the best fairy tale we have seen, and if children still like fairy tales they will like this. Baum's story is not well known in Britain, but in the United Slates it enjoys with children the reputation which Alice in Wonderland has in this country. It is the magic story of how Dorothy (Judy Garland) is lifted by a cyclone out of her Kansas home and dropped down in the land of Oz, which is Fairyland, or Dream- land, or, if you like, Technicolorland. She meets the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger) who wants a brain, the Tin Man (Jack Haley) who wants a heart, and the Lion (Bert Lahr) who wants courage. Dorothy just wants to go home. So oft" they go to see the Wizard, to see what he can do for them. The journey takes them through the many ad- ventures you would expect and some you would not. They fall foul of a witch, journey dreadfully through an enchanted wood, are helped by goblins, and are attacked by flying monkeys. The Bad Witch keeps weaving spells and the Good Fairy keeps moving the amendments. Eventually, after some of the most terrifying adventures and some of the most delightful episodes, everything turns out all right, and Dorothy gets back to Kansas. She promises never to leave home again, which seems silly because it is obviously much more fun being with a Tin Man and a Lion and a Scarecrow in Technicolor than it is being in Kansas in sepia. "For children of all ages" is easily said, but even if you are too sophisticated to be either entranced or scared by the subject matter (which means that you are probably 16 past) there is enough technical magic to make you sit up. The cyclone sequence can look most screen storms straight in the face, and outface most of them. Some sound engineer had the time of his life. The Technicolor is in a class by itself. Accurate colour does not come into the argu- ment, for starting from the coloured pages of children's books it has already left reality behind before it steps into the Land of Oz. And once in the Land of Oz who cares about reality? The result is that the highways are custard yellow and castles lime-drop green. One can only gasp, and salute the Art Director. The music too is good : unobtrusive in the main but with one important whistleable tune. Nearly everyone is going to compare it with Snow White so why not us? Snow White was beautiful but unreal, and the human characters were very unreal. The Wizard of Oz is real. The human characters are real and beautiful: and the immortals, while rich in their immortality, are real too. Maybe that is why the Censor held out on it. By a Schoolboy aged 12 {Raynes Park County School) I THINK THE Wizard of Oz is a good film with a true Motto behind it. The little girl who was knocked unconscious by a whirlwind while re- turning from running away from home had a dream in which she landed in Munchkin Land. I loved the funny little inhabitants of this and especially the three little "toughs" and the Mayor. He wore a three-cornered hat, and a green waistcoat ornamented with a very large watch. She met three very queer people on her way to Oz, who had faces like farmhands that she knew. A good witch whom she met told her that she must go to Oz if she wanted to go back to the earth, and gave her a pair of ruby slippers to protect her from the wicked witch. The scenery while she is going to Oz is very realistic for a hot summer's day, with the road winding away into the distance and the flowers waving in the breeze. It is funny to see them all shiver and shake in the presence of the Wizard, whose face appeared on a screen accompanied by flashes of flame. 1 think it is rather sad that the Wizard turned out to be a man working levers and knobs, but nevertheless fulfilled his promise to the three friends of the little girl, but by a fluke could not to her. When the good witch tells her to repeat "There's no place like home", she wakes up and finds herself in her bed muttering it. In all, a very good film with lovely scenery all through, and fine acting by Judy Garland as the little girl. With some frightening scenes by the wicked witch, mixed with some funny parts by the little girl's friends, the tin man, the straw man, and the non-courageous lion. An excellent film with a motto : "There's No Place like Home". Which I have often heard my father say while on leave. {"■'The Wizard of Oz" is an M.G.M. picture, directed by Victor Fleming.) 10 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 NEWS lETTEII MONTHLY THREEPENCE NUMBER 3 MARCH 1940 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is issued only to private sub- scribers and continues the policy and purpose of World Film News by expressing the documentary idea towards everyday living. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is produced under the auspices of Film Centre, London, in asso- ciation with American Film Center, New York. EDITORIAL BOARD Edgar Anstey Arthur Elton John Grierson Paul Rotha Basil Wright Outside contributions will be welcomed but no fees will be paid. We are prepared to deliver from 3 — 50 copies in bulk to Schools, Film Societies and other organi- sations. Owned and published by FILM CENTRE LTD. 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W.l GERRARD 4253 FILMS FOR PRIMITIVE PEOPLES A NEW TECHNIQUE Acknowledgments are due to Mr W. Sellers, and to the Editor of the Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, for permission to reprint the extracts from the commentary to Machi Gaba included in this article. LARGE AREAS of our Colotiial Empire are in- habited by illiterate, semi-literate, or otherwise backward populations. The problem of educa- tion— in its widest sense — has been looming larger and larger in past years, and steps have been taken both by Whitehall and by local administrations to get rid of financial and tech- nical difficulties in this important field. The use of films can of course be only a part of any educational scheme, but it is clear that in many colonies, and particularly in Africa, it can play a much larger part than might originally have been expected. In the vast areas covered by Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda in the East, and Nigeria and the Gold Coast in the West, the first urgency is for simple instruction and propa- ganda as regards more hygienic living conditions and the prevention of disease. Next comes the need for general (elementary) education and the improvement of agricultural methods (for nearly the entire population lives by the soil). Finally, it is necessary to broaden their knowledge of the world around them and of their place in it, if the avowed British policy of advancing all Crown Colonies to a self-governing status is to become anything more than a hollow catchword. Results To Date Already experiments have revealed the prac- tical value of films. Notcutt and Latham in East Africa carried out their Bantu Education scheme, whose interesting results were formulated in their book The African and the Cinema. And in Nigeria the work of Sellers, under an enlight- ened Health Department, has proved over a period of years that films, properly planned and used, are in the first line as adjuncts to all cam- paigns in health instruction, let alone more general educational schemes. These and other experiments have proved clearly that films for natives must be regarded as a highly specialised subject. Many technical tricks which are the commonplace of English educationals and docu- mentaries must be jettisoned, and much simpler systems must be substituted. This means that existing English educational films are of little use except for more advanced natives, who usually represent a very small proportion of the population. For the great majority, special films must be made. Production Methods In Nigeria, Sellers has formulated certain essential rules which must be followed in making films for primitive populations: 1. The general tempo must be slow, and the length of individual scenes must be twice or three times as long as is usually considered necessary for English school audiences. 2. The content of any given scene must be very simple in its composition, because natives view all objects on the screen with equal interest, unless the important object is clearly emphasised. Close and mid shots are therefore preferable to long shots. 3. Strict accuracy is vital in portraying native habits and customs. Mistakes at once turn a serious film into a comedy. 4. No camera tricks of any sort. Continuity must be clearly maintained in all changes of scene, even if it means using three shots where one would normally do for audiences more used to film technique. 5. Films must be made as silents. A master commentary is then written, and is added by a native commentator, or by disc records, through a microphone during each performance. This system is vital, owing to the great variation in local dialects. Distribution The distribution of the films must perforce be by travelling vans. When a van arrives at a village the show is announced through the loud- speaker, and (in Nigeria at least) an audience of anything from 2,000 to 15,000 can be rapidly collected. Before the film is shown, its story is first explained in simple terms through the microphone. After it is over, a short talk follows, punching home the main message of the film. During the actual showing, one of the commen- tator's jobs is to get the audience to shout answers to questions about what is happening on the screen. Here is a sample. It is part of the commentary to Machi Gaba, a cleanliness film produced by Sellers in Northern Nigeria : — Commentator: "Here is a very dirty house. Who is that man? He is a farmer, but he is not walking very quickly, and he does not work very quickly. There is something the matter with him. What is the matter with him?" Audience: "He is sick." Commentator: "Yes. Sick people cannot work properly. That man's sickness, it is more than likely, is caused by all this filth and dirt that you see lying about his house, and a great deal of the sickness in the town is caused by the filth and dirt that the people allow to lie about all over the town. We do not blame the people ; they have never been told properly that dirt brings sickness. Here is a very dirty house. They are foolish people who live in that house. ,The man is a weaver, but he is not working very quickly ; in fact, now he is leaving his work altogether. Oh, poor man! If he lived in a clean house, it is more than likely that he would be DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 11 healthy. Yes, poor man, you had better lie down until you are better. No more work until you are better; sick people cannot work. People who live in dirty houses are often sick. Make yourself comfortable, poor man; you will be there for some time. I should lie down if I were you. Are you sorry for this man?" Audience: "No! We are not sorry for him!" Commentator: "Why are you not sorry for him?" Audience: "Because he is a dirty man and lives in a dirty house." Commentator: "Now the cause of that weaver's sickness may be these old and useless water pots and calabashes which have been left lying about. They hold water, and mosquitoes breed in that water, and mosquitoes bring sickness . . . (etc.)" Centralised Plan rhere appears to be little doubt that such nethods, modified or altered as required for lifferent areas, could form a reliable basis for a liative cinema operating widely throughout the Iblonial Empire. A central organisation in X)ndon would be needed, preferably under the lirect control of the Colonial Office. This central lody would co-ordinate the work of all colonial Im-departments, facilitate the interchange of 1ms and ideas, and advise on technical and ducational methods. At first two types of film would be produced. Films like Machi Gaba would be produced on the spot by men who had previously received technical training in Britain. But films about Britain would be produced over here by men seconded from the colonies, who alone would be capable of making them correctly. This last point is vital. The simplest films about English life will be outside the native's comprehen- sion unless they are carefully and closely related to his own limited experience. Experimental films of this type are, it is understood, already being made, and when completed should be a valuable guide to the validity of this method of creating a closer sympathy and understanding between colonial populations and ourselves. Economics Such film schemes have a special merit — that of economy. Only a moderate capital investment would be needed for 16 mm. apparatus, disc- recorders, and a sufficient number of travelling cinemas. The^ annual production and distribu- tion cost would be comparatively small, for the scheme calls for no full-size film or apparatus, and disc-recording is cheap and easy. It is to be hoped that because of — rather than in spite of — the war, steps will be taken to put some such scheme into operation. It would accord well with the increasingly enlightened attitude which has in recent years been so marked a feature of the Colonial Office. NEWS FROM CANADA The National Film Society of Canada has joined the Association of School Film Libraries (U.S.A.) as its official affiliate in Canada, and as a result the Association is expanding itself into an inter- national organisation and extending its activities into wider fields. The National Film Society of Canada is similar to the Association in that it is a non-profit organisation with a membership of educational institutions co- operating to promote the educational and cul- tural uses of motion pictures. It receives financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation and enjoys the active endorsement of the Canadian Government. Four branches of the Film Society's film library are now in operation in Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Toronto. These libraries supply educational films to schools, universities and study groups at a nominal cost. They are not established for the purposes of supplying the full needs of their districts but rather to encourage educational authorities to acquire libraries of their own. These units con- tain examples of both American and British films used for classroom and general educational purposes. Pursuing its policy of promoting better international relations through the use of the film, the National Film Society is arranging for a national distribution of the publicity and good-will films of foreign countries through the same service. ri ^ \m mum film mmmm mi A New Quarterly Edited by Jay Leyda 2 Dollars a Year Published by Kamin Publishers 15 West 56th Street New York NY urvey of Films at New York World's Fair by Richard Griffith tudy Guides to a new Series of Agricultural Films tudy Guides to the Human Relations Series of Short Films elected List of Thirty 16 mm. Films for Discussion Groups ^ for particulars and prices apply MERICAN FILM CENTER INC 45 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA NEW YORK NY olume One of School Film Library Catalogue for particulars and prices apply SSOCIATION OF SCHOOL FILM LIBRARIES 9 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA NEW YORK NY i 12 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 THIRTY* SOUND»AND»FOUR»SILENT*FILMS THE GAS IXDVSTRY FILM LIBRARY includes films about SCIENCE HOUSING COOKERY EDUCATION NUTRITION KITCHENCRAFT PUBLIC HEALTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT imth the exception ot tour speciul school /Urns all subjects are acailable on SS mm. and 16 mm. SMPE sizes tree of charge trom: THE FILM OFFICER IIRITIKII COM^IEICriAL GAS ASSOCIATION ONE CiROSVENOK PLACE. LOIVUON, S.W.I THIRTY»SOUND»AND»FOUR»SILENT»FILMS i DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 13 DOCUMENTARY IN THE UNITED STATES 10! 1.1 The Association of Documentary Film Producers, which was organised several months ago, made its first public appearance when it staged a Docu- mentary Film Festival at the New York World's Fair during the week of October 9th to 15th. The celebration was built around a series of daily two-hour integrated film programmes in the Little Theatre in the Science and Education Building. It marked the climax of a summer of showings of such films in the Little Theatre under the sponsorship of the producers associa- tion, and, so far as New York and her World's Fair are concerned, the official "arrival" of the documentary film movement in the U.S. Highlights of the week were the showings of fourfilmswhich rarely reacha public screen : Easter Island, two reels made by John Ferno in 1937 for the Belgian Government on the mysterious monoliths of the island by this name ; Wedding of Palo, two reels by Knud Rasmussen in 1937 on life among the Eskimos; The Earth is Song, ten reels on life in the Slovak mountains before the German invasion, produced by Karol Plicka and directed by Ladislav Kolda ; and Houses of Misery, three reels on slums and re-housing in Belgium, produced in 1938 for the Belgian Government; directed by Henri Storck and photographed by John Ferno. Other films (with producers in parentheses) shown were, under Travel and Exploration: Moana (Robert Flaherty), Dark Rapture (Arm- and Denis), and Five Faces of Malaya (Alex Shaw) ; under Workers and Jobs : Shipyard (Paul Rotha), Borinage (Joris Ivens), The Wave (Paul Strand), People of the Cumberland (Fron- tier Films), and North Sea (Alberto Cavalcanti) ; under Instructional: The Filter (Mary Field), Seahorse (Jean Painleve), Monkey into Man (Stanley Hawes), Highlights and Shadows (Eastman Kodak), Getting Your Money's Worth (Rothman, Kandai, Delzucca and Jays), Under- ground Farmers (Stacey and Horace Woodard), and Heart Disease (March of Time); under Government sponsored films: The Plow that Broke the Plains (Pare Lorentz), Coal Mining in the Soviet Union (Mabylitsky), and Men of the Alps (Alberto Cavalcanti); under Social Prob- lems: War and Propaganda (March of Time), Return to Life (Henri Cartier), Crisis (Herbert Kline and Hanns Burger), and The 400,000,000 (Joris Ivens and John Ferno); under Public Relations : Smoke Menace (John Taylor), Men Make Steel (Jam Handy), Phillips Radio (Joris Ivens), Song of Ceylon (Basil Wright), and Housing Problems (John Taylor, Arthur Elton and Edgar Anstey). Eight Classroom Films on the Eastman Kodak Company's productions programme are sched- uled for early release. Two of these, for use with girls at the senior high-school level, are classed under the general subject of Child Care. Bathing the Infant demonstrates the various types of equipment used, as well as correct methods of handling the baby during bathing. Feeding the Infant is a detailed picturisation of the routine of J feeding both the breast-fed and the bottle-fed baby. Three of the films constitute a new Safety Series. Of these. Safety at Play and Safety at Home are for children in the first three grades. Vacation Safety is for grades four to six, and for junior high schools. It covers swimming pre- cautions in an organised camp, boating, camp safety and fire building. Vitamin B\, first of a new food series, is for high-school use. It points out sources of the antineuritic vitamin, effects of deficiency, and the need for a balanced diet. Two other health films complete the group. The Eyes {Advanced) aids high-school instruction on the structure, physiology, and hygiene of the eye. The Eyes (Primary) is a simplified version for use in elementary grades. Film Audiences for Democracy, 342 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y., has arranged a "Series of Film Forums" with discussion guides, according to its Director of Activities, Edward Kern. Subjects covered in the series include This is America, Health in a Democracy, Housing, Child Criminality, Why WPA?, Racial Persecution and Social Injustice, The Role of Women, Why Organise?, Why Consumer Education?, What the Government Does With Oiu- Money, Education in a Democracy, Who are These Orientals?, What is the Value of Co-operatives?, and The Negro. Films to cover these subjects have been selected from varied sources and a rental arrangement established. Two weekly film series, one for adults and one for children, are being presented this fall and winter by the Education Division of the Phila- delphia Museum of Art. The showings, which are given on Saturdays and Sundays, are an- nounced as covering "milestones in the develop- ment of the documentary film, ranging from newsreels, March of Time subjects and short human interest subjects, to travel, semi-fictional and advertising films". The programme, which the Association of School Film Libraries is being of some assistance in getting together, will include The Private Life of the Gannets, Night Mail, Moana, Nanook of the North, North Sea, The River, The Plow that Broke the Plains, The 400,000,000, The Wave, and the Wedding of Palo. The Department of Psychology of Columbia Uni- versity has announced a series of instructional films in psychology, which, according to the University, "have been rated by producers of educational films as technically excellent". Requests for detailed information, or orders for prints of the pictures, should be sent to C. J. Warden, Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. There are five films in the series. They are in silent versions only and prints can only be purchased, not rented. The five films with their 16 mm. footages and prices are: Development and Behaviour of the White Rat, 350 feet— $25. Problem Solving in Monkeys, 420 feet — $30. The Experimental Psychology of Vision, 450 feet —$30. Color Vision, 150 feet (in colour)— $22. Testing Animal Intelligence, 450 feet— $30. BRITISH DOCUMENTARY ACTIVITY Stanley Hawes has now left for Canada to join Stuart Legg in production activities on behalf of the National Film Board. Hawes has been re- sponsible for the direction of (among other docu- mentaries) Speed the Plough, Here is the Land and Monkey into Man. His presence in Canada will be a great help in the new and vigorous production policy initiated by Grierson and Legg. A number of potentially important sub- jects are in production which should do much to keep the documentary units busy. Strand Films have been asked to make three films about the British people being kept fit by sport; the achievements of Britain in the spheres of engin- eering, science and the social services; and London transport. Alexander Shaw is generally in charge of production. At Film Centre, Basil Wright will be responsible for a film about canals in wartime, while Arthur Elton is looking after a British railways picture and a Bren gun film designed for public audiences (Production firms not yet allocated). Mary Field, at G.B. Instructional, has a film to make about the Civilian Front. Other films, we understand, are being discussed, details of which will be available shortly. From the G.P.O. Film Unit comes news of general activity. Watt's balloon barrage film, taken up at the Firth of Forth, has been titled Squadron 992 and awaits release. Production has begun on a film about Agriculture and research script work on a British Merchant Navy picture is in hand. Editing of both French and English versions of a film on Munitions is proceeding. Work at Film Centre on the research for the four films being scripted in collaboration with P.E.P. progresses well. Contact has been made with other bodies and individuals investigating the field. At G.B. Instructional, Donald Carter continues his series of reels for the War Office and a new coloured series of Secrets of Life is being planned by Oliver Pike, Percy Smith and Durden. Convoys seem a popular location these days. Publicity Films are the latest to have two units on the high seas shooting material for a food-rationing film for Cadbury's. At the Shell Film Unit, Peter Baylis is making First Principles of Refining and Cinemagazine No. 5, while Grahame Tharp directs a film about Air Screws, both under Elton's supervision. Realist Film Unit's film for the British Council has been named Island People and is ready for screening, followed by The Times film, now called The Fourth Estate, in March. J. D. Davidson has completed his technical film for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. March of Time unit is still in France with the B.E.F. British Foundation Pictures, Spectator Films, and Science Films all report current activity for offi- cial and other bodies, with particulars to follow. 14 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 ^llF^ SSM have in prodiictioii now mm G. B. Instructional Films Ltd THE WAR OFFICE MINISTRY of INFORMATION BRITISH UNIVERSITY of MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PORTUGAL NATIONAL WALEf HOUSE WOMEN'S INSTITUTES and are continiiiing THE SECRETS OF LIFE in Particulars of Library and Hiring Service to be obtained from: — G. B. INSTRUCTIONAL FILMS Bureau, Film House, Wardour Street London, W.i Gerrard 9292 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 15 FILM SOCIETY NEWS LONDON. The London Scientific Film Society gave its second performance on February 18th. Among other subjects, films on lubrication, tele- phony, crystals and various agricultural sub- jects were shown. From now on the subscription for the rest of the season has been halved. Mean- time, to the obvious pleasure of a crowded audience, the London Film Institute Film Society opened up again with a bumper programme, including a new Len Lye and Ivens' long- awaited Chinese epic, 400 Million. (Reviews of these are on pages 6 and 7.) The secretary. Miss Olwen Vaughan, is arranging further shows, and particulars can be obtained from her at 4 Great Russell Street, W.C.I. It now only remains for the Film Society itself — that doyen of us all — to start up again, and London Sunday afternoons will be back to their peace-time splendour. THE PROVINCES. From all quarters come reports of increasing activity, of which one of the most striking is from the Ayrshire Film Society. Writes the secretary : — "We started the season with a membership reduced from 500 to slightly under 300, and changed our meeting-time from the evening to the afternoon. During the second half-season we decided to form a branch of the Society in North Ayrshire, and are now running meetings on Sunday evenings at the Broadway, Prest- wick, and in the afternoons at the Regal, Salt- coats. The membership at Saltcoats is so far small, but it is hoped that this will be increased to 100 by the end of the season. Although the Saltcoats venture was probably a risk at a time like the present, my Council felt that it was the duty of all organisations of a cultural nature to endeavour rather to increase the Society's scope in war-time, despite the diffi- culties, than to close down until better days." Films shown have included Mart du Cygne, The Thirteen, If I Had a Million, The Londoners, and The City. Dundee and St Andrews report a record season in spite of the cancellation of the after- noon shows at St Andrews due to the action of the local magistrates (see DNL, January). Mem- bership has been so large that the afternoon shows have been transferred to Dundee itself, in addition to the regular evening performances. Moreover, the number of shows has been in- creased from six to nine. Features so far shown include Les Disparus de St Agil, Mayerling, and Hostages (this the most popular, says the secre- tary). Dundee is yet another proof that enter- jprising societies may reap greater rather than less prosperity in war-time, despite transport and black-out difficulties. Lochaber (see also DNL, February) has recently shown Ruby Grierson's Zoo and You and Duvivier's La Bandera. Part of the programme note on the latter may be of interest to other societies : — "Two warnings are perhaps necessary. One j for the admirers of Annabella, and the other "if for the anything-but-admirers of General Franco. Annabella is almost unrecognisable in a not too happy part. As for General Franco, the film is dedicated to him as the then Com- mander of the Spanish Foreign Legion, but as it was made before he emerged from this com- parative obscurity the dedication has no political significance." Bryanston is well known as the public school which is run on a unique and highly successful development of the Dalton Plan. Here, on alter- nate Sunday afternoons, the boys can attend com- plete film performances. The programmes are well planned and very catholic in their choice, for they include the March of Time, documentaries like Night Mail and the Nutrition Film, cartoons, nature films, and features which range from foreign successes to films like Hitchcock's Young and Innocent or Jack Hulbert's The Camels are Coming. An admission charge keeps the perform- ances on a paying basis. This school film society should be an encouragement to all secretaries, for they can look forward to a new generation of members who have learnt both how to enjoy good films and how to exercise their critical faculties. It would be interesting to know how many other schools run film societies on a similar scale. For its sixth performance of the season the Edinburgh Film Guild showed the March of Time's " History of the Movies" and the Soviet film comedy The Rich Bride. The Oban Film Society is another Scottish body which has courageously decided to carry on, and the first of its four performances of the season was held on February 16th. Turning to Northern Ireland we find that the Belfast Film Institute Film Society, unable to get a cinema, has started repertory shows in the Grosvenor Hall. Despite a frank warning from the secretary (". . . members who desire physical comforts are encouraged to bring cushions or rugs, as in the early Spartan days of the Society . . .") an audience of over 500 turned up to the first show, which included two G.P.O. films and Hostages. The monthly bulletin issued by this Society is lively and stimulating ; it covers, among other things, all releases in Belfast cinemas for the current month. Manchester and Salford report that their mem- bership is expected shortly to reach the 900 mark. Herbert Hodge's lecture on "Movies and the Millions" was a great success; films soon to be shown include Men in Danger, Education de Prince, and Drame de Shanghai. The Scottish Film Festival In previous years this festival has been notable for the high quality of amateur work which it has attracted. It is good news that the Scottish Film Council has decided to keep it going in spite of the war. The final adjudication and public per- formance will be on April 27 in the Lyric Theatre, Glasgow; the last date for entries is March 30 and the last date for sending in films April 6. The adjudicators are Oliver Bell, Direc- tor of the British Film Institute (the Scottish Film Council's parent body) ; H. Forsyth Hardy, film critic of The Scotsman; William Jeffrey, film critic of The Glasgow Herald; and C. A. Oakley, chairman of the Glasgow Film Society. There will be five classes. Non-fiction (docu- mentary, instructional); fiction (story-films, photoplays); colour; Scottish (Scottish com- petitors only), and a section for novices who have not previously won a prize in any film com- petition. Further information and entry forms may be obtained from A. Russell Borland, Secretary, Scottish Film Council, 2 Newton Place, Glasgow, C.3, or from the British Film Institute, 4 Great Russell Street, London, W.C.I. NEW FOREIGN FILMS i {All films recommended in this column are the latest continentals viewable in London, and are in our opinion suitable for Film Society showing. We are unable to indicate at what dates they will be available for booking.) Remontons les Champs Elysees. Director: Guitry. Actors: Sacha Guitry. Distributors: Unity Ltd. THIS IS A short history of France, told by Sacha Guitry, acted by Sacha Guitry, and altered to suit Sacha Guitry. It is impossible to count the number of parts he plays in the film, and the joke is a good one — up to a point. But the film lacks the lightness of touch of Le Roman d'un Tricheur. The English translation is good. Les Rois du Sport. Director: Colombier. Actors: Raimu, Fernandel. Distributors: Curzon Ltd. COMEDY. The best part Fernandel has had since Le Rosier de Mme Husson. The plot centres round the fact that circumstances compel him, a waiter, to be in succession a goalkeeper, a racing motorist and a champion boxer. Outstanding sequences are the waiters' race in the beginning. which Raimu wins by bringing down the opposi- tion with banana skins ; the football match, with Fernandel limbering up his gawky legs, and ex- plaining his inefficiency as part of his strategy ; and the final fight, when Fernandel, looking like a runaway ostrich, makes circles round his drugged opponent. Pieges. Director: Siodmak. Actors: Maurice Chevalier, Erich von Stroheim, Pierre Renoir, Marie Dea. Distributors: Cinephone Ltd. PSYCHOLOGICAL murdcr story. Treatment is French in the emphasis on detail and the humanisation of the characters, slightly Fritz Lang in the handling of the police and the mur- derer, with a touch of Hollywood in the glamori- sation of Marie Dea and the design of the sets. Maurice Chevalier has two songs, but the rest of his part is straight, and he plays it with a fair measure of feeling. Marie Dea is worth seeing in the part of the sensitive but self-assured dance hostess whom the police employ to trap the murderer. Erich von Stroheim has a small part which he plays stiffly and awkwardly. 16 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 BOOK REVIEWS The Film Answers Back. An Historical Apprecia- tion of tile Cinema. E. W. and M. M. Robson. John Lane, The Bodley Head. Ms. 6d. SETTING ASIDE, as not being worth discussion, the book's main thesis that anything from Holly- wood must a priori be good movie, the particular allegations levelled at the German film-makers in pre-Nazi days are too serious to be left un- challenged. The thesis puts a subtly plausible argument that the German film of the years 1919-27 was a reflection of a degenerate '"intel- lectualism" directly conducive to the growth of Nazi ideology. Film after film is quoted as heralding the Nazi mind. Despite the fact that Caligari was a film of small influence as far as its theme was concerned, the label "Caligarism" is coined to describe most of what has been called by reputable critics the Golden Age of the Ger- man film. Happily some of the people responsible for these "degenerate" films are now at hand to confirm that these allegations are mischievous, inaccurate and disrespectful. Whatever critical opinion may be held towards the German films of this period — Caligari, Destiny, Waxworks, Warning Shadows, The Last Laugh and the famous rest — they must at any rate command respect for their creative sincerity. They did not, however, as this book first implies and later contradicts, achieve a wide showing in the Ger- man theatres. More important, the post-War German intellectualism was not, as the authors think, a new thing arising out of the War but a hangover from movements in painting, music, theatre and literature that developed around 1911. The ages of the artists concerned confirm this. Such an attack on the individual creative work of men like Pick, Mayer, Leni, Robison and Lang is both libellous and un- warranted. If given the power, it would seem that the aulhors, because of their gullible argument on "social" pretexts, as well as their skill in bending facts to fit their thesis, would burn the creative work of the German cinema with as much zest as Dr Goebbels burnt the books of the Weimar Republic. Factually, the book makes remarkable read- ing. The Arbuckle case is misreported ; a funda- mentally wrong analysis is given of the Potemkin Odessa Steps sequence; Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov is described as a "story dealing with love troubles in Russia immediately before the war" ; Pola Negri's Carmen and Diihany are treated as difTercnt films from Gypsy Blood and Passion when they were, in fact, the same films with foreign titles. Such statements as Scarface being the first of a gangster cycle, together with many wrong credits (Ludwig Berger instead of Lang as the director of Destiny, Murnau instead of Dupont for Vaudeville, St Petersburg and not Mother as the first Pudovkin film to get English showing, Karamazov and not The Living Corpse as Otzep's first non-Soviet film, Ingram's Magician as being Hollywood Instead of French- made, Constance instead of Norma Talmadge being the lead in Sniilin Thru, among many others), suggest that this book, which we note has been well received by several responsible critics, is as valuable as this typical extract : "Between the woman of 1908 and 1938 there is not thirty years' difference but three thousand years. And the change has been advanced as well as recorded, step by step, first by Mary Pickford, then by the luscious, sinuous vamp of the Theda Bara and Lya de Putti type, who disappeared to give way to the Elinor Glyn 'It" girl, Clara Bow, who was in turn supplanted by the Gloria Swanson type. Then came the Garbo and the Dietrich and the full-hipped Mae West who, in turn, have led to the much more individual and realist women of the American screen today." Deanna Durbin, Judy Garland and Jane Withers, please note. War Begins at Home, Mass Observation Editors : Tom Harrisson and Charles Madge. Chatto & Windus. 9s. 6d. MASS OBSERVATION is Documentary's newest cousin on the Public Relations family tree. It was not inappropriate that democracy's self-examina- tion should have begun with Market Research into the citizen's home, with painstaking investi- gation of what he or she liked to eat and wear and use for decoration. Out of Market Research came the new publicity, no longer a haphazard affair, but based on the known habits of care- fully graded samples of population, according to age, sex and economic level. Into this widening field burst early in 1937 "poet and newspaper reporter Charles Madge and explorer and biologist Tom Harrisson", bringing a new addition to the technique already popularly associated with the American Dr Gallup, insisting that it was not enough to record the answers to formal questionnaires. Attention, they said, must be given to overheard conversa- tions, the difference must be noted between what people say in public and in private, between what they think and what they do. As scientific as claiming to measure public opinion would be an attempt to read between the lines, to bring the science of anthropology hitherto used only on aborigines, to bear upon the mass-observed characteristics of the British people. In this fashion the present book studies Britain going to war. Anthropologically, it claims not to draw conclusions: inevitably, it draws just as many conclusions as are necessitated by the bias of the Editors. In spite of this everybody has a great deal to learn from this book, particularly the politicians and the Press. The Press claims to represent Public Opinion, and the politicians study the behaviour of the Press, and think they have got a fair angle on to the will of the people. Yet, according to Mass Observation, at the end of August only one person in eight looked upon the Press at all favourably, and as for the politicians, all their attempts to influence the people by publicity campaigns have shown how badly out of touch they are — gas-masks, the blackout, saving, food and rationing, cinema closing times, being obvious examples. Also it appears that in normal times only 0.3 per cent of overheard conversations deal with politicsanyway. To clear up this confusion, and to replace the imaginings of the higher-ups. Mass Observation puts forward the documented views, in public and in private, of ordinary persons. Diaries, overheard conversations, results of question- naires, factual censuses, speeches by politicians, posters, are all analysed and brought to bear on the present issue. This book claims to be democracy expressing its opinion about the war, and since this is a war for democracy, somebody had better pay attention to it. How War Came. Raymond Gram Swing. Nicholson & Watson. \0s. 6d. RAYMOND GRAM SWING is kuown to US as an American Commentator for the B.B.C. Back in America he does the same kind of job for the United States audience. There is, however, a slight diff'erence of emphasis. Normally, he speaks three times a week over Station WOR, and consequently he has more time for details. He therefore chooses to commentate on the news as it comes along. Often he is talking about the news that is still hot on the front page. During the days immediately prior to September 3rd he was on the air three times a day. Those were days when events were moving faster than most men could think, and it was Mr Swing's job to help the man-in-the-street to think and think clearly. By relating the hot news to the main trend, by interpreting the sometimes bald official statement, by analysing the seemingly commonplace and by evaluating the seemingly catastrophic, he kept a level and watchful judg- ment before American listeners. His new book is made up of his talks from March, 1939, to the outbreak of war, and to us it is a valuable and compact statement of a critical period. Being some 3,000 miles further away from the crisis area, Mr Swing was ablei to be more objective. His book is much more than' merely a diary of these days, but it is a diary in. an important sense, for it retains all the uncer- tainty of these times. It is no mere collection of smart prophecies. Through all the talks runs the thread of hope that war might yet be averted and Mr Swing will remind you of many things that seem to belong to a world longer dead than six months. He will remind you that we once be- lieved in the possibility of an Anglo-Soviet agreement, that we did not always know that Italy would be neutral, and he will remind you that many men thought that September 3rd was the very eve of annihilation for millions of civilians. But this book is important because Mr Swine has thrown a perspective round the close-uf events of six months. Because he was doing thi; for an American audience his perspective is £ wider one than is usually available to th< Englishman-in-the-street. This is valuable. Anc the book becomes important as a picture of wha many Americans must think about the war about European politics and about Britain. Historians had better put this book on thei shelves because it is a picture of our times in ; special sense: it is an account of what democrati' radio had to offer the citizens of America ii 1939 during a crisis of wide world significance. ■ ^ m FI LoeJ mi Mill ]im W k no M. Kerai JSlf fcfiai Mac to Coil «aii DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 17 :liJ :i!l NON-THEATRICAL FILM LIBRARIES Note: Borrowers of films are asked to apply as much in advance as possible, to give alternative dates for book- ings, and to return the films immediately after they have been shown so that others may make use of them. The terms of hire are liable to alteration with short notice. British Council Film Department, 25 Savile Row, London, W.L Films of Britain, 1940. This cata- logue is for overseas use but provides useful synopses of at least 100 sound and silent films. Electrical Development Association, 2 Savoy Hill, Strand, London, W.C.2. Three 16 mm. silent films and one 16 mm. sound film of electrical interest. Certain other films of direct advertising appeal are available only through members of the Association. No hire charge made for approved displays. FUm Centre, 34 Soho Square, W.l. Movements Vibratoires. A silent film on simple harmonic motion. French captions. A hire charge is made. 35 mm. and 16 mm. n,(« Strand Film Company, 5a Upper St Martin's Lane, London, W.C.2. Eleven films available for non-theatrical distribution, mostly 35 mm. Films include Aerial Milestones (historical sur- vey of British civil aviation), Chapter and Verse (survey of books and writers), Give the Kids a Break, and a number of others of Empire and general interest, including 3 silent Airways films lOn 16 mm. No hire charge made for approved displays. Wallace Heaton, Ltd., 127 New Bond Street, London, W.l. Three catalogues. Sound 16 mm., silent 16 mm,, silent 9.5 mm. The sound film catalogue contains a number of American feature films, including Thunder Over Mexico, together with some interest shorts. The silent 16 mm. catalogue contains a first-class list of early American, German and Russian silents, includ- ing California Straight Ahead and Skinner^ s Dress '^'^ Suit (Reginald Denny), early Westerns, The ir White Hell of Pitz Palu, Waxworks, Warning Shadows, General Line, Potemkin, and Mother. Strong on early American comedy shorts, Larry Semon, Oliver Hardy, Lloyd Hamilton, Chap- lins, etc. The 9.5 catalogue has a number of Ger- man films and includes Siegfried and 77(c Spy, a wide selection of Chaplins, Snub Pollards, Paul Parrotts and the early English slapstick comedies featuring Walter Forde. A hire charge is made. British Commercial Gas Association, Gas Indus- try House, 1 Grosvenor Place, London, S.W.I. Films on social subjects, domestic science, and the manufacture of gas. Includes Children at School and New Worlds for Old. Sound and a few silent. No hire charge for approved displays. 35 mm. and 16 mm. Educational & General Services, Little Holt, Merton Lane, Highgate, London, N.6. A wide selection of silent films of all kinds, particularly of overseas iriterest, and a few sound films. A hire charge is made. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. Empire Film Library, Imperial Institute, Lon- don, S.W.7. One of the best national libraries in the country. Films primarily of Empire subjects. With a useful subject index. Silent and sound. No hire charge for approved displays. Mostly 16 mm. with a few 35 mm. Ensign Film Library, 88-89 High Holborn, Lon- don, W.C.I. Wide selection of all types of film including fiction, comedies, documentaries and films of geography, animal life and industry (many silent films). A hire charge is made. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. Gaumont-British Instructional, Film House, War- dour Street, London, W.l. Catalogue No. 5 (1939). Many films on scientific subjects, geo- graphy, hygiene, history, language, natural his- tory, sport. Excellent educational material. Sound and silent. Feature and story films also available. A hire charge is made. 35 mm. and 16 mm. CATALOGUE OF THE MONTH Films of Britain, 1940, catalogue of the British Council Film Department, 25 Savile Row, London, W.l, is a cross-section of British docu- ,.. J|mentary films for overseas use. It represents a ,.ji [determined drive to put the decencies of British life on the screens of the world, and cuts across y,i |all sectional interests, making a wide selection yj jfrom many sources, G.P.O., G.B.E., Strand, ^;r) Petroleum Films Bureau and others; it lists ,;i( also those films made by the British Council [J (I tttself. It is a matter for regret that room could not , ii be found for the world famous G.B.I. Secrets of m^ Life series ; such films in their way can do more J, J] |for British prestige than half a dozen Around the ^ Village Greens. The films listed range from ,^,jt \Workers and Jobs, a frank statement of how the .^[j iMinistry of Labour deals with the problems of ..^fji junemployment, Cavalcanti's Men in Danger and ^ji^ jShaw's Men of Africa, to Beside the Seaside. ;lll* i The lay-out of the catalogue is good, but the synopses are pedestrian. They read like any synopses from any film catalogue issued by any equipment manufacturer to catch the home- movie fan. One cannot tell, for example, that Men in Danger, Men of Africa and Transfer of Power differ from So This is Londoner Western Highlands. It is to be hoped that future editions will do something to set this right and to suggest how the films can be used. An overseas film society, receiving the catalogue, could not make up its mind from it what films would be suitable for its programme. There is no indica- tion that films have been made in foreign lan- guages, though this is certainly the case in some instances. For example most of the Shell films listed are available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch. The catalogue is a step in the right direction, but it demands overhaul by someone familiar with the overseas non-theatrical field. G.P.O. Film Library, Imperial Institute, Lon- don, S.W.7. Catalogue 1937 and supplements. Over 100 first-class films, mostly centred round communications. Supplement includes many documentaries such as Night Mail. Sound and silent. No hire charge for approved displays. 35 mm. and 16 mm. Kodak Ltd., Kingsway, London, W.C.2. («) Kodascope Library. Silent films of every kind, instructional, documentary, feature, western and comedy. Strong on early American comedies — Harry Langdon, Reginald Denny, Stan Laurel, Chaplin, etc. A hire charge is made. 16 mm. and 8 mm. (A separate List of Educational Films, ex- tracted from the above, is also published. A number of films have teaching notes.) {b) Medi- cal Film Library. Circulation restricted to mem- bers of medical profession. Some colour films. A hire charge is made. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. silent. National Film Library, British Film Institute, 4 Great Russell Street, London, W.C.I. Only full members of the British Film Institute may bor- row its films. A large catalogue containing some important early German films and Nanook of the North, otherwise industry, medicine, health and travel. Sound and silent. A hire charge is made. 35 mm. and 16 mm. Pathescope, North Circular Road, Cricklewood, London, N.W.2. Wide selection of silent films, including cartoons, comedies, drama, document- ary, travel, sport and interest subjects ; also good selection of early American and German films. A hire charge is made. 9.5 mm. Petroleum Films Bureau, 15 Hay Hill, Berkeley Square, London, W.l. Twenty-three technical and documentary films. Sound and silent. No hire charge for approved displays. 35 mm. and 16 mm. Religious Film Library, 104 High Holborn, Lon- don, W.C.I. Sound films of religious and temper- ance appeal and a useful list of supporting films from other sources. Silent films are available. A hire charge is made. 16 mm. Sound-Film Services, 10 Park Place, Cardiff. Library of selected sound films including Mass- ingham's And So to Work and Pollard's Dragon of Wales. Rome and Sahara have French com- mentaries. In addition to specialised films some subjects of general entertainment nature. A hire charge is made. 16 mm. Southern Railway Film Library, General Manager's Office, Waterloo Station, S.E.I. Seven silent 16 mm. films (one in colour) of a general nature, including Building an Electric Coach, South African Fruit (Southampton Docks to Covent Garden), and films on seaside towns. One film of Bournemouth on 9.5 mm. No hire charge for approved displays. Workers' Film Association, 145 Wardour Street, London, W.l. Some outstanding sound films o^ democratic and co-operative interest, with an ex- cellent selection of films from other sources. Full notes and suggestions for complete programmes. Sound and silent. A hire charge is made. Some prints for outright sale. 35 mm. and 16 mm. 18 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 CORRESPONDENCE DEAR SIR, In hisarticleaboutfilms at the New York World's Fair, your contributor, Richard Griffith, does not seem to have been particularly well informed. For instance, it might interest both him and your readers to know that at the British Pavilion Cinema, amongst many others, fifteen recent G.P.O. films were shown. These were : Calendar of the Year How the Telephone Works Job in a Million Rainbow Dance Speaking from America What's on Today Night Mail Big Money The City The Islanders Men in Danger Spare Time Trade Tattoo British Made North Sea Many of these were specially made for the Fair and the reports show that they were exceed- ingly well received there. Thanking you for the publication of the present note, I remain. Yours faithfully, A. CAVALCANTI G.P.O. Film Unit, 21 Soho Square, W. DEAR SIRS, May I, a journalist on the staff of the Newcastle Evening Chronicle, express my appreciation of your excellent paper. I would like to suggest however that more space be occupied with reviews of story films, which are, after all, the chief attraction of the modern cinema. You show such detailed analysis of every film you criticise and thus provide such a definite guide when one 'shops' for one's films that it seems a pity to restrict yourselves to one or two films per month. Again do you not think it would be a good idea to give short reviews of the films exhibited at the various film societies? I ask this because I have just paid my first visit to the Tyneside Film Society where they showed The Rich Bride, a Russian picture. I, having memories of that beautiful Earth, was sadly disappointed but would like to have known what was your opinion (you being now my criterion). Yours faithfully, GEOFFREY C. BOCCA Newcastle-on- Tyne [Editorial Note: Mr Bocca's suggestion re- garding film society notes has already been adopted. The question of more reviews of feature films is largely a matter of space. We believe that our main job is to stick as closely as possible to documentary activities and problems; but we should be glad to hear what other readers think.] FACT AND OPINION SINCE 1936 the German National Educational Film Bureau has produced 600 substandard size films. 250,000 copies of these are available to universities and schools, which possess a total of 36,000 substandard projectors. I WE ARE EIGHT In 1932 Hitler was not in power. In 1932 the documen- tary film was in its infancy. In 1932 the first number of sight & sound was published . , , The latest issue — completing the eighth volume — is now on sale. Quite a few people have been good enough to tell us that it's well worth Sixpence. published by THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE 4 Great Russell Street WCl News for the Tommies in France— news for you, too: FROM FEBRUARY 18 ONWARD PROGRAMMES FOR THE FORCES WILL RUN FOR TWELVE HOURS— FROM 1 1 A.M. TO 1 1 P.M. Which means, for home listeners, a twelve-hour stretch when programmes of a light, cheerful, melodious nature are guaranteed. So, if you want to avoid high-browism, educa- tion and food for thought^ust tune your set to liAl m., and leave it there. (JONAH BARRINGTON in the Daily Express) ***** Foreign newsreels with Swedish dialogue already recorded on them may no longer be imported into Sweden. This ban has been established by the Government owing to the continued im- portation of foreign propaganda films (presum- ably German) with tendentious Swedish com- mentaries. ***** '"With an orchestra playing dimly in the back- ground of a huge sound-proof stage, the recording featured a chorus of very high sopranos, together with a vibraphone, a metal percussion instrument similar in form to a zylophone, but containing motor-driven resonators for sustaining the tone and producing a vibrato effect. The microphone was placed in an open steel vault at one side of the- \ stage." (Paramounfs description of the recording of \ Dr Ernst Toclis music for "The Cat and the\ Canary".) * * * # * The University of San Antonio has established a library of sound films to serve the schools and colleges of Southern Texas and the needs of the University itself. ***** The debate in the House of Lords on the nun - discussed Unity Mitford item in British Para- mount News produced, among other things, a vigorous defence of the freedom of the newsreel companies by Lord Dufferin. He said that if every time an abuse of freedom was committed they allowed that to be an opportunity for further Government control, further censorship, and further denial of liberty, then, he believed, they were going to erode, in a very few years, the whole rock of personal liberty in which he, as a Conser- vative, and everybody else in that House in their own idiom believed. From Mass Observation comes a weekly news- letter, in pocket size, called, succinctly enough, US. The first issue contains "Belisha Backwash" and "Food in Wartime". For future issues M.O. studies of Haw-Haw, Holidays, and the South- wark By-election are promised. US costs 5^. a quarter or £1 a year, from 6 Grotes Buildings,' Blackheath, London, S.E.3. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MARCH 1940 19 STRAND FILMS MAKERS OF QUALITY SHORTS Films completed Jor release this quarter THESE CHILDREN ARE SAFE GULLIBLE GULL MEN OF AFRICA AFRICAN SKYWAY WINGS OVER THE EMPIRE SYDNEY EASTBOUND a . . . notable practitioners in this department'^ (Documentary Films) News Chronicle DONALD TAYLOR, Managing Director Owned and published by Film Centre Ltd., 34 Soho Square, London, W. 1 , and printed by Simson Shand Ltd. , The Shenval Press, London and Hertford 1 t M- EWS LEHER CO )L 1 No 4 PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY FILM CENTRE 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W1 THREEPENCE NOTES OF THE MONTH BROADCAST TO CANADA bv John Grierson FILM, 1923-40 A discussion of Nazi methods 13 CORRESPONDENCE THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE IN WARTIME ,3 FRANCO-BRITISH ALLIANCE NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS 10 THE GERMAN CULTURAL AND PROPAGANDA 16 CANADIAN GOVERNMENT FILMS IN PRO- DUCTION The aims of the Service d' Information de Londres STORY FILM OF THE MONTH FILM OF THE MONTH FOR CHILDREN 15 FILM SOCIETY NEWS 16 FOREIGN FILMS 16 NEWS FROM STAFFORDSHIRE Secondary Schools' Film Association 17 BOOK REVIEWS The Cinema Today, America at the Movies, and others 17 PEOPLE AND PLANS 18 NON-THEATRICAL FILM LIBRARIES divided •R ONE short period in 1939 the whole of Wardour Street as united in a determined drive to get the tax on raw film lock removed. Wardour Street does not seem to have learnt ly lesson from the success which its united forces achieved. [oday we have dropped back into the old jockeying by sec- inal interests, and this is as true of the producers of short Ims as of any other section of the trade. At present the |uota, by which a certain proportion of British films must be istributed alongside the American, is under review by the [card of Trade. All sections of the film business are being con- ilted, and if the experience of the Board of Trade' with the reducers of short films is anything to go on, the task of our sgislators will be a difficult one. Two groups of short film pro- iucers are opposing each other, and giving contrary advice for |ie solution of their problems. One section wishes the pro- icers of films eligible for quota to spend not less than a ;rtain fixed cost per foot on labour. An opposing section maintains that such a cost clause would be fatal to the pros- perity of the short film business. In any circumstances, we believe that the short film can only be made to pay by ensuring a proper price for shorts from the cinemas. At present, no matter how popular the subject and treatment, or how wide the distribution, virtually no British quality short costing £1,000 a reel or more can hope to make a profit. Thus, most good shorts today are subsidised by one interest or another. 1/6 for three days' showing is a not unheard of earning for a one reel short; 3/6 is a relatively common price; and the average appears to range from 5/- to 15/- in ordinary theatres outside London. When one remembers that the renter takes at least 30 per cent of this, and that the cost of copies, advertising and trade- show are deducted from the remaining 70 per cent, it is not surprising that short film producers look elsewhere than to the box office for money to make films. 1 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER APRIL 1940 The position is aggravated by the fact that first-class Ameri- can shorts are often given away for nothing as makeweight for the programme. Both groups of short film producers agree on the need to put a stop to throw-away prices, and a memorandum has been submitted to the Films Council, set up under the chairmanship of Sir Frederick Whyte to advise the Board of Trade. This memorandum urges that cinemas shall be compelled by law to allot a minimum percentage of their gross takings to short and second feature films. The suggested percentage is 1 per cent per reel. Sell British A WHITE PAPER, Aims and Plan of Work of the Export Council, has just been published. The Council has been set up to co-ordinate and encourage British exports in co-operation with British industry. It seems that the new Export Council will be concerned not only with the technical and economic sides of export, but with methods of marketing. In the past, British salesmanship abroad has often been under-financed, sometimes lackadaisical and occasionally arrogant. Take it or leave it has been the unspoken comment of some British sales- men. In marketing abroad, films can play a very important part, not only in the encouragement of export but in carrying a British message all over the world. The Germans are ahead of us in this particular field. The films of the German Railway Bureau and the Die Trust, to mention only two groups, are spread over the world in many languages. To our knowledge only one major British industry has seriously tackled the ques- tion of films for overseas distribution in foreign languages ; it is to be hoped that the many British industries of international importance and with agencies all over the world will follow suit. Russian Celebration THE TWENTIETH anniversary of the Soviet film industry has just been celebrated by a cinema festival from February 10th to February 25th, and Serge Eisenstein contributes an article to Moscow News of February 19th, 1940. In spite of many rumours to the contrary, the old names appear to have taken their places alongside the new. Eisenstein briefly traces the history of the Russian movement and gives full praise to such films as Dovzhenko's Earth. This would appear to contradict the story that these old films have been under a cloud for some time and that the Russians are rather ashamed of them. Eisenstein rightly points to the need for Russia to articulate its present-day self; nevertheless the new films announced seem to harp as much as ever on achievements of the revolution and pre-Soviet Russia. For example, films in current production are Karl Mar.\\ Suvorov (a great Russian soldier of the eighteenth century), and Shaumyan (one of the 26 Commissars shot down at Baku in the Interventionist War). However, the Moscow and Tashkent News Reel Studios announce documentary pro- ductions. Some 30 films were shown at the festival, including We of Kronstadt, Soil Upturned, A Mighty Stream (docu- mentary) and Lone White Sail. It is a matter for comment that the anti-Nazi film Professor Mamlock is not mentioned, though films of the same period receive recognition. The article enc up with a blurb: — "The Soviet Cinema continues to cheris and to further its basic distinguishing features: its prOfouD realism, optimism, exalted aspirations, its service in tt interests of the Soviet people." Reciprocity Wanted ff i\ THE G.p.o. FILM UNIT has taken an important step bridging the gap between the studio and the documenta; movement. David Macdonald, director of This Man is Ne\ and This Man in Paris, is to direct a film on lightships in wa time at the G.P.O., and everyone will wish him success. Tl G.P.O. has always pioneered, and it is good to find its inspir tion continuing. We can now hope that the studios will reciprw cate. It is time that a first-class British documentary direct< was given the financial and imaginative backing of a big cor mercial studio. The outlook of British studios in war would ; far appear to be very similar to that in peacetime: play sat and the more hokum the better. But The Stars Look Down an exception which promises well for the future. Break for the Newsreels IN THESE DAYS the ncwsrccls do not often get a break lil the march of the Graf Spec victors through London to tlftm Guildhall. G.B. News devoted almost their whole reel to tl| march, the decoration of the ofticers and ratings on tli Horse Guards Parade, and the banquet. Splendid camera Sf) ups, a sense of detail in covering the reactions of the crow i and first-class editing, gave us an item which will be loii remembered by everyone who sees it ; it had a dramatic sha)| not often seen in newsreels. The shooting of the mar through the seething crowds has rarely been better done ; t, editing, with its simple contrast of mass effect and significa) detail — the girl giving flowers to the embarrassed sailor, relatives of the men who were killed, the steel-hatted policerai struggling to hold back the crowd — lifted the whole job infc class of its own. Everyone, the organisers of the camera pcjl tions, cameramen, sound men, editors and last, but not lea the sailors and the crowds, deserve and should receive, praise for a splendid job. News Letters SINCE THE WAR no less than three News Letters dealing wi documentary films have appeared. The first was from t: United States, issued by the Association of School Fi Libraries. DNL started at the beginning of this year, a now we have a readable and informative News Letter pv lished by the National Film Society of Canada, of which t: .lanuary issue has just reached us. Exercise in Formal Logic TWO PARIS cinemas are running Only Angels Have Wings al The Lion Has Wings simultaneously. If only angels have win , and if the lion has wings, what is the lion? w tide i in HE DAY war broke out, I was in Hollywood. I suppose veryone will remember that day in minute personal detail. '■^m ; was the same on August 4th, 1914. We all sensed, like a cloud n the mind, that here was the end of one epoch, the beginning lis.i break iomo reel 10 23 on DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER APRIL 1940 BROADCAST TO CANADA By JOHN GRIERSON, Canadian Government Film Commissioner, made from Ottawa on November 30th, 1939. Reprinted by permission of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The text has been slightly abridged. P^mi f another, and all our personal worlds might never be the "i^. ime again. On August 4th, 1914, I was on the coast of the Scottish 'wftebrides and the war was very near. I spent the whole day matching the trawlers and the drifters breasting the tide, 'MS uffing their way back in hundreds to become mine sweepers, :*Oiil nd anti-submarine patrols. But on September 3rd, 1939, 1 pli) 'as in Hollywood, 6,000 miles away from the Scottish coast, kh nd the seat of war. No mine sweepers or anti-submarine atrols. Only white yachts, gliding along on a smooth blue acific. California was sunning itself on the beaches and [oUywood was behind me, the city of unreality, Stardust and eople's dreams. Yet instead of feeling a world away from the war, I felt no istance at all. I knew very well that there beside me in Holly- wood was one of the greatest potential munition factories on arth. There, in the vast machinery of film production, of ameta leatres spread across the earth with an audience of a hundred inecu lillion people a week, was one of the great new instruments If war propaganda. It could make people love each other or UK si late each other. It could keep people to the sticking point of ihe iM urpose. done; And that is how it is in our modern world. Like the radio «2iiiii !nd the newspaper, the film is one of the keys to men's will. Niilof. |nd information is as necessary a line of defence as the army, police! he navy and the air force. The leaders responsible for the ;iobiil londuct of war have to ask new kinds of questions. Which imerap kation puts its case insistently and well and makes converts tnoili ind allies? Who arouses the national loyalty? Who makes receive, purpose commanding? Who mobilizes the patrol ships of the uman mind? These are vital considerations among states- hen today. In the past ten years European politics have seemed ' 0 turn on the effect of propaganda and every nation has been f ighting for command of the international ether. Even the issue lealifijt |lf the war may turn on the skill and imagination with which s froffli pe formulate our aims and maintain our spirit. ;liool fi That was three months ago and today the film is being ; ^ear. Inobilized hke the newspaper and the radio alongside the . ,...r flighting forces of the nations. Even Hollywood, far from the 'attlefront, was immediately affected. I never saw so great a curry in my life as that first week of war in the chambers of loUywood's magnates. A third of their world market had anished overnight or become completely uncertain. Who new when the bombs would be raining from the sky and laking theatres in the European cities untenable. The black- l^jvetiiiuts had driven people from the screen romance to sit waiting ■tiy their radios for the latest war news. Hollywood was so nervous that it had a new idea every day. The first reaction was to draw in its economic horns, make cheaper pictures, intensify its American market. There was some talk of forgetting its international role and going all American. You will see the result of that policy soon in more pictures of North American history, more pictures of South America. Hollywood even began, in a sudden burst of light, to remember that Canada was a North American country, and I am pretty sure you will see more Canadian films from Hollywood, from now on. There was another school of thought in Hollywood which remembered the last war and how the frothier kinds of enter- tainment had prospered. So you heard a great deal in these first days about stopping serious pictures and giving people nothing but light-hearted ones — to permit them to forget their worries. Give them more fluff was the way Hollywood described it. But not for long. The more modern school of production, the younger men, argued vehemently in every studio. They said, I think wisely, that people would be asking more questions in this war, and that this policy of froth and fluff would be an insult to the intelligence of the people. I confess I was greatly interested to hear how seriously these younger producers talked — the men like Walter Wanger. There is no question of avoiding world responsibility, no desire whatever to forget the war and make a false paradise of neutrality. In Wanger's office, we installed a ticker service from the United Press and daily we sat around it, reading the war news, considering how best the film might serve mankind in this new situation. Everyone was for going into propaganda of some kind, but everyone I noticed was for avoiding hatred. No Beast of Berlin and other childish exaggerations this time, they said.* And through all their thoughts I noticed there ran the theme "Let us do something to keep the decent human values alive. Let us so maintain men's sanity that when it comes to peace, we shall know how to make it stable." Well, that was three months ago. Hollywood has decided on its pictures of America. It has seen how the public has accepted such war-time pictures as U Boat 29 f and Thunder Afloat. It will give the people who read so much war news, the visual drama of battles in the air and on the sea. Here and there, I do not doubt, there will be frothy films to make you forget. And, watch for them, there will be the occasional film which tries to keep us sensible and sane. But the warring nations have had to be much more direct. They have reached out, at once, to make the film their recruiting sergeant. In the newsreels they have made the film an instru- * Nevertheless an American film, Hitler, Tlie Beast of Berlin, was trade shown in London on 2/3/40. t American title of T/ie Spy in Blaclc. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER APRIL 1940 ment of international information by which they can tell the world about their efficiency, their power, their confidence and their will to win. You will see the new mood in two films which have just come in from England. There is not much peace in The Warning. It is a picture of England preparing for death and disaster; and you see the old England made grotesque by war as in a distorting mirror. There is no peace in The Lion Has Wings. That masterly work of film documentation is England actually at war, zooming and roaring above the clouds. It is also the film at war. And you will have more and more as the days go on. If I may make a forecast, they will be far more real, far more documentary, these films of war, than we have ever seen before from English studios. Canada, too, is gearing her use of films to wartime necessity. The Chairman of the National Film Board announced the other day that an ambitious film on Canada's mobilization had been initiated. That you wiU see, I expect, in the exciting form which March of Time gives to its treatment of world events ; and all the world will see it. I hope we shall see too the economic mobilization of this country which makes Canada the power house behind the Allies. And now I want to say a word about information and propaganda which is in all our minds at this moment. I have been for a long time interested in propaganda, and it is as a propagandist, I have been from the first interested in films. I remember coming away from the last war with the very simple notion in my head that somehow we had to make peace exciting, if we were to prevent wars. Simple notion as it is, that has been my propaganda ever since — to make peace exciting. In one form or another I have produced or initiated hundreds of films ; yet I think behind every one of them has been that one idea, that the ordinary affairs of people's lives are more dramatic and more vital than all the false excitements you can muster. That has seemed to me something worth spending one's life over. I should be an unhappy person if I thought all this had vanished with the war. But strangely enough, the war has only seemed to accentuate people's hunger for reality. It is proper that the film should take its place in the line of defence, as in duty bound. It is proper that it should use its powers to mobilize the full effort of the nation. But one way, too, in which we can maintain our defences and keep our spirit for the struggle ahead, is to remember that the aims of our society '% lie beyond war and in the love of peace. It will be a pooi information service which keeps harping on war to thi, exclusion of everything so that our minds become narrow anc. ,i anaemic. It will be a poor propaganda which teaches hatred till it violates the sense of decency and democracy which tei; thousand years of civilisation have established. It will be aij inefficient national information which does not keep the horn fires of national activity burning, while the men are off to th, war. In war as in peace, strength lies in hope, and it will be th wisest propaganda which keeps men rich in hope. I only know this — that war will have achieved its final fea of destructiveness, and we shall have been brought to the ver brink of spiritual suicide, if we lose the sense of what we ar defending. But on this serious question of the relation of peace thought and war thoughts, I am going to quote from another authoritiEiiit — the great French writer, Giraudoux. He is today director C[ the French Ministry of Information. Addressing the children of France the other day at the opening of their school yeai( he said : "Thirty-eight thousand of your teachers have had to tak machine gun, bomb and grenade and all the abhorred tools (| destruction to form a rampart behind which you will \\ ^^^ sheltered this winter — to learn from the masters left to you-| ^ and from your school books — your country's inviolable love (.\ ^\^ peace fe, "Young sentinels, learn a true history, a true geography,] moral without hatred, lessons in things which have nothing i do with gunpowder and bayonets." So there you have it. There are two sides to propaganda, ar, two sides to the film at war. We shall go on mobilizing the fil to give the news and the story of a great historical event, that sense we shall use it for all its worth to secure the preser But we shall also, I hope and trust, use the film more and mO| J to secure the future and serve the still wider needs of the peep y of Canada. War films, yes, but more films, too, about tl every-day things of life, the values, the ideals which make li| worth living. We shall use the film, I hope, to give visU( significance to the words of the Canadian Prime Minister wh^ he said that the spirit of mutual tolerance and the respect fF fundamental human rights are the foundation of the nationj unity of Canada. In that way we may rescue, from these barren days trouble, something we can hand on to the future. THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE IN WARTIME An Officer of the Institute discusses its Work and Aims over the first Six Months of the War. MORNING OF Saturday, September 2nd, 1939: Peace. The British Film Institute is at work "encouraging the use and development of the Cinematograph as a means of entertain- ment and instruction." Morning of Monday, September 4th; The British Film Institute is still forwarding its aims and objects, but with certain significant differences. There was, for example, the question of evacuation. Hi dreds of thousands of children had moved out into the count The schools were overcrowded and working double shil teachers were harassed, billeting arrangements were often from satisfactory. The film, educational and entertainme. provided an ideal way of keeping the "refugees" quiet a I happy for at least a few hours every day. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER APRIL 1940 '!« : 4 no now sluu Plans for such an emergency as this had already been jrked out and those that could be undertaken with the stitute's own limited funds were immediately put into eration. Over a long period the Institute had been booking d arranging programmes of films for prisons and Borstal Bstitutions ; this service was now extended to cover all schools "^^ lich cared to take advantage of it. The result was over- timing: from all over the country pleas came in for pro- ammes, for advice, for help, a flood of enquiries which grew ;adily as the advantages of a central booking service became lly realised. At the same time the Institute endeavoured to e best of its power to secure the removal of projectors from e empty schools in the evacuated areas to those places where ey could be of best use. This service, of course, only touched the fringe of the ^™ oblem, but for more to be done additional money was eded. In the South a comprehensive scheme which would, ■ ^'^ rhaps, have solved the whole problem of the educational film schools and set this branch of the industry on its feet was bmitted to the Board of Education. Although approved in inciple, it was not considered that the expense was justifiable a time of national emergency. A very modified version of is original scheme has, however, just been approved in the ape of an "educational films campaign" which will be )l«lo* scribed more fully later in this article. Meanwhile in the North the Institute's Branch in Scotland, e Scottish Film Council, secured from the Ministry of lOllil formation a small grant of £1 ,200 spread over three months. ith this it organised at a moment's notice, with the co- a/wi^'li)eration of the Scottish Educational Film Association, a ser- e of travelling film shows for evacuated school children. In e three months the scheme lasted, in spite of appalling ispf^ father conditions, lack of electric current and other diffi- Ities, nearly 1,500 shows were given to some quarter of a thepe^^llion children. In this short period it is safe to say that the ucational film movement in Scotland had been given a tonic effects of which will be evident for years to come. All this !ne\ifcrk could not have been achieved without the willing assist- iiiteri ice of the Glasgow, Edinburgh and other Education Authori- who seconded teachers and lent apparatus, and the lenaiiflrtunate existence of the British Film Institute's Scottish ntral Educational Film Library set up last year with a grant n liij^bm the Carnegie Trustees. In the South the modified version of the Institute's original leme (mentioned above) came into being when on March 7th i official circular from the Board of Education to Local lucation Authorities announced that the Board had "ap- 'oved a proposal made by the British Film Institute that an tensive film campaign, extending over about six months, ould be conducted by the Institute with the advice and istance of the Board." It is too early yet to judge the results of this scheme, which yolves the employment of four teachers on the Institute's jiff, all of whom have had years of experience in the use of lucational films. Their job is to approach Directors of ucation, teachers and others in order to demonstrate the iue of this new aid to instruction, to give courses in sub- evenl make he CO' ubie s" [80 i0 quiet standard projection and in general to "preach the gospel". The present arrangements are flexible and can be adjusted to meet any given circumstances, but the sum at the disposal of the Institute for the carrying on of the campaign is very limited, being merely an additional grant from the Privy Council out of the Sunday Cinematograph Fund. Any com- ments or help which readers of documentary nev/s letter who are interested in educational films can give will be welcomed. Well before even the 1938 crisis the Governors of the British Film Institute were pressing for the recognition of the film — and particularly the short film and newsreel — as one of the best possible means of "putting Britain across" in the eyes of the world. Only too well aware of the astonishingly potent work being done by Germany in this connection, they gave private demonstrations of foreign propaganda films to high Government officials on more than one occasion in the early months of 1939, while the Director himself visited Berlin to gain first-hand information. And ever since the beginning of the war the Institute has fought behind the scenes for more facilities for cameramen, for greater imagination in high quarters and for greater distribution of what films Britain's long suffering producers were allowed to make. Officially, the Governors have submitted a Memorandum to the Films Council pointing out the urgent value of the short film, while they have also ap- proached the principal Government Departments asking that a lead should be given to British producers as to the type of entertainment film the Government would like to see made. In addition the vital necessity of seeing that Britain is adequately represented on Dominion and Colonial screens and vice versa has not been lost sight of, and as a result of certain repre- sentations that have been made on behalf of the Institute it is possible that some action may be taken towards setting up what might be described as an "Imperial Films Committee" as a step towards settling this problem. On the cultural side, the activities of the Institute are being well maintained. Probably the most important of these is the continued encouragement of the International Federation of Film Archives which, war or no war, continues to form an ideal means for the interchange of cultural or historic films between the United States, Great Britain, France and Switzer- land. It is also interesting to note that Germany, since America and Switzerland are neutrals, also remains a member, although naturally no contact is now possible between the National Film Library and the Reichsfilmarchiv in Berlin. The Secretary of the British Film Institute is Treasurer and Vice-President of the Federation. In addition, the International Convention for the Circulation of films of an educational character has been ratified by the British Government at the Institute's request. New vaults have been built for the National Film Library, and new films of a cuhural or historical character are being steadily added. The Institute's periodical. Sight and Sound — which has a very large circulation abroad — is being continued not only because of its interest to intelligent filmgoers but also because it helps to show neutral countries that the United Kingdom, war or no war, can maintain its interest in the film as an art. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER APRIL 1940 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS k«' Point of View No. 5. Drifting in Danger. Produc- tion: Spectator Short Films. Distribution: Den- ning Films. 17 minutes. HERE, once again, is Mr Ivan Scott keeping the peace between Mr Pro and Mr Con and finishing up by asking us in the audience what we think. In this latest release the argument is about the plight of the herring industry and whether the 1935 policy of the Herring Industry Board was right or wrong. Unfortunately the well-docu- mented views of Mr Pro and Mr Con suffer from untidy arrangement, and the scenes chosen to illustrate them do little to clarify or reinforce the verbal contentions. The relationship between spoken word and visual image is often clumsy to the point of incomprehensibility. In general, Point of View is to be congratulated on its choice of subjects, for there is still powerful opposition in the film trade and in the censor's office to the presentation of controversial issues on the screen. It is a pity that, in order to disarm any criticism of subject-matter, a style of pre- sentation has been evolved which is in danger of representing controversy itself as a somewhat comic English pastime, an end in itself rather than a means of arriving at valuable conclusions. The highly artificial conventions of a Point of View debate forbid the stating of conclusions in the film and the audience may be forgiven if they feel no stimulus to draw any of their own ; a poor result for a series which presumably sets out to entertain by facilitating wider public participa- tion in the solving of topical problems. Apart from the handicap imposed by its frame- work of three men at a table (and the box office value of always repeating this theme-scene may easily be exaggerated). Point of View occasion- ally sees other reasons for omitting essential fac- tors in its controversies. The question of dis- tribution costs and middlemen's profits is not debated in the current issue on depression in the herring industry. It was a pity Mr Con did not ask just how an unpretentious London restaurant comes to charge three shillings for a pair of grilled herrings. The Republic of Finland. Production: March of Time (No. 11, Fifth Year). Distribution: R.K.O. Radio Pictures. 18 minutes. FINLAND is a subject with which March of Time has already dealt on an earlier occasion, and it is obvious that there was no possibility of obtaining fresh and exclusive material in Finland in time for inclusion in this new issue. The war scenes are indeed the same as those we have seen in the newsreels; and the remainder of the Finnish material is composed of well-shot scenes of Fin- land's peacetime activities (including a monu- mental shot of Sibelius) and a certain amount of historical material. One hesitates to accuse an excellent series like the March of Time of anything in the nature of padding, but the Cook's Tour of Washington's embassies with which this item begins appears to have little relevance to the main argument, ex- cept in so far as the Russian and Finnish repre- sentatives are concerned. The argument of the film is, however, clearly stated, and does not diverge in any way from the general attitude of the press. In general, it may be said that this item, though highly topical and therefore box oflice, is not in the first line of March of Time eff"ort. Island People. Production: Realist Film Unit for British Council. 10 minutes. By an American ISLAND PEOPLE, a neat little documentary, grapples with an interesting problem. Intended for neutral consumption, it is a production of British minds untainted by foreign viewpoint. As such it demands close inspection, careful criti- cism. Herewith the verdict of a neutral tainted by contact with the British. The film is built up on a nice formula. I ap- proached the British Isles by way of a map, an air view of the countryside, and assorted general views. Then I settled down to a few examples of Britons and what they do. Done with them, I wound up with a quick summary, and it was all over. As propaganda it has virtues. It is quiet, not obviously pushing, seems an attempt to explain England simply. Its faults are not great, but are several. I feel that a spoken commentary of calm, dispassionate British understatement should be eff"ective as propaganda, but that commentary, to be most successful, should be accompanied by visual overstatement. (Someone says in hurt tones: "That's hardly British, old man!" But if it's to be propaganda, why not superlative propaganda?) The photography was workman- like, but quite unexciting. Direction and cutting were jerky at the film's start, but settled down later. For me the film was too simple. England just can't be as simple as she was here painted. The England I know is an industrial nation. In the film the stress was heavier on agriculture than on industry. The choice of a farmer boy, a woman clinician, the captain of a merchantman, a secretary and a silversmith as examples of the English did not seem typical to me. Thank God, though, for an English document- ary without the usual tortuous panoramic mean- derings about the landscape. There was not the usual time to be wasted, for a lot of material was crowded into this film. I liked the emphasis on craftsmanship in the case of the silversmith. And thanks for a nice bit of light music that popped up momentarily midfilm. I liked Island People. It just could have been a lot better. Maybe the others in this series will answer all my arguments. By a film industry executive Island People is a welcome and much-needed addition to documentary lists. Documentary, as I see it, has two objectives; first, to interpret the social scene, and second, to interpret it to the widest possible number of people. Island People satisfied the first objective and will, I am certain, satisfy the second. There are no technical fire-, works or heavy-footed and academic excursions into sociology. The film is simple and emotion- talli ally warm. It does not look at "the masses" fr(( V' the outside. Island People is more than an accoi of how the British people live, though this is I W" raison d'etre : it is a story of how common peo|l bI' live and work all over the world. The Realj t'™' Film Unit have put themselves on such ten with ordinary people that they are doing the v{l best work for documentary. I searched for an adjective to describe ti: film, but there is only one that fits it, and that "artless" — artless in the same way that a pot by Herrick, or a painting by Botticelli is pi and artless. ^^j,. Handicraft Happiness, Rugmaking, Quiltii Thrift. Production: G.B. Instructional. Din tion: Mary Field. Photography: Peter Herbe Distribution: Non-theatrical. 16 mm. silent, i cept for Handicraft Happiness, of which there i: 16 mm. sound version. Each film runs for a proximately 10 minutes. By a woman THESE FOUR films have been made for t Women's Institutes to encourage countrywom to relearn the crafts which were the pride of thi great-grandmothers. As the first series of films be made at the request of the Institutes they i present an important development in the use film in education. Except for Handicraft Hapj ness they are unpretentious straightforwa demonstration films made with a strict eye on t cost. G . B. Instructional have shot on 1 6 mm. fil, so skilfully that it looks every bit as good as 35 mi One of the difficulties of making such things sewing or rugmaking look attractive on t screen is that you have to sit down to the woi The only movement is in the hands and the chi interest is in the design of the stitches. Althoui I am not able to face a darn with equanimi myself, I was fascinated by the details of thra^fr ,, and finger work. The women's hands quilting t traditional feather pattern, the cross stitchl^,, which go to make a rug — these are the thin which please the eye and encourage the ignorai Quilting is the best of the series for this reaso It shows how the work is done. Thrift and Ru making rely a little too much on pictures women bending over their work with gre patience and determination. And they did lo« ''.' determined. It would have been a relief to see younger face among them. All the fine things which the Women's Ins tutes make are not show-pieces ; they are made be used. Yet no one walked on the hand-wov rug, no child slept in the cot made of sackclot no one lay on the home-tufted mattress. Th« should have been some attempt to show hi these things would add to the comfort ai pleasure of the family. Handicraft Happiness serves as an introduci to the other three films. It begins in an eig tcenth century farmhouse, brings in the facto system with a good blast on a siren, and she the modern woman going to town by bus to b her provisions. But the machine may not turno goods to suit her purse or her individual wan h '=« (St DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER APRIL 1940 the Women's Institutes, she can learn to make lat she needs to her own design. These films have the difficult job of persuading -* i imen to do things which are outside their '■i dinary household routine. They are not in- ided to take the place of teaching and Indi- ra laal teachers will find them easy to adapt to gave its third performance on March 10th and showed seven films, ranging from studies of Colloids in Medicine and Psychology Today to Rotha's Face of Britain and Anstey's Enough to Eat. The policy of this society is admirable in that it deliberately seeks to foster the idea of the scientist's place in the community, rather than to narrow down its programmes to exclusively academic and tech- nical subjects. It might be a good idea for some of the major provincial societies to link up with the Scientific Film Society. AH the L.S.F.S. pro- grammes are designed to interest laymen as well as scientists. In this connection secretaries might well get hold of a copy of the annual report of the Films Committee of the Association of Scientific Workers. This Committee was formed some two years ago to further the interests of the scientific film, and to act as an advisory body to any organisation desiring information in this field. To this end an expert Viewing Committee has been appointed, and a list of scientific films has been issued, graded according to subject matter, type, technical treatment and suitability both for general and specialist exhibition. A card-index of all films seen is kept at the head office of the A.S.W. with a review of each prepared by the Viewing Committee. The subject matter includes agriculture, engineering, health. transport, zoology, chemistry, aeronautics, archaeology, biology, physiology, mathematics, physics and sociology. The Committee is ready to plan film shows for branches of the A.S.W. and other interested bodies, and eight such shows were arranged in 1939, in London, Cambridge, Liverpool, Oxford and Rugby. The services performed by the Scientific Films Committee, not at the moment widely known, are of great value and their expertly prepared records provide a source of unequalled information and reference. Any organisation wishing to make use of the work that is being done should communicate with the Secretary, the Association of Scientific Workers, 30 Bedford Row, London, W.C.I. Aberdeen reports that its membership this season is 489, which is only 60 short of last season's figure. As in previous years, it was arranged to hold six exhibitions. The last ex- hibition was held on March 17th when the films Hostages and The First Days were shown. The fact that the membership of the Society showed such a small decrease as the result of the outbreak of the war leads to the confident expectation that an equally good membership will be obtained next season. At all events, there seems to be little danger of the Society having to suspend its activities. Dundee & St Andrews recently showed Love on the Wing and Trois Valses. They have a large student membership and in view of the approaching University holidays the final show has been fixed for April 14th. Many local mem- bers are engaged in work of national importance, A.R.P., etc., involving Sunday duty, and the cancellation of the shows in St Andrews (see DNL, March) proved a blessing in disguise to local members, as at their request there are both afternoon and evening performances in Dundee, thus enabling members to see the shows during their oft"-duty times. Evidence of the success of this procedure is given by the increase of the number of performances from six to nine. Ayrshire has had a good season and is hopeful on prospects for the autumn. Writes the Secre- tary: "Assuming that there is no drastic altera- tion in conditions in this country we will be carrying on, and I think, despite many pessi- mistic prophets, that there is probably an ample supply of films in the country at the moment from which to book the programmes for at least four or five other meetings." Lochaber, in addition to its usual programmes, gave a show of 16 mm. silent films at the High- land Hotel, Fort William, during March. The evening was partly a social occasion and was a good opportunity for members to discuss and criticise the season's films. The secretary also reports that there is some hope of reviving the Inverness Film Society, as during the war the number of potential members may well be higher than ever before. Recent programmes of the Manchester & Salford Film Society included Cavalcanti's Men in Danger and The City, Pabst's Dranie de Shanghai, and Len Lye's Lambeth Walk and Colour Flight. Substandard shows included The Rape of Czechoslovakia, followed by a lec- ture by the director, Jiri Weiss: John Taylor's The Londoners, and Ralph Bond's Voice of the People. The Oxford Film Society recently celebrated its fiftieth performance with a very eclectic pro- gramme including Ruttman's Berlin and Ophul's Tendre Ennemie. The membership of this Society is largely of undergraduates and senior members of the University; Oxford residents are also members. The Edinburgh Film Guild, although "exposed to the dangers of the front line", has had a good season of eight performances (a modification of its peacetime programmes) and the membership is 500. Films shown include Mort du Cygne, Storm in a Teacup and The Rich Bride. We learn that in addition to Bryanston School (see DNL March) both Eton and Charterhouse run flourishing film societies. The latter's is open to members of the general public. The Merseyside Film Institute Society reports that its shows of Hostages and Burgtheater both had an attendance of 1,400. Four lectures have been given on "The Films in Education", "The Film in World Conditions", "The Film in International Understanding", and "Social Im- plications". A film lecture on Charlie Chaplin's career was also given by Prof. Lyon Blease. This Society is now collaborating with the Council of Social Service in the provision of a panel of lecturers for unemployed centres, boys' clubs, and similar groups. Belfast's second repertory show included Retour a TAube, supported by documentaries and early silent films. A third show is planned this month. ROLL CALL (The following is, to the best of our knowledge, a complete list of Film Societies at present in existence) : Aberdeen Lochaber Ayrshire London Film Institute Belfast London Scientific Birmingham Manchester & Salford Bryanston Merseyside Charterhouse Oban Dublin Oxford Dundee Sheffield Edinburgh Street Eton Tyneside Exeter Wolverhampton Liverpool FEDERATION The Federation of Scottish Film Societies is meeting in Glasgow on April 27th to discuss summer activities and future plans. On the same day is the final adjudication and performance of the entries for the Scottish Film Festival. 16 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER APRIL 1940 FOREIGN FILMS (All films recommended in this column are the latest continentals viewable in London, and are in our opinion suitable for Film Society showing. We are unable to indicate at what dates they will he available for hooking.) Toni. Production: Marcel Pagnol. Direction: Jean Renoir. Photography: Claude Renoir. Distribu- tion: not fixed. FIVE YEARS old, this film presented privately by the energetic London Film Institute Society, must surely rank as one of the most successful attempts to blend fictional story, professional actors and studio sets with natural background and real people. The story, dealing in personal issues, is unimportant; the direction, treatment and acting are some of the best that have ever coijie from France. Renoir's technical ease has been admired in La Grande Illusion and La Bete Humaine, and those films also displayed his mastery of handling what one can only call "intimate" situations. In Toni there is this dis- play, but something of a more profound char- acter than in later Renoir films, perhaps because the workaday people in the South-East corner of France with whom the story deals are less com- plex and inhibited than the people of the other stories. Here is poetry of a kind seldom seen on the screen ; a use of background both in general and in particular to heighten the conflict of human feelings and behaviour. Technically, the use of visuals and sound must rank among the best. Five years in cinema is five generations in other spheres, but Renoir's film has no date. It might have been made yesterday and that in itself is a thing one can say about few films. Recom- mended strongly to all film societies. Canadian Government Films in Production, January, 1940 1 A Canadian epilogue to the British film The Warning, produced in Britain before the outbreak of war to instruct the public in methods of air- raid defence. 2 French versions of two recently released government films — Heritage and The Royal Visit — for distribution in French speaking areas. 3 Two Youth Training films, directed by Stuart Legg, and completed only last autumn, being brought up-to-date in the light of war conditions. 4 A series of six educational films dealing with the human geography of Canada. 5 Three non-theatrical films on the economic fronts of Canada scheduled. (Timber, wheat, mining.) 6 The People of Canada, describing the various groups comprising the population of the Dominion. 7 Undefended Frontier (work'mgtitle of a picture discussing the boundary between Canada and the United States.) 8 A series on Canadian sports. 9 A film on the McKenzie River District. NEWS FROM STAFFORDSHIRE By the Secretary of the Burslem & District Industrial Co-operative Society. IN STOKE-ON-TRENT there has been organised this winter a Secondary Schools' Film Associa- tion which is open to all secondary school pupils in North Staffordshire. Eleven schools were circularised, and six responded by sending along pupils and teachers. In spite of a late and hurried beginning, the scattered nature of the area and the blackout, about 150 enthusiastic youngsters turn up each month. The difficulty of obtaining a centrally situated room that was blacked out was solved by the local Co-operative Society who generously loaned a room and most excellent projection apparatus. Among the films shown so far have been cartoons, Chaplins, Weather Forecast, Night Mail, Big Money, New Worlds for Old, The Covered Wagon and lastly and most success- fully, Kameradschaft . At our next meeting Miss Mary Field is to give a lecture, while in April the programme is to consist of Shipyard, a "Popeye", Buried Treasure, Private Life of the Gannets, A. B.C. of Oil and Plan for Living. So far not much film appreciation (i.e., direct instruction how to look at and appreciate films critically: Ed.) has been indulged in, because it is believed that good films such as Kameradschaft are eloquent of themselves ; when more of these have been shown, the children will be more than anxious to learn about film appreciation. WE ARE EIGHT In 1932 Hitler was not in power. In 1932 the documentary film was in its infancy. In 1932 the first number of sight & sound was published . . . The latest issue — completing the eighth volume — is now on sale. Quite a few people have been good enough to tell us that it's well worth Sixpence. published by THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE 4 Great Russell Street WCl CINEMATOGRAPHY IS A PRODUCT OF APPLIED SCIENCE The position of the working scientist, the organ- isation and application of scientific research, the place of science in modern civilisation, questions of scientific education and popularisation, are discussed in THE SCIENTIFIC WORKER JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF SCIENTIFIC WORKERS This paper discusses such questions in a non- technical way from the j5oint of view of the scientist himsell. Monthly, price 3d. Annual Subscription 4$. PUBLISHED BY THE A.S.W., 30 BEDFORD ROW, W.C.I DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER APRIL 1940 17 lollywood is the Place. Charles Landery. Dent. BOOK REVIEWS [Tie Cinema Today. D. A. Spencer and H. D. iValey. Sir Humphrey Milford and Oxford Uni- tersity Press. 4s. 6d. ■HIS IS A short, technical survey of film-making, ?^ )rimarily intended for the general reader. It has ^ m interesting introductory history of film ap- P"^ )aratus and gives a broad account of film-stock ■^ »a ind processing, cameras, sound-recording, colour 6«3 jrocesses, stereoscopy, and sub-standard prob- ''^i ems. Although concerned almost entirely with ''^''^ ipparatus and method, it crams a good deal of '■'PS ;ommon sense into two final chapters on the •fJE? ilm's position today and as a social force. If ««! hese two chapters were to precede the technical lescription, the book would have a better ^la jalance. As it is, useful diagrams and some !xcellent illustrations make "The Cinema Today" t ta I well-produced book at its price. sM iiil siM«05. 6d. "=^'° THIS MIGHT have been just another book about ^' Hollywood. It has the usual anecdotes and funny itories about the big shots (including a new one )f the 2,000 dollar a week executive who owed his )osition to his outstanding skill on horseback). ' There are the usual dark hints about the sex life * )f the local population. There is the inevitable ^;' lescription of an Aimee Semple McPherson *^'^'^evival meeting. The book's merit lies in the fact that it does ''^^ecord that in Hollywood there are great num- Ders of ordinary people who work damned hard when they are permitted to work at all — for a ;otally inadequate reward. Mr Landery shows us he statistical workings of Central Casting with ts 12,000 registered extras of whom only 350 ire continuously employed. Behind the mathe- natical equation is the human being, and Mr ndery allows us to meet the human being and ■0 learn a little about how an extra scrapes along. Steve Dunning, 30 years old, married and one laughter, is a studio electrician or juicer. "Look' le says, "you can't blame me for getting hot jnder the collar. I work like a nigger. I sweat. \nd for what? A dollar twenty-one an hour. And what's more i don't get steady work and there never will be a future to it. Then there is Bert, the stunt man. "Our Union Chas fixed the minimum pay at $35 per eight-hour day with overtime if worked, no matter how ".imple the stunt". Most of the stunts don't seem too simple. We would have liked this book a whole lot more if it had stuck to the human stories about the real people in Hollywood. But what there is of them is good. Filming for Amateurs. Paul Burnford, A.R.P.S., jwith a preface by Paul Rotha. Pitman. \2s. 6d. THIS IS A good book. It is not a long book (the text only runs to about 30,000 words), but Mr Burnford writes crisply, and gives the maximum Of information in the minimum of space. The book will be most useful to the amateur who knows what a shooting script is, realises that he leeds one if he is to make a film rather than a haphazard collection of shots, but is not very\ PEOPLE AND PLANS familiar with the tricks of the trade by which he can get the eff"ects he desires. For such a man, it would hardly be possible to pick a passage of a hundred v^orks that did not give useful informa- tion. The book contains 58 well-printed reproduc- tions of actual shots which are accompanied by captions giving the reasons for the arrangement and technical proceeding adopted. The lessons to be learned from these plates will be as fruitful as those found in the text. Finally a word of praise to the publishers, who have produced an excellent piece of typography. It is a pity, however, that there are one or two small errors, such as f. 28 for (presumably) f 2.8, a mis-spelling of Rene Clair's name, and, oddly enough, of the author on both cover and jacket. America at the Movies. Margaret Thorp. Yale University Press. $2.75. THIS is A well-documented, balanced and very nicely written study of exploitation methods and public relations policies in the American film business. The subject is of first-line importance for any understanding of the film industry and the social influence of the cinema in this country. American films arrive here trailing clouds of glory from a coast to coast build-up which in- evitably influence British critical and public re- action. Some day, too, perhaps the British industry may set about emulating the magnifi- cently self-assured enthusiasm of the American industry. We are already familiar with tie-ups with hairdressers, biscuit manufacturers and newspapers ; and on occasions exhibitors manage to get the help of local territorials, civic digni- taries and churches in selling a film. On the ob- verse side are Sonja Henje's films popularising ice-skating and films like Warner Brothers" Zola creating a demand for new editions and reprints of classics, pushing up book sales and library bor- rowings by hundreds of thousands. It would seem that there is no film that a determined publicity department cannot sell and that there is nothing that films cannot sell, whether it be anti-fascism or family life, lipsticks, Shakespeare or sofas "like the one in Bette Davis's drawing-room in Dark Vic- lory." But there are limits. There's the Hay Office, the National Legion of Decency and a hundred smaller organised minorities whose power we over here hardly realise. And there are the men and women who go to the movies who, in spite of the barrage of campaigns, stunts, slogans and insinuations laid down by publicity departments, exhibitors and fan-journalists and in spite of the defences erected for them by public and private political and moral censors, can and do still make their voices heard. Illuminating in this connection are extracts from the Hays Office Reports for 1938 and 1939 quoted by Margaret Thorp on which she makes this comment : "Significant as the change is from glorying in 'escapist entertain- ment' to glorying in 'pictures that dramatise present-day social conditions' this second report of Mr Hays is not a battle cry, but an official recognition of a force which had at last grown too strong to be ignored." William Farr has joined the Editorial Board of D.N.L. He was assistant director of the Film Institute and edited Sight and Sound. For the past two years he has been distribution officer of the Petroleum Films Bureau. A li stair Cooke, one time B.B.C. film critic and well known for his broadcasts to England from America, has joined the staff of the Film Library of the Museum of Modern Art, New York City. A new documentary production unit. Real- film Productions Inc., has been set up in America. John Ferno, co-director of The Four Hundred Million with Joris Ivens, is in charge of produc- tion. Miss Margery Locket, lately in charge of the G.B. Instructional Films Bureau, has joined the Films Department of the Ministry of Information. We welcome Mr P. H. Siriex to London. He is film liaison officer between the Ministry of Information and the Commissariat General a Service d'Information of Paris. His headquarters are the Service d'Information de Londres, Queensberry Way, S.W.7. The work of the Service d'Information de Londres is reviewed on page 13. The French documentary director, J. B. Brunius, has been granted leave from the French Army to come to England. He is working at the G.P.O. Film Unit, and hopes to direct films in England for France. He will also be handling French versions of English films. He was responsible for '''Violons d' Ingres" shown at the French Pavilion of the New York World's Fair and at the March performance of the Film Institute Film Society. WORLD FILM NEWS A Limited Number of Bound Volumes for Sale Volume 1 £2 0 0 Volume 2 £1 10 0 Voluine 3 £10 0 Single Copies Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 3/6 2/6 II- {Issues No. 2 of Volume 1 atul No. 6 of Volume 2 are no longer available.) 18 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER APRIL 1940 NON-THEATRICAL FILM LIBRARIES Borrowers of films are asked to apply as much in advance as possible, to give alti'rnative booking dates, and to return the films immediately after use. H. A hire charge is made. F. Free distribution to approved borrowers. Sd. Sound. St. Silent. Association of Scientific Workers, 30 Bedford Row, W.C.I. Scientific Film Committee. Graded List of Films. A list of scientific films from many sources, and their distributors, classified and graded for various types of audience. On request, Committee will give advice on pro- gramme make-up and choice of films to prospective users. British Commercial Gas Association, Gas Indus- try House, 1 Grosvenor Place, S.W.I. Films on social subjects, domestic science, & the manu- facture of gas. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd & a few St. F. British Council Film Department, 25 Savile Row, W.l. Films of Britain, 1940. This catalogue is for overseas use only but provides useful synopses of at least a 100 sound & silent docu- mentary films. British Film Institute 4 Great Russell Street, W.C.I, (a) National Film Library. An im- portant collection of documentary & other films. Available only to full members of B.F.I. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. {b) Some British and Foreign Documentary and other Short Films. A general list of films & distributors, (c) Early Films. A list of early films still available in Britain. Crookes' Laboratories, Gorst Road, Park Royal, N.W.IO. Colloids in Medicine. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. F. Dartington Hall Film Unit, Totnes, South Devon. Classroom films on regional and economic geography. 16 mm. St. H. Educational General Services, Little Holt, Mer- ton Lane, Highgate, N.6. A wide selection of films of all kinds, particularly of overseas interest. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Electrical Development Association, 2 Savoy Hill, Strand, W.C.2. Four films of electrical interest. Further films of direct advertising appeal are available only through members of the Association. 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Empire Film Library, Imperial Institute, S.W.7. Films primarily of Empire interest. With a useful subject index. 16 mm. & a few 35 mm. Sd. & St. F. Ensign Film Library, 88-89 High Holborn, London, W.C.I. Wide selection of all types of films including fiction, comedies, documentaries, films of geography, animal life, industry. Some prints for outright sale. 1 6 mm. St. & a few Sd. H. Film Centre, 34 Soho Square, W. 1 . Mouvements Vibratoires. A film on simple harmonic motion. French captions. 35 mm. & 16 mm. St. H. Gaumont-British Equipments, Film House, War- dour Street W.l. Many films on scientific subjects, geography, hygiene, history, language, natural history, sport. Also feature films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. G.P.O. Film Library, Imperial Institute, S.W.7. Over 100 films, mostly centred round com- munications. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Kodak Ltd., Kingsway, W.C.2. {a) Kodascope Library. Instructional, documentary, feature, western, comedy. Strong on early American comedies. 16 mm. & 8 mm., St. H. (A separate List of Educational Films, extracted from the above, is also published. A number of films have teaching notes.) {b) Medical Film Library. Circulation restricted to members of medical profession. Some colour films. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. St. H. March of Time, Dean House, 4 Dean Street, W.l. Selected March of Time items of general CATALOGUE OF THE MONTH G.B.I. Films. List 5. Issued free, by Gaumont- British Instructional Films Bureau, Film House, Wardour Street, W.l. This handbook selects and describes those 16 mm. films most likely to interest schools, from the larger Gcbescope catalogue. It is handier to use because of its classification and the index of titles which has now been added. Teaching Guides are available, price 3c/., and teachers can check the content and quality of films by the reviews in the Bulletins of the British Film Institute and the Scottish Educa- tional Films Association. The first and longest section of the handbook gives detailed notes describing each film, and a key letter indicates for which section of the school audience it is designed. Films are listed under subjects, and in each subject silent films are given separately. The junior school teacher will find especially valuable the group of silent films on Food from the Sea and Earth and Great Changes. Among other subjects, biology and natural history are plentifully served ; many interesting films have been added to this section. A generous proportion of films is given to Geography, but the small group of History films has not been increased and the Language section remains minute. This scarcity, one understands, is due, not to a lack of good-will, but to a very sensible reluctance to take risks without hope of a response from teachers. It is, nevertheless, unfortunate that the language and culture of France is practically unrepresented in the non- theatrical film, and one feels that the resources of such an organisation as the Alliance Fran^aise might he mobilised in this connection. The cata- logue lists all films now available for hire; information about future projects, particularly of possible dates when the new "Secrets of Life" films in Dufaycolor will be issued for non-theatrical purposes, would have been welcome. interest. Includes Inside Nazi Germany, New Schools for Old, America Thinks it Over. 16 mm. Sd. H. Mathematical Films. Available from B. G. D. Salt, 5 Carlingford Road, Hampstead, N.W.3. Five mathematical films suitable for senior classes. 16 mm. & 9.5 mm. St. H. Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co. Ltd., Traf- ford Park, Manchester 17. Planned Electrifica- tion, a film on the electrification of the winding & surface gear in a coal mine. Available for showing to technical & educational groups. 16 mm. Sd. F. Pathescope, North Circular Road, Cricklewood, N.W.2. Wide selection of silent films, including cartoons, comedies, drama, documentary, travel, sport. Also good selection of early American & German films. 9.5 mm. Sd. & St. H. Petroleum FUms Bureau, 15 Hay Hill, Berkeley Square, W.l. Twenty technical & documentary films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Religious Film Library, 104 High Holborn, W.C.I. Films of religious and temperance appeal, also list of supporting films from other sources. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Scottish Central Film Library, 2 Newton Place, Charing Cross, Glasgow, C.3. A wide selection of teaching films from many sources Contains some silent Scots films not available elsewhere. Library available to groups in Scot- land only. 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Sound-Film Services, 10 Park Place, Cardiff. Library of selected films including Massing- ham's And So to Work & Pollard's Dragon of Wales. Rome and Sahara have French com- mentaries. 16 mm. Sd. H. Southern Railway, General Manager's Office, Waterloo Station, S.E.I. Seven films (one in colour) including Building an Electric Coach, South African Fruit (Southampton Docks to Covent Garden), & films on seaside towns. 16 mm. St. F. Strand Film Company, 5a Upper St. Martin's Lane, W.C.2. Eleven films available for non- theatrical distribution including Aerial Mile- stones (historical survey of British civil aviation), Chapter and Verse (survey of books and writers), Give the Kids a Break, & a number of others of Empire and general interest, including 3 silent Airways films. Mostly 35 mm. Sd. A few 16 mm. St. F. Wallace Heaton, Ltd., 127 New Bond Street, W.l. Three catalogues. Sound 16 mm., silent 16 mm., silent 9.5 mm. The sound film catalogue contains a number of American feature films, including Thunder Over Mexico, & some interest' shorts. The silent 16 mm. catalogue contains a first-class list of early American, German & Russian silent features and shorts. The 9.5 catalogue has a number of early German films & a wide selection of early American & English slapstick comedies. 16 mm. & 9.5 mm. Sd. & St. H. Workers' Film Association, 145 Wardour Street, V^.l. Films of democratic & co-operative in- terest, with a selection of films from other sources. Notes & suggestions for complete pro- grammes. Some prints for outright sale. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER APRIL 1940 19 IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO BE SINCERE CINEMA AUDIENCES, fed on a Goldwyn-Wanger-Zanuck-Selznick diet, expect their films to have 'spit and polish'. Nature (or truth) in the raw appeals to them more if the make-up is by Max Factor. A PROPAGANDA MESSAGE, no matter how righteously conceived and carefully prepared, loses force in a film unless that film can stand up to technical standards of quality created by Hollywood. A public educated on Mae West wants form as well as content. THE TECHNICAL PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT of Merton Park Studios ensure that a film made there will pass the high standard of quality essential if a short film is to stand on its own merits alongside Garbo, Clark Gable, Robert Taylor and Donald Duck. Only by insisting on such a high standard do we ensure that the films we produce achieve the objects for which they have been made. MERTON PARK STUDIOS LIMITED STRAND CELEBRATES ITS 5th ANNIVERSARY IN FIVE YEARS STRAND HAS: made 50 first-flight documentary films STRAND HAS: substantially helped to open up the cinemas to documentary films STRAND HAS: worked for:- The National Book Council, the National Council of Social Service, the Federated Malay States Government, Imperial Airways, British Airways, the Great Western Railway, the Southern Railway, Petroleum Films Bureau, Film Centre, Colonial Empire Marketing Board, Films of Scotland Committee, the British Council, the National Fitness Council, the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Labour, the British Medical Association, the Royal National Life-Boat Institution, the Ulster Tourist Association, the Land Settlement Association, the League of Nations, the Air Ministry, the Workers' Travel Association, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Shell Marketing Company. STRAND THANKS: Its past producers, paul rotha and stuart legg, and welcomes Alexander shaw to this position, all of whom have contributed so much to the Company's success. Its permanent staff and those documentary producers and directors who have worked on individual films. The progressive members of the film trade who have encouraged its work. STRAND STARTS ITS ANNIVERSARY YEAR WITH FIVE NEVy^ PRODUCTIONS IN WORK DONALD F. TAYLOR, MANAGING DIRECTOR 5a UPPER ST. .MARTINS LANE, LONDON, W.C.2 MERTON PARK STUDIOS, 269 KINGSTON ROAD, LONDON, S.W.I9 Owned aiitl published by Film Centre Ltd.. J4 Soho Square. Lond'n. It'. I . cmJ primed by Sinison Shan.l Ltd.. The Shenvul Pres' finished. During its run at the Polytechnic, Dark Rapture wa being described as sensational, not by the professional ballyhO' boys, but by private, word-of-mouth publicists who happenof to run across it. The news came at last to the ears of its die tributors and the film, ready for general release, now ranks fo a full-page advertisement in the Trade Press. If the exhibitor take their cue, Dark Rapture, which belongs with Voyage a,\~ Congo, Nanook and Grass among the great film records o primitive living communities, can still reach the audience i deserves and bring in a lot of money for some people wh deserved to lose it. Replying to Haw Haw IN APPOINTING Christopher Stone to perform an anti-Ha\ Haw pep-talk after the News on Saturday evenings, the B.B.C are apparently using the methods of homeopathy. In fact the look like trying to cure the Haw Haw habit by a double strength injection of Haw Haw virus. Stone^a radio pei sonality with a large following, earlier in Broadcasting House and more recently at a foreign sponsored station — turns o all his technical abilities of intimacy and persuasion — and large number of people, we suspect, promptly turn off thei sets. For the technique — however efficient — is unpleasan The sneer in the voice is almost as bad as a television close-uj and the choking little giggles which interlard the use of wore like "vermin" or "Twerp" bring the whole performance o to an even lower propaganda level than Haw Haw himsel We consider that the countering of foreign radio propagand ^^ should be taken much more seriously than this. For one thiajj . style is all important — and Stone has chosen the wrong styl If he would confine himself to the detailed analysis of tl| Haw Haw method which turned up in one of his talks — or any rate to a similar technique, there would be less chance < you and me switching straight over to Bremen and Hambur J »c i Confusion of Vision IN OUR LISTING last month of documentary News Lettd which have been published since the war, we overlooked oi % right under the editorial nose — the American Film Center New Nor was that all. We learn from the sponsors of Plann^ Electrification that the flywheel mentioned by our review' was twice as big as he thought, weighing not 1 1 tons, b 22 tons. We apologise for both errors. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MAY 1940 THE MAN ON THE SCREEN i>ii ,:er; N THE BRITISH film industry the belief still persists that it is lighbrowism or bolshevism to wonder if people who go to the inema might not want to see people like themselves on the creen. The war, however, in bringing into sharp focus the ocial function of the cinema, is leading to a reconsideration of i-aditional principles of story selection and treatment. Not nly is the Ministry of Information using the film to interpret tacttl|J3 the nation a new, bewildering, yet real, world at war, but the iublic is growing rapidly aware that the screen may entertain, ot only by providing relaxation and escape, but by presenting mt\ le wartime drama of the common people. Today also, we are arning that films of the British people are our most efi'ective lappJjropaganda for cinemas overseas. We may claim to possess |"iti( I our national armoury the fastest war planes and the biggest ranks attleships ; we may announce that our blockade is unbreakable nd our air defence equal to any emergency ; yet, in the present tuation, the world will pay less heed to the might of our war lachine than to such evidence as there may be of the spirit of ur people. Only the documentary makers have so far looked habitually eyond the lay figures of screen romance for their characters. t now becomes the task of the fiction film producer to people f's world, not with synthetic aristocrats, outrageous eccentrics id the music-halFs conception of the proletariat, but with the '""■■"•habitants of this country. The isolated achievements in the ii;8i last of such directors as Alfred Hitchcock, Anthony Asquith, '^"' lichael Powell and Carol Reed in bringing into their stories idoiil je British people as part of an authentic background, must iti'if ow be carried to the further stage of building the story itself l-l^* cm the everyday life of the people. -iunii At the outbreak of war there were signs that the British film ir-as light be moving slowly in this direction. The Stars Look Down lonu j(j its roots in the coal-miner's life and workaday problems. apleasi g^ Tennyson, under the production of Michael Balcon, was icto irecting such films as There Aint No Justice and Proud Valley eof«i hich revealed working-class people as possessing a breadth of ■nance linj gn^j ^ range of emotion unexpected in a type of character whims [hich had previously contributed to the British story film little ropapi lore than moronish buffoonery. These films represent real ooeiki l-ogress, but if they are to be followed by a wider and acceler- 10112 S l;ed production of films of ordinary people we have first to \ii> oi I'ercome an obstacle which seems to present special difficulties i\ir^\ this country. We must solve the problem of the actor. It has long been the convention of the British stage and -reen that the more admirable human qualities can be associ- ;ed only with the "West End" manner and accent. Middle- ass, working-class and dialect-speaking characters are con- Jntionally endowed with comic or criminal traits, or they are j,jj] jprtrayed with the improbable eccentricity of the "character" [''0 Ktor. In any case, authenticity of accent and manner is not of J, tst importance. The number of actors and actresses who have .,; I^d the opportunity to break from these conventions is few, pd the rest will need time and new professional experience :fore they are capable of a convincing performance in a film i w of working-class, middle-class or true provincial life. If we are to make such films on a wide scale the problem becomes a serious one, and it is not surprising to find fiction film directors like Pen Tennyson and David Macdonald seriously considering the occasional substitution of professional actors by "real" people without previous acting experience. The employment of the actual men from the Altmark in the making o( For Freedom is something better than a box-office trick. In view of this new development in story film casting it is worth while considering the experience of the documentary producers who have only on very rare occasions used pro- fessional actors. Workers and Jobs is an early documentary closely relevant to our argument. This film of the daily routine of a labour exchange, made in 1934, was a profoundly moving account of human reactions to unemployment because its dialogue was composed of the conversations which pass every day across the counter of any labour exchange, and because the dialogue was spoken by the actual men for whom the routine of questioning or listening or just waiting had become a part of daily life. Housing Problems, in the following year, owed its effect to the slum dwellers' vivid extempore descrip- tions of the conditions under which they lived. Even today this film is a reminder of how rarely the voice of the people is heard in the cinema and how eloquent it can be. Yet it could be argued that such films as these called for no "acting", in the sense that there was no impersonation of characters pre- viously created in scenario. The next step for documentary was to attempt such impersonation with people whose actual daily experience approximated to that of the script characters. In North Sea, fishermen were asked to interpret a story involving emotional experiences which they had not themselves had, but which were closely related to the circumstances of their daily work and which grew naturally out of it. It is safe to say that the result achieved could not have been equalled by pro- fessional actors. The value of the "real" actor in films where authenticity is the first requirement is confirmed by a comparison of the two recent Ministry of Information films. Squadron 992 and the anti-gossip film Dangerous Comment. The first is brilliantly successful and gains much of its quality from the performance of its characters, who with one unimportant exception, are not actors. The second, in spite of the technical polish of its professional acting, fails to move its audience to a full appre- ciation of the dangers of gossip because the gossipers of the film never cease to be actors in the studio. Although the employment of non-actors in appropriate parts is a way of achieving realism, many fiction film directors believe that the difficulties outweigh' the advantages. Pen Tennyson used a real housewife with some amateur dramatic experience to play the part of a housewife in Proud Valley and the ex- periment was an outstanding success. But Tennyson believes that, in general, the conditions of studio production, nerves and camera consciousness will destroy the spontaneity of the ordinary person. On the other hand, David Macdonald, who DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MAY 1940 I demonstrated his skill with professional actors in This Man is News and This Man in Paris, has found it necessary to sub- stitute real lightship men for his crew of actors in the lightship story he is directing for the G.P.O. Film Unit. It is clear that for films where the details of a character's job are important to the story, the professional actor is seriously handicapped. What Robert Flaherty called "the gesture which time has worn smooth" is essential to the characterisation, and it is easier to teach a glass-blower to act than to teach an actor to blow glass. It may well prove that the beginnings of a solution to the whole problem is implicit here. In the past the tendency has been to adjust story and treatment to bring characterisation within the power of the actor. If he were required to play the part of a glass-blower the scenario was arranged so that he was never seen at work. In realistic films it is possible to plar the story, not for the professional actor but for the non-actor I. The scenario must be written so that the impersonations re \ \ quired grow out of the experience of ordinary people am therefore lie within their acting capacity. The style of dialogui must be based on the player's own natural style, action basec on his natural movements. This procedure not only will sim i , plify the problems of the actor: it will give the film a realistiij,,, quality which can be achieved in no other way. L, If we are to make films about ordinary people the realisn , must come in at the start when the story is planned. Today it i hardly necessary to prove that everyday life does not lacljL drama and that such films will not be dull. The material i waiting for the method. PIONEERING WITH A PROJECTOR The Scottish Evacuation Film Scheme by one of the teacher-operators. SINCE LAST September we have been living in eventful days. For myself, not the least eventful was Friday, September 29th. At the time I was teaching in Balfron, Stirlingshire, having been voluntarily "scattered" from Glasgow. On that day I re- ceived a request to attend a meeting the following morning at the Scottish Film Council offices. Here I heard details of the scheme to provide film shows for evacuees, and I agreed, if it went through, to run a mobile unit. A week later my Austin 10 was out of cold storage and I set out for Stirlingshire again on what was to prove one of the richest and most satisfying experiences of my life. I must confess I began with forebodings, but everywhere I received co-operation and willing assistance, not only from education officials and teachers, but from what I call for want of a better word "outsiders". Many school buildings, for example, were unsuitable through lack of accommodation, want of electric power, difficulty of blacking-out, etc. In many of these instances alternative accommodation was gladly made available by welfare committees, churches and even private individuals. Each operator was equipped with a 16 mm. silent projector — or projectors, as a battery model was often required in re- mote districts — a screen and all accessories. On each circuit I had eight to ten reels of film : natural history, geography, travel, and two reels of comedy. Most of the educational films came from the Scottish Central Film Library in Glasgow ; the comedies were hired from Kodak. During the course of my service, between October 9th and December 30th, I completed six circuits. 1 showed, therefore, some forty educational films in all. I cannot attempt to discuss each one individually, but I can indicate the types which seemed to me to be most success- ful. Only silent films were used, naturally, and they proved wholly acceptable. Nature films were generally well received. G.B.I'.s Zoo films and The Tawny Owl were special favourites and made a great appeal to all ages. Wood Ants, though an excellent film, did not fit in quite so well. Insects apparently do not have for young s;!H Ite mi ilere jclaii fflrni acliei Vki children the same entertainment value as most animals ainjif, birds. Similarly with the Kodak films : Beavers and The Adven tures of Peter (a little fox-terrier), were very popular whil Birds of Prey — probably because of the somewhat repellen^js H; nature of its "actors" — was not so successful. A beautiful littl film entitled Winter was very popular, but it is interesting t< note that stop-motion sequences of rapidly growing wheat am flowers provoked either criticism or hilarity — or both. Among the geography films, a two-reeler. Igloo, which I wa fortunate to have during the Christmas period, was an out| jj standing success. It was the record of a sledge-and-ski holidaij in northern Norway and Sweden, and apart from its seasons j, appeal, I think much of its success was due to its strong coDj ^\ tinuity. The Kodak film Overland to California, had this advaDj |k, tage in some measure, and of course the "covered wagons" ainj "pony express" received due appreciation. Argentina, Peru an^ ^ London, from the same source, were more static, and were onl| jj, partly successful. During showings of Argentina I had beq puzzled by hearty laughter at what appeared a most incor gruous moment, the scene being obviously one of city arch: tecture. I discovered finally that what was tickhng the youBffl sters was something amusing in the walk of a pigmy pedestriai] ^^ whom I had not previously noticed at all. Before I leave thi class, I should mention two Scottish teacher-productions, Port(\ Glasgow and Crofting in Skye, both of which were very populai Comedies were rather a problem, as there was keen coffj petition to secure the "plums". I was quite fortunate, howeveit and can testify that I was positively scared at times by th excitement which Charlie Chaplin, Our Gang, and a very earl Stan Laurel evoked. I was dubious about sound cartoons i silent form — and still am — but the Flip the Frog cartooDi which I showed on three occasions proved acceptable despi^ ||^ the absence of sound. In one of these an obliging spider plays piano, and I was startled one day when a boy solemnly assureMjjj me that he had heard that piano! By careful inquiry, I dii covered later that quite a number of children had equall powerful imaginations. Later, I provided a suitable musia Con «i( «!l DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MAY 1940 Opfei Willi ereal oday not laieii ccompaniment to certain films on a portable gramophone, nd this was definitely appreciated. I have already stated that each operator carried eight to ten els of film. From this number a judicious selection of from ,ve to eight reels was made to suit the needs of the moment, the ;ngth and nature of a show being governed mainly by the age nd "capacity" of the audience. A typical day's work would onsist of a forenoon and an afternoon show on the lines idicated with an occasional evening show for adults where lese could conveniently be organised. For these, the pro- ramme was generally augmented by the inclusion of a feature Im like Grass or Mount Everest Expedition. These shows were reatly appreciated and would doubtless have developed apidly had the scheme continued. The original purpose of the scheme, which was to bring to vacuated children their favourite medium of entertainment, ps more than amply fulfilled. I know that operators every- where were given an enthusiastic reception, and it is not unjust 3 claim that many children were heartened and deterred from ^turning home by the promise of a regular visit. All the jachers were unanimous that the shows helped the evacuees feel more at home in their new environment. They helped to reak down the barrier of strangeness between city and local ul^r* liildren by providing an experience which both could share. irep^ ut beyond this there is no doubt at all that the scheme has done an incalculable service to the educational film movement. Possibilities were revealed to many teachers for the first tim2, and the use of battery projectors where electric power was not available meant that no teacher, however remote, was denied this revelation. One headmaster became so enthusiastic that hs collected some £50 in little more than a week and equipped his school with a complete outfit. I know others who were imbued with the same ideal. My final circuit included 28 schools in Stirlingshire and southern Perthshire and represented three weeks' work — work which it gives me great pleasure to recall. I was only one of some 20 units operating each week in various parts of Scot- land. Altogether 1,484 shows were given, of which 609 were given on battery-driven projectors. The total audience was 152,549. The average cost of a show was 15^. Id. I finish with this statement of a country head teacher's view, from another operator's report which is quoted in the final report issued by the Scottish Film Council. "The town children who are evacuees are deriving educational benefits from their stay in the country. Why should not we — country teachers and pupils — obtain some of the advantages of city life? And since we cannot take the country children into the town for a period of schooling, the next best thing is to bring some of these advantages into the country districts. Chief among these I should place the showing of films." 'sm ith. iki tssosi atonei iteadf SCIENTIFIC FILMS HAS BECOME almost a tradition in Great Britain for teachers asanaBnd scientists to make film records of their experiments on 5 mm. Every laboratory and every classroom seems to have a Im enthusiast, and the films are used to amplify a lecturer's saching notes or to record experiments. Owing perhaps to pense one rarely sees an attempt to give the subjects a wider ieoni'i ontext. Nevertheless, if one added together all these efforts ■Jm\ 'om the University of Aberdeen to the Mining School of J»ere( Ledruth, the body of scientific information collectively repre- mted by the films would be a very considerable one. There novtiw 'ould be records of operations, records of experiments, de- ■ city an lonstrations of behaviour of animals. There are films to show iheyoii tiat the movements of certain eels take the form of simple ^pedesii armonic motion. There are pictures of a dog's heart beating, llavei fcken by X-ray film. There are records of the exploration of ;Liiii,/'Jfl le cortex of a monkey's brain. j[\'popiil i Considering the number of such films which must exist it is );snti i-eatly to be regretted that no attempt has ever been made to ,j(io»f bcord, let alone preserve them. Though many of the i^fS bv !lms are of wide general interest, the maker often does not jver\3 other to distribute them, or more often does not know how to .^[looiii pt about it. He uses his films to show to his own colleagues, ^ (0 pd to help him in teaching his students. No one in the outside I 'orld hears of them. Many are made on "reversal" stock which leans usually that only one copy is made and thrown away hen it has worn out. 11 The scientific film effort of Great Britain is largely wasted i'^om lack of initiative, lack of interest and lack of knowledge. he only committee seriously concerned with the scientific If qmO film is that maintained by the Association of Scientific Work- ers. This is a voluntary group which is already doing work of the greatest value in connection with films made under the auspices of science and industry and intended for distribution.. But the fact that this Committee is a voluntary one and com- mands very slight funds makes it impossible for it to undertake the far more elaborate job of classifying, collecting and pre- serving the films made privately in Universities and laborator- ies. Yet the finance required would not be very great. A full- time secretary with a travelling allowance and a fund for print- ing would probably be sufficient. Once the films were assem- bled and catalogued no doubt some organisation such as the British Empire Film Library would undertake the machin- ery of distribution. £1,500 to £2,000 a year would see the job through, and this would be a relatively small sum to set against the enormous benefit which scientific education would gain. One other factor must be considered. Since the films of which we are speaking are often made for private use, technical quah- ties in their assembly often leave something to be desired. A research worker will only photograph the key aspect of his experiments. A teacher will co.nfine the film only to those points which need direct pictorial illustration. No one can complain of this at present, since such films adequately meet the re- stricted use required of them. If an organisation for the classi- fying and circulation of such films were set up, there is no doubt that scientific workers and teachers would be willing to take the additional shots and make the additional titles necessary to make their films self-contained and of use to all. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MAY 1940 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS SI Squadron 992. Production: G.P.O. Film Unit. Producer: Cavalcanti. Direction: Harry Watt. Photography : Jonah Jones. Editing: R. Q. MacNaugiiton. Distribution: Columbia Pictures. 25 minutes. By a business woman HERE IS NOT Only the best film which has been made about the war; it is a film which sets a new high spot in documentary, by achieving a perfect combination of fact, humour and drama- tic story. And there is no petty spitefulness about the enemy. What a change is here. For seven months the newsreels have marched troops up and down the screen, turned out shells by the million and shouted that this was war. Squadron 992 penetrates far beyond this paraphernalia of a fight and tells us things which matter — what the men who have to fight do and feel, what men and women do when the raid comes. Squadron 992 is a unit of the Balloon Barrage in training in England. The Germans make the famous raid on the Forth Bridge, the squadron is ordered north and within 36 hours they have the balloons in position, guarding the approaches to the bridge. From these facts the film builds a terrific story. Starting with the everyday tempo of the training school, it gets, before the film is half-way through, to the whining speed of the German planes. The raid on the bridge has been magnificently reconstructed. Beside this, scenes from The Lion Has Wings are pantomime. Then, and this is one of the film's extraordinary achievements, with one climax in the bag, the long procession north of the Balloon Barrage trucks becomes, by day and by night, a strange triumphal journey through unmapped land. The excitement of all processions has been exploited to the full. For the first time we are allowed to get behind the fagade of uniforms and drill and see the quality of the men who happen for a time to be wearing uniform. The film concentrates on a few individuals ; their faces, their jokes and curses, their reactions to orders, give the world the assurance of men. They will go straight to the heart of the audience. How much of those over- running commentaries, packed with facts into which too many documentary films have put the bulk of their message, are remembered? These men, who never seem aware of the camera, out- do all the actors that directors dress up in uniform. The film has a humour and a wit which is irresistible. Until now, humour and docu- mentary have not been on very good terms. The men chaffing each other as they learn to sew, the greeting to a girl as the lorries travel north, the tramp who cannot get his lift, the aircraftsman who replies to a jibe about his speed of working with "We've built the bloody bridge since we've been up here" — these are just a few of the delightful incidents with which the film is packed. As for the photography, there are some sequences so lovely that I should like to see them many times over. Everything in the film has been conceived in terms of picture, so that the visual appeal comes again into its own, and sound and commentary take the supporting roles. What a brilliant touch to parallel the British fighter circling round a German bomber with a poacher's greyhound making closer and closer sweeps round a hare. There is one shot where the two planes roar low across the horizon while below them the hare with the hound after it are half silhouetted on the edge of the field. Many other things stand out vividly. There is the Forth Bridge itself, a gigantic symbol of all man has built, seen across the fields. There are the lights of the lorries flickering past in the darkness to the sound of Walter Leigh's gay march. The music of this film is as good as everything else about it. Squadron 992 was made for the Ministry of Information. May they commission many such another. For Freedom. Production: Gainsborough Pic- tures. Direction: Maurice Elvey and Castleton Knight. Commentators: E. V. H. Emmett and Vice-Admiral J. E. T. Harper, m.v.o. Cast: Officers and Men of H.M.S. Exeter and Ajax, Officers and Men of the Merchant Service, Will Fyffe, Anthony Hulme, and Guy Middleton. Distribution: G.F.D., Theatrical. 80 minutes. THE raison-d'etre of this film is, of course, the patriotic plus box-office possibility of cashing in on the first naval victories of the war, and it has come out not a moment too soon, for the more recent Scandinavian events may well rapidly eclipse the Plate and the Altmark in the public's mind. It is always interesting to watch the in- genuity with which this sort of production is padded out to feature length ; and in the case of For Freedom it must be said that the directors have done a pretty cunning job. The film falls into three categories — newsreel compilation, fiction story, and the reconstruction of actual events. Of these the newsreel compila- tions are, on the whole, the most successful. They are introduced by the simple means of casting Will Fyff'e as a newsreel chief ("Get it printed — and developed — at once!" he shouts across the labs). During the Munich crisis he gets the idea of making a newsreel history of the cen- tury in terms of conflict, and we see this run in a private theatre with "spontaneous" commentary by Emmett and Fyffe. Then comes news of the Munich settlement, and the newsreel changes to the actual events of Chamberlain's return being filmed by Fyffe's unit. (Here one notes how very peculiar, in retrospect, are both the looks and the activities of our political rulers.) At this point war being apparently off", Fyffe's son (a poor fish of an idealist) persuades him to make his news- reel history into one in terms of human achieve- ment. Back we go to the private theatre, where it is viewed by the firm's representatives from all , over the world. (Opportunity for wisecracks be- tween the Russian and the German, and all that.) This newsreel sequence is good. The plea for peace and progress is made with a genuine and passionate sincerity, although the visuals are a bit slim, concentratinu too much on the Malcolm He I Campbells and the Nuflields and not enough on' ^ you and me. Then there is a good dramatic pointJ *' when the projection is ended by the news that- *'' Hitler has marched into Prague. ' * The war kicks off" with some of the finest shots' '*' ever screened of the Fleet at sea ; then we are* ^f^^ handed over to Vice-Admiral Harper, who com-' ^^ peres the stories of the Altmark and the Plate.' *"■ The reconstruction of the Spec's capture of the' * Africa Shell is very well done, and Captain Dove' ^l re-enacts the event with dry and amusing* ^^i humour. The actual sea-battle is noisy and ^^'^ exciting. But it lacks the clarity of the old Britisb' lit Instructional films such as Battle of Falklanc'i '"y and Coronel Islands. First-class animated models' ^^^ are needed to give the whole scale and tactics ol' *■ a battle of this sort. Here the models only pad ill W out, and add little to its clarification. The* "fi Altmark inc'idtni, badly and almost perfunctorily »)iJi done, follows ; and the film ends with Churchill*! Guildhall speech, while the by-now-forgotter' Fyff'e, crouched 'neath a sound camera, peen^'i' down from a Gothic embrasure with patriotii pride. For Freedom, judged both as box-office and a prestige propaganda, is in general a good ex' ample of its kind ; though it is perhaps a littl less than fair to Captain Langsdorff and his men As a postscript, one may wonder why it wa thought necessary to include in a newsree sequence a palpably faked scene of Nevil Henderson telling Adolf that we would fight oveff^^i Poland. Dundee. Production: Scottish Films. Direction Donald Alexander. Photography: Grahar Thomson. Distribution: Associated Britis Film Distributors. 19 minutes. By a science editor AS AN EXAMPLE of twenticth-ccntury socia;' pamphleteering Dundee is excellent. It is simpl, and straightforward. It shows how a film argue in terms of modern conditions as forcibl as the oratory of the nineteenth century si critics. It is the story of Juteopolis, of a town whio for one hundred years has lived almost entire! by and for jute, although its history is as old i that of Scotland and it was a town of weave long before the coming of jute. The industi started from the wool of the Highlands and lati used the flax, which the Dundec-built ships an Dundee traders brought from the Baltic. Into th weavers' city came the jute from India, and tl skill of the weavers transformed a seemingly h tractable fibre into textiles. Jute has meant tt prosperity and the menace of Dundee. The film uses the device of the conversatioi on a ferry boat crossing the Tay with its con plement of men and women bound for work, give an account of the economic and soci problems in "braid Scots", and sometimes luri' terms. We hear how the City grew in respoft to the demand for mill and factory hands, ar how the women workers became more importa: DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MAY 1940 mi ooisy: old Bo onh'pi 31100. Chuid U-l'OfM neap 1)', [atii lan the men, who were the "kettle minders" — ^Marry a Dundee wife and quit working." ecause wives had to abandon their homes and eir families for the mills, Dundee was one of riaii:p(Me first towns to introduce nursery schools and w»5iB^hes. From the same causes came under- lurishment and neglect, which brought sun- inics and the like. The slums of Dundee were in laiw «ping with the conditions which the industry »boa iposed. But there was enough social enlighten- aePl ent in this city to make it take a lead in town anning and re-housing. Dundee is shown, still piaioD ruggling to overcome its nineteenth century '. ait a theory of art or a theory of entertainment ; was quite simply a theory of education. That leory has never really been lost sight of, though le silver linings of one or two passing clouds ive outshone it momentarily. There are several lings which documentary was not. It was not a volution against Hollywood; it was not an ttempt to gain artistic freedom for directors; was not an attempt to improve the quality of le short film. It may have been all these things • "^ icidentally, but not by its very nature. The people who make documentaries do not ant to make Hollywood films. They are mrnalists, teachers, an occasional poet or ainter, research students of one kind or another nd some of them are even Civil Servants, laking films with them is almost an accident; ley make them because they are interested in an lucational theory first and film production xond. If you go commercial you can say good-bye to ny kind of theory you have. If you have some- ling to say, you will have to dilute and dilute it II you could put it all on a postcard and send out at a ^d. a time. I believe this to be a funda- lental fact and refuse to be swayed in my belief y Pastews and Zolas and Grapes of Wrath and 'onfessions of a Nazi Spy. If you say that Pasteur ms about biology I give you the lie ; if you say t South Riding was about local government I epeat the insult. One and all they are "formula" lictures, love stories, spy stories, or what have 'ou. Do not pretend to yourself that The Life of lauis Pasteur was the story of a great scientific liscovery; it was the story of "a man against )dds"— a Pilgrim's Progress in modern dress. 3o not in other words pretend to yourself that * ^ "asteur or Zola or Nazi Spy represent Hollywood !one documentary. Documentary people are veil off" their beat when they begin to believe that he commercial cinema can do their job for them, "* ind the sooner they get back on to the real basis "'^m ma, bill! fthepoi s lie In ieUiiiii taiihai of int iiUta ssiul, ■ins in ita »hert Idece lognln aiiliii »ay »iioliii n fami Si, moil piiiv"o ce. Y ugh OiiCil irsoti fill thefi fromii fnia )f documentary the better. The real basis has something to do with lemocracy. Democracy demands an imaginative Government of the people. It demands invention '" " bf many kinds ; it demands imagination of many pien. Till now this has been an almost impossible iemand because our rather pleasant Govern- ment, a model to the world in many things, has not been trained to imagine and invent. Civil ser- vants have not been trained in the subject matter of their Departments but only in the administra- tion of these Departments. Many people still think that our schools and our universities, as well as our less formal educational activities, are not doing very much to improve the position; are not doing very much to train people to invent new ways of doing things, and little to promote an lunderstanding of what is being done. In the last hundred years Britain has invented quite a lot. We invented the Civil Service for example, but our social organisation has not been characterised by enough significant invention to keep us even abreast of the need for invention. Two solutions off"er themselves. Either elect a Dictator and let him do all the thinking and in- vent the new techniques for the social process, or educate, not only the Civil Service, but more and more of the people to think of the social process and to take a degree of initiative responsibility within the Democratic Stats. When the first documentary people took on the task of public education they laid hands on the cinema's in- strument and said that through it they would try to "bring alive" the democratic issue. They be- lieved the need to be to inform more and more people of what the needs of the people (the State if you like) were. That problem remains today and has little to do with Hollywood and the picture palace where people go to escape the living issues and the issues of living; even as you and I. Plainly enough this job of interpreting social life and of laying the foundation for judgme.it and new social invention is an educational job, and if yoa want a lead on how slowly education percolates in the community examine how school education has worked out in this country. We do not even pretend to educate people after they are fifteen, unless they can aff'ord it or are clever enough to win a scholarship and therefore get round the Education Act. Only a small percentage receives secondary education and a smaller percentage still University education. And the fact is that most of them want to leave school before they are fifteen and would hate to go to the University any way. So do not let us imagine that we are going to induce overnight that inventiveness and social conscience so necessary to the successful working of democracy. It will be a slow business but film, I believe, with a vivid picture of the working of the world, of the problems of our time and of our hopes and aspirations, will help more than any other instru- ment of education; but it won't do it all at once. If we sell out to the cinemas and dilute the con- tent of our films till nothing really valuable is said, then we throw away the basic tenet of the documentary philosophy. That is how I see it. Colonial uncles in white stetsons and jack boots at the Odeon ; and Men of Africa in the schools, the Universities and the adult education class rooms. And the wartime situation does not seem to alter the position. True enough, the cinema- going public will likely get their fill of melo- drama; but if the war continues to be a war of ideas, a battle of nerves, or one of economic strategy, the audience for more substantial in- formation will gradually increase. That increase will be significant. About two per cent, I should say. And this small significant two per cent will not be in the cinemas. They will be in the groups in our Universities, schools, village institutes, and church halls. To increase the social conscience of the country by two per cent, to prepare two per cent of the people for judgment on social inter- national questions is a big job in itself. If that were achieved it would be the greatest contribu- tion which any movement could make to this country. Better an illuminated two-per-cent, thinking about the fundamental business of democracy, than a hundred per cent prostrate before the Taj Mahal. The true line for documentary is the special- ised film for the specialised audience; a capitulation to entertainment value is fatal to its purpose. AN EXPERIMENT IN LEICESTER AN INTERESTING experiment in the showing of documentaries has been carried out in the past few months by the Museums and Libraries Com- mittee of Leicester at the new Southfields Library. This library, which is situated some three miles from the centre of the city, has a lecture hall de- signed to seat 230 people, and is equipped with a portable cinema screen and a 35 mm. sound film projector. Six film displays have been given, each display consisting of three shows. Admission was free and in all, over 2,000 people have attended. The population served by the library is very mixed and is, in effect, almost a perfect cross-section of the city's population. On these grounds, and because, since this is the first library in Leicester to be equipped in this fashion, the project is experimental, it was decided that a varied pro- gramme was more suitable than one dealing with a single subject. Each programme consisted of four or five films. Amongst the most popular of the films shown were — We Live in Two Worlds, Spare Time, Night Mail, Petroleum Film Bureau's Cinemagazines, British Navy, and Industrial Britain. Advice in the arranging of programmes and the selection of suitable films was given by officials of Film Centre, the Empire Film Library and the British Film Institute. H. C. Jolliff'e, the Southfields Librarian, reports that the audiences were at first inclined to be rather amused at attending a free show, and somewhat doubtful of having their interest main- tained. In fact he was occasionally asked, "Where is the magic lantern show?" After one or two shows, however, their mood changed, and towards the end the hall was often full. That the films were appreciated was evident from the spontaneous applause which followed most of them. Books dealing with the various subjects were on display and were used considerably. Mr Jolliffe believes that the results achieved show that any future eff'orts of this kind in his library are certain of a large measure of success. 14 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MAY 1940 FILM SOCIETY NEWS THE SEASON is now practically over. A few re- ports of final meetings have come in, and several secretaries have sent details of their progress during the past difficult months. Tyneside, which, up till the war, had what was probably a record membership of over 1,600, found that 50 per cent of its members re-enrolled when the Society re-opened in October. Four shows were held before Christmas, and six after. The season has been so much appreciated by members that a supplementary Spring Session of a further four shows is under consideration. Feature films already shown include Femme du Boulanger, Alexander Nevski, Nartisha of the North, Hotel du Nord, Peter the Great, The Rich Bride, and a revival of Duck Soup. The greatest difficulty is in getting a good variety of short films, and there has been a scarcity of first-class documentaries. Some 75 per cent of the short films have to take a second run after exhibition by one or other of the two News Theatres in the city of Newcastle. From an administrative point of view, the most important event has been the conversion of the Society into a Company limited by guarantee. This has cost a bit in law- yer's fees, etc., but it believed that the right thing was done in placing the affairs of the Society on a firm legal footing, which is of particular import- ance in these uncertain times. The affairs of the Tyneside Film Society which, of course, con- tinues to exist, are governed by the Tyneside Film Association Limited, of which M. C. Pot- tinger has been elected chairman. This is a non- profit-making company, of course, but the essence of the Articles of Association is that should the Society be obliged to wind up for any unforeseen reason, the liability of all members is limited to Ss. The Tyneside Film Society's off"- spring, the Northern Counties Children's Cinema Council, has unfortunately, with the evacuation of most of the teaching profession from the city, suffered a relapse. It was, in any case, very hard hit by the death of Ernest Dyer, who was its mainspring and founder. The last performance of the Dundee and St. Andrews Season included the feature film Deuxicme Bureau. The Edinburgh Film Guild reports that a season successful both in membership and in programmes ended on March 17, when the pro- gramme consisted of Wings Over Empire, Swinging the Lambeth Walk, The First Days, Goofy and Wilbur and La Tendre Ennemie. This was, incidentally, the first and, so far, the only performance of The First Days in Edinburgh. The April performance of the Manchester and Sairord Film Society included Dramc de Shang- hai (Pabst), Swinging the Lambeth Walk (Len Lye), and The City (Ralph Elton). The secretary of this Society has also sent in a number of sug- gestions for the improvement of this page, most of which are being acted upon. The London Scientific Film Society completed its season on Sunday, March 31st, with a pro- gramme illustrating the origins of science. The films were Mr Tedham Makes a Wheel (excerpt from Shell Cinemagazine No. 3), Pecheurs d'Oiseuux, Men of Africa (Wright and Shaw), and Dark Rapture. Arthur Elton addressed the meeting in the interval, and reported that, in spite of the war, the season had been a very successful one financially. An initial deficit of £30 had been reduced to a very small amount. Mr Elton said that in war-time it was necessary to preserve the cultural decencies of life and that such essentials were only too often pushed aside and forgotten in the hurly-burly of a war effort. The Com- mittee proposed to do its utmost to keep the Society running next year. The Belfast Film Institute Society reports that April was a month of exceptional activity. On the 9th a very large audience attended a show of 16 mm. films — an early Chaplin, Behind the Scenes, and Fanck and Pabsfs White Hell of Pitz Palu. The success of this meeting makes it probable that a similar one will be held this month. At the third 35 mm. show of the season the feature was Peter the Great, with a supporting programme of a Disney and a documentary. The success of the previous shows has been such that although a season of only three shows was intended, a fourth is being arranged for a date in May. A further meeting was held to illustrate the use of the Film in Education. North Sea was shown as an example of "Background" film, with a special talk on the use of documentary in schools. In addition, examples of short teaching films were shown, and there was also a demon- stration lesson to a class from a public elemen- tary school. To keep interest in the Society alive it is in- tended, contrary to usual custom, to continue publication of the Society's Film Review right into the summer. Enterprise at Glasgow Film Societies will be interested in an experiment (reported in The Scotsman) which was conducted in the Cosmo Cinema, Glasgow, on Wednesday, April 1 0th, when an audience composed of mem- bers of H.M. Forces saw a programme of French films. Its purpose was to give the men an im- pression of the life and environment of the French people, and arrangements may be made to send similar programmes on circuit to areas where members of the Forces are stationed. The performance was given by the Scottish Film Council in co-operation with the French Ministry of Information and the Education Officer of the Scottish Command. Histories [This new feature will present each month a historical resume of the progress of various Film Societies.] No. 1. Manchester and Salford The Film Society movement in the Manchester district, dates back to 1930, when the Salford Workers Film Society was formed with Tom Cavanagh as Hon. Secretary, and Reg Cordwell as Hon. Organiser. Later Manchester was added jrof« USPLT to the title, and in 1937, the Society was re-i «" ' organised as the Manchester and Salford Filmi i*" Society. i ft0 Created without financial support of thdlkw" industry and armed only with an urge for profBl^i'l gress through the medium of films, it has over-ip. ^ come all the obstacles of authority and trade, and( SsK-f established itself firmly as a permanent and ex citing feature of the cultural life of Manchester's winter season. The fact that its private film dis- plays have been held at no less than nine cinemas,! x is a story in itself of some of the difficulties thati ml* had to be overcome. The establishment of pre-i W" cedents, and the increased information services( » now available, do however simplify the problems I »1 of new societies. The Manchester and Salford Society has always had one of the largest memberships in the movement, and probably the lowest subscription. It has always been to the fore at Film Society conferences in support of the need of federation. As an independent progressive organisation, con- trolled entirely by its members, and administered by voluntary service, it has commanded the atten- tion and support of many influential citizens, particularly those active in social and educa- tional work. Its members can be found residing in many towns throughout Lancashire and Ches- hire, in addition to a number of Yorkshire mem- bers. In spite of wartime difficulties, the Society continues to progress. The Secretary is R. Cordwell, and the Treasurer is F. J. Stevenson. Editorial Note Although the season is over, we do not intend to curtail this page. It is proposed during the summer months to run a series of articles of general interest to Film Societies. Subjects will include "Programme-building", "How to Start a Film Society", "Booking Problems", "The Film Societies in Wartime", "What Substitutes for Foreign Films"? A full report of the Scottish Amateur Film Festival, which was held at the end of April, will appear in the next issue. The reviews of foreign films will also be con- tinued throughout the summer. bH NEWS VIA AMERICA (From the U.S. Department of Commerce Bulletin) THE GERMAN schools now own 36,000 motion projectors. This compares with 29,000 a year ago. Since there are approximately 50,000 schools in Germany, this means about 85 per cent are now equipped. Sweden was rapidly developing as an outlet for educational motion picture films and equipment before the outbreak of war, but at present there is but little business in 16 mm. film. A reliable estimate is that some 1.000 public schools are equipped with projectors. Most of the films shown are of Swedish or German origin, with a scattering of American origin. I DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MAY 1940 15 t) SJi fiof Sfot Ittjde, Mimi udCi ten JxSoa REVIEWS OF FOREIGN FILMS 411 films recommended on this page are the test continentals viewable in London, and are, t our opinion, suitable for Film Society showing. Ve are unable to indicate at what dates they will e available for booking.) Tragedie Imperiale. Direction: Marcel I'Her- ler. Actors: Harry Baur, Marcelle Chantal, ierre-Richard Willm, Jean Worms. Distribution: n! aalBfuropean Films Ltd. "Kiia [asputin rears his ugly head again, uglier than ver. He seems to be as difficult to extinguish on KciDa le screen as he was in actual life. This time the lan beneath the beard is Harry Baur. It doesn't '''■patter whether his interpretation of the mad lonk is historically accurate or not — Rasputin eprofi^assed more quickly into legend than any other nan. It is, at any rate, plausible. We can believe r more easily in a superstitious peasant whose iipsiBreed is that life is incomplete without sin, and bsciipiii ihose rustic common sense gives him sufficient Sou uman understanding to perform what seem to ['edma e miracles, than we can in a mystic and mac- iavellian prophet of the steppes, who is Conrad fjiisaBi'eidt and there's no getting away from it. Apart ithem rem Harry Baur, the film is nowhere quite in the il ana rst class. The direction is always thoughtful, but ai *' 'M Tatler Theatre, Manchester May 6th 23rd 6th 6th 20th 6th May May May 6th May 20th May May ANTI-GOSSIP FILMS REVIEWED All Hands, Dangerous Comment and Now You're Talking. Production: Ealing Film Studios. Producer: Michael Balcon. Director: John Paddy Carstairs. Distribution: M.G.M. Running Time: 10 minutes each. Sponsored by the Ministry of Information. CARELESS talk gives away vital secrets, and these three Anti-Gossip films, set against the back- ground of scientific research, of the Air Force, and of the Navy, are intended to show how easily it can happen, and how disastrous the consequences may be. The careless talk of a fiancee, a waitress, a man in a pub — the careless talk of you and nie may cause destruction and death. Death, it may be, for the friends and rela- tions of that same waitress, fiancee and man in the pub — destruction and death for us. This warning is to be hammered into our heads at ten minutes a time. Given this task, the story must be simple, the settings real, and the emotions aroused must be strong enough to shock idle tongues into discretion. The stories are simple enough. A laboratory worker handling secret guns brought for exam- ination from a wrecked German plane, boasts about it in a pub, and is overheard by a spy. As a result the laboratory is blown up. A young pilot, his feelings hurt at being left out of a surprise raid on Germany (although finally he is sent) complains to his fiancee, who tells her friend, who chatters at a cocktail bar. The bar- man passes on information to a pin-table pro- prietor, who passes it on to Germany and fifty enemy planes await the bombers. Fortunately this time, the young lady is also overheard by two officers, the barman is arrested and the raiders recalled in the nick of time. A romantic waitress overhears a sailor tell his 6th 13th 27th 13th 20th girl that his boat is due to leave Portsmouth at nine o'clock. The waitress in sympathetic dis- tress, gossips to the cafe proprietress, who passes the news to a little man in a cinema, who reports to a cliff-dwelling butterfly collector, who signals to a U-boat commander, who torpedoes the ship. So much for the stories. They are exciting and move fast. But could not the settings have been more real, the characters more life-like? The whole effect in films of this kind may be spoilt if they seem to take place, not in real pubs, or cock- tail bars, but on conventional studio sets with the old familiar faces playing the old familiar parts. There are, too, some painfully self-conscious touches. The spy who wants to tell his boss that the raid will be on Bender Dam says, "I've been on a bender", and then "damn!", as the ball in the pin-table goes wrong. The cafe proprietress sadistically watches a plate slipping into a basin as she hears of the sinking of the Cambridge. Another spy is discovered pinning a butterfly into his collection, and there is the picture of the loved one waiting to be smashed at the ominous moment. These embellishments are unnecessary. And in real life such things just do not happen. Somehow — and I think it was due to this un- reality— the danger of death and destruction for us is not really brought home. These are not our workers and pilots and sailors who are killed, it is not our country whose war secrets are vital, it is not our careless talk. The films represent the most important job of public instruction through the cinemas which has yet been attempted in this country. That they also provide exciting entertainment is evidence that the fundamental production policy is sound. In any similar project in the future it will not be difficult to achieve a more authentic treatment. WORLD FILM NEWS A Limited Number of Bound Volumes for Sale Volume 1 Volurne 2 Volume 3 £2 0 0 £1 10 0 £10 0 Single Copies Volume I 3/6 Volume 2 2/6 Volume 3 2/- (Issues No. 2 of Volume 1 and No. 6 of Volume 2 are no longer available.) Obtainable from FILM CENTRE, 34 SOHO SQUARE, W.l 18 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MAY 1940 SOME BOOKS ABOUT FILMS The African and the Cinema. L. A. Notcutt and G. C. Latham. Edinburgh House Press. 1937. 35. 6d. America at the Movies. Margaret Thoip. Yale University Press. 1940. S2.75. The Censor, the Drama, and the Film, 1900- 1934. Dorothy Knowles. Allen & Unwin. 1934. Is. 6d. The Cinema Today. D. A. Spencer and H. D. Waley. Sir Humphrey Milford and O.xford University Press. 1940. 4.v. 6d. Cinema and Television. Stuart Legg and Robert Fairthorne. Longmans, Green & Co. 1939. 35. 6d. Documentary Film. Paul Rotha. Preface by John Grierson. Faher <£ Faher. 1939. 12,s. 6^/. Early Films. A selected catalogue of films 1896 to 1934 still available in Great Britain, with his- torical notes. Arthur Vesselo. British Film Institute, 1939. 2^. 6d. Film. Rudolf Arnheim. Faher A. Faher. 1933. 155. Film Acting. V. L Pudovkin. Newnes. 1935. 75. 6d. Film and the Theatre. Allardyce Nicholl. Con- tains a bibliography of 1,000 books, articles and periodicals published in Great Britain, U.S.A., France, Germany, Italy, Spain and U.S.S.R. from 1913 to 1935. Harrap. 1936. 75. 6d. Film Technique. V. I. Pudovkin. Newnes. 1933. 35. 6d. Footnotes to the Film. Essays by Alfred Hitch- cock, Robert Donat, Basil Wright, Graham Greene, Alberto Cavalcanti, John Betjeman, Maurice Jaubert, Paul Nash, John Grierson, Alexander Korda, Basil Dean, Maurice Kann, Elizabeth Bowen, Sidney Bernstein, Alistair Cooke, Forsyth Hardy, R. S. Lambert and Charles Davy (Editor). 1937. I85. Garbo and the Nightwatchman. Film criticism by Robert Herring, Don Herold, John Marks, Meyer Levin, Robert Forsythe, Graham Greene, Otis Ferguson, Cecilia Ager and Alistair Cooke (Editor). Cape. 1937. 75. (>d. The History of Motion Pictures. Bardeche and, Brasillach. (Translation and notes by Iris Barry.) Allen & Unwin. I85. Movie Parade. Paul Rotha. Studio. 1936. IO5. 6d. (remaindered at 55.) Movies for the Millions. Gilbert Seldes. Bats- ford. 1937. 75. (yd. (remaindered at 25. (>d.) Reports on Teaching Films. History, Science, Foreign Languages, 1937. 6d. each. Geography. 1938. (>d. Physical Education, 1938. I5. Religion, 1938. 6d. British Film Institute. The Rise of the American Film. Lewis Jacobs. Harcourt Brace {New York). 1939. §4.50. CORRESPONDENCE SIR : Permit me to draw your attention to an error in the April issue of your paper. You pub- lish a review of our two reel comedy. The Back- yard Front, under "New Documentary Films", whereas the film is not a documentary film at all. Consequently, to regard it as such, and seek to judge it from the standpoint of the documentalist has naturally resulted in a review which mis- represents the production, and its purpose. Furthermore, I observe the review has been written by an anonymous farmer. The policy of securing opinions of various lay specialists, on documentary films, may be sound, but such in- experienced critics should not be asked to pass judgment on films which do not happen to be documentaries. However, the views expressed are so destruc- tive and misleading, that it is necessary to counteract them. First, the farmer states the film fails in both its objects, which, he presumes, are to encourage vegetable cultivation, and instruct the unskilled. The objects of the film are to enter- tain, and to offer a reminder of the value of gar- den space in these days, and it has proved an unqualified success in both respects. It has been very widely booked, to an extent far greater than the distribution usually achieved by a docu- mentary film. Second, the farmer says it is re- grettable that a chance to give information has been lost, to accommodate music-hall horseplay. That is the result of erroneously regarding the film as a documentary, the accepted function of which is to give information, often to the exclu- sion of everything else — invariably resulting in such films reaching a minimum number of people. This desire to give information, an ability to offer it only in a serious, mirthless, cold- comfort-farm sort of manner is possibly all- satisfying to documentalists, but they should know that their methods cannot be applied to all productions which happen to come under the category of "shorts". But the farmer goes even further, and declares the meagre information in the film is not only incomplete but inaccurate. May I say, therefore, that the amount of informa- tion included is exactly the right amount, that it is perfectly accurate, and that it has been most carefully checked by numerous experts, includ- ing, of course, Mr Middleton. The nature of this review leads me to hope that the farmer knows more of farming than he does about entertainment ; obviously he was asked to step into a world of which he is under- standably ignorant. I am sure he would not ex- pect a producer of comedies, or a distributor, to be capable of writing a criticism on his methods of farming. Perhaps, if he visited a cinema showing The Backyard Front, he would realise the value of the film, and also learn a little about the art of projecting indirect reminder propaganda in a form entirely divorced from documentary production. The inclusion of this film under '^New Documentary Films" tends to suggest what I have often declared in the past, that even documentalists are uncertain what a documentary film really is — or isn't. Although the farmer was "not amused" at our comedy, w have laughed a great deal at the concludinj paragraph of his review : — "and when Mr Dampier exhibits his own heaj composed mostly of broken crockery and won out saucepans, it is not considered worth whil to point out that these things should never Oi any account be thrown on the compost heap." The farmer forgot that Mr Dampier also threv his bowler hat on the heap in the hope that al intelligent gardeners would do the same afte seeing the film. ANDREW BUCHANAl Director of Production, British Films Ltd. [Mr Buchanan's film. Backyard Front, was com missioned by the Ministry of Agriculture. — Ed. SIR : I am very glad to have the document ar' NEWS LETTER, but I regret World Film News which I thought was the cleverest attempt a "culture without tears" I have seen. I gave m; copies to the Hamilton Public Library and yoi will be interested to know that they were worn U shreds. They looked like conventional film maga zines and people innocently picked them u[ expecting the usual fan magazine (at least that it my theory) and, I trust, inadvertently absorbed iM more critical attitude. We've been disappointed these last f years in not being able to get the new Britis! documentaries (which are very popular with oil members), but some have at last arrived and w are having a whole programme of documentarie in April. We did manage to get North Sea last autumii' But why could it not be shown commercially' Can't anything be done to get better distributior of good English films both fiction and non-fictior in Canada? The public have been prejudiced bj poor films and have had little chance to see th» good ones of the last few years, and I presume th« theatres don't want to show them as they are tiec to the American producers, but it does seem ; pity that the outstanding documentaries at leas can't be shown. Of course the American ones except the March of Time, aren't shown either Not even The River. FREDA WALDO> National Film Society of Canada (Hamilton Branch) U.S. SUBSCRIPTION RATES To DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER Twelve Months - 81.00 Six Months - 50 cents. Payable to AMERICAN FILM CENTER INC. i 45 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA NEW YORK N.Y. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MAY 1940 19 FILMS WITHOUT STARS CINEMA AUDIENCES will listen to anyone except a bore. Because a subject is important to a man who is making a picture it doesn't always follow that an audience will be entertained by it. WE KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT value . . . and film stars. In the past few years such artists as Freddie Bartholomew, Frances Day, Henry Hall, Clapham and Dwyer, Stanley Holloway, Leslie Henson, Sydney Howard, Vera Pearce, Debroy Somers, Claude Hulbert, Charlie Kunz, Flotsam and Jetsam, Billy Mayerl, Fay Compton, Nelson Keys, Inga Anderson, Polly Ward, Stainless Stephen and — of course — some of Mr. Cochran's Young Ladies have appeared in films made at Merton Park. THESE FILMS have set us a standard in entertainment value which we apply to all films designed for the general public. A FILM WITHOUT FILM STARS must still entertain if it is to achieve the objects for which it has been made. MERTON PARK STUDIOS LIMITED WHERE DO YOU SEE PROPAGANDA FILMS? IF THEY ARE STRAND PRODUCTIONS —AT YOUR LOCAL CINEMAS! THERE ARE OVER FORTY STRAND FILMS NOW IN DISTRIBUTION. EACH OF THESE WILL BOOK TO AN AVERAGE OF 500 CINEMAS "MEN OF AFRICA," A THREE-REEL STRAND FILM, IS BOOKED AS SECOND FEATURE AT THE LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE — APRIL igtb — MAY 3rd, 1940 "THESE CHILDREN ARE SAFE," A TWO-REEL STRAND FILM, IS BOOKED FOR A FOUR WEEKS' SEASON AT THE ACADEMY CINEMA, OXFORD STREET THE STRAND FILM COMPANY LTD. DONALD TAYLOR, Managing Director 5a UPPER ST. MARTIN'S LANE, LONDON, W.C.2 MERTON PARK STUDIOS, 269 KINGSTON ROAD, LONDON, S.W.19 Owned and published by Film Centre Ltd., 34 Soho Square, London, If. I, and printed by Simeon Shand Ltd., I'lie Slienvul Press, London and Hertford EWS LEHER ^OL 1 No 6 PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY FILM CENTRE 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W1 THREEPENCE 1 NOTES OF THE MONTH 3 THE FACTS OF THE CASE 10 INDIA AND THE WAR: Psychology of Public 16 news theatres in war-time Opinion All editorial survey of the purpose of Documentarv ^" E "UNUSUAL FILM MOVEMENT 5 ECONOMICS ON THE SCREEN 7 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS 9 TWO FILMS OF THE MONTH Pastor Hall and The Story of Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet 14 FILM SOCIETY NEWS Scottish Amateur Fihn Festival Programme Building 15 THREE NEW FRENCH FILMS 16 DOCUMENTARY BOOKINGS FOR JUNE 17 BRITISH DOCUMENTARY ACTIVITY 17 BOOK REVIEWS 17 CORRESPONDENCE 18 FILM LIBRARIES Late Again IT IS TO be regretted that, at the time of going to press, the pubUc has still not had the opportunity of seeing the Ministry of Information's Squadron 992, and that there is no news of its arly release. The film was shown to the French Minister of Information and a large invited audience as long ago as April 2nd, when it was enthusiastically received. At the time of its completion, it would have been an important contribu- tion to the maintenance of public confidence in the defence of Britain. Today, though the fine qualities of Watt's direction retain their validity and the film remains a splendid description of the life and work of the balloon barrage men, it has lost the gripping topicality which it derived from being based on the Forth Bridge raid. And what of the effect on the technicians who worked night and day to finish the film only to find that their urgent efforts are not matched by the efforts of those responsible for getting the film shown? The Films Division has yet to shake itself out of the stately but slow methods of the peace-time civil service and to gear itself to the minute-to-minute urgencies of war. In peace, two months is just two months; in war it may be a lifetime. The new Minister, the Rt. Hon. Alfred Duff Cooper, is a man of action. Let us hope that he will narrow the gap between the planning of a policy and its execution. Film Makers and War Service THE ASSOCIATION OF REALIST FILM PRODUCERS reports that, after many weeks' negotiation, they have received from the Ministry of Labour and National Service a new decision regulating the calling up far military service of documentary film makers. The Schedule of Reserved Occupations originally listed only cameramen and editors over 30 as being not avail- able for military service. This reservation was incapable by itself of ensuring the maintenance of units qualified to produce progaganda films during the war, and the Ministry has now DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 amended the Schedule of Reserved Occupations to include documentary producers, directors and assistant directors at the age of 30. The new decision by no means solves the problem. The average age of the 55 members of the Association of Realist Film Producers — which represents a large majority of docu- mentary film-makers in Great Britain — is only 28. It will be necessary to apply for special postponement of call-up in the case of many documentary workers under 30 who are wanted for work on officially sponsored films. In the case of younger documentary people passing into military service, it is to be hoped that their particular abilities and training will be used to the best advantage (as in the case of workers in many other trades). It is possible that a private's routine job in the Army Pay Corps (a case in point) is not the most suitable for a documentary film director with four good propaganda films to his name. We still await news of the formation of properly-organised production units within the British armed forces. It is reported that the French have already nearly a thousand film technicians recording, ob- serving and reporting the war. Empire Film Week THE INAUGURATION of Empire Film Week at the Tatler Cinema (London) in the middle of May was an enterprising and intelligent move on the part of Donald Taylor, of Strand Films. The four productions shown were impressive both in the scope of their subject matter and in their basic value as regards the enlightenment of the ordinary citizen. The pro- gramme, because it was balanced and integrated, made it plainer than ever that planning is a vital, and far too neglected factor in our present use of films. A number of films grouped under a generic subject-heading will in general have a better market in the commercial cinemas and a wider effect in their non-theatrical use than single and sporadic productions, how- ever well-made. The distinction, in fact, is between directive, well-planned propaganda and instructional work and the laisser-faire attitude which vaguely hopes that individual com- mercial enterprise will some tune or other coincide with national needs. It is to be hoped that the Films Division of the Ministry of Information has carefully noted this practical example of the directive possibilities of the film. A New Plan for Distribution IT IS UNDERSTOOD that the group programme on the Empire, referred to in the preceding paragraph, will form the first of a series which are to be distributed on the basis of a new scheme evolved by Donald Taylor. Firstly, the real value of group programmes to Newsreel and Specialised theatres is to be fully exploited. Secondly, there is the possibility of arranged special matinees in a large number of cinemas which do not open in the afternoon for their normal programmes. Thirdly, there may well be cases when exhibitors would book a group programme of shorts as a second feature. Enterprise of this sort points the way not merely to a partial solution of the problem of a satisfactory return from shorts distribution; it is also a reproof to certain official bodies whose duties and responsi- bilities should — but also do not — include the initiation of new k schemes. Planning and action are both needed. At present there is little sign of either in official quarters. Reciprocity Achieved AN INTERCHANGE of documentary and studio film personnel has always appeared likely to yield greater realism in the story film, and to bring to documentary a more polished technique in the handling of those elements of personal drama which are appropriate to many subjects. Yet, before the war, there were few instances of creative workers moving from one field into the other. During recent months the need for an increased use of realistic subject-matter and methods in British films has resulted in two important transfers. The fact that David Macdonald, director of This Man is News and This Man in^i Pan's, has been making a Ministry of Information documentary] for the G.P.O. Film Unit has already been reported in docu- mentary NEWS LETTER. Now there follows news that Alberto Cavalcanti, the G.P.O. Film Unit's producer, has been re leased to make John and Marianne, a feature-length story of the Cornish and Breton fisherfolk. Michael Balcon at A.T.P, Studios is responsible for the project. The long-standing bondsi si; and rivalries of the fishing communities of Britain and France represent, at the present time, a brilliant choice of story material. Makers of documentary will feel that the producer of North Sea and Squadron 992 is an ideal choice to carry the torch of realism amongst the lath and plaster. Documentary Biography LLOYD GEORGE was, we believe, the first politician to have a film made of his life in his own lifetime. (We knew the actor' who doubled for him ; the poor fellow's now dead.) The film of Mahatma Gandhi just being completed in India, however, is a new kind of film biography, and the saint-leader not only never sees films himself but is said to have been unaware of the existence of Mr Charles Chaplin until he met him in London. Two years ago Mr A. K. Chettiar, head of Documentary Films Ltd. (Madras), who did newsreel work for Pathe in the. United States, conceived this unique project. He travelled 100,000 miles and bought up 50,000 feet of newsreel material featuring the Mahatma, including scenes of his life in London when he attended the Indian Round Table Conference. The film apparently sets out to be more than a record of Mr Gandhi's life, by showing the institutions and mo\ements started by him. Its length for India will be 12,000 feet, in three^ separate languages, and Lowell Thomas is commenting an. American 3,000 feet version. No report is yet to be had of an Enalish version. SUBSCRIPTION RATE Owing to rises in cost of postage and paper we are forced to increase the price of DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER to 4d. beginning with the next issue. The new subscription rate in Great Britain is now 2 - for six months, including postage. This does not affect subscriptions taken out before June 1st. prsj perxm DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 THE FACTS OF THE CASE An editorial survey of the purpose of Documentary lu nisi f THE LAST issue of this News Letter an article was published *5f.iiii ititled "Should Documentary go Theatrical?" The views of one Si e writer (who answered the question with an emphatic increai jgative) did not by any means coincide with the views of the Wrasi iitorial Board. But the article was of value in that it allowed 2' Dai 1 expert to blow not only the non-theatrical trumpet but also ijfe e gaff. He brought out categorically and blatantly the main mm atures of a totally artificial rift which some persons have ihdoci tely tried to descry in the main field of documentary policy. iAllMi or as soon as anyone comes out exclusively for "theatrical" ^i 1 the one hand or "non-theatrical" on the other, the falsity of 3r}ofl| [Q case becomes only too apparent. To argue that Pasteur or i' A.TJ ola or Ehrlich do not represent "Hollywood gone docu- nsboi .entary" is to beg the question. No one in their senses would dFiai -etend they did anything of the sort. But those very films do o\ % present — within the strictest terms of maximum box-office «iuc« ceipts — the same sort of things with which documentary- an} i akers agree. The Warner Brothers' films may perhaps concede 10 much to popular taste — even to points of factual in- Xuracy. But their basic effect is to bring before the general ablic an awareness of the vital importance to us all of the (i),a.,{ "eat scientist or the great reformer. They remind us that in il,j2[; ir world jobs are to be done which demand the utmost ,j§|j„ ttcerity, single-mindedness and self-sacrifice. At their best, j^ffjj iCy remind us sharply of our own lack of responsibility to „l;5i, le State of which we are members. f' ''' " It is easy, too, to claim that the primary interest of docu- l-*"™ entary is not drama, or poetry, or a new film technique, but «ou ^tjjei- education. Such statements are not uncommon, but they ^^"'' 'e, in the end, rather Uke those clever mathematical tricks [ravel y^h prove that 2 plus 2 equals five; very convincing, but Wtffl ised on a cunningly concealed false premise. Here the false iLoiw remise is summed up in claims such as "a capitulation to "^■^^ itertainment value is fatal". This sort of remark means noth- ^^^' ig at all to documentary except perhaps that its workers \)\;0 iquld not produce sugar-coated musicals or society comedies. .""''' I other words, a solemn warning against the one thing docu- milM .entary workers could not do, without giving up the whole ad"'* isis of their creed. Such a thesis really argues complete mis- pderstanding of the real meaning of the documentary move- .ent; by suggesting an impossible debacle it paves the way for ^at very type of untutored criticism which the less stable ements in the sociological field sometimes direct against this ;w and vital approach to human affairs. It is a mistake to .aim that documentary makers are interested in "educational jieory first and film production second", or that it is an accident" that they have chosen the medium of cinema, lor is the reverse the case. The fact is that documentary films ave been successful because they represent an interweaving f technical experiment with educational approach. It is in fact time to restate, without equivocation, that the basis of the documentary approach to films (we have no space to con- sider other fields) lies in the dramatic and vivifying power of cinema. The old phrase "bringing alive" still serves its purpose, for that, par excellence, is what the documentary film can do. Into the valley of dead bones, of bones dried by the monsoons of vapidity in leisure life on the one hand, and by the siroccos of a hidebound classroom system on the other, it can breathe a new and powerful life. If it is basically an educational move- ment, that is because today the word "education" must serve a wider field than that which the word usually connotes. Educa- tion today means the inculcation of a sense of citizenship, a sense of position in the international scheme, and a sense of responsibility, no less than a sense of academic accomplishment or civic wonder. The 1939 review of the Rockefeller Founda- tion* contains, under the heading of "Social Sciences", several excellent passages to this eff"ect. For instance : — "We have created a society so interdependent that issues are no longer simple, individual and local ; they are complex, social and world wide. And they are beyond the experience of most of us. Money and credit, fiscal policy, international relations, international trade and finance, national income and its distribution, wages, profits, prices, monopoly, pur- chasing power, savings and investment, employment and unemployment, social security, collective bargaining, hous- ing, pubUc opinion, propaganda, public administration, the relations between government and business, individual and social adjustment, crime, social welfare, education, popula- tion, and social justice in an interdependent society — here is merely a brief list of some of the urgent issues. How can tanks and bayonets hope to solve such problems as these?" This is, of course, an American point of view, and one which in our present stresses we may find hard to balance cor- rectly ; but in considering the basic outlook of documentary we are bound to recognise that all its work springs from some such thesis. The report goes on to point out that : — "The simple techniques and methods of yesterday will not suffice. Highly speciaUsed and complex methods are neces- sary. Methods as intricate and varied as the problems them- selves must be developed and employed by highly skilled men and women working under the most favourable conditions." It is hardly too much to claim that the makers of docu- mentary films have pressed for the adoption of an exactly similar attitude over the past ten years, and that they have found the answer to their demands not merely in Government Departments but also in the pubhc relations field as repre- sented by the more enlightened public utility corporations. This • The Rockefeller Foundation. A review for 1939, by Raymond B. Fosdick. Published by the Rockefeller Foundation, New York City, U.S.A. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 in itself is witness to the realisation, even by the world of com- merce, that something more than cash and credit is needed to resolve the dangerous complex of modern civilisation. But this reahsation has been achieved, not by mobilising under any box-office or non-box-office banner. It has been achieved, in the end, by concentrating on the necessity for making available to all classes of every population a wider and more vital vision of the needs and implications of the complicated world into which the average citizen is born, and which it is his part, to however small an extent, collectively or individually, to make or mar. Documentary, by opening windows on to the world, seeks to enlist the active good-will, or if you prefer to reverse it, the will to constructive action, of every human being in the com- plex of modern civiUsation. That is the object ; and if in the process sociologists, poets, and dramatists are thrown up, that is nothing to complain of on the part of non-theatrical experts ; they are simply confusing ends and means. The strain of war puts documentary policy to a bitter test. The "theatrical versus non-theatrical" controversy is possibly a symptom of that test. And nothing could prove more effectively than present circumstances the pointlessness of such hard-and- fast distinctions. For we are fighting a total war; and if cinema is to be used at all it must be fully mobilised in all the fields in which it is of value. Theatrical or non-theatrical, its value — who dare deny it? — is fully proved. A slightly more detailed study will confirm this. Films can carry a true message and a vital message to audiences in the public cinemas. These audiences — which include yourselves and ourselves — often take trash ; but that is not to say that they never take the opposite of trash. Apart from Zolas and Citadels and Ehrlichs, cinema audiences have time and time again given the lie to those exhibitors and renters who have claimed that documentary is not "box-office" in their own special sense. It is only necessary to mention such films as Industrial Britain, Night Mail, Cover to Cover, North Sea, The Future^ s in the Air, G.B.I.'s Secrets of Life and Strand's Zoo Series. This field is ripe for wider and wider development, and if it opens up a new era of production in the commercial film studios of this country, this too must be counted unto it for good. But it must be remembered that to say that a film in the public cinemas is box-office is the same as saying that it has audience appeal. And audience appeal is something without which documentary films of any type must fail completely. There must be films with an equal audience appeal to people outside the cinemas — to the people gathered in schools and universities, in clubs and village institutes, in scientific confer- ences and international exhibitions, in get-together groups of every sort and kind. That is why an artificial distinction between "theatrical" and "non-theatrical" is so dangerous. The issue is not so cut-and-dried. For we are faced with infinite gradations of audience appeal ; from the purely theatrical, to the film which is good for all generalised get-together groups, to the film which is good for specialised but not acutely technical citizens, to the film which is good for scientists, sociologists or economists in smaller and more highly specialised groups. The common denominator is audience appeal. Every group, from the audience at the Odeon to the twelve biologists in a laboratory, 1 9k 'ti demands a certain standard of presentation. At one end then * may be teaching films or "interest" films, and, at the otheii films which set high standards of form, of suspense value, <;l t dramatisation, of esthetics; but basically success is alwayl determined by audience appeal. In each and every categon the measuring-stick of purpose is the same ; does each filri s bring enlightenment, and the possibility of constructive result and action, to the audiences for which it is designed? A booklet has just been issued by the Association for Educa tion in Citizenship* which gives welcome evidence of th realisation by public-spirited persons of the necessity for pn serving a sense not merely of continuity but of ultimate pui pose in our war-torn world. In a foreword Mr Kennet Lindsay (lately Parliamentary Secretary to the Board c Education) says: — "A notable advance in training for citizenship would b achieved if, in addition, eff"orts were made to meet tb genuine thirst for further education by means of informf! ,.. lectures, talks, discussion groups, and debates. We have y«, to discover in democratic countries a reliable technique fo introducing our younger citizens to the modern world. The understand the value of the fiJm and the poster and th radio : can we not enlist these and many other aids, such a Exhibitions, Surveys, and Civic Weeks, to make citizenshi in a democracy a challenging business?" The booklet goes on to outline various means of narrowin the gulf between the individual and the community, and i speaking of the film it points out that : — "The film has a special, some would say unique, power t presenting facts and ideas about the larger world that li( outside our daily world, but on which it depends. Doci mentary films deal with the present world, its problems, an their human side. They aim at dealing with these subjec in an imaginative manner, and by doing so to create a interest in man at his work, and an awareness of soci; problems. ... If the film is good it cannot fail to arouf interest and to stimulate imagination. It should also ha\ put the audience in possession of the basis of informatic on the subject or have created a proper social sentimei about it. But in the hands of a good teacher or leader tt film should do more than this : it should serve to start di cussion, further research, and projects." No one can disagree with these sentiments. Appearing ; they do in time of war, they are heartening evidence of .t]| determination to keep ultimate issues well in mind. But. pa the non-theatrical experts, they are quite the reverse of a na row approach to the use of films. They point, on the contrar to the necessity for an ever-widening approach. The doc mentary technique cannot be angled into any special corm however seductively cushioned. It reserves the right to inva' the theatres, from Leicester Square to Mousehole, from N( York to Patagonia. It also reserves the right to invade t classroom, the town hall, the shop, the school, the universit the Army hut, the church, the hospital, the laboratory, and t home. It not merely reserves the right; it demands it. That is why there is today a pressing need for the Fih Division of the Ministry of Information to mobilise, far mc^ • Roads to Citizenship. Oxford University Press, 1940. :■ DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 ■•- j gorously than hitherto, the use of films. We have already - '3 jntioned the value of documentary films in the theatres. In ^'^t Idition to this there are the many organisations which supply '•>sii| ms to a wide public outside the theatres. These include, for •' i^l^ stance, the varied libraries listed on our catalogue page; '^i eir coverage is on all counts both large and influential. The t'^cres 1ms Division must note and cater for all these audiences if its ^ Drk at home (let alone in allied and neutral countries) is to be "JrEiia uly effective. To quote once again from the Rockefeller jport : — "Democracy today needs the social scientists, both inside and outside the universities. It needs to free them to think with all possible penetration, wherever that thinking may lead. New ideas about human relations and institutional adjustment should be fully, honestly and hospitably analysed. Society should be most deeply concerned not with ridiculing failures or condemning those whose findings it does not approve, but with aiding that small minority of pioneers Svhose work in the social studies is reaching up to new levels of scientific achievement. Such persons are to be found in universities, in government and in private life. No greater M 01 It)' for J imate r Ken mea 'I infoi 'chavi hnique :r am nanoi LH contribution to the disinterested comprehension of today's issues could be made than by affording these able men and women full opportunity to make their work genuinely eff"ective." Such sentiments can and must be translated into terms of war as well as terms of peace. By so doing, the actual war eff"ort will receive a real measure of assistance ; for without vivid en- lightenment there may well come a secondary (but dangerous) apathy in the consciousness of people whose major eff'orts are bound up in a gigantic struggle against a ruthless and well- organised foe. If it is too late to talk of rival ideologies, it is by no means too late to talk of the free mind and, if the phrase can still be accepted, of the good life. Both in public cinemas and in all parts of the non-theatrical world the documentary film has a real contribution to offer. The problem is not one of whether documentary should "go theatrical". The problem is to find the maximum coverage in all fields for a medium which has so much to offer — from inspiration to information — at a time when it was never more vital to find a quick answer to every citizen who, echoing King Lear, demands : — "What's here, beside foul weather?" ECONOMICS ON THE SCREEN •am leadii GREAT DEAL of credit is due to Professor M. Polanyi for IS courage and imagination in pioneering in the use of 1ms in economics teaching. This is a field with great possi- ilities and one which has been almost entirely neglected. t was not to be expected that the first production of this kind 'ould immediately and triumphantly overcome all difiiculties. 'erhaps, the chief value of Professor Polanyi's film is that it W Bveals very clearly what the difficulties are going to be ; and EOiai ;o TlieJo lalcoii l!0 the EDITORIAL note: The forty minute diagrammatic film Unemployment and Money reviewed here by a London University Extension lecturer on economics was planned and supervised by Professor M. Polanyi, of the Economics Department of Manchester University, assisted by Professor Jewkes. First experimental sequences of the film were financed by private subscription ; the present film was made possible by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The production of the film was undertaken by G.B. Instructional, with Mary Field as producer; the diagrams were designed by R. E. Jeff'ryes and the animation was done by Diagram Films and Science Films. In design and animation the film is a brilliant demonstration of iM the skill and ability of these companies in the production of diagrammatic films. fas,i creat! iofsfl 10 'ill set him and others thinking how they may be overcome. The subject of the film is Unemployment and Money. This fi itself brings out the first difficulty. This particular subject is jj, pcceptionally complicated, and exceptionally controversial. It is ^Imost impossible to present a theoretical analysis of compli- ated economic sequences in a visual form without immense impUfication. This simplification in its turn implies com- aitting yourself, broadly speaking, to whole-hearted endorse- nent of one theory, while many are still in the field, and are ipheld in highly respected quarters. The layman will certainly parn one lesson, if he follows Professor Polanyi's film atten- ^vely. He will come away convinced that unemployment is created by the (apparently quite arbitrary) pohcies of the banks. This is a very dangerous half-truth in a field where nobody really quite knows what the whole truth is. But the fact is that there are probably very few propositions in economic theory which have yet reached the stage of being universally accepted by competent students as demonstrably true. The tendency of an expanding circulation to raise the general level of prices might be cited as one such proposition (and it is one that might very well be the subject of visual exposition) ; but there are precious few others. From many points of view it might be better to begin with something as simple and restricted as this, rather than to attempt to present the appaUingly complex series of relationships involved in the connexion between monetary pohcy and unemployment or cycles of trade. In the second place, variety is essential. Unemployment and Money opens very pleasantly with its processions of animated figures — workers going out to earn the money, and housewives going out to spend it. (Incidentally the fact that it is possible to obtain an income without working for it is tactfully ignored. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 Perhaps this is an unavoidable simplification; but since it is one which is likely to arouse hostile prejudice in a large public, it would be very desirable, if in any way possible, to conform here to the known facts of experience.) Later we see very little of the workers and housewives, and concentrate almost en- tirely on rather monotonous geometrical symbols. The mono- tony (particularly the constant return to the diagram of monetary circulation) puts a severe strain on the faculty of attention. It should not be difficult to invent ways of breaking this by the introduction of rather more vivid and realistic pictures. This brings us to the last and more fundamental issue raised by Professor Polanyi's film. Is this kind of film really the right end at which to begin the visual teaching of economics? Or do we not want something less abstract which can be treated by pictures more nearly akin to documentaries proper? There is indeed immense scope first for straightforward documentaries, dealing with such things as, say, the relief of unemployment (meeting of Courts of Referees, Unemployment Assistance officers assessing household means, Unemployment Assistance Appeal Tribunals at work) ; or with the actual work of the City (how many people, not directly concerned, have any mental picture of what goes on on the floor of "the House", or behind the solid walls of the Bank of England?). From this the right sequence might be to pass to a sort of half-way type of film, which would draw simple theoretical lessons, not s much from abstract diagrams, as from pictures of the dai life of the community ; or which would at least build its di; grams directly out of such pictures. Some of Professor Polanyi own lessons might indeed have gone home better if they ha been interspersed with actual pictures of banks, and of the managers accepting and rejecting appHcations for overdraf behind glass partitions. This would have added a touch ( vividness (which is often, rightly or wrongly, the same thing as touch of conviction), and would at the same time have relieve the strain on the attention. In so far as Unemployment and Money is primarily intende for use in classes of serious students working with a teache some of this criticism may be beside the mark ; for it expressi the views of one who saw the film straight through at a sittin In class-work, sections would be taken one at a time, an mental congestion would be relieved by adequate incident exposition. (But in these conditions it is arguable that the ui of a diagrammatic film is actually inferior to the timi honoured method of diagrams on the blackboard constructed by the teacher, and modified by him, as he goes along, to e: plain problems raised by the students on the spot.) For real popular use, on the other hand, the film must be shown \ itself and as it stands ; and it is in this kind of work that a mo \ concrete and realistic treatment might be more fruitful. iFm i m A New Quarterly Edited by Jay Leyda 2 Dollars a Year L) • Published by Kamin Publishers 15 West 56th Street New York NY The Second Number Contains : Collaboration in Documentary by Joris Ivens: Lil Goes to the Pictures by Otis Ferguson: Film Music of the Quarter by Ku] London: A Channel For Democratic Thought by Philip Sterling: Film Problem of the Quarter: Literature of the Film FOREIGN SUBSCRIPTION 3 DOLLARS A YEAR NO. 2 SPRING 194^ DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 Ills NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS [editorial note: It is our policy to have icumentary films reviewed by people in no y connected with the production and distri- -'™'' Ition of such films. As far as possible wearrange i toiivi :eth!D!: mtQ Ul I r them to be reviewed by an expert in the bject-matter of the films, by an expert (outside njpc, ms) in the field of propaganda and education, by someone representative of those at whom ly film is particularly directed. Thus Men of frica is here reviewed by an expert on colonial ministration and The Birth of a Baby (reviewed ilMCi the last issue by a mother) is reviewed by a p fctor. Unsigned reviews are written by members jjjjjjj the editorial board or of the documentary >vement. It is our aim to reduce the number of [signed reviews to a minimum.] ^ le Fourth Estate. Production: Realist Film lllf li lit. Direction: Paul Rotha. Photography: J. ;ra )gers, H. Rignold, A. E. Jeakins. Production ijQo ID onager: Pat Moyna. Music: Walter Leigh. p; J minutes. ' a public relations officer RE is a film about The Times as The Times s itself. As such it is an unqualified success. conveys perfectly the characteristic blend of irchy dignity, and rather self-conscious loyalty an historic tradition. The film borrows the paper's practice of strict tonymity, but we are introduced to screen [esences like the editor, the chief leader-writer, dramatic critic and the night editor, all of lom play themselves with convincing poise- fact behind which there lies no doubt a con- lerable achievement of manipulation on the oducer's part. The film, which runs for some minutes, is constructed around the process of eparing the first edition, from the afternoon inference in the Holy of Holies to the im- essive moment when the great presses in the inting-room begin to run and roar. This climax preceded and convincingly built up by a most fective quickening in the pace of the film ielf. By way of drama there is the last-minute rival of news that a new Himalayan peak has «n climbed just in time for the main page and intents bills. Incidentally there must have been Dsiderable difficulty in selecting concrete sub- pts which would not cause political complica- ^1 bns or date the film too obviously, and though 'e best has been made of this difficult job the evitable result is to take away some of the sense [■obid r immediacy and actuality which is the atmo- ihere of all good newspaper offices in real life. 'e are given some inside glimpses of The Times" idely ramified foreign news service, including snator Vandenberg calling the Washington >rrespondent "Bill", and emitting a character- :ic piece of isolationism. I should like him to ive to listen to it, and to audience reactions of about 500 times in the next few months. What is wrong with this film is what it leaves at. It was a pity to have employed a producer ;th Rotha's awareness of social relationships and |;rspectives and then not used him to present Gl* a study of the paper in its full setting — to let us perceive the wider relationship between it, and the community it sets out to inform and guide. Institutions with more experience than The Times of the art of projecting themselves, long ago left behind them the notion that the way to begin was to put a picture of the works in the forefront of the announcement. The Times, of course, knows its own business best, and it has got what it evidently wanted, expertly and often brilliantly done. You may say the criticism is not quite fair. Very well — take it as just a bit of wishful thinking — how nice it would have been if the first top- grade, full-dress film of a British newspaper could have said a little of what matters about the press as a social institution in a free society. By a fihn trade journalist TO adopt an attitude of critical detachment to such a film as this is, for a newspaperman, maybe not impossible. It is certainly complex. No prac- tical member of the Fourth Estate surely but is absorbed in his craft, proud in his possession of the professional passport. Rotha's admirably concise and honest film is a direct and unemo- tional piece of reporting. It tells its story, the story of The Times, which in many respects is the story of British journalism, without cliches or journalese, makes a most fascinating and essen- tial molehill out of a positive mountain of material. The multi millions whose daily pabulum is extracted from the more vivid and perfervid columns of the Express, the Herald and the Mail, may ask what has The Times to do with modern British journalism. It has a great deal, for it is the parent and progenitor of them all. Its critical weight may be challenged, its pomposity and studied dignity considered out of tune with the modern age. Its origins and history, its pioneer- ing on behalf of free thought and leadership, its flawless production processes, have had, and are still having direct and powerful effects upon the Fourth Estate in general. Like its inspiration, Rotha's document is sober, dignified, and without conscious humour. It is not without either fascination, or indeed — for the professional craftsman at least — without thrill. The jaunty, bibulous, and profane newspaper- man of Hollywood, and the vapid, imbecile, and ineffective imitation observed in British films, have created a certain legend in the public mind. The unsmiling and ponderous subs of The Fourth Estate, the weighty editorial pronunciamentoes, the crisp Soots accents of the layout man, the pedestrian slowness, so subtly combined with in- fallible efficiency, to be found among the comps and in the machine rooms, have here the flavour of reality. One may look in vain for even a dis- tant aroma of "Poppins" and the "Cheese". The fans may lament the absence of a battered trilby worn in the news room. But neither the lowbrow in the ninepennies, nor the craftsman himself, surely, will fail to respond to the thrills of that diurnal race against time, that determined, placidly calm, but intensely exciting process of getting tomorrow's news written, printed, and dispatched, to the four points of the national compass. Because Rotha has told the story simply and directly, without a self-conscious camera angle or smart alecry with the scissors, the story has a more effective punch. The film is not purely an account of a day in the life of a great newspaper. Its main aim, of course, is to build up a composite picture of the organisation behind what William Cobbett called "The bloody old Times", of the strands that lie far out between Printing House Square and Washington, Tibet, the House of Commons and Middleham Gallops, of the editorial and publishing machinery which makes the daily pro- cess of production and distribution possible — and impressive. In its stride it flits over a faintly historical shore, reflects the pioneering work of Delane and the John Walters, pleads, too, on be- half of the role of the daily newspaper in civilised existence. It may not represent either the spirit or the letter of the two million nett certified readers' dailies. But what it sets out to do, and succeeds in doing, is to tell concisely and accurately, in another medium, of the purpose and the processes behind the modern newspaper. And that is a story well worth the telling. Men of Africa. Production: Strand Films. Pro- ducer: Basil Wright. Director: Alexander Shaw. Distribution : Anglo-American. 25 minutes. By an expert on colonial administration Men of Africa is a proud answer to those who decry the work of Great Britain as trustee for the Colonial Empire. If Dr Aggrey, the famous coloured medical missionary, were alive today, he, too, would be proud to se; the practical application of his philosophy which this film so admirably portrays. He said "You can play some sort of tune on the black keys and some sort of tune on the white keys, but to obtain perfect harmony you must play on the black and the white keys." What a contrast to Hitler's conception of black people as "semi-apes" whom "it is a crime against civilisation to educate". The dismal failure of the Germans to colonise successfully is understood more clearly when set against the British conception as portrayed in this beautiful film. Here we see the white man placing at the disposal of his black friend all the best that his doctors, teachers and scientists can offer. Not, let it be remembered, to create black Europeans, but better black men. Several scenes, particu- larly agricultural, show the white man tutoring his black _students in scientific methods for the preservation and increase of his crops and cattle, while others, such as an operating theatre, show black doctors and nurses in complete charge. The African has appreciated the value of education to such a degree that his demands at present exceed our ability to satisfy them. The picture of happy children in a mission school serves to drive home the urgency of the problem. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 Wisely, however, a coloured politician in the film sounds a note of warning when he says that the whole motive of progress should be directed towards the grafting of improvements upon the best aspects of native traditions. In other words, tropical Africa while under British protection, will be developed for the African who must be encouraged gradually to assume the fullest responsibilities. To this great task, the British Government, in spite of the fact that we are engaged in a life and death struggle with Nazism, has recently decided to contribute a sum of £50,000,000 extended over a period of ten years. We doubt whether any taxpayer who is fortunate enough to see Men of Africa will grumble at the share of this additional financial burden which he will be called upon to bear. Personally it left me with a feeling of pride that the principles for which we are fighting this war are so amply illustrated in what was once "darkest" Africa. The Birth of a Baby. Production: American Com- mittee on Maternal Welfare. Distribution: National Baby Welfare Committee. 65 minutes. By a doctor IN the last twenty years it has become realised that the "occupational risks" of motherhood are unnecessarily high. One certain factor is eco- nomic, for childbirth illness, like tuberculosis, is largely a disease of the underfed ; but even in the more prosperous groups, motherhood is accom- panied by too much avoidable illness. The most important factor in prevention is skilled super- vision of the mothers during the period of pregnancy. This film was made in America to encourage expectant mothers to visit their doc- tors for this ante-natal care. The story of the film is of the ante-natal care and confinement of a young American wife. Her mother-in-law and her doctor, in short talks illustrated by diagrams, describe how the womb prepares to receive and nourish the fertilised ovum, and how this ovum develops during pregnancy. Advice is given on the management of the pregnancy and incidents are shown from the doctor's work to illustrate further points : he visits a woman whose serious illness could have been avoided by ante-natal care; he reproves an inconsiderate husband ; and to a rich childless wife who wishes to escape maternity, he gives a sharp warning of the dangers of abortion. The middle part of the film drags, but when the actual confinement is reached it speeds up again. After a brief shot of the arrival of the baby, there follows a thrilling close-up of the baby taking his first breaths. The film is preceded and followed by a spoken commentary on the ways in which English methods differ from American. The most responsible medical propaganda has to face much criticism, and in dealing with repro- duction, certain special potential dangers arise. These are successfully avoided in this film. A large Saturday afternoon audience of men did not find a snigger in the whole film. The instruction is very elementary and could be improved and also increased with advantage, but the general ignor- ance is such that many will learn from this film. There is nothing in the film to frighten young wives from motherhood. On the other hand it is one which both individual doctors and public health authorities will be glad for them to see. As propaganda, the film loses some of its force for most of the mothers in this country as the setting is opulent and so unreal. The idea of the film is excellent and although "it could have been done much better", it is of high educative value, and should be shown throughout the country. Ring of Steel. Production: British Paramount. Distribution: Paramount. 40 minutes. ANYBODY who sccs ncwsrccls regularly has no difficulty in picking out from the mass of pool material the items shot by the Paramount cameramen. Their shooting is always lively, and brightened by a lot of moving camera material. Similarly the editing of Paramount News has a brisk and business-like quality of its own. Ring of Steel is the third of Paramount's news- reel features dealing with the Services. Like Inside Goods No. 1 , on the R.A.F., and 'ArfA Mo, Hitler, on the Army, Ring of Steel presents a lively account of the Navy's work in wartime in a first-class journalistic style. Particularly striking are the scenes of the Navy in the Arctic and the section on minesweeping. You get the feeling, so rare for this type of film, that the Navy them- selves would feel that it puts them before the public in fair and sympathetic terms. In other words the film has been made with some under- standing of the men and their job, and it does smell of the sea. For all-in surveys of this kind G. T. Cummins' efficiency and drive is just what is needed; forty minutes would otherwise seem very long for a straight piece of reporting. The Builders. Production: Workers' Film Asso- ciation and Selwyn Films. Distribution: 16 mm. sound. Workers' Film Association. .'^O minutes. By thi' secretary of the Association of Cine- Technicians THE British Trade Union Movement has made its first film — a modest effort but an excellent beginning. The Builders tells the story of the Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers, its early days, its organisation, and the benefits building workers obtain through membership. The film was shot direct on 16 mm. except for the interiors which were reduced from 35 mm. It cost £350. That's my main complaint, and that, of course, is the sponsor's and not the producers' fault. A leading member of the Trades Union Congress General Council criticised the film as not so good in quality as shorts he occasionally sees in a cinema. I told him why. The Trade Union Movement must realise when making further films that just as good print costs good money so do good films. Bearing in mind the small budget the production is most commendable. The important point is that at last the film has taken its place in trade union propaganda. Such a production will be far more efi'cctive than organisers' speeches and general literature. The dignity of labour stands out a mile. A very im- pressive scene is the initiation ceremony under- 'liT gone by new members. Young bricklayers ai made to realise they are doing something fi more than signing on the dotted line. Improvements could have been made by voio of the actual "actors" at times instead of a co: tinuous commentary, and the film could ha^ dealt more intimately with the actual lives of son, of the workers. The producers have somethii to learn from the documentary movement her Otherwise I raise my union badge to this produ tion. It's a miracle at the price! I hope other Unions will follow suit. Tl British worker has a great deal to be proud c Let this pride continue to be portrayed on tl screen. Then we shall see, as The Builders shov us, much of the real history of this countr Moreover in doing so an important weapon w be used to strengthen the Trade Union Mov ment so that, come what may, we shall mo forcibly realise our real freedom. Dixie 1940. P/Wwff;o«.- March of Time (No. 1 Fifth Year). Distribution: R.K.O. Radio Picture 19 minutes. Dixie 1940 sets out to tell us the story of t southern states of the U.S.A. in ninete minutes. At this rate the history of the wor would provide subject-matter for a single norir length feature, and to find justification for t production of anything as long as Gone with i Wind we should need to look beyond the tern trial universe for our material. It is comforti therefore to find that the March of Time is ab within the time-limits of Dixie 1940, to give only a series of snapshots which one hopes w one day provide the synopsis for a whole gro of films dealing with different aspects of life the southern half of the United States. Tht aspects are represented in the present film by scene or a pair of scenes each, so that the to' effect is of a snapshot album flicked over too f< to give a clear sight of any of its pages. This is March of Time at its most exasperatir Units were sent to cover a negroes' Sund prayer meeting, a negroes' Saturday night villa dance, and into an old "colonial" house wh( the negro retainers cringe amongst the anci( bric-a-brac as if they had never heard of Abi ham Lincoln; yet of all the material that was could have been shot, we are allowed to seeoi a few quick flashes. Tuskegee, the negro uniw ^ sity, is covered rather more thoroughly, asi Martha Berry's college for the children of i poverished whites. The film has no theme^uoii the controversy as to whether the South is bi described as the "problem" or as the "hope" the United States ranks as a theme. The id crops up once or twice that the problems of i South (Big Business has to be allowed footage imply inanely that there are none) might solved by increasing mass purchasing po' This, in fact, at one production stage, would i pear to have been the theme of the film; though March of Time has made new shots of I appalling living conditions of the sharecroppej March of Time arguments on their behalf hai lost indignation and vigour over the years a could mm. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 TWO FILMS OF THE MONTH ^rfi ASTOR HALL HAVE not read Ernst Toller's play, but I like to link that it is his great spirit which illuminates ,e film Pastor Hall. The story is simple, as mple as the story of Professor Mamlock, and 1 some ways very like it. There is the same altru- t, intent only on fulfilling the everyday needs of uman beings, no matter what their race or beprod olitical beliefs. There is the same incomprehen- nysla on when the doctrine of racial superiority and f blind obedience to the Fuehrer bursts with liiBcji iterfering hatred into his quiet village. There is *ap le same dawn of comprehension and at first ,'dioqM lechanical and later fully conscious opposition this denial of human dignity. Like Mamlock, astor Hall invites death with a final indictment "if Nazidom. Like Mamlock he speaks quietly, visely, without malice, as Christ once wept for erusalem. 10 'a. id IK iOffltH Of course there is the concentration camp, rhere is the pathological stormtroop leader, there 5 beating up and smashing of Jewish property, There is an over-melodramatic interlude of the ;irl who returns pregnant from a labour corps, here are shootings and exaggerated characters. Jut these incidents are not the film : and who am to dare say they are even exaggerated? I shall hiefly remember the twists of direction which svery so often made the visual a credible pulpit i"om which Toller's words could come searing nto my brain. The old woman weeping, and the lit down of the camera to the casket of ashes in ler hands: "Erich was so tall and strong. They trade him one of Captain Roehm's bodyguard." rhe man whose shop had been smashed because lis mother's mother was Jewish, groping among he debris in the street, and answering the Pastor's bifer of help with : "Thank you, Herr Pastor, here's nothing much to do now." The boy in the uspaiB;oncentration camp, who had once got safely » Sj iway to France, and had then returned to Ger- iskni hany: "I didn't want to believe any longer what ic(K' vas written in the French newspapers. It was the a ^pril, the buds were beginning to come out on rdof he trees. I got homesick." The schoolmaster elling Pastor Hall how to interpret the word love n bible classes: "Give the example of winter elief." The Commandant of the concentration ;2!i!), Btarnp, addressing the new prisoners: "Every jreiu' JuUet costs twelve pfennig, and that's just what ;itH 'ou're worth, no more, no less". And the S.S. ojuis! nan pointing the moral by calling one man out of ; W ine and shooting him down where he stood. rmeiii Ito lebo; uliole .1) of atei. mi a tile }1 .'!',« I.i- fjro Most of all 1 shall remember the words of the Pastor's last sermon, after he had escaped from he concentration camp, and had gone back to (< his church, in the full knowledge that he would be followed there and shot. "The text for this my last sermon to you is from St. Paul : 'Put on the jjjgi vhole armour of God' . . . Men have been irsiifl Jiven a voice, and that voice is meant to be used ^ijjl'j IS a sword to fight against evil things. You can shut one mouth, a hundred mouths, a thousand, but the voice will be heard. Even a very little flame shines brightly in darkness. The weak will tell the weak, and they will become strong. . . ." Visually the end is tame, compared with the mighty scene of Mamlock on the balcony, and the stormtroopers paralysed and unable to shoot in the street beneath, but its very simplicity gave power to the words. This then is the film Pastor Hall, and it is up to all those who see it to treat it honestly, and to weigh it up. Let them remember that this kind of justification is the only possible justification and let them, when they have made their decision, be sure that it is really for this that the war is being fought. Only by such heart-searchings can the peace we need become possible. THE STORY OF DR EHRLICH'S MAGIC BULLET MID-WAY through The Story of Dr Ehrlich's Magic Bullet, the outspoken Dr Ehrlich is invited to a formal banquet. His hostess asks the famous scientist to tell her the subject of his latest re- searches. Dr Ehrlich answers with one shocking word which paralyses the whole company and which, in the fact of its theatrical utterance, is as significant for this generation as was Eliza Doolittle's "bloody" for our parents. Dr Ehrlich answers that he is working on a cure for syphilis. The Story of Dr Ehrlich's Magic Bullet is the story of the fight against syphilis. It is the out- standing example to date of how, without refer- ence to the politer drawing-room conventions, the range of dramatic themes has broadened to include the whole field of human achievement. The very fact that the film has been produced represents a victory in a campaign comparable in importance with the one which Paul Ehrlich fought and won. It was not enough to attack syphilis with chemicals : it had also to be dragged from the chamber of horrors and exposed to the assaults of the propagandist. In this latter fight enlightened health authorities have now been joined by rtie movie moguls of Hollywood. But let there be no mistake as to motives. In making this film Warner Brothers have not been primarily concerned to make health propaganda. Their purpose has naturally been to produce entertainment, and they have been shrewd enough showmen to realise the box-office value of the dramatic conflict, man versus disease. Yet to choose this particular episode in that con- flict needed courage; and to tell the story so accurately, and with as little false or distorted emotion as it is here told by director William Dieterle, required an honesty of approach which has had its reward in a film of three-fold dis- tinction. The Story of Dr Ehrlich's Magic Bullet is first-rate entertainment; it is excellent public health propaganda; thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, it is a magnificently timely re- minder of the existence of much that is noble in the humar. spirit. trolled conditions in testing a new drug, or upon a diagrammatic explanation of the fundamental basis of chemo-therapy. There is no attempt to gloss over the greatest handicaps of scientific research : the opposition of the stupid bureaucrat and of the time-serving sponsor who demands immediate results, are represented in bitterly ironic episodes. Throughout the film the drama is the drama of science rather than the personal drama of the scientist. The film finishes with a law-courts scene in which Paul Ehrlich defends his work against libellous attacks. Yet Dieterle has understood that we must be made to feel that it is not Ehrlich's reputation that matters but the future achievements for humanity of "606" that are at stake. Only if we understand that the dis- covery is more important than the discoverers, can their devotion and self-sacrifice appear credible to us. The actors, too, must be praised for moving skilfully aside and leaving the centre of the stage for science. Edward G. Robinson, as Ehrlich, promises future battles with Paul Muni for the laurels of historical impersonation. Ruth Gor- don, as Frau Ehrlich, follows her performance as Mrs Lincoln in Spirit of the People with a slighter part which she plays equally brilliantly. Ruth Gordon is bringing to the screen a realistic technique which opens up new possibilities of screen characterisation. Highest praise of all must be reserved for Albert Basserman as Dr Robert Koch. Dr Ehrlich's "Magic Bullet" is the chemical bullet that kills disease germs in the blood stream. The film leaves us remembering that there are bullets of a different kind. Very skil- fully, by means of an occasional undertone of topical reference, the film carries an implicit mes- sage to a warring world. Here, it says, is the Germany of the past and here in Cologne is the Koch Institute where great scientists are working for the whole human race. Among them is Paul Ehrlich, a Jew, who wants to destroy disease with chemical bullets. But because he is a Jew, and Far from shirking the scientific complexities of also because he believes that everything must be the subject, the film elucidates them so success- subordinated to the welfare of the human race, fully that a deeply moving sequence is one in some of his contemporaries would prefer to which the slow, fluctuating progress of Paul destroy Paul Ehrlich. Long ago it was like this, Ehrlich and his assistants towards the discovery long before Nazism was heard of, the spirit of of "606", the compound which will cure syphilis, Nazism could be found amongst the German is recorded for us, as well as for Ehrlich, in the wavering progress of two lines on a graph. The film does not hesitate to base a dramatic situation on the scientific importance of preserving con- people. But not in all of them. The rest were anxious to work and fight, not just for Germany but for the whole human race. They preferred Paul Ehrlich's magic bullets to bullets of steel. 10 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 DOCOIINTIRI NEWS UTTER MONTHLY FOURPENCE NUMBER 6 JUNE 1940 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is issued only to private sub- scribers and continues the policy and purpose of World Film News by expressing the documentary idea towards everyday living. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is produced under the auspices of Film Centre, London, in asso- ciation with American Film Center, New York. EDITORIAL BOARD Edgar Anstey Arthur Elton William Farr John Grierson Paul Rotha Basil Wright . Outside contributions will be welcomed but no fees will be paid. We are prepared to deliver from 3 — 50 copies in bulk to Schools, Film Societies and other organi- sations. Owned and published by FILM CENTRE LTD. 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W.l GERRARD 4253 H.K. INDIA AND THE WAR: PSYCHOLOGY OF PUBLIC OPINION! This article by NIRAD C. CHAUDHLTRI was written in March, 1940 and is reprinted here by permission of "The Statesman", Calcutta till INDIA IS A vast country; it is a long way off from the scene of fighting, and till now it has not been appreciably touched by the war. Indian opinion can therefore afford to be indifferent to, or at any rate quiescent about it. Those who are in charge of war propaganda in India could not commit a greater mistake than to regard them- selves as the relaying agents of the British Ministry of Information. In its home propa- ganda the British Ministry has a fairly homo- geneous public to work upon and a fairly straight task. It has to sustain the morale of a public generally convinced of the necessity and justice of the war. In India none of these things can be taken for granted. There are a very large number of Indians who cannot see why this war should be a grim necessity and perhaps no less a number who are not at all sure about its justice. In fact, opinion in India in regard to the war ranges from extreme hostility to extreme friendliness, with a large neutral bloc in between. The gradation of Indian opinion can be put in something like the following order, the least numerous sections being placed at the ends and the most numerous at the centre: extreme hostility, hostility tem- pered by prudence and self-interest, hostility balanced on the fence, sceptical neutrality, passive neutrality (the central point of view), benevolent neutrality, friendliness afraid to declare itself, friendliness more open but apt to grumble at in- conveniences, and unquestioning friendliness. There is, as is only to be expected, a good deal of fluidity in this grading. While it would he idle to expect the thoroughgoing hostility to soften to something more tractable and while certain elements in India will remain invariably friendly, the rest may he counted upon to be in a state of flux. They will all be responsive in greater or lesser degree to the turn of events and to manage- ment. Different Reactions War propaganda in India must take note of this diversity. But at the same time it must not be led by the lack of homogeneity to ignore another all- important fact. Anyone trying to make a com- prehensive cross section of India opinion about the war will discover soon enough that while the emotional reactions of Indians vary widely in accordance with their attitude to the British con- nexion, there is a large common element in theii intellectual appraisement and anticipation of th< trends of the war. For reasons to be mentionec later the colour of this opinion is largely pro- German, or at any rate hypercritical of th( Allies. A curious but undeniable feature of th( psychological situation is that the susceptibilit)^ to the German version of affairs is almost a; common among the members of those politica parties which have decided unhesitatingly tc stand by Great Britain in this war as among th( professed adherents of the Congress. The most striking expression of the pro- German bias, both explicit and latent, consciou;, and sub-conscious, is perhaps to be found in th( . approach to the day's news. The majority o, - Indians show a pronounced inhibition to new; favourable to the Allies. They receive reports p^ Allied successes, exploits and power with ment reservation, but show themselves overready tt" give the Germans more than their due. For ex- ample, if a British reconnaissance plane is said tc have flown over Berlin it is generally looked upor.- ^ as an improbability. But if the report goes that German plane has gone as far as Merseyside not only is the visit a certainty but Liverpool anc ' Manchester are also laid in ruins. The Graf Spet affair illustrated the pro-German bent rathei characteristically. It came as a severe shock to thf notion of most Indians of the relative prowess ol the two parties and to their calculation of tht probabilities and improbabilities. For a few days Indian opinion was bewildered, if not dazed and demoralised. Then gradually it recovered its equanimity from the thought that the British people must have come to a pretty bad pass to be able to crow over a success gained by an over- whelming force over a solitary and smalJi German ship. A more extreme and less common illustration of the same mental state came within the writer's experience in connexion with the sinking of the Athcnia. As soon as the news of the sinking was. published in India, an educated Indian recently! back from England remarked that it must havel been done by the English in order to embroil thej United States with Germany. This was said with-] out outside prompting, when, in fact, even the German explanation had not gone further thani ilO jggesting that the Atheiiia had accidentally truck a British mine. Almost invariably this bias leads Indians to nticipate events just as the Germans would or Is the Germans would like others to. Generally peaking, people here were unshakeable in the onviction that there was not going to be any var last September ; next, most of them expected hat after the defeat and conquest of Poland it vas going to end ; many now believe that the war (ill develop less as an Anti-German, than as an Inti-Communist crusade against Russia, and hat there will be no serious attack on Germany ; et others believe that the people of Great Britain nd France as apart from the Governments do ^ot want the war, and also that Great Britain and ranee are at variance over it. ffltm itioorf ma calof tot seep 2to im3E! ffijcrit)' npooli liodB ptoi IHXl liaadi ikBiii A' a DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 11 The preconceptions of the Indian mind find nother outlet in an unbounded belief in the flfectiveness and prevalence of censorship. When- ver the published news about the war does not onform to or fall in with their preconceived lOtions, people here do not revise their theories ". lut simply assume that the true facts are being ""' . withheld or suppressed. This was perhaps best een when the Finns were successfully resisting de Russian invasion. This resistance seemed so icredible that two contradictory hypotheses /ere offered in its explanation. They were either dat Finland had actually been overrun but the lews was not being allowed to reach this country ly the British censorship or that Russia was not ™ laking any war at all. How such wholesale sup- ression could be possible and how it was that ven the German and the Russian broadcasts did M "i* ot announce the conquest were questions which ^n^ id not normally occur to an educated Indian. M )n the contrary, such wonderment was often niai; apposed to indicate a pro-Ally- frame of mind. jokaliii rresponsibility Tie emotional complex leading to the indulg- nce in these unrealities is a deep-seated affair, volved through long years. It is the product of entimental and intellectual cross currents not asy to disentangle without artificial simplifica- ion. Nevertheless, certain broad facts connected «th it stand out clearly enough. It will do no arm to pass them in review if it is remembered at the ultimate predisposition is due, not to a ingle factor, but to the intermingling, even in the ame individual, of all or many of them. The very first reason for the peculiar predisposi- ion of the Indian mind in regard to the war is ^ 0 liat it is irresponsible. That is to say, an average ndian does not feel that for him any stakes are fifolved in this war or that there is any risk for n in holding one opinion in preference to other. This springs not only from remoteness "7„^ut also from the fixed belief that Great Britain jiiiui?' 1 ^ S not gomg to be defeated by Germany. The u [riter has still to meet an Indian, however un- .j jompromising he may be in his dislike of the Jli ?"''^h connexion, who expects or even hopes that ' i preat Britain and France will collapse before the *• ^ iSerman onslaught. This almost universal faith in the ultimate victory of the Allies has a character- istic effect on Indian opinion, which is best illustrated by the working of the extremist mind. If the extremist really believed that the British Empire was going to dissolve, with the inevitable consequences which he never disputes of a new foreign domination and internal anarchy for India, he would at once have brought his emo- tional reactions in line with the practical needs of the situation. But he does not fear that kind of outcome. On the contrary, he asserts that the talk about any real danger to Great Britain is a propagandist move designed to frighten Indians into co-operation with her. He bases his reactions on quite diff'erent calculations. According to him, the war will weaken Great Britain so far as to make her concede the demands of the Con- gress, but not so fatally that there will be any danger of an internal breakdown or transfer to a foreign Power. A queer belief anyway, but one whose bearing on unrestrained emotional satis- faction at Great Britain's troubles must be obvious. The same faith makes the neutral section of Indian opinion more passively neutral and friendly opinion indifferent and easy-going. Even this last section of Indian opinion does not feel that matters have gone or are going to such lengths as to make it necessary for anyone to make a final choice or to be up and doing. The habit of taking things easily and also of taking the line of least resistance is far too confirmed in men for Indians to behave differently. The second reason for the pro-German bias is that what pro-British feeling there is in India has been demoralised and discouraged by nationalist propaganda. The anti-British sentiment has a clear moral and sentimental appeal in the principle of nationalism. There is no correspond- ing moral conviction in favour of the British con- nexion based on the idea of international co- operation. Those who are for the British con- nexion cannot hold their heads high and say that they too stand for a principle and are every whit as patriotic and disinterested as the opponents of the British connexion. They have been made to yield moral ground till the only pleas left to them have been reduced to expediency and self interest. Consequently they are timid and defeatist. They are divided within themselves and are most anxious to keep both doors open. Reticence as Weakness The third reason is the incompatibility of the British method of propaganda and publicity with the Indian temperament. The average Indian has a weakness for rhetoric, high-pitched emotional- ism, over-statement and flamboyancy. It does not matter much to him if today's boast turns into tomorrow's bluff", for the boast while it lasts is heartwarming. On the contrary, he looks upon understatement, reserve, and reticence as signs of weakness. For this reason the German propa- ganda has a much greater influence on him than the British. If the Germans sink anything, they sink whole fleets; they say that when they start bombing they will send three thousand aero- planes and leave nothing unwrecked in Great Britain ; they never admit losses. In contrast, the British publish their losses, making Indians be- lieve that since so much is admitted the German version must be nearer the truth; they exhort their people to be prepared for the worst from the air, leading to the inference that the British people are cowering in fear of bombing by the Germans ; they do not declare that they will be in Berlin, showing thereby that they never hope to get there. Indians are extremely sensitive to these different (albeit artificial) nuances of self-assur- ance. They find the Germans positive, and, as has already been stated, not being sufficiently interested in the war or sufficiently frightened by its prospective outcome, do not care to look beneath the surface. Ignorance of Nazism The fourth reason is lack of knowledge. Gener- ally speaking even educated Indians are extremely ignorant about the things connected with wars. They feel no intellectual interest in the war, which could have furnished a corrective to their sentimental approach because they do not pos- sess the necessary background of knowledge which alone can rouse curiosity about the war as an intrinsically interesting subject of inquiry. Even more important from its bearing on the formation of opinion is ignorance about Nazism as a social and political philosophy. It is gener- ally assumed that Indians are hostile to Nazism. This is only superficially true, for what vocal opposition to Nazism makes itself manifest in India is largely a matter of conventional and academic gesture, lacking the true ring of con- viction. It could hardly be otherwise, since very few Indians have studied and thought about Nazism deeply enough to realise what it stands for in personal life as well as in internal and international politics. Nazism is disliked in India not because it is Nazism, but because it used to be looked upon as the enemy of the new and fashionable love of the Indian intellectual — ■ Communism. As apart from this, Indians hardly make any distinction between Nazism and other political philosophies. In fact, so far as the interests of Indian nationalism are concerned, most people are slapdash enough to leave it at this : that the British and the Nazis are all alike. These are some of the more important factors influencing the shaping of Indian opinion on the war. There are besides others which contribute their share of complexity. And behind them all, there lie of course the broader political considera- tions arising out of the Indo-British relationship. It should be firmly realised that Indian opinion in regard to the war cannot be approached in isolation. Its day to day manifestations are mere symptoms which cannot be grappled with any- where ex'cept at the source. War propaganda in India must therefore attend to fundamentals and reckon with the deeper psychological forces at work. By so doing not only will it ensure the success of its immediate objects, but perhaps also pave the way for a wider and more permanent reconciliation. 12 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 NEW FILMS FROM MERTON PARK STUDIOS A film of Britain's great Industrial War Machine . . . BEHIND THE GUNS The story of the National Register . . . WITH ALL OUR MIGHT The importance of scrap metal in war, stressed in . . . FEED THE FURNACES How Britain's food supplies are ensured . . . BRINGING IT HOME A film, for Local Authorities, on waste paper salvage . . . RAW MATERIAL IS WAR MATERIAL A film about the British Iron and Steel Industry . . . FURNACES OF INDUSTRY Stanley Holloway tells us about . . , ALBERT'S SAVINGS AND FOUR COMMERCIAL FILMS FOR LINTAS, IN TECHNICOLOR, STARRING CLAPHAM & CLARK OLIVER WAKEFIELD REVNELL & WEST HERMIONE BADDELEY DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 13 THE "UNUSUAL" FILM MOVEMENT A Filmgoer Remembers i TO SEE good films in London today is simple: you go to the Odeon or the Empire or the Academy ; the Polytechnic, the Paris, the Every- man, the Cinephone or Studio One ; maybe to the Curzon or the Embassy. Few good foreign films fail to get to London. Twenty years ago it was not so easy. Big American films had their premieres at West End theatres, at the Scala, Drury Lane, Covent Garden, the Palace or the London Pavilion. But Continental films, except for the spectacular Ufa product, crept in sideways, lay about in a War- dour Street vault, got maybe (after 1925) a Film Society showing. The Davis brothers were really the first show- men to present Continental films of a "different" kind in London. They owned the Marble Arch Pavilion, then London's premier cinema, and showed Caligaii in 1920 and followed it later by other famous Ufa films — Metropolis and The Spy. The Polytechnic, managed then, as now, by Mr Leslie, ran Destiny in 1924. Anne Boleyn (Decep- tion) and The Golem got Scala showings and that was about all. But none of these cinemas adopted the policy of regularly running "diff'erent" Continental films. If memory is reliable (curse the evacuation!), the first London cinema to announce a Continen- tal policy was the Embassy nearby the Holborn Restaurant. It ran Grune's The Street and Volkoff""s Kean before closing. That was 1924. Like the handsomely produced monthly, "The Silver Screen", the Embassy was before its time. No one else tried the experiment. Occasional Ufa pictures like The Last Laugh, Manon Les- caut. Vaudeville and Berlin went to the Capitol (now the Gaumont) or the New Gallery. Sieg- fried v^ws given a spectacular setting at the Albert Hall, where Mr Cochran later presented Faust complete with Sir Landon Ronald and orchestra. London had no equivalent of the Paris "little cinemas", no Vieux Colombier, Studio des Ursulines, or Studio 28. Again the story switches to the Davis brothers. Their theatres were now (1927) included in the Gaumont circuit, but the brothers retained the right to book pictures and act as managers. They owned, among others, the small Shaftesbury Avenue Pavilion which showed pictures on their second London run. But it had become dwarfed by the big new theatres and second runs were being well looked after by the new suburban houses. Now part of a chain, it was an awkward house to book for. Thus when Stuart Davis went to Reginald Bromhead, managing director of the circuit, and suggested a new policy, Bromhead agreed. The new policy was to show Continental films, new and old, an idea which Stuart had seen working the year before at the Cameo in New York. Davis was lucky. Wardour (now A.B.P.C.) had long had a Ufa contract and the newest German picture was The Loves of Jeanne Ney which the censor slashed and Wardour retitled The Lusts of the Flesh. D^vis took over the Avenue Pavilion, hung out a banner inviting the Shaftesbury Avenue passers-by to see The Lusts of the Flesh but was shrewd enough to do dual publicity with Pabst's name and for his own new policy. "The Unusual Film Movement" and "The Home of International Film Art" had begun. Stuart did good business with two publics. The one that mattered to him was the "intelligent" audience which was growing as a result of the Film Society's private shows, the little highbrow paper "Close Up", the columns of one or two pro- gressive film critics like C. A. Lejeune in the Manchester Guardian and later The Observer, and Walter Mycroft in the Evening Standard. Iris Barry's book Let's Go to the Pictures also probably helped. Stuart got, kept and enlarged that audience in the two years he ran the Avenue Pavilion. He re- vived all the old German classics (not so old then), Caligari, Last Laugh, The Street, Manon Lescaut, Warning Shadows, Student of Prague, Tartuff'e, Two Brothers, Vaudeville, Faust, Danton and the rest. He paid £200 to an ex-W and F salesman for a four weeks run of Waxworks and took £1,800. He revived the famous Hollywood classics. Woman of Paris, Greed, Foolish Wives and He Who Gets Slapped. He dug up the Swedish Gosta Berling, the Russian Marriage of the Bear and The Postmaster. He wrote intelli- gent hand-outs for the press. Above all he made his theatre a place where many people for the time saw The Film at its best. His tiny oflfice became a meeting place for the most ardent film followers. Stuart himself was always the charm- ing host. After a while the film supply gave out so Stuart Davis went off to Paris. Here was a new field, the films of Clair, Cavalcanti, Feyder, Epstein, and the avant-garde shorts of Deslav, Lacombe, Man Ray and the others. He bought the English rights of the lot, started a French season with a white-tie opening and the French ambassador. He introduced London to Finis Terrae, The Italian Straw Hat, Les Deux Timides, En Rade, Rien que les Heures, The Fall of the House of Usher and many others. But his greatest success was with Feyder's Therese Raquin. Griffiths of First-National had a copy sent over from Germany, where it had been made with a Franco-German cast for quota require- ments. He was about to send it back unbooked but happened to mention it to Stuart Davis who promptly booked it. Unluckily his press show coincided with an M.G.M. show. Only one critic turned up — Mycroft of the Evening Standard. He gave it the review it deserved. The rest of the press bombarded Stuart to see the film but he refused. Next day they lined up in the public queue. The film did big business, got many provincial bookings and certainly helped to get Feyder his M.G.M. contract in Hollywood. Summer 1929 saw Stuart Davis's contract with Gaumont expire. The latter decided not to carry on the policy and, at Stuart's suggestion, opened the theatre as London's first newsreel cinema. Stuart Davis took over managing the Davis Theatre, Croydon, which he still does. It looked as if London would no longer have a "Home of International Film Art". But down the street was the Windmill Theatre which Elsie Cohen was managing as best as she could with second run pictures. Miss Cohen had for a long time been interested in the Continental film and had worked in Holland and Germany on production. Now at the Windmill she started an "unusual" film movement and was able to get several Soviet films past the censors, her biggest success being Turksih. This lasted until the autumn when the owner of the theatre discontinued films and Van Damm began his famous Revuedeville. Mean- while a few of the old regulars at the Avenue Pavilion — among them Margery Locket, Paul Rotha, J. B. Holmes and F. Gordon Roe — started the Film Group. Davis gave them his mailing list. They circularised 2,500 people in London to see if they would support a successor to the Avenue Pavilion. Eighty per cent said they would. But no suitable theatre could be found except the Acad- emy, run by Eric Hakim, who used to be a violinist in the Davis theatres. Stuart himself had tried Hakim with the idea but Hakim wanted too big a rent. A week or two later he let Elsie Cohen take over the house and announced a "new" policy of Continental films, old and new. Hakim himself had little faith in the project and thought Miss Cohen crazy when she opened with Dovjenko's Earth. But what could not be fore- seen was the talking film. When it did come, it was generally predicted that the French and German film would disappear from London. Yet next April, the Academy will celebrate a decade of its policy for Continental films. The story of London's reception of the Conti- nental talking film is the story of our next month's article in this series on the Specialist Theatre Movement. 14 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 FILM SOCIETY NEWS SCOTTISH AMATEUR FILM FESTIVAL A Report by Norman Wilson IT WAS courageous of the Scottish Film Council to hold the seventh Scottish Amateur Film Festival when almost all similar efforts had been abandoned because of the war. It was rewarded by 54 entries, only 10 less than last year's total, and the winners were shown in Glasgow on April 27. Forsyth Hardy speaking for the adjudicators (the others were Oliver Bell, William Jeffrey and C. A Oakley) said : "Although the amateur in war-time is working under certain limitations, there are decided opportunities. We are living in a changing world, and in the first days of the war there was a great dramatic subject available to the amateur — evacuation. There was, however, no film on this subject entered in the festival, and the adjudicators were rather surprised and a little disappointed. One film was entered on A.R.P. and that was going in the right direction. "Non-fiction films were increasing in number as well as improving in quality, while fiction films were steadily improving in quality. The non- fiction film continued to be the main field of activity for the amateur." One of the main criticisms the adjudicators made was of the hackneyed nature of the subjects chosen by the amateur. Suggestions for future consideration included films on the smoke menace of Edinburgh, the expansion of Glasgow, the Border Festivals, mountaineering in the High- lands, the work of the Scottish lighthouses, life in the smaller Western isles, and film surveys of towns of character and tradition such as St. Andrews and Perth. The outstanding feature of the Festival was that no less than half the number of entries was in colour — rich, well-balanced colour which, in many cases (notably in Mathew L. Nathan's Copenhagen), was infinitely superior to results seen on the professional screen. There was, how- ever, no attempt to use colour either imagina- tively or selectively, but now that amateurs have gained confidence in the medium it is to be hoped that they will experiment on more creative lines. The British Film Institute Cup for colour rightly went to Mathew L. Nathan's Copen- hagen, a competent if superficial survey of the Danish capital. The Victor Saville Trophy for non-fiction films was awarded to Dr J. Evans Gordon's Fishing Fleet, almost a model film of a type of subject well within the scope of the amateur. Well-constructed and well observed, it shows the value of thoughtful preparation and careful scripting. Haiidba" at Kirkwall, which secured the Andrew Buchanan Cup for the Craft Studio, Edinburgh, is a neat example of what the amateur can do in recording local customs. In the fiction class the Alfred Hitchcock Cup went to Joseph Bowyer's Two Hows to Wait, a tidy and amusing little film showing how difl'erent passengers spend their time at a wayside junction. Placing no great strain on the actors, because the situations were obvious and naturally comic, this was another example of a satisfying if modest success as the result of keeping within the re- sources of the material and apparatus available to the producer. The impression gained from the films shown at the final adjudication was that amateurs are steadily improving in technical efficiency but, in general, still show a lack of creative imagination. Stepping Stones Between America and Europe, Black Vomit, The Story of Smoke, A.R.P., Our Daily Bread, Midhowe Broch, the titles of some of the films which, for various reasons, did not secure awards, are nevertheless a heartening indication that amateurs are turning in increas- ing numbers to subjects of contemporary and documentary importance. PROGRAMME BUILDING FILM SOCIETIES owe their existence to groups of men and women who translate the unspoken need for study and discussion of the culture of cinema into practical action. The very basis of their suc- cess must be in their presentation to their mem- bers of fresh and unorthodox material not see- able in the local cinema. They can, in fact, afford to experiment, whereas the exhibitor dare not. Film Society Committees must therefore make themselves fully aware of what film material is available. At the present juncture most estab- lished societies, which have been busily collecting data for years, can locate almost every film in the country, and can estimate the value of each one either from reviews, or by contact with persons at centre. A good local reference library often proves the saving of a harassed programme builder ; and the recent publications of the British Film Institute (e.g. Arthur Vesselo's monumental catalogue, reviewed in DNL January) represent a great advance in information services. New socie- ties, moreover, can always count on any amount of co-operation from older and more established societies. Once all sources of information have been properly tapped, the programme builder will find a wide choice of subjects. Films of sociological or psychological value, continental films of out- standing merit, fantasies, satires; surrealist, ab- stract, cartoon, puppet, and silhouette films; documentaries; experimental films in\olving new applications in colour or sound technique ; and certain outstanding scientific, biological, econo- mic and diagrammatic films. Local conditions are bound to play some part in determining the choice of programmes, but the object of any real Film Society should be to establish itself as a permanent cultural institution, and not just a preliminary to a repertory cinema. Contrast, cultural \alue, an international flavour, and unusual character can be guaranteed to make a programme pleasing to any Film Society audience; but there are possibilities beyond the mere "balanced" programme consisting of a cartoon, a documentary, an experimental colour abstract, and a French feature film. It should be possible to construct programmes round a definite theme, putting together a set of varying films for contrast or comparison. The most elec- trifying example of this was the Film Society's show in London two years ago, when two films about the Abyssinian war were run alternately, reel by reel; one was Russian, and the other Italian. Once this question of constructing programmes has sunk in, there are plenty of ideas which wil spring to the mind of the programme builder. Programmes contrasting directorial methods (e.g. the Austrian and American versions of Masker^ ade) ; programmes showing the development of a director (e.g. Pudovkin or Hitchcock films over a period of years); programmes showing differ- ences of treatment (e.g. Dreyer's Joan of Arc run with Mcidchen Joanna). Programmes of more esoteric contrasts are often exceptionally popular: — e.g. Vigo's Alalanie run with a Marx Brothers film, or Vigo's Zero de Conduile run with Benoit Levy's La Maternelle. A few final notes of warning. Don't show English or American features unless you reviv( them for special purposes. Don't show continen- tal features with a lot of dialogue and no Engli sub-titles. Don't forget to get on the right side ol local authorities; if you are running a pro- gramme at short notice it is usually best to run films w hich have at least an "A" certificate. Don't miscalculate running times when you are booking your films; all good catalogues give you at least the number of reels, but remember that without exact footage the reels may lead you astray as much as 15 minutes on a feature. And finally, don't be discouraged if your members complain about all your programmes and local authorities regard you with deep suspicion. All Film Socie- ties have to go through it ; and the better the pro- grammes— in the sociological and cultural sense — the sooner they will be accepted by authorities and citizens alike. ;:i DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 15 THREE NEW FRENCH FILMS saijiii ns Etaient Neuf Celibataires. Director: Sacha Guitry. Actors: Sacha Guitry, Elvire Popesco, iBetty Stockfeld. Distributors: Unity Films. GUITRY again. Guitry's wit to charm tliose who Qsijj, like it, Guitry's self-assurance to put it over to those who don't. And Guitry's shameless ex- ploitation of the cinema for his own ends. It njjujjjj seems he is trying to goebbelize his public by a ^ £ji_ succession of faits accomplis into booking for him j)^ n in the French film Valhalla a seat on the right 1,^ I hand of Duvivier. It seems rather churlish to say Qjjjj^j he really doesn't deserve it, after all he's done. jajjjj But he doesn't. His art has almost nothing to do with the cinema. He uses the film like a visual y^j, gramophone record, merely as a means of widening his public. And because the film just won't stand for that sort of thing, there is always a certain awkwardness about Guitry's films. They look rather as if they were photographed on an emulsion of grease-paint, and spliced together with spirit-gum. This one is no exception, but it is none the less delightful. The gist of the story is ithat Guitry gathers nine heads of aged bachelors together in a hostel with the object of marrying ^ iji them off" to foreign women who want to acquire French nationality. He gets his rake-off, and also in the end Elvire Popesco, which makes it worth his while. The herd of bachelors is rather too large to be manageable. Two drop out half way through, and it would have helped the film for two more to have gone with them, leaving more time to expand on the remainder. Or perhaps it ihoulill rod wwiji nxxtdi sSfldaj ntoi ::i ra would have been better if Guitry had played all nine himself. He's quite capable of it. La Marseillaise. Director: Jean Renoir. Actors: Pierre Renoir, Louis Jouvet. Distributors: Unity Films. AFTER so many films about the French Revolu- tion made by people who think the sans-cidottes went around with their pants off — after all, aren't all revolutionaries morally depraved? — this Popular Front act of faith has a very genuine air. At least one can feel that La Revolution might have been like this. For one thing it is not over- simplified. It doesn't blow up to full intensity overnight, with hordes of ragged extras carrying property billhooks thronging through the streets of quaint old Paris. It develops much more gradu- ally and uncertainly, directed first against the cor- rupt and traitorous nobility — the fifth column who are hampering France in her fight against the invader. But the thing has started, and there's no stopping it. Through his weakness and vacillation the king, excellently played by Pierre Renoir, is dragged in. But even then the revolutionaries are very careful to treat him with fairness and re- spect. They only ask that he shall be responsible to the National Assembly. The film ends before the tumbril and knitting-woman stage has been reached. The only aristocrats executed are those who have fired in cold blood on the people. Be- cause the co-operative unit which made the pic- ture could not afford to build grandiose sets. most of the action takes place in genuine sur- roundings, which give an atmosphere tiiat all the Metro millions could not buy. It is a film which deserves more than the faint praise which the critics have given it. Le Dernier Tournant. Director: Pierre Chenal. Actors: Fernand Gravet, Michel Simon, Corinne Luchaire. THIS film also gains immeasurably from the fact that natural settings have been used as much as possible. The Californian filling station of "The Postman Always Knocks Twice" has been translated into French and perched on a bend of one of those roads which wind steeply up from the coast into the hinterland of the Alpes Mari- times. It's all there in the flesh, so to speak, no back-projection, and most of the light supplied by the Mediterranean sun. The fullest use has been made of what the credit title calls the camion sonore, so that the dialogue scenes have the same natural quality as the rest. The story is basically the same as that of "The Postman", but the characters are not Mr Cain's characters, not by a long chalk. They are much more concerned with sentiment, and the human implications of their actions. They even take the trouble to ex- plain their motives to each other. Perhaps violent action, if speechless, just looks dumb to a Frenchman. Whatever the reason, the film benefits from it. All the acting is well up to standard, with Michel Simon a head or so in front of the rest. ■■Mm ■m^di 'inM Eijdlfi cf.M Ol'lM lypopu! iBroib! iihBan ;t! il CO) lot tit to aif. tM jual ii'ii HAVE YOU READ aV^ ,.<^^ and the other features in SIGHT AND SOUND? Published by the British Film Institute at 4 GREAT RUSSELL STREET LONDON WCi CINEMATOGRAPHY IS A PRODUCT OF APPLIED SCIENCE The position of the working scientist, the organ- isation and apphcation of scientific research, the place of science in modern civilisation, questions of scientific education and popularisation, are discussed in THE SCIENTIFIC WORKER JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF SCTENTIFIC WORKERS This paper discusses such questions in a non- technical way from the point of view of the scientist himself. Monthly, price 3d. Annual Subscription 4s. PUBLISHED BY THE A.S.W., 30 BEDFORD ROW, W.C.I 16 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 NEWS THEATRES IN WAR-TIME WITH BRITAIN at War News Theatre service will develop in technique and grow in utility. The service of information and entertainment given by the news theatres, rapidly developed during the last years of uneasy peace, can go forward in time of war. News, news documents and good short pictures are available. These are the essen- tial supplies for the maintenance of the service. The function of the news theatres in peace or war is to present them in well balanced pro- grammes and under good conditions. Under war conditions, and war conditions only, news is of necessity censored in the interests of the State — censorship by omission. Providing the import or meaning of news is not changed, this will not affect the utility of the service offered, nor will the public be betrayed. The development of the news theatres has been the outcome of public demand. Its power of ser- vice and influence for good or bad is immeasur- ably greater than if the development had been the result of created demand. Some news theatres are inclined to specialise in the presentation of news in a serious setting, others lean towards a light background, but in either form it can be truly said that an influential public is served, a public interested in aflfairs. The service that can be offered by the news theatre, having in mind the good short pictures that are available today, is as good as the news — and by "as good as the news" I do not mean as pleasant as the news. The British public want strong news. Coronations, jubilees and boat races are grand things for packing the theatres, but experience has shown that whilst the extra visitors who come to see these things are welcome guests, and frequently become the most ardent salesmen and saleswomen in our favour, their visits are annual or bi-annual at the most. The regular visitor comes for a service of actualities, pleasant or unpleasant, presented in a setting of good short pictures. To these basic facts the war has made no difference at all. In time of war, people are still more appre- ciative of the real contact with affairs that the news theatres offer them. Those responsible for running the theatres have definite proof of this. The public also appreciate the great work that is being put into many of the short pictures that are now becoming available.. We know from experience that the life, exten- sion and continuing improvement in service that the news theatres ofter depend upon the regular visitor. A more demoralising reason for existence was never worked out than that news theatres were planned for "the man with an hour to spare". For those seeking evidence in support of the time-wasting idea there is, it is true, an occa- sional small theatre to be found running short programmes, featuring news supported by old pictures of little entertainment or other value. Some of the best news films are being produced By CORRY W. FENNELL in the form of news documents, and some of the best short pictures are being made in document- ary form. The difference between a news docu- ment and a documentary short picture of general interest is that the "high spot" of the former must consist of authentic records of immediate news value, whilst the "high spot" of the latter may be past events — but they must still be of current interest. There is still one more type of documentary film — the film made to show existing effort, existing organisations and existing conditions of life. These films may be brilliant in conception and production, and more important, they may be exactly what is wanted by the public, but un- less they are released without delay and plans are made for immediate showing, there is the almost certain risk that they will be outdated, uninterest- ing, and likely to recoil upon the producers. Whilst it is vital that news film, documentaries and short pictures in general should cover the war and war problems in full, it is absolutely essential that news apart from war should be made the very most of. Purely entertainment films too must receive full measure of attention. The most notable advance in news theatre technique since the beginning of the war is the' addition to programmes of the French Official War News. Journal de Guerre is documentary news in form — a detailed and intense study of life and action on the land and sea fronts of France. The public want this. News theatres are anxiously awaiting the next and obvious opportunity to move forward — the public are wanting pictures about the British Army, Navy and Air Force — and about Britain's war effort. New pictures only are wanted — old ones are useless. DOCUMENTARY BOOKINGS FOR JUNE {The following bookings for June are selected from a list covering its members supplied by the News and Specialised Theatres Association.) African Skyways News Theatre, Leeds 17th-22nd Tatler, Chester 24th-29th All Hands (Anti-gossip Film) Eros News Theatre, Piccadilly, London 3rd- 5th Waterloo News Theatre, London 6th- 9th World's News Theatre, London 13th-16th News Theatre, Bristol 17th-22nd Classic, Croydon 23rd-26th Embassy, Netting Hill Gate, London 23rd-26th Classic, Hammersmith, London 24th-26th Animal Geography Tatler, Manchester 24th-29th Birth of the Year Classic, Tooting, London I6th-19th Britain's Life Line Topical News Cinema, Aberdeen 3rd- 8th Dangerous Comment (Anti-gossip Film) Waterloo News Theatre, London I3th-I6th News Theatre, Birmingham 17th-22nd Victoria News Theatre, London 20th-22nd Fingers and Thumbs Topical News Cinema, Aberdeen 24th-29th Classic, Croydon 27th-29th Fitness Wins: No. I News Theatre, Leeds I7th-22nd Tatler, Manchester 17th-22nd Gullible Gull Tatler. Chester 3rd- 8th llousepainter Waterloo News Theatre, London 6th- 9th Inside Goods Classic, Baker Street. London 9th-12lh March of Time: No. 1! Classic, Tooting, London 2nd- 5th Classic, Croydon I3th-I6th Classic, Southampton I6th-20th World's New Theatre. London 20th-24lh March of Time: No. 12 Topical News Cinema, Aberdeen 15th-20th Classic, Baker Street, London 27th-30th Vogue, Mile End, London 27th 30th March of Time; No. 13 Tatler News Theatre, Liverpool Tatler, Manchester The News House, Newcastle-on-Tyne Premier News Theatre, Bournemouth March of Time: No. 1 (Sixth year) Victoria News Theatre, London Waterloo News Theatre. London Eros, Piccadilly, London Classic, Baker Street, London North Sea Classic, Hammersmith, London Now You're Talking (Anti-gossip Film) News The.itre. Birmingham News Theatre, Bristol Victoria News Theatre, London World's News Theatre, London Our Fighting Navy Waterloo News Theatre, London Classic, Tooting, London Point of View No. 3 Classic, Hendon, London Point of View No. 6 Classic. Southampton Classic, Croydon Point of View No. 7 News Theatre, Leeds The News House, Newcastle-on-Tyne Point of View No. 5 Premier News Theatre, Bournemouth Reporter in Soho Victoria News Theatre, London Ring of Steel Classic, Croydon The News House, Newcastle-on-Tyne Sh:idow in the .Stream Tatler, Chester The City News Theatre, Leeds The Islanders News Theatre, Leeds These Children are Safe Tatler, Chester The Sea Breaks Through Vogue, Tooting, London 1 -' sn-ti C,B. I7th-22nd 24th-29th 24th-29th 17th-22nd I0lh-I7th I0th-17th 10th-17th 13th- 1 5th 9th- 1 2th 3rd- 8tJ 3rd- 8th] 6th- 8th 20th-23rd 20th-23rd, 20th-23rd 3rd- 6th pi 6th- 8tb| 6ih- 8th' 24th-29thJ., 24th-29tbr lOth-lSth 17th-I9tl! 9th-12ffl 17th-22od lOth-lStl I0th-15tt 24th-29ll 10th-15d 13th-ISU DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 17 BRITISH DOCUMENTARY ACTIVITY 'SMI Icmer absoli' should otainm »illK »aris qOSo itten ■HE G.p.o. HLM UNIT, now officially a part of he Ministry of Information, has followed up its 'quadron 992 (which still has not been seen by e public; why not?) with Jennings' agriculture ilm Spring Offensive. David Macdonald's light- hips film is being cut and Holmes is back from he Mediterranean with material for his Merchant Jervice film. Cavalcanti, as noted elsewhere in his issue, is loaned to the Ealing Studios for a tory-film. G.B. Instructional reports that Mary Field's 'ivilian Front has been delivered to the Ministry ^'^'^ nd their economics film is reviewed elsewhere. .«on Schauder, the young South African now ■™'S' mder Bruce Woolfe's wing, has finished cutting ^acock's two non-theatrical films for the Inter- lational Wool Secretariat and has begun films on 'orts and on Shipbuilding, both officially spon- .•le BraMored films. The all-diagram film Empire Round he Atlantic for the British Council is almost iii!e(l-(Jpady. At Realist Film Unit, John Taylor is preparing o make a Railways in Wartime film with Arthur Iton producing. Ruby Grierson is scripting a lumber of food films for the British Commercial 3as Association under Film Centre's super- /ision, and Rotha has now a show-copy of The ''ourth Estate. Final work is being done on the Film Centre ■"'^ *port for P.E.P. and dealing with the impact bf the war on British democracy. The four Scenarios — Public Opinion, Evacuation, Food, ind Leisure — are finished. J. D. Davidson (having finished his seven-reel ;echnical oil film) and Ralph Bond are working with Strand Films, the former to make a Bren Gun film under Elton's supervision, the latter to make Overground Underground, a transport film. "'^I Ellitt has been shooting for Fitness which will Jpave a commentary by C. B. Fry. The Shell Film Unit reports much activity. Ciiiemagazine No. 5 is complete, as is a hospitals *^ film. Spanish and Portugese versions of eleven films are being finished by Geoftrey Bell, and J j Baylis is making a tractor film with Edgar Anstey producing. ju^i March of Time's B.E.F. Unit is back from France and is shooting training sequences in Eng- land. Another of its units is getting material here for an item on the American Press and its foreign correspondents in France and Britain. Slocombe, who shot material for Kline in Poland, was in Holland for A/o/c/jo/T/we, but escaped the Nazis. BOOK REVIEWS Shooting Without Stars. Cliflbrd Hornby. Hut- chinson. \6s. Illustrated. MR HORNBY is a Cameraman whose job has taken him to India, Africa and Iran. This book is concerned with his experiences on his travels, eked out with a chapter on his apprenticeship to the film industry, and another on location- shooting in England. It is for the most part a pleasantly written string of anecdotes about the amusing things which happen from time to time on production, the things which become part of the folk-lore of studio canteen gossip; how a revolving turntable made Madeleine Carroll sick ; how, in a battle scene, a soldier got bayonetted in mistake for a dummy; and about the time Wally Basco was gaoled as a soldier of the Red Army by the Latvian police. It must be said that some of these stories have a greater significance for Mr Hornby himself than they have for the general public, but others are worth telling any- where. From time to time the book gets com- pletely away from movie-making, and it is only then that Mr Hornby's well-developed powers of observation are able to have full play. On these occasions he shows a real capacity for describing vividly and with sensibility the life and scenery of the countries he visits. For these passages alone the book is worth reading. Roads to Citizenship: Issued under the auspices of the Association for Education in Citizenship. O.xford University Press. \s. 6d. A STIMULATING booklet on various methods of informal education in citizenship. The methods discussed include study circles, debates, com- missions, B.B.C. talks, and newspaper analyses: regional surveys and "projects", civic weeks and exhibitions, films and drama. Three new Points of View: Why Work Anyway?, Man or Machine, and What is Federation? — are ready for trade show by Spectator Short Films under Ivan Scott's direction. He asks it to be put on record that he is a Scotsman and not a "young Londoner" as frequently stated. CORRESPONDENCE sir; In the May issue of the documentary NEWS letter you ask a few questions in regard to Squadron 992 which is a Ministry of Information short, and, whilst I am unable to answer your questions, I do, as an exhibitor, ask some of my own, which I hope you will be able to answer for me. One short, which has received very excellent reports, not only as entertainment, but on its value as prestige and propaganda, I regret to say has not been offered to me for exhibition in any of my cinemas. In regard to other shorts of this class, I wrote to the renting organisation handling them on the 9th April last, and received a reply dated the 11th April informing me that arrangements for the release dates were then being discussed and that as soon as they were definitely fixed I should be informed. A few days ago, a month after my application to show the films, I am now able to book them. Whilst I cannot speak for the exhibiting trade as a whole, I would like you to know that as an exhibitor, I feel it is my duty to put any and all of these subjects on my screen. They are being made with a sound object, and whether they turn out good or bad, or whether their cost of produc- tion is criticised, it does not alter the object for which they were made which is to show them to the public, and therefore I consider it my duty in serving the public to show them at the earliest opportunity. F. w. allwood London and Provincial Cinemas Ltd., 150 Southampton Row, W.C.I. A DECADE IN THE SERVICE OF DOCUMENTARY AND— AS EVER— ALWAYS READY TO CARRY OUT COMPETENTLY, EXPEDITIOUSLY AND OBLIGINGLY EVERY REQUIREMENT THAT CAN BE USEFULLY PROVIDED BY A MODERN LABORATORY PREVIEW THEATRE (R.C.A.) and PRIVATE CUTTING ROOMS TELEPHONE: 1366 GERRARD STUDIO FILM LABORATORIES L™ 80-82 WARDOUR STREET & 71 DEAN STREET, LONDON, W.l 18 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 " FILM LIBRARIES Borrowers of films are asked to apply as mucli in advance as possible, to give alternative booking dates, and to return the filins immediately after use. H. A hire charge is made. F. Free distribution. Sd. Sound. St. Silent. Association of Scientific Workers, 30 Bedford Row, W.C.I. Scientific Film Committee. Graded List of Films. A list of scientific films from many sources, classified and graded for various types of audience. On request, Committee will give ad- vice on programme make-up, choice of films, to prospective users. Austin Film Library, Longbridge, Birmingham. 24 films of motoring interest, industrial, technical & travel. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. British Commercial Gas Association, Gas Indus- try House, 1 Grosvenor Place, S.W.I. Films on social subjects, domestic science, manufacture of gas. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & a few St. F. British Council Film Department, 25 Savile Row, W. 1. Films of Britain, 1940. Catalogue for overseas use only but provides useful synopses of 100 sound & silent documentary films. British Film Institute, 4 Great Russell Street, W.C. 1 . (a) National Film Library. An important collection of documentary & other films. Avail- able only to full members of B.F.L 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd, & St. H. {b) Some British and Foreign Documentary and other Short Films. A general list of films and sources, (c) Early Films. Films 1896-1934 still available in Britain. Coal Utilisation Joint Council, General Buildings, Aldwych, London, W.C. 2. Films on production of British coal & miners' welfare. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. F. Crookes' Laboratories, Gorst Road, Park Royal, N.W.IO. Colloids in Medicine. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. F. Dartington Hall Film Unit, Totnes, South Devon. Classroom films on regional & economic geography. 16 mm. St. H. Educational General Services, Little Holt, Mer- ton Lane, Highgate, N.6. A wide selection of films, particularly of overseas interest. Some prints for sale. 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Electrical Development Association, 2 Savoy Hill, Strand, W.C. 2. Four films of electrical interest. Further films of direct advertising appeal are available only through members of the Associa- tion. 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Empire Film Library, Imperial Institute, S.W.7. Films primarily of Empire interest. With a useful subject index. 1 6 mm. & a few 35 mm. Sd. & St. F. Ensign Film Library, 88-89 High Holborn, London, W.C.I. Wide selection of all types of films including fiction, comedies, documentaries, films of geography, animal life, industry. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. St. & a few Sd. H. Film Centre, 34 Soho Square, W. 1 . Mouvements Vibratoires. A film on simple harmonic motion. French captions. 35 mm. & 16 mm. St. H. Gaumont-British Equipments, Film House, War- dour Street, W.l. Many films on scientific sub- jects, geography, hygiene, history, language, natural history, sport. Also feature films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. &St. H. G.P.O. Film Library, Imperial Institute, S.W.7. Over 100 films, mostly centred round communi- cations. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Kodak, Ltd., Kingsway, W.C. 2. (a) Kodascope Library. Instructional, documentary, feature, western, comedy. Strong on early American comedies. 16 mm. & 8 mm. St. H. (A separate List of Educational Films, extracted from the above, is also published. A number of films have teaching notes.) (b) Medical Film Library. Circu- lation restricted to members of medical profes- sion. Some colour films. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. St. H. CATALOGUE OF THE MONTH Wallace Heaton, Ltd., 127 New Bond Street, W.l. Silent 16 mm. Films. DO YOU remember Leatrice Joy, Reginald Denny, Laura La Plante, Lloyd Hamilton, Sue Carol, William Boyd? Do you remember when one used sometimes to go to the pictures, not for the star or for the picture itself, but because of the sub-title writer? George Marion and Herman Mankiwiez (if that is how his name was spelt) were box-ofiice draws in their own right. Do you remember the orchestral effects? Half coconuts for galloping horses, hand rattles for machine guns, and a special machine to make the noise of aeroplane engines. If so, the Wallace Heaton catalogue is for you, for it is the only catalogue which lists a really wide selection of American, Russian and British silent feature films of the twenties. Here you will find (and revel in, 1 hope) The Rose of Paris (Mary Philbin), Skinner's Dress Suit and California Straight Ahead (Reginald Denny and Laura La Plante), The Goose Woman (Louise Dresser), The Texas Streak (Hoot Gib- son), Square Deal Sanderson (Bill Hart), and The Marriage Cheat (Leatrice Joy and Adolphe Menjou). For these we can forgive the inclusion of The Vortex, The Light Woman, and a few other films better forgotten. And why is Larry Semon's name and a description omitted from The Wizard of Oz, Larry Semon's greatest comedy, and his only feature film? Besides the Americans, the catalogue lists The General Line, Mother, Battleship Potemkin, Waxworks, Warning Shadows and The White Hell ofPitz Palu. Nor are comedies forgotten. Do you remember Dorothy de Vor, woman slap-stick cum acrobatic star? Her Navy Blues is listed along with Chaplins, Lloyd Hamiltons, Larry Semons, Hardys (with Bobby Vernon and not Laurel), Harold Lloyds (particularly Safety Last), and Buster Keatons. Finally, the cartoons should not be overlooked, Felixs, early Mickcys and Mutt and Jeff. This catalogue is as necessary to the film historian as to the seeker after memories. Now that old films are nearly as rare as Egyptian papyri, the Heaton collection must be the only source of many of them, for it covers different ground from that covered by the Film Institute. March of Time, Dean House, 4 Dean Street W.l. Selected March of Time items, including Inside Nazi Germany, New Schools for Old. America Thinks it Over. 16 mm. Sd. H. Mathematical Films. Available from B. G. D Salt, 5 Carlingford Road, Hampstead, N.W.3 Five mathematical films suitable for senioi classes. 16 mm. & 9.5 mm. St. H. Metropolitan- Vickers Electrical Co., Ltd., Traf ford Park, Manchester 17. Planned Electrifica- tion, a film on the electrification of the winding & surface gear in a coal mine. Available foi showing to technical & educational groups 16 mm. Sd. F. Pathescope, North Circular Road, Cricklewood. N.W.2. Wide selection of silent films, including cartoons, comedies, drama, documentary, travel sport. Also good selection of early American & German films. 9.5 mm. Sd. & St. H. Petroleum Films Bureau, 15 Hay Hill, Berkelej Square, W.l. Twenty technical & documentarj films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Religious Film Library, 104 High Holborn, W.C.I. Films of religious & temperance appeal ' also list of supporting films from other sources | 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. I I Scottish Central Film Library, 2 Newton Place Charing Cross, Glasgow, C.3. A wide selectior of teaching films from many sources. Contain.' ' some silent Scots films not listed elsewhere Library available to groups in Scotland only , 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Sound-Film Services, 10 Park Place, Cardiff Library of selected films including Massingham'j And So to Work & Pollard's Dragon of Hales Rome and Sahara have French commentaries 16 mm. Sd. H. Southern Railway, General Manager's Office Waterloo Station, S.E.I. Seven films (one ir colour) including Building an Electric Coach South African Fruit (Southampton Docks tc Covent Garden), & films on seaside towns 16 mm. St. F. Strand Film Company, 5a Upper St. Martin'; Lane, W.C. 2. Eleven films available for non- theatrical distribution including Aerial Mile- stones, Chapter and Verse, Give the Kids a Break. \ & a number of others of Empire & genera jj interest, including 3 silent Airways films. MostljjB 35 mm. Sd. A few 16 mm. St. F. Wallace Heaton, Ltd., 127 New Bond Street W.l. Three catalogues. Sound 16 mm., sileni 16 mm., silent 9.5 mm. Sound catalogue containS| number of American feature films, includin Thunder Over Mexico, & some shorts. Silent Itl mm. catalogue contains first-class list of early! American, German & Russian features & shorts 9.5 catalogue has number of early German film^ & wide selection of early American & Englisl slapstick comedies. 1 6 mm. & 9.5 mm. Sd. & St . H Workers' Film Association, 145 Wardour Street! W.l. Films of democratic & co-operative in-j terest. Notes & suggestions for complete prM grammes. Some prints for sale. 35 mm. & 16 mm.| Sd. & St. H. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JUNE 1940 19 a KODASGOPE" EE (A.C. EDUCATIONAL MODEL) scores full marks for 16 mm. classroom, projection CUURUIfl f Low cost of machine due to efficient up-to-date design and elimination of redundant parts. Low running costs result of 300-watt lamp, advanced optical system, wide aperture lens (2" fl.6), which combine to give brighter screen picture than is common with lamps of higher consumption. The lamp is not over- run. Lamp can be switched off during rewinding. dllllrLlulll "Kodascope" is easy to thread up and handle. Controls reduced to a minimimi. Torpedo spindle-ends simplify fitting of reels. Power rewind controlled by single movement. Optical framing device avoids necessity for re-adjusting projection angle after framing. Carrying case serves as firm projection stand. Built-in transformer enables "Kodascope" to be operated from any normal A.C. electricity supply, from 100-250 volts. Price, including accessories, ;(^30 Particulars of special discounts granted to educational authorities on request. "Kodascopes" for D.C. circuits also available. The Booklet ^'Motion Pictures in Education" This handsome 40-page illustrated brochure gives practical advice on the use of the film in the classroom, and includes details of Kodak 16 mm. cameras and projectors suitable for educational use. There is a section on producing cine films at school, by a headmaster who has made a special study of this work, and an appendix on 'stilf photography in education. A list contains 700 specially selected films of educational value which can be hired and/or bought outright. Both booklets free on request. Write to KODAK LTD. (EDUCATIONAL DEPT. D.N.) WEALDSTONE . HARROW . MIDDLESEX AN EXAMPLE OF PLANNED PROPAGANDA EMPIRE FILM WEEK THE TATLER THEATRE CHARING CROSS ROAD MAY 19th MAY 25th A TOPICAL PRESENTATION CONSISTING ENTIRELY OF DOCUMENTARY FILMS PRODUCED BY THE STRAND FILM COMPANY "MEN OF AFRICA" "FIVE FACES" "WINGS OVER EMPIRE" The London presentation of "Empire Film Week" was the forerunner of many similar shows, as arrange- ments have been made for this programme to be shown at cinemas all over Great Britain. ilii THE STRAND FILM COMPANY DONALD TAYLOR, Managing Director. ALEXANDER SHAW, Director of Productions 5a UPPER ST. MARTIN'S LANE, W.C.2. Merton Park Studios: 269 KINGSTON ROAD, S.W.19 Oh ned and published by Film Centre Ltd., 34 Soho Square, London, IV. \, and printed by Siimon Shjnd Ltd., The Slienval Press, London and Hertford NEWS LEHER CO VOL 1 No 7 PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY FILM CENTRE 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W1 FOURPENCE 1 NOTES OF THE MONTH 3 GO TO it! An editorial on the immediate urgency for film propaganda 5 VISUAL NOTATION The use of film in mathematical instruction 6 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS 9 CHILDREN AS FILM CRITICS 9 STORY FILM OF THE MONTH — Gaslight 10 THE HOME OF TRAVEL FILMS 13 DOCUMENTARY IN THE UNITED STATES 15 REAR-GUARD FILMING A cameraman's experience in Poland and Holland 16 FILM SOCIETY NEWS 17 THE REPERTORY CINEMA TO-DAY 17 DOCUMENTARY FILM BOOKINGS 18 FILM LIBRARIES Cobwebs and Bluster !lT WOULD APPEAR that One of the troubles in the Films Division of the Ministry of Information is one which has been only too common in other Government Departments during the War^a deficiency in the quality of certain members of the Civil Service personnel. In those cases where the per- ;sonnel in question has already been removed it is true that Tecrimination would serve no good purpose. But at the time of writing the Films Division has not yet been freed of the trammels of wrongly-allocated staff. In general there would seem to be two characteristics which prevent planning and action. Firstly, the smugness of established civil servants who, by some psychological aberration, have refused to adjust themselves to the rapid tempo and the iconoclastic urgencies j of a total war ; this smugness, entrenched behind a barricade \ of precedent, procedure and prejudice, can do much to il hamper, and often to prevent, the putting into action of plans which should have immediate priority over the niggling claims of red-tape and of official hierarchies. The second characteristic has been acutely analysed by J. B. Priestley, who says, "It is the refuge of the man who hates democracy, reasonable argu- ment, give-and-take, tolerance, patience, and a humorous equality . . . who loves bluster and swagger . . . plotting in back rooms, shouting and bullying. ... It is not really a balanced attitude of mind at all. It belongs to those people who cannot find their way out of adolescence, who are really overgrown, self-tormenting schoolboys, who may be middle-aged, but are really at heart so many Dead End Kids." The Need for Action THE CHARACTERISTICS outUned above have done a great deal to stultify any reasonable efforts at progress on the part of the more enlightened members of the Films Division of the Ministry of Information. And as long as this "Sixth Column" remains — however small numerically — nothing that Messrs Duff-Cooper or Harold Nicolson may do or ilA DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 order will have any practical effect. The barricades of procedure and precedent must be blown up without delay ; and any persons who tally with Priestley's analysis must be moved to posts in which they are less liable to interfere with the War Effort. The law of libel naturally prevents us from amplifying further. In the meantime, the entire British Film Industry is wait- ing and willing to be mobilised ; and for a wider view of the situation we refer our readers to our leading article. Finally, we hope that by the time this appears in print both Sir Kenneth Clark and J. L. Beddington will have been freed from the shackles which have been for too long allowed to impede their progress. Once freed, it is up to them to show their paces. To-day and To-morrow THE URGENCIES of the battlefield and the shift of events inevitably lead to an ad hoc propaganda policy geared to the needs of the moment, and as the war situation increases in intensity, the theory behind propaganda sinks into the back- ground. The authorities responsible for the national propa- ganda effort begin more and more to be satisfied if they can get something quickly on to the screens and newspapers and the radio. In fact, the scramble of contemporary events shakes the foundations of propaganda. It is time to re-affirm that no matter how desperate the war situation, the propa- ganda and information machine must be treated with the same seriousness as the production of shells and tanks. It is, indeed, not a second hne but a first line of defence. The danger lies in the fact that propaganda and public information is an impalpable thing. We do not at first notice its absence. Even if it is present, no one can easily get an inkling into its success or failure. The work of the Ministry of Supply can be measured in terms of millions of bullets, thousands of shells, tens and hundreds of aeroplanes and tanks. The work of the Ministry of Information cannot be measured. For that reason, it is no one's business in particular to see that it carries out its essential work efficiently. The citizen and the newspaper can easily and successfully protest at a shortage of shells ; they cannot so easily point out a wrong line of propaganda. The Importance of Road Shows IF THE INTENSIFICATION of the war causcs either the com- pulsory closing of cinemas in certain areas, or, for that matter, a fall in audience figures sufficient to put some houses out of business, there is much importance to be attached to the use of travelling cinema vans. A big fleet of these, constantly touring the country, could supply weekly and up-to-date films of an informational or morale nature to the population. If these vans were properly supplied with new and up-to-date material, much of which could be designed from the non- theatrical viewpoint, their value would be very great. Have any plans been made? Evacuation? WE HOPE that there is also a plan on the files of the Films Division for keeping film production machinery in being should conditions arise which render production in London difficult or impossible. The production of films to give essential [A ipon itIOE kar spa; may iiJa information to the public in visual terms, and to sustain morale, would be more than ever important under blitzkrieg conditions. An evacuation plan for a film production centre clearly should form a part of any general evacuation scheme for the Govern- ment services. To instal a complete production unit outside London would not be difficult but it would need considerable advance planning. "Be Careful, Girls!" ATTACHED TO the newsreels exhibited during the week ending June 15th was a short film instructing the public what to do in the event of meeting an incendiary bomb. We are shown a little cylinder, which we are told is an incendiary bomb ; its fall on a house is staged and we see a room in flames. The use of a stirrup pump is explained, and the family turns out to extinguish the incendiary bomb. We see the head of the household working the stirrup pump, expressing boredom at being made to work so hard. The incendiary bomb is put out in a very few moments, and everyone is so lighthearted that we are unable to take the episode in the least seriously. We are left with the impression that an incendiary bomb is rather an exciting toy and that it is great fun to put it out. What is the good of making propaganda films at aU if one cannot carry them out with taste and a sense of reality? _. , Grapes Again WE RECENTLY disCUSSed (DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER, March)|,,i an attack on the film version of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, which appeared in The Motion Picture Herald {ono^ of the most influential trade newspapers in the U.S.A.). Since then the, film in question has earned full laurels ; but as a postscript we record a peculiar move which took place in Hamden, Connecticut, U.S.A., and which is reported in The Motion Picture Herald for May 18th. It appears that after the end|; title of the film a short trailer was added (described as a "new, added, happy, encouraging, yet truthful ending"), suggesting to the audience that the Dust Bowl problem no longer existed., Stop Press AS WE GO to press the appointment of Sidney Bernstein toi the Films Division of the Ministry of Information is announced This news has been welcomed by all sections of the fil industry. Bernstein is not only an important figure as am exhibitor, but also has studied all sides of the film industry. It should also be remembered that the Film Society movement in the country owes him an incalculable debt. His appoint- ment is the most encouraging sign of the past few months Comings and Goings ONCE AGAIN we announce changes on the Editorial Board.' Paul Rotha and William Farr have both resigned, the lattei^ to take up a post at the Films Division of the Ministry oJ Information. The fofmer's absence will be keenly felt, as h« did much to organise and establish documentary news LETTER in its early stages. In their place we are very glad tc announce that Donald Taylor and John Taylor have joined the board \ DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 lldlOou Govei sideral itodo GO TO IT! "We have conducted our propaganda through many channels and in increasing volume, and our leaflets and other publications have amounted to many milHons of copies every week. If we have to some extent hastened the end, it is due to the fact that we are a company of experts and enthusiasts, and from the outset there has been a concentration of purpose born of complete unity. . . . Ours has been a bloodless campaign and a costless one. 1 wish we had embarked upon it at an earlier stage of the war." Lord NorthcIiflFe, November 10th, 1918 "Good propaganda probably saved a year of war, and this meant the saving of thousands of millions of money and fflait probably at least a milUon hves." astim woili to«oi r A MOMENT when the physical and military menace of our pponents is demanding all the physical and military cbncen- ation that the nation can achieve, it may be felt that there is 0 harm in continuing our policy of the last few years by letting ropaganda go by default. In the urgencies of the moment, may be said, there is not time to try and convert our propa- ftnda machine from its gentlemanly, laissez-faire, and , ckadaisical attitude. Nothing could be more pernicious than ich a suggestion. Both Mr Duff Cooper and Mr Harold ' [icolson have shown already, in a number of admirable ; roadcasts, that they are fully alive to the imperative necessity i_f redoubling and reshaping our propaganda drive. Their . Miuj roadcasts are, as it were, a heartening interim report issued fitWd J ^j^e intervals of cleaning out the Augean stables of the inemci Ministry of Information — a task in which few who have had loentl eaUngs with that organisation will envy them. bcnpn I It is a task which must be quickly and thoroughly carried Wink ut, and we earnestly hope that most of the Divisions will be i \lm 5und to be comparatively free at least of the inefficiency, ritieti luddleheadedness and bureaucratic stupidity of the Films y^"^^ )ivision. In ten months this Division has achieved a mere Mpi -action of what it should have achieved. Its lack of iretiiW nagination, no less than its abysmal failure to be even ompetent at its job, have been the despair of all persons in le film trade who sincerely want to place their expert abilities fjsieini It the disposal of the national effort. The present situation ,noi)DC9 1 fact cannot continue. Either films are to be used properly [ilielil in a large scale plan suited to the extreme urgency of the ,^ a>i tioment ; or the Films Division should close down immediately uJuslP ;efore it wastes any more public money. ^jiveija I There are few people in the film business who do not believe tiat a proper plan could be put into operation with great ^jni!! apidity. Plans of various types have been submitted by film eople at regular intervals since last September. Not all of tiem, perhaps, were perfect ; some indeed may have been tupid ; but there can be no doubt that a competent department lealing with Film Propaganda could have evolved, with expert Jidvice, a suitable working plan as long ago as last October. |\t the time of writing no plan worth the name has been nnounced. This slowness and inefficiency would seem to be one of the nany symptoms of our failure in propaganda over the last few ears, particularly in comparison with Dr Goebbels' highly d liwstr;-: lel!, 3i av ^f "The Times", October 31st, 1918 successful factory of lies and perversions. The German system, organised down to the last detail, has been enormously effective both in inculcating a high and almost fanatical morale into the German people and in percolating forceful Nazi propa- ganda not only into neutral countries, but into our own. If Goebbels can do so well with a negative bias, how much should Britain not be able to do with a positive? This is no place, nor perhaps is this the time, to restate the full theory of modern propaganda. But it may be pertinent to repeat the truism that modern warfare involves propaganda in three fields. Firstly, the attempt to destroy the morale of the enemy ; secondly, the attempt to enlist at least the sympathy of non-belligerents; and thirdly (though by no means least im- portantly) to maintain morale and enlightenment on the home front. During the war of 1914-1918 the Allies were highly success- ful in the first method. The quotations at the head of this article refer largely to the triumphs achieved in fomenting first un- certainty, then discontent, and finally revolution in Germany. How far our present radio propaganda, and the leaflet raids earlier in the war, are achieving a similar success it is of course impossible to estimate at the moment. But it is certain that Nazi organisation is making any such campaigns far more difficult than in the last war. Allied propaganda in the last war was superior to the propa- ganda of the enemy and consequently was able to take the offensive from the start and to retain the initiative. It was able quickly to win the campaign at home and then to carry the fight to the enemy and beat him on his own ground. Hitler has never forgotten this lesson, and the attention devoted in "Mein Kampf" to the war-time role of propaganda should have warned us that when Hitler went to war he would not be content to remain on the defensive in his propaganda. The principles which he laid down have now been put into practice. His home propaganda campaign was fought and won before his military campaign began. He attacked and destroyed every rallying point for democratic sentiment by censorship, persecution and terror, and consoUdated the position of Nazi ideology by representing it, not as a defensive philosophy of national conservation, but as an aggressive movement which would bring material and spiritual benefit to the German people. Thus Hitler planned to assure home morale during the DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 period of the short war which he planned. But his pre-war propaganda did not stop there. He sought also to strike at the morale of his chosen enemies in advance of the outbreak of hostilities. He sought to utilise the domestic discontents of the democratic powers to undermine national unity and purpose. Today some Allied statesmen affect to be amazed at the omni- presence and power of the Fifth Column. Their amazement is a measure only of their own gullibility and blindness, for Hitler has made no secret of his propaganda methods, and no country which is now the victim of them has not been warned of their danger by its more enlightened and more honest citizens. Yet Nazi success in the propaganda war is due less to the Nazi propaganda offensive in Allied and neutral countries and to Fifth Column plots than it is to the deficiencies of the democracies' own propaganda. The democracies have attempted no counter-offensive and, in fact, scarcely have defended themselves. There has been no co-ordinated plan to rival Nazi propaganda in neutral countries by presenting the achievements and future prospects of the democratic ideology. At home, democracy has not been inter- preted as an instrument of social construction. The citizens of democratic communities have been asked to assume that the system under which they live, a system with obvious present defects, is worthy of the utmost sacrifice. There has been no rallying call to democracy as a means to social advance, no attempt to tell the world that democracy was fighting not merely to defend, but to build. It may be argued that it is now too late to inaugurate a plan of long-term democratic propaganda, that our public informa- tion and propaganda services must now devote all their ener- gies to the immediate needs of a desperate national fight for life. Yet a nation fighting desperately to defend the present, lacks the inspiration which springs from a vision of the future. Now, more than ever, it is necessary to repair past errors and fortify national morale with an articulation of democratic citizenship as a constructive force which can mould the future. Under the threat of the blitzkrieg there is danger that the film may be regarded, because of the complexity of its pro- duction and distribution, as too difficult and too slow a chan- nel of public communication. Yet for instruction in many of the details of home defence, for the distribution of certain information and as a mirror in which democracy may con- template and be inspired by its own epic struggle, the film has no rival, indeed no substitute. In spite of the present example of the Ministry of Information, films can be made quickly and under emergency conditions. They can be shown widely under emergency conditions. Films can still be made and used how- ever serious the disorganisation of national life may become — if the Ministry of Information chooses to make and use them. It is not too late to turn to account the final advantage which democracy holds over fascism, an advantage which in itself is sufficient to give us victory. Fascism must set the presentation of its ideological case to the world against a background of ignorance and suppression of fact : democracy can call in to its support all the powers of the free mind, free to select and inter- pret to the world the sum of human knowledge and experience. And at this moment to present to ourselves and to the world 5pO Oil 'I it:c the mind and face of a free people is no academic indulgence it is not even remote from the agonising daily problems of th( Allied peoples. To show in factual detail these problems, anc their practical solution by communal effort, is to revea democracy still at work. And to show democracy at work is tc reap the moral advantage of taking, at long last, the offensive in the war of propaganda. To emphasise the constructiv< aspects of democratic citizenship, even in defence against i blitzkrieg, is to look forward to the world beyond war: it is t( regard democratic citizenship as an instrument, not only o national defence but as an instrument of international con struction. It sets against the fascist denial of individual re sponsibility, the creative responsibility of the democratic citizen In our policy of public information by press, radio and filn we can inform every account of fact, every appeal, ever instruction, with the explicit affirmation of the creative re sponsibility of the democratic citizen. It has long been abundantly clear that our use of films in thi: totalitarian war must be comprehensive and highly organised i it is not to be worse than useless. Neither Treasury inhibition nor petty vanities must be allowed to stand in the way of il{,| medium whose powers for the present purpose cannot for ;, moment be denied. There are indications already that tbi Films Division has awoken to the need of short weekly itemS' to go to all cinemas, on a basis of information, instruction, o morale purposes. But there are no indications so far that th Films Division realises the many other fields which need to b, exploited with just as much urgency and just as much punch The Division has in its possession plans which cover ever field of propaganda effort, from long-term prestige films rigb down to the day by day recording of the war. But throug slowness and inefficiency it is stultifying even its own hali hearted efforts to meet the varied needs of propaganda an^ morale. What about films for the Dominions? for the Colonies for non-belligerents, particularly in the New World? Wha about technical films for the Services? What about the educa tion and instruction of the youth of the nation in oUj greatest crisis? What about counter-propaganda? What abouj u the daily problems of the housewife and the allotment holdei ^ What about the need to resolve quickly and simply the puzzle ment and doubts which the great and crowding events of ever week must bring even to the most balanced and serene us? The answer is, we are afraid, too familiar. Plans are eithe "under consideration" ; or a few films have been put int production in a scattered and speculative manner — a few filaj which bureaucratic delays and inefficiency will hold-up for s long that they will have lost most of their point by the tiff they reach the screen. The answer, in fact, is that the authoriti«i have not learnt how to act either quickly or decisively — li| alone how to reorientate propaganda necessities within tl framework of a permanent plan. Heaven knows we have message. Is it too much, after ten months of fooling, to a the Films Division bo find a method of presenting it? It has been claimed that the Films Division is stultified \ lack of co-operation on the part of the film trade or by peti jealousies in Wardour Street. Even if that were true once, it certainly not true now. Not only are compulsory powers avi k- !tl DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 Ms oft ble, but everyone in the film trade is waiting to be given the lance to help. There has never been more goodwill ; never, has there been more dissatisfaction. It may be that the Films Division has a plan. If so, why does not inform the Film Industry, which is ready and waiting for to rev »orkii lofe ill mobilisation at an hour when the use of film is of vital "^'^ iportance? And if, by the time these words appear, action has 5231113 ariilii IK been taken and these criticisms are no longer valid, the reader will be at least assured that, in one small branch of the war effort, the maximum efliiciency has at last been attained. There is no time for delay. The choice is simple. Are films to be used? If so, use them. If not, release the film makers from their heart- breaking inactivity, and free them to serve the needs of close- pressed democracy in other ways. tKcitJj ;. Dandl f' eal. w ■Qtive VISUAL NOTATION An article by Robert Fairthorne, expert in mathematical interpretation, who has made a number of film experiments in collaboration with Brian Salt niiini wayd if ndto OST PEOPLE are attracted by the string models in the Science luseum ; the diagrammatic proof that the sum of the' first n dd numbers is the square of n; the connection between slide- ■pniie jjes^ the piano keyboard, and photographic exposure scales ; le fact that creases in crumpled paper must be straight, and le steel tape rules that depend on this principle. The ordinary ™l'i lan apprehends the ideas behind these specimens, but lacks le language to express them. The mathematician understands '^'y'"" le language, but not always the ideas. Visual aids to the nagination can breathe life into the symbols of the mathe- latical manipulator and give new experience and, in modera- on, enjoyment to the layman. Amongst visual aids the film as a place of its own, because the events it can create are free )vere«§j-om the laws of mechanics. Though the film has a place of its own, it does not displace iluoi ther methods. Too many animated diagrams are, in fact, CM In jquences of still pictures, the animation showing where the age is turned over. Films show events, not pictures. Used to Colooi low events the film can create a new world of mathematical rtdJW bjects for illustration and inspiration. To stop at this stage is wasteful. Films are neither cheap 3 produce nor very easy to show. Isolated mathematical ob- ;cts, however beautiful, are not worth while. Mathematics is a ntholil nification, not a collection of curiosities. At the same time, a i\iip Im purporting to show a survey of kinematics, say, in two voie>fleels is ridiculous. The film cannot show abstractions; that is s great virtue. Even if it could, no mind could cope with the fiexorable stream of ideas for more than a minute. The solu- iiti ion is to take some fundamental mathematical idea, invent a ipuii oncrete and simple example of it in action, and develop the jtewi deme so that the whole forms a logical and dramatic sequence l.upfo! [ut the separate parts can be taken by themselves for detailed uhei liscussion from whatever angle the teacher thinks fit. This aulhoii hvolves a theme important enough to stand thorough chewing, ijivelv- nd a presentation that has some immediate visual appeal. ftiihin This leads to the conception of a film as an educational ,e W Instrument like any other lecture apparatus, to be used on i,iioi jniany occasions for many purposes. Commentary or titling ,i' yould tie its application to one approach, one treatment, and jullifiei be level of scholastic attainment, though sound, as such, ^fby|)i bight have value in special cases. .(,|.ce,i j Flexibility and breadth of application can be increased by ,.^er>3« i'aking into account the projector as well as the screen image. ID I ,ere« Variation of the speed of projection, and projection in reverse can be made to have strict mathematical equivalents. A physi- cal example is the reverse projection of two shots, one an ordinary dramatic sequence, the other a flapping flag. The first becomes fantastic; the second is scarcely altered. Why? Similarly, if the shots are cut into short lengths and shuffled. This example illustrates an important physical principle, and also some fundamental ideas in statistics. Note that the details of the shots are irrelevant ; it is the projector itself that becomes the lecture apparatus. The natural interest of most students in cinematograph apparatus need not be wasted. The principle can be carried still further. Because motion on the screen is an illusion, certain motions cannot be repre- sented properly, if at all. Unfortunately the very slow or very rapid motion of precise outlines, that are necessary in mathe- matical films, cannot be shown properly at twenty-four frames a second, and wc are all familiar with the retrograde motion of spoked wheels, due to the "alibi" between successive frames. Yet these very breakdowns of the cinematographic process can be made to correspond exactly with the breakdown of "common-sense" methods when pushed too far in mathematics (or physics). To most students, and many mathematicians, mathematical rigour can look like tiresome pedantry. The film can be made to show that it is not futile. This conception of the whole cinematographic apparatus as a part of educational equipment, and of the showing of an educational film as a "practical class" rather than as the more or less passive watching of a screen image, differs fundament- ally from the theatrical conception of the film. There is no reason why it should not. There are many ways of using the graphic processes ; why not of the cinematographic processes? The main difficulties in the planning of a mathematical film are the choice of a subject ; the visualisation of "unnatural" motions; and the temptation to put gallons into a pint pot. The first is met by a wide knowledge of the subject from more than one angle, combined with reasonable acquaintance with cinematography and animation technique ; the second by sheer hard thought (probably the next generation, better trained visually, will have little difficulty); the third is effectively countered by the difficulty, for the independent producer, of producing any kind of film at all. So, fundamentally, the production of a mathematical film does not differ from the production of any other kind of film. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS Distillation. Production: Arthur Elton. Direc- tion: Peter Baylis. Animation: F. Rodker. Distribution: Non-theatrical. 15 minutes. A silent version is available. By an industrial chemist THIS FILM deals in a simple manner with the practice of distillation applied to the purification of crude petroleum, and is suitable for students of the ages 12 to 16, or audiences with little chemical knowledge. Commencing with shots of the usual labora- tory models of the carbon and hydrogen atoms, the film then gives a conception of the structure of some hydrocarbons. The possible constitution of many of these compounds present in crude oil is built up, and the heterogeneous nature of this oil indicated. The familiar type of bench distillation appara- tus is used to introduce the real purpose of the film. Shots of an actual distillation of a liquid of three components, previously mixed, show clear- ly the operations involved in separation by dis- tillation of liquids of different boiling points. A return to the subject of hydrocarbons is made with the introduction of superimposed titles to indicate the closeness in boiling point of many of these compounds and the difficulty of separation by such simple methods as the previous distilla- tion, or the use of the old type of cascade stills. The procedure in a modern petroleum refinery is illustrated by an animated drawing of a cross- sectional view of a fractionating tower. Separa- tion offractions of known boiling range by means of baffles is shown and their operation explained. By a layman THIS FILM represents, as far as we know, the first attempt that has ever been made to ex- plain the molecular theory by means of film. There is no doubt that it succeeds in making that difficult conception intelligible to the lay mind — in itself a remarkable enough achieve- ment. Yet the film also will stimulate the expert student of the structure of matter by giving visible life to phenomena which previously have been represented only in text-book diagrams. Both layman and expert cannot fail to be excited by the curiously tactile beauty of the model sequences. The animated diagrams are the most ambitious and the best that have ever been made. The film utilises a courageously simple series of visual analogies with complete success. It is at once a source of pride and exasperation that (the world's highest achievement in scientific ■exposition by film should emerge from this be- Jeaguered democracy in June, 1940. Shell Cinemagazine No. 5. Distribution: Non- theatrical, available on 35 mm. and 16 mm. 7 minutes. THE SHELL FILM UNIT distributes copies of its technical films throughout the world in eight languages. From the wilds of Malaya to the mountains of Peru embryonic engineers sit and learn the mysteries of the internal combustion engine and the meaning of oil to the present world, through the efforts of Arthur Elton and his boys. And in getting these films shown so widely they are doing a vital service in propa- ganda. The world has been flooded with German technical and instructional films. The training colleges of such important markets as South America were learning German methods and German thinking. And the long term policy of all this, from the German propaganda angle, was not so much to create a demand for German machinery and mechanical products as to instil in the minds of the new generation that the British ascendancy in the production of machin- ery was gone ; that the hall-mark "British Made" no longer meant the most advanced and desirable in engineering. "Made in Germany" was what was wanted. After all, the engineers had seen German products working on the screen. But even engineers must have their lighter moments. And Cinemagazine No. 5 is one of the quarterly items that the Shell Unit produces to leaven their technical programmes. It consists of three items, all carrying the underlying message of the importance of oil in the community but told in the pleasant terms of the more intelligent travelogue. The first item shows a sheep farmer of the South African Karoo adopting modern methods of cultivation. Another sure-fire low angle shot for the cameraman has gone. Instead of the mule or oxen team on the skyline there comes once more the ubiquitous tractor. The second item shows us how oil engineers move oil tanks around on rollers. It has a pleas- ant "Believe it or not" quality and reminds one of those stories that we read about of how Americans, for some reason best known to themselves, move complete houses incredible dis- tances. But the sight of this huge gasometer-like structure being casually levered around is com- pletely fascinating. The last item tells how the air-conditioning plant of a modern cinema works. How the air is washed, cooled or heated and then released into the cinema. Apparently, and this was com- pletely new to me, thermometers placed around the cinema allow for special heating or cooling arrangements to be made for any given section. I wonder if statistics would prove that biological influences aflect this? That, in fact, the front row of the threc-and-sixpennies needs more heat than the back row of the nincpennies! Altogether Cinemagazine No. 5 is well up to the high standard of its predecessors. Vital Service. Production: Arthur Elton. Direc- tion: D'Arcy Cartwright. Photography: Stanley Rodwcll. 7 minutes. THIS FILM, about a vital hospital service of which few of us have realised the importance, is a competent and worthwhile job. The photo- graphy is first-class and the film without pre- irai jfliia in ijr,o It"; itim ii ' I El la tensions. It aims at taking us for a few minutes behind the scenes of a modem hospital and giving us a new angle on up-to-date methods. Perhaps more than anything else, a hospital nowadays needs quantities of hot-water and steam. Hot-water for washing and cooking, steam for sterilising. Cleanliness is the watch- word. And so the boiler-room becomes an integral part of the hospital's organisation. As important and as necessary as the operating theatre or the wards. Not only must constant supplies of steam and water be on tap night and day, but emergency calls for heating special sec-Ai tions of the hospital must be carried out withoulfSfi delay. Vital Service shows us how this is done. Froir an elaborate boiler-house the hospital engineer, are in constant touch, by means of gauges ancATJit thermostats, with every section of the buildingi Kit An emergency call means the turning of a lever< « the springing into life of some more oil jets anc .nidi the immediate reaction of a tell-tale needle. The film ends with tracing the part played by urn the heating department when a sudden operatioi i«e is ordered. It is fascinating to see how large ii kl the part it plays from the moment of the patient': arrival at the hospital right up to his being liftet on to the operating table. The film ends there, and there, perhaps, wa. the only disappointment. My natural sadisn would have liked the surgeon at least to hav reached for the knife! Britannia is a Woman. Production: British Movietonews. Distribution: Theatrical. 9 min utes. ALTERNATIVE TITLE for the first part of thi film would be "Fledgling Amazons", and for tbt |ii rest of the film "Sewing, Nursing and TyW IJii changing Bee" ; that's not meant to be 6ii respectful to women — far from it ; if anything ( is the film which is disrespectful. Do the ATS Ilk WAAFS, WRNS and what-have-yous only stOI 1 1 marching about in order to stand still and loa h camera-conscious? Are the thousands of wome voluntary workers simply the dumb creations c i[ Lady somebody or other — no particular dil respect to her either? The film, for all its high-sounding title, seeffBU to fall between two stools. Was the object just big parade of machine-like efficiency? Then should have been something more emotional tha a lot of news-reel shots strung together. Altemr tively, was the object to show the job that wome have to do in this war, a sort of recruiting filn in other words, bent on getting more and y |, more women to join the Colours, whether uniform or as volunteers? Then in the name < women surely there must be a deeper story < what they do, and why they have come to do and of how more and more women are need* for this or that useful task The film would appear to be another cor k II DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 ilacent hangover from the Chamberlain regime, lureaucratic rather than democratic. The un- onscious summing-up is delivered by the com- nentator himself, though he is really speaking of •j,-j^ hildren at the time, as "not knowing much of jjjj_ rar, or what it's all about". No sir; it won't do. Iritannia is a tougher woman than this, and iretty shrewd. She wants facts this time. And ction. ,3 -watai i cwii tt«»a Htiot lie Philippines. Production: March of Time (No. , Sixth Year). Distribution: R.K.O. Radio Pic- lojspj ares. 19 minutes. o!ffl IKE A COOL sea breeze tempering the heat of peijiiii he European battle, March of Time brings us ipeculi outwii ixitFn dpi £dlt. irtaps. ews of yet another of its leisurely Pacific ses. Here, in the Philippines, just as in Guam n issue or two ago, are beautiful seascapes, hining white Government buildings and the ilfflgii^hite drill suits of local legislators. Here again re the U.S. armed forces preparing to face the K IwldiBatest manifestation of the yellow peril with what ioI'jIb ve now ruefully recognise may be a deceptive onfidence. Yet the martial tempo of the March »f Time narrative still has power to capture our .ttention for problems remoter than our own. nopaaHf we seem to write disparagingly of the issues n lara I'hich the Philippines must face in 1946 it is tt\m )ecause we envy the United States the longer MuiiiB^iew which she still can take of international ffairs. The Philippines has a good story to tell : a story "sl ^ nth a moral which will send anti-imperialists w loll flurrying to their text books for an answer which jnly the very latest editions are likely to contain. rhe story is the story of the Philippines' fight for Jidependence from American rule. The fight was von after twenty years campaigning by Manuel Luis Quezon and six years ago U.S. Congress iranted full and unconditional independence to ,j,.j,| take effect in 1946. But to-day a majority of jj,jf(( -ilipinos believe that Japan, by "Fifth Column" jjj ii fictivity and other means is planning the absorp- ,jjt(i fion of their country into the Japanese Empire ^j^ |when U.S. protection is withdrawn. The moral jijji )f the story is that to-day, Manuel Luis Quezon, now become the first President of the new com- lljjdl Inonwealth, does not discourage the activities of fi new political faction which is anxiously inviting he U.S. Government to withdraw the promise )f "complete independence" and to substitute 'dominion status" under the U.S., and per- manent protection of the Philippines under the \merican flag. Even beyond the Atlantic the little countries lave their troubles. iJ sCtW [Ilk, « ■^'TlKI tliai»ii ^tjogii (The Voice of the Guns. Production: Pathe. Dis- jijijl tribution: Anglo-American. 10 minutes. THIS IS A workmanlike one-reel survey of some of the guns in use in the army. Beginning with a ection of 1914-18 newsreel material, it passes On, using some specially shot stuff", but mostly jKiK Drawing on previous Pathe material, to Trench Mortars, Field Guns, Howitzers, Coastal Bat- icdKr" Iteries, Anti-tank, A. A. and Brens. The Bren and ll«l»* certain A. A. developments seem to be the only really new things since the last war. Particularly interesting is the A. A. of Swedish origin, the Bofors, which has a Bren mounted on top for use against low flying aircraft. Incidentally our own 3.7 A. A. is given an effective range of over 40,000 feet, and some anti-tank guns a rate of •fire of 120 shells a minute. Stress is laid on the mobility of the heavier 9- inch field guns which are mounted bodily on tractors, but pictorially the most exciting stuff" is of anti-tank guns firing tracer shells. It would have been interesting to have seen something of naval guns, particularly pom-poms, and aircraft- mounted cannons; but within its short space Voice of the Guns contrives to give a good deal of information in a pleasant enough way. Italy Beware. Production: G. T. Cummins for British Paramount News. Distribution: Anglo- American. 14 minutes. ON MONDAY, Junc 17th, this short began its run in several London News-cinemas. At lunch-time came the announcement that the French were to cease fighting. By three o'clock Italy Beware had been withdrawn from the Monseigneur chain, although it was certainly still possible to see it at the G.-B. News Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue, and probably in other places. It was not surprising that the film should be withdrawn, not because anyone felt less inclined to admonish Italy, but because a large part of the substance behind this particular warning seemed about to dissolve away with the expected exit from the war of French North Africa and Syria. It was not surprising but it was certainly un- fortunate, for the film is a very heartening film indeed, displaying a ring of Allied strength around the Mediterranean, including hundreds of those machines of war, tanks, aeroplanes and the rest, of which we fear we are so short. It was even more unfortunate because the film had ob- viously been completed some time ago — quite a time before the entry of Italy into the war, judg- ing from internal evidence — and could, in a country where the value of "hot" propaganda was appreciated, have been used to great purpose a few weeks back. It may be an ungentlemanly suggestion, but suitably dubbed copies might even have been allowed to infiltrate into Italy, follow- ing the German method. Italy Beware might not literally have stolen the thunder of Baptism of Fire, but at least it would have provided a typic- ally strong, silent and British antidote. It is exactly in this strong, silent way that the film is impressive. The Australian and New Zealand Forces, the Egyptian defences, the aero- planes, the tanks, the Camel Corps, the Allied navies, the Foreign Legion, the Syrian forces, the Palestine forces, the Transjordan Arabs, all sit- ting there indulging in manoeuvres to keep their hands in, between them they make an impressive array of implacable strength. Even that Monday afternoon, it was hard to believe that a large part of this waiting, continually growing, strength now counted for nothing. In the cinema people murmured, "Well, I did not know we had so much out there". No, nor did any of us know. We had read stories, we had watched news-reels, of various contingents arriving in various places, but we had not seen them all marshalled and in action stations. To keep one jump ahead of a German blitzkrieg the distribu- tion of films has to be just as snappy as any other form of defence activity; as it is, that's one more bit of good propaganda down the drain. Unless they remake it and put it out again inside three days; for even without the French parts, it will still look pretty good. The Story of Wool. Production: G.-B. Instruc- tional Ltd. for International Wool Secretariat. Direction: Philip Leacock. Distribution: Non- theatrical by International Wool Secretariat and National Film Libraries. 16 mm. 21 minutes. THE STORY of wool passes from early English domestic production of cloth to the coming of shuttles and water power. From rioting weavers robbed of their bread by the new machines to to- day and the hundreds of thousands whose liveli- hood is the weaving industry. Planned primarily for educational use and particularly as a "background" film it collates many historical, geographical, and informational facts about wool and conscientiously relates these in a form which provides opportunities for digression into routine educational subjects. The facts are capably knit by a good story and an excellent commentary which attempts at times to say a little too much. The student of documentary technique will find a bone of contention in an interesting episode of the Luddites' riots showing weavers smashing the new machines. It is sensational, it is out of key. The sequence in itself is a good one, but it sets a problem of "theatrical" ways and means. The educational value of the film would have been augmented had it shown something of the fine tapestries, carpets, garments and dyes of the past with emphasis placed upon our earlier cul- tural attainments. Something of the English "Guild" and its functions would have made in- teresting matter and fuller information on the laboratory and physiological aspects of wool might have been incorporated. The terms of reference of the film are appropriately broadened to Colonial aspects, but more might have been made of Colonial geographical data aff"ecting the rearing and grazing of sheep. To-day not the least of a producer's problems is the fact that teachers expect increasingly higher educational content from films of the "back- ground" genre. (A sponsor may or may not be prepared to go all the way in this direction.) The Story of Wool does a good best to satisfy in this respect and earns its place in any educational film library. It is to be hoped that when the film is released it will be accompanied by printed notes on the associated groups of facts and ideas which were the working materials of the story writer and re- searcher during the planning. They could be used by the teacher at various points to expand the content of the film along the best lines. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 ANGLO-AMERICAN FILM CORPORATION LT * kiiiu»l iffKl ftis nin. THE RECOGNISED DISTRIBUTORSi^ OF SHORTS OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE! PLUS ENTERTAINMENT VALUE THESE CHILDREN ARE SAFE ITALY BEWARE VOICE OF THE GUNS WINGS OVER EMPIRE MEN OF AFRICA FIVE FACES OF MALAYA ETC., ETC., ETC. 123 WARDOUR ST LOxNDON Wi GERRARD 32o:|. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 CHILDREN AS FILM CRITICS essay on Ekk's Road to Life won a rize offered by DNL in conjunction with le Education Department of the Burslem idustrial Co-operative Society. Another [rize essay will be pubhshed next month. (y a senior pupil at the City School of Commerce HIS FILM made a great impression on me, per- aps because it is the first Russian film I have een, and it has certainly made me want to see IK '°'^- ** The treatment of iheme and photography is so ifferent from American films, as is the stark ealism of the sordid details, such as the last asps of Kolka's mother, the drunken madness )f his father, the dead Mustapha jolting on the rain, the stoning of the dog, and the smeared nakc-up on the snivelling women after the vrccking of the hut. The fine photography impressed me very nuch, and certain parts stick in my memory. )ne of these is where Sergei was alone in con- lict with the boys : he was shown alone on a black background, with a strong light on the single igure, with no furniture or other figures to dis- I ,ract the eye. I think this emphasised how alone _^ I pe was and also the strength of his character. Another was when he returned from Moscow to he Collective and was confronted by a sacked refectory. He sat down, alone again, on a bench, ;learly lighted, and gradually dark, unlighted igures closed in on him, the shapes of the boys. Dne more excellent effect was when Mustapha, fColka, and the pick of the Collective went to the [lut to break up the gang, and Mizcha was drunk. The room was seen from his bleared eyes, whirling J 1 "ound in a mad kaleidoscope, with voices swelling md dwindling in a crazy rhythm. Suddenly the lounds stopped, and in a cold clear shot a levelled ■evolver was seen. Something of the same effect vas felt when the first rebels from the Collective rolled home along the railway track. The camera ivas apparently behind their legs, swaying and lurching with them. An effective shot was when Sergei was being tossed in the air by the boys md the next shot was of earth being thrown up from the ditches the boys were digging. Although the film glorified community life and the purpose of human beings as cogs in a biachine, one became interested in the welfare of individual characters such as Kolka and Mus- tapha. The plot was almost reminiscent of Greek tragedy in the strictness to which the one plot iwas adhered to. (An English or American film could hardly have resisted introducing a romance jbetween Sergei and one of the female workers, or even a sister of one of the boys.) The dramatic irony of Kolka's best friend, Mustapha, being the cause of his (Kolka's) mother's death, for the sake of one stolen apple, is also Greek in its force. Suspense was cleverly used to keep the atten- tion keyed. Would the boys escape? Would Mus- itapha come back? Would he catch the train? These were questions we kept asking ourselves. The introduction of the characters as the film progressed appealed to me, as it made the film seem more real than in our system, where the whole cast is introduced together before the film begins. It makes it rather like reading a novel or biography. The superb acting must not be forgotten. The Communist idea of a community of people work- ing together was shown in its brightest aspect here. The boy, Mustapha, was a wonderful actor. His squat, Slavonic, yet fascinating face expressed suspicion, sullenness, devilment, joy, and sheer happiness in a way that our most experienced and ascetic-looking actors could envy, and his portrayal of death, 1 think, without make-up, was perhaps too convincing for comfort, as was the twisting of his stocky little body in the air as he was flung from the train. The boy Kolka was very, very convincing in his roar of terror when his drink- and grief- crazed father tried to kill him. His full-throated bellow was much more real than all the gestures. covering of the face with the hands, and blood- curdling screams. He also was very good in utter dejection after having been beaten. Sergei, with his hat expressing his emotion for him, and Kolka's father's wild grief were good touches. Mizcha, the gang-leader, when he had been robbed of his accomplices, the Wild Boys, determined to be gay, and breaking down, gave a great performance, and the death of Kolka's mother was worthy of attention. I liked the comedy of the stolen spoons, with the contrast between the dog enjoying his food and the boys in such distress with theirs (Mus- tapha being covered with it), but did not care for the very obvious low comedy of the cutting away of a most important portion of a lady's dress, which 1 thought unworthy of the film. However, I think that The Road to Life will remain in my memory long after the majority of films that come to our local cinemas, for its photography, its acting and its story, although I'd be glad to forget some of the more harrowing bits. STORY FILM OF THE MONTH GASLIGHT By a Film Critic TO THE BRITISH film producer the British past has nearly always been one long, rather vulgar joke. Kings chaw chicken bones ; Regency bucks mince across the set in phoney wigs, the nine- teenth century is either a funny oddity in British history or it is sanctified by the mystic presence of the little Queen. Neither extreme is usually con- vincing, but in Gaslii(ht we have a film of the eighties which takes its background seriously and with relish. (The title, by the way, comes from what was in those days one of the most prominent parts of interior decoration — the fishtail gas burner and its globes and gasoliers.) The result is a polished and finely made film which can hold its own with Pygmalion and French without Tears. So good is Gaslight, yet so firmly confined within the established conventions of the screen, that one can find little to pick upon for special em- phasis, with the exception of its unusual theme. The author of the stage play from which Gas- light is taken is Patrick Hamilton, who will be remembered for his psychological thriller Rope. In Gaslight he again tackles a psychological theme. A man is trying to drive his wife mad by making her believe that she is not responsible for her actions. He hides jewels and pictures and is trying to persuade her that she steals them in fits of unconscious aberration. His motive for doing this is that she has found a clue to the fact that he is a murderer, though she does not realise the implications of her discovery. In consequence, he tries to derange her mind so that no one will take anything she says seriously. The direction of Thorold Dickinson has the signal virtue of unobtrusiveness. So smoothly are the scenes played that one is never aware of the direction at all, and there can be no greater praise for a director than this. Bernard Knowles's photography is equally un- obtrusive and for that reason, equally first-rate. He has caught the atmosphere of the interiors of the eighties with their spindly furniture and host of knick-knacks. Anyone who has seen such rooms surviving today will recognise what I mean. Most of the knick-knacks stand away from the wall ; the frames of the pictures on the walls are heavy; there are groups of small pictures standing on little easels on every flat space; the wallpapers are dark with a bold design. The real rooms are usually underlit and a pattern of shadows. This Knowles has reproduced. His work is an answer to the still too many people who go round saying that first-class cinema photography cannot be found outside Holly- wood. I envied the Art Director. He must have spent weeks and enjoyed himself collecting the furni- ture for the sets. Nearly every film of the nine- teenth century suffers because the sets are empty. Few people have the patience to collect enough furniture for them. Here again the attention to detail is one of the many successes of the film. And finally, the dresses alone, particularly those of Diana Wynyard and Cathleen Cordell, make the film worth seeing. Production: John Corfield for British National. Direction: Thorold Dickinson, from the stage play by Patrick Hamilton. Photography: Bernard Knowles. Distribution: Anglo-American. 10 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 NEWS UTTER MONTHLY FOURPENCE NUMBER 7 JULY 1940 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is issued only to private sub- scribers and continues the policy and purpose of World Film News by expressing the documentary idea towards everyday living. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is produced under the auspices of Film Centre, London, in asso- ciation with American Film Center, New York. EDITORIAL BOARD Edgar Anstey Arthur Elton John Grierson Donald Taylor John Taylor Basil Wright Outside contributions will be welcomed but no fees will be paid. We are prepared to deliver from 3 — 50 copies in bulk to Schools, Film Societies and other organi- sations. Owned and published by FILM CENTRE LTD. 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W.l GERRARD 4253 I w THE HOME OF TRAVEL FILMS i I (This third article of our series about the Specialist Cinema Movement is by Arthur Leslie, Manager of the Polytechnic Cinema, Regent Street, London, for twenty years.) iralam iilicioi jiciure: tatw liosiiii IT IS INTERESTING to recall a little known fact. The Polytechnic Theatre, London, is the "father of all cinemas" which are now scattered all over the world. Here it was in February, 1896, that the, then, entirely new invention of the Cinematographe, was first demonstrated in Britain. It had previously only been seen at the Grand Cafe, Paris, for a fortnight. Later, an English pioneer, to whom sufficient credit has never been given, Mr Frederick R. West, showed here his pictures Our Navy for many years, with the greatest success, attracting large and fashion- able audiences. But cinema then was still in the embryonic stage and the "magic lantern" was still greatly in evidence to press home the claim of Explorer and Educationalist. News Items were crude affairs, and pioneers like Richard and Cherry Kearton, Herbert Ponting and Frank Hurley, were adding laurels to their already wonderful "still" pictures by introducing "spools" of cinematograph film in their lectures of exploration. The great difficulty in the early days was to find a suitable theatre or hall in which a film and slide show could be arranged for a season. At varying intervals from October 1899, to June 1912, West's pictures were a dis- tinct success at the Polytechnic. Cherry Kearton in 1910 claimed a short season at the Palace Theatre with the first animal pictures ever brought from Africa. Herbert Ponting at the Christmas of 1913 pre- sented his famous film With Captain Scott in the Antarctic at the Philharmonic Hall. This con- tinued for ten months, when war broke out and suspended any further efforts for "season" lec- tures, until Sir Ernest Shackleton in the Christ- mas of 1919 again used the Philharmonic Hall for his "marvellous moving pictures" of his latest Antarctic Expedition, giving 249 performances. Then, in 1921, a group of explorers, under the chairmanship of Sir Francis Younghusband, commissioned Mr Gerald Christy, of the Lecture Agency, to engage the Polytechnic to inaugurate a policy of showing films of "reality", an experi- ment for which many people prophesied failure on the grounds that the public "for that sort of thing" was not sufficiently large to make it a commercial success. Happily, their predictions were falsified, for almost up to the present time a public "for that sort of thing" has supported the "Home of Films of Reality", as is proved by the great successes and long runs achieved by such "magnates and the public, his film will not prov outstanding pictures as l^'(W<'//«w/t»/.6/g Game, acceptable; he must concentrate on 'humai //( the Tree Tops, Climbing Mount Everest, The interest". He must remember that his photo Vast Sudan, Pearls and Savages, Cape to Cairo, graphs of toil and difficulty on the 'Roof of th Chang, Rango, An Eastern Odyssey, Africa . World", which meant so much to him, count fo iite BSrapi ipari Inab jbnet jpdii We Mi' ioi ixielit lc»ii % abiii spo^e■ The in con !fa Speaks, Dassan, Tabu, Man of Aran, Kame\v>m Conquered, Elephant Boy, and Dark Rapture This impressive list emphasises two points, tin' ^'^' inauguration of the "specialist" film movement' and the introduction of a type of picture nov understood as "Documentary", a department o cinematography in which British enterprise ex eels. One may ask "Why has the movement no met with greater success?" since it may claim t( have rendered a two-fold service in devotinj special cinema theatres to the exhibition o special films and to the public which has st warmly welcomed them, and secondly, to thi enterprising and undaunted producers. One miis admit, the latter are faced with a hard problem Returning to England with a real life film recorc which in many cases may represent years of work great risks to life and limb, and a very consider able sum of money, the traveller has to find s means by which he may bring his work to thi notice of the public before he can hope to reaj the rewards of appreciation which are justly his as well as reimburse himself for his outlay. Botl Renters and Exhibitors, owing to the exigencie of their programmes, look coldly at him and cai only show his work in an inadequate form shortened, or at best, serialised, and then sand wiched between items of an entirely differen character. Commercial considerations compe them to cater for the widest public and en deavour to please all tastes. Therefore the worl of such a cinema as the Polytechnic has, durinj the past 18 years, placed at the disposal of pro ducers of "out of the ordinary"" or "docu mentary"" films, a shop window in which, so U speak, they may place their wares profitably secure the verdict of the London Press, and con duct the world-wide marketing arrangement whose success alone can make their enterpris commercially possible. Another factor has bea the attempt made by Hollywood producers- purely for commercial reasons — to take tb "reality"" from nature pictures and substitute i ■fake"" method, which would stimulate the ex citement and pander to the vulgar curiosity 0 sensationalism. This point is vividly emphasised in Frank F Smythe's book Kamet Conquered (page 411) u which he says — "The explorer who would take record of his work should remember that unles he has something really thrilling to ofler the filD DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 11 lothing when the 'accidents', 'bUzzards', and avalanches' can be faked in the studio by the lUdicious use of 'sets, salt and aeroplane pro- tellers'. His miserable efforts at the authentic, his ictures of scenery, count for naught against the «nsational products of Elstree and Hollywood. The public has been so soaked in sensational nake-believe, that the unvarnished truth is no onger anything but boring. Truth has been srostituted on the altars of 'art'. The cinema ludience of to-day would hardly be content to see '.he conquest of Everest without the introduction )f a fatality. The cleverness of the faker has '», k Encompassed the death of truth, and those who it breathing the disinfected air of a cinema are [^jjiuBncapable of realising the effort of the cinema- ographer who fumbles with frozen fingers at his ipparatus on the snows of the poles or the artBjjU limalaya; they will turn with relief from the obriety of truth and enterprise to the insobriety >f the cabaret and the murderous antics of the jv£|jji, lunmen. Truth is dead, and those explorers J ijpij /ho contemplate an anfaked film record of their ixpeditions will do well to mark the fact." We witnessed fake incidents in parts of ^rader Horn and Bring 'Em Back Alive. The re- ult of these false values brought the various ^P^d ocieties, representing animal cruelty, crashing gjj^ lown with vengeance on all such films, com- u,!^, idling the censor to very stern regulations. The -jjjj abit of doping animals for exciting scenes was xposed in the American press. The combination of these actions has taken way a deal of heart from travel producers, and iubilioii (Sy, 10 i.Ok! as a consequence there have been fewer subjects in the last few years in the mood of Chang, Kamet Conquered, or Dassan. It would have been thought that the burden of commercialism on an explorer's work might have been shouldered by such recognised bodies as the Royal Geographical, Zoological, or kindred societies. But in this country they have said, a resolute NO to the actual sponsoring of exploration or travel from the standpoint of film only. They argue that a journey through Africa or scaling Mount Everest, when once de- cided upon, is a serious mission for definite attainment of a specified object. A film record could only be a part and unfortunately is viewed as a very small part of the actual work under- taken. Whilst they are willing, and have on nearly all occasions made grants towards the cost of expeditions, they would not consent to be responsible for the complete scheme or enter- prise, however well the producer may plead his cause. In spite of this fact they fully recognise the value of "stills" and films (indeed they greatly use and exploit them) when collated by the undaunted producers. I learnt this attitude on the part of the Royal Geographical Society when Captain J. B. Noel, official cinematographer to the first two Everest Expeditions in 1921-23, found it necessary to make himself responsible for all his gear and equipment and the major por- tion of his personal expenses. He also carried with him the knowledge that should he prove a nuisance, or get in the way, he was to be thrown over the nearest precipice! The contrary, how- ever, has proved possible in the U.S.A. where the Geographical Society of Washington and other similar bodies, have deliberately undertaken responsibility for many film achievements of travel, exploration, animal and bird life. Some of the late Martin Johnson's efforts were made possible by their finance and planning. Capt. C. W. R. Knight's bird films and the scientifit exploration in Alaska conducted by Father Bernard Hubbard, S.J., owe some of their success to this enterprising society. They have become a wealthy society by courage and enterprise and they have extended the knowledge of their many members to almost every corner of the globe, by means of the Geographical Magazine, which has a circulation of over 2,000,000. This great interest on the part of the public should prove a stimulus to a continuous ever-growing picture-conscious generation. For the travel film fulfils the first fundamental requisite of the cinema — it shows one half of the world what the other is like, and this elementary interest in the strange, the dangerous and the unknown remains today the psychological basis for descriptive travel films. Looking back on the list of travel film makers, we cannot fail to distinguish those who, instead of filming the surface of things, have endeavoured to bring a deeper interpretation to the subject matter. Thus from Flaherty's Nanook and Hur- ley's Pearls and Savages (1920) at almost regular intervals up to the current Dark Rapture, each producer has brought a higher approach to the "documentary" method. 101 ami uiiefi ikns kdiJi
  • pe of filming, or^-rai jhave now come to regard it as a sort of rear- uard action. The first time this happened to me , /as in Poland where I spent a month filming the reparations of the army and then a fortnight , . ' Iming what was virtually the scene of my own On that occasion, I had just left — or rather een thrown out of — Danzig, where I had been iming the last stages in the Nazification of that "s lis ity for Herbert Kline, the U.S. film director. "" '- nine joined me in Warsaw on July 1st, and with ur two young wives to complete the crew, we japrcd !t to work. As the first waves of German bom- Uieea ers flew over Warsaw, exactly one month later, Hanai I'e were already making our way North — sitting wffy n boxes of explosives in an ammunition train — .ijjl J film the fighting on the frontiers of the Corri- or. But by the time we reached Torun after a ivo-day journey which in normal times would ave taken only three hours and during which /e were nearly bombed out of existence a dozen mes, we found that the Polish "lines" had com- 1 1^--' letely collapsed, that there was no "front" any- Miiiifl ^here, and that the Polish army was in full, il M lewildered retreat. From that day onwards, our !■ ^P^ Iming was done while we retreated also. A car ■liniCffl fhich had been sent to us from London was due ptpia ) arrive at Gdynia on September 4th, but as ■eriaiii Poland's only port was cut off from the rest of he country within the first two days and fell .,,j5ail ompletely into German hands soon after, we ji^tlj rere severely handicapped in the matter of swift i[j^|ijij ind independent travel. j,j^ P[(j Moreover, trains were formed in a very hap- .^ azard fashion and as there were no definite ^jjsjl ime-tables one had to spend sometimes 24 ^0 lours dozing on a station floor before a train of ^njj orts (invariably with every window broken) jijjjipj rould steam in. Our retreats were therefore ^ ilsi) lostly timed more by luck than good sense. And j^;i ilenty of luck we had for in every case we vacated lj£|i spot only a few hours before the Germans ^ 1^ J jame in. We filmed quite a lot of machine-gun Kpjjjj [ctivity and a plane crash in Torun and then (^ (lade a second nightmare journey back to War- ' jj[j jaw, taking this time 48 hours and losing four of i^5j he carriages on our train in bombing attacks. [heBfl ' Warsaw was reached in the midst of an air ■^jj laid, as indeed was Torun and every other town , 0 ^e were to visit during the war. We found that -;;5ilphe Government and military authorities had lown and we were left stranded without filming passes or any form of official identification. We decided to try and follow the Government and once again we took a train bound for an unknown destination. This last point didn't matter much for we never reached it anyway. On the second day out the train was so severely bombed that a quarter of its refugee passengers were killed and the few coaches which were left, together with the locomotive, were put completely out of action. Meanwhile, of course, the camera was running all the time. Abandoning the train, we were able to hire a couple of primitive farmcarts in which we slowly continued our journey. It was during these long days of snail-paced travel under the blazing midsummer sun that we shot some of the best sequences of our film. A tiny village, dozens of miles away from the nearest town or place of any military significance, which we found blazing from one end to the other, provided us with an unforgettable scene as old peasant women ran about barefoot on the scorched soil, feebiy throwing pails of water on the roaring furnaces which had once been their homes, their cattle and their haystacks. Daily discarding more and more of our belongings which we left in a long trail along the roadside, we finally reached the Latvian frontier and got out safely with our film two days before the Russian tanks rumbled in. In many ways, at any rate as far as I was con- cerned, history repeated itself in Holland. Once again I arrived in the country a month before Hitler's troops, and spent much profitable time photographing the Prime and Foreign Ministers and the General Staff". I was shown roimd the famous "water line" of Holland of which so much was expected and so little materialised. And I was arrested more times than I can remember. The last occasion was the forerunner of a new decree which was passed forbidding the carrying of cameras by anyone in Holland. This situation did not help me much in my work. And then one night I returned to my hotel at about 2.30 in the morning and was just weighing up the respective merits of bromo-seltzer or aspirin to demolish a headache, when I heard a familiar but almost for- gotten noise. It was that same protracted drone which I had not heard since I had left Poland. Looking out of the window, I counted over 200 planes silhouetted against the breaking dawn. Dutch anti-aircraft fire burst furiously into action, but it seemed to me that the bursts were miles wide of their targets. Despite the intense activity in the air, none of the Amsterdam syrens went off. It was only the next morning, after several planes had been allowed to fly about un- hindered and after one of them had dropped a salvo of bombs which blew up three houses, killed 40 and blasted three people and their bicycles into a canal, that the syrens at last wailed their acknowledgment of the deadliness of these German air weapons. Meanwhile, things were not looking too well for me. I was still in Amsterdam. The Military Com- mand was still in the Hague. And I had not yet been given my promised filming permit and war passes. Since all photography had been for- bidden even in peacetime, these passes were all the more necessary now that hostilities had started. Every attempt I made to reach the Hague or even phone the military authorities failed. The Germans had played the same trick they used in Poland to such good effect. They had in a few hours completely cut off every form of communication between the Administrative and Business capitals. Moreover, the situation in the streets did not help me to sneak shots. Every street in Amster- dam and outside was patrolled at twenty-yard intervals by armed guards, and shooting would break out every now and again when a short battle raged with fifth columnists hiding in different houses. In many cases, people were shot at sight. As I rigged up my camera on the hotel roof and lay down behind the parapet to film some planes flying low on the horizon I was astonished to hear a series of short whistles over my head, followed by sharp reports. One look into the street below showed me I was being fired upon by some over-zealous youth in a green uniform. Not wishing to be arrested at this stage, since it would have been impossible for me to contact the military chiefs to explain my in- tegrity, I flew down the service stairs of the hotel and hid my kit. I spent one more agonising day, going between the chief of police and the local army authorities in an attempt to get some kind of permit, without any result. And then, after still getting nowhere, it became evident that the Germans, who had been overrunning the country pretty freely, were about to take Amsterdam too. So, together with the rest of the British journa- lists, I decided it was time to worry about my retreat. It took us only two days to get back, thanks to the help of some Dutch soldiers who escorted us through the firing line. German bombers who mistook our cars for troop carriers constantly flew overhead and dropped bombs at random in the night without doing us any harm. On one occasion also, machine-gun fire broke out all around us, as some parachutists landed and replied to the fire of our accompanying soldiers. s.o.s. The Director of the NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY would be grateful for a copy of DNL JANUARY (First Issue), to complete his File. Will anyone with a spare copy please send it to DNL, 34 Soho Square, London, W.I. 16 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 FILM SOCIETY NEWS HISTORIES {This feature presents at regular intervals detailed resumes of the progress of various Film Societies.) No. 2: Tyneside The Tyneside Film Society came into being at a public meeting convened in Newcastle in December, 1932, by Ernest Dyer, whose tragic death last year was a blow, not only to the Tyne- side Film Society, but to the Film Society move- ment in general, as we think his many friends will testify. The volunteer Committee set up on that occasion worked for over a year before it finally overcame the various obstacles which confronted it. Chief amongst these obstacles was the diffi- culty in securing licences for Sunday exhibitions of films, for which there was no precedent on Tyneside. This difficulty was eventually sur- mounted by the preparation of a lengthy memor- andum signed by a number of more or less well- known and "respectable" people on Tyneside, copies of which were duplicated, and sent to each member of the Watch Committee. This memorandum, which contained a number of effective quotations from "The Film in National Life : the report of the Commission on Educa- tional and Cultural films", and which generally stated the case for a Film Society, did the trick, and by January, 1934, the Society was able to an- nounce its first short season. With an initial membership of about 350, the Society was just able to pay its way, and from that time it has not looked back, until, of course, the outbreak of war. The peak membership of the Society was achieved in the last season, i.e. the season 1938- 39, when there were just under 1 ,600 subscribing members. With the growth in membership, the value for money offered by the Society increased proportionately. The following table may be of interest to members of other Film Societies ; it indicates how, with the growth of membership, the number of exhibitions steadily increased, without any increase in the rate of subscription. Member- Exhibi- Sub- Season Year ship tions scription 1st 1934 350 3 6s. 2nd 1934-5 771 7 125. 3rd 1935-6 743 8 12.?. 4th 1936-7 961 9 I2s. 5th 1937-8 1,200 9 \2s. 6th 1938-9 1,583 10 lis. During its history, the T.F.S. has organised a number of public art exhibitions on Tyneside. In September, 1935, it arranged an exhibition of original drawings and transparencies made by Walt Disney. In June 1936, the Society organised what is understood to be a pioneer exhibition of its kind, namely original sketches and paintings by cinema art directors, including work by Alfred Junge, Erno Metzner, Andre Andreiev, and Vincent Korda. In December, 1936, the Society arranged an exhibition of still photo- graphs taken by Mrs. Robert Flaherty, and, in May, 1937, an exhibition of the work of cinema costume designers, sketches and paintings by Rene Hubert and Ernst Stern. The Society has also co-operated with various local bodies — the local branch of the Modern Language Association in the provision of French films for local students, with the Newcastle-upon- Tyne Educational Authority in the provision of children's matinees — and has acted generally as a local information bureau on filmic topics. The last major activity sponsored by the Society prior to the outbreak of war was the Northern Counties Children's Cinema Council, the initiative in which was also taken by the late Ernest Dyer. A copy of the pamphlet published on that occasion will gladly be sent to any in- terested person, but it may be said briefly that the three chief objects of the Council were : — 1. To foster interest in and to promote the use of the film and other visual aids in education. 2. To encourage the training of film taste and discrimination in children. 3. To act generally as a clearing house of ex- perience in film matters amongst Educational Administrators, Teachers, Parents and Social Workers. To-i Unfortunately, with the outbreak of war, and the consequent evacuation of school teachers and school children from Tyneside, the work of the Council has temporarily lapsed. This is doublyA^ unfortunate, as the monthly film guide circu-i m: lated under the auspices of the Council was( I*' already beginning to win widespread local i* support. The Society has never regarded itself as an esoteric body, but has taken every opportunity that presented itself of improving the quality ofilaii)ii films publicly exhibited, either by promising local i f. managers support for "minority" films which they have booked, or, in some cases, by per-< jst suading film managers to include specific contin-< il»ii ental films in their programmes. The 1939-40 season concluded on June 2nd,i4tMi on which date the thirteenth exhibition of the( «n season took place. Naturally, no definite plans! tare are being made for the autumn, but like other#raii Film Societies, we hope it will be possible toi carry on. A notable event in the Society's history took place last autumn when it was decided tofce^ii put the Society's affairs on a firm legal footing f; by converting it into a company limited by guar-, antee. The present organisation is therefore that the Tyneside Film Society continues to func- tion under its own name, but the management of Jined the Society and its financial control are vested inftnon the members of the Tyneside Film Association Limited, to which members of the Film Society? may belong on signing an undertaking to pay 5s.\ ik in the event of the Association being obliged tO! i wind up. Any Film Society official who may be; x interested in this move may have, on application to the Secretary, Tyneside Film Society, care of^iit Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle- upon-Tyne, 1, a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Tyneside Filmlx, Association Limited, and a copy of the newi a; Rules of the Tyneside Film Society. (Editorial Note: At the time of going to pre there are no new Foreign Films being shown iS London. Reviews will be resumed when and if] new films appear.) ''^' ilJCtl mm Ml WORLD FILM NEWS A Limited Number of Bound Volumes for Sale Volume I £2 0 0 Volume 2 £1 10 0 Volume 3 £10 0 (Issues No. 2 of Volunw 1 and No. 6 of Volume 2 are no longer available.) Obtainablp from Vll.M TENTKE. Hi SOIIO S^IIJAIIE. W.l Single Copies Volume 1 3/6 Volume 2 2/6 Volume 3 2/- DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 17 THE REPERTORY CINEMA TO-DAY »ar, UKll lio! =N YEARS ago no One could have visualised the '•^OR lany varying types of cinema entertainment hich are available to film-goers to-day; one ouse was then as good as another in the kind of rogramme it presented. To-day, however, the public is oflFered many PPonis^rieties of cinema entertainment, and there are lany different types of programme which it may Mgi(Mijoy. There are the super cinemas with their liK »ti TO big films and a stage show; the average re- s. by p ase house showing two features ; the specialised km ill with its continental film seasons; the reper- >ry cinema offering its own particular policy of le outstanding feature and a selection of docu- lentary and interest shorts, and finally. News initepiBheatres which, of course, are finding an ever- liieoi creasing popularity with the public, particu- rly under present conditions. Amongst all this vast growth in catering for e entertainment demands of the public, per- olfoci ips the most interesting in its indications of the jlhji end of that same public towards discrimination theni its choice, is the development of the Repertory xsiofi inema. As far as we can ascertain this was aamea arted by Mr S. Seeman, Managing Director of K\fd e now popular Classic Group of cinemas, by \si«iiii s introduction of the policy of showing revivals Soc ■ continental and outstanding productions at le Embassy Cinema, Notting Hill Gate, in the irly part of 193.^. Since then the repertory nema has found an enthusiastic and constant appfai ilowing not only in London but also in the rge provincial towns. In examining this development of the reper- ry cinema it will be found that there are a R'sfa By E. C. ATKINSON small, it is built for comfort and a fostering of attention to the main business — seeing the pic- ture, and hearing it to the best advantage. Covering a more general field, it is obvious that, to some extent, the policy of the feature houses must be inflexible ; that is to say, they are unable to react quickly enough to the desires of the public, whereas the repertory cinema can be a complete reflection of the public's desires. The repertory cinema does not have to book any or every film. Its bookings are largely governed by what its patrons want and what they have expressed a desire to see. In reality the reper- tories are the spearheads of democracy in the film world, because they listen to the voice of the majority and where possible act upon it. The repertory cinema performs a very im- portant function : it acts as a film library, and preserves classics of the film world — whether they are classics as far as production, acting. !!ONI «\.m Dtsbo«^ vAm ^j(j{|Mjmber of factors which contributed to the (,f t)if 1 irticular form of entertainment now provided the repertory cinema. Firstly, there was that •eat weakness in the release system of booking, f which any one film is often to be seen in any le district for one week only, and if the film is issed the opportunity to see it is usually gone. he repertory cinema, however, solves this roblem and if the film is worthy it will be 'shown lain, although of course it may mean waiting T a few months. Secondly, there are many films which are for le reason or another, worth seeing again, and, le might say, a number worth seeing again and »ain. Most filmgoers treasure memories of a Im they have seen, and the opportunity to revive lose memories, particularly to-day, is a very ^1 desire. Thirdly, the well-established policy of one bod feature and well selected shorts is one that lakes for the perfectly balanced programme ; in .ct, it is not too much to say that the short film iS, largely due to this policy, found a special spularity. Last, but certainly not least, the atmosphere a repertory cinema is definitely different. Its ■hole personality is intimate. It is comparatively S photography or story-value is concerned; and gives us the opportunity of seeing the work of many of our stars who have changed completely, tor example, Deanna Durbin. The months since the beginning of war have only brought reinforcement of this policy, and have proved more than ever the ability of the repertory cinema to reflect the temper of the people. It can provide "escapism" if the people want it; it can provide "strong meat" too; in fact, whatever the public wants from the past productsof the film world can be provided almost immediately, and surely this is of paramount importance in these days of quickly changing moods. (The article on London s reception of the Continental Talking Film is unavoidably held over. It is hoped to publish it next month.) DOCUMENTARY BOOKINGS FOR JULY ( l^he following bookings for July are selected from a list covering its members supplied by the News and Specialised Theatres Association.) African Skyways Tatler Theatre. Foregate Street, Chester I .^th Taller News Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester 27th The Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle 1 3th Ancient Roman Monuments The Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle 6lh Animals on Guard The News House, Nottingham 27th Backyard Front News Theatre, City Road, Leeds 27th Behind the Guns World's News Theatre, London 1st Birth of the Year The News Theatre, Nottingham 1 1th Victoria Station News Theatre, London 22nd Fitness Wins (2) Tatler News Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester 6th News Theatre, City Road, Leeds 6th Fitness Wins (3) Tatler News Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester 20th News Theatre, City Road, Leeds 20th Isles of the West Cosmo, Glasgow 20th Karoo World's News Theatre, London 8th Classic, Southampton llth London The Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle 27th March of Time No. 2 (Sixth Year) Eros, Piccadilly, London 1st Waterloo Station News Theatre, London 1st Victoria Station News Theatre, London 1st Classic, Baker Street, London 1 Ith March of Time No. 12 (Fifth Year) World's News Theatre, London 18th Classic, South Croydon 1 1th Classic, Southampton 14th March of Time No. 13 (Fifth Year) Cosmo, Glasgow 25th Classic, Baker Street, London 6th News Cinema, Aberdeen 1 3th March of Time: Canada at War News House, Nottingham 6th March of Time: Dixie 1940 News House, Nottingham 20th March of Time No. 16 Premier News Theatre, Bournemouth 22nd Mechanix Illustrated No. 8 Tatler News Reel Cinema, Newcastle 20th Non-Ouassi World's News Theatre, London 25th Classic, Baker Street, London 14th Old Blue Eros News Theatre, Piccadilly, London 18th Our Fighting Navy World's News Theatre, London Victoria Station News Theatre, London Classic, South Croydon Playtime at the Zoo Cosmo, Glasgow Picturesque Udaipur Tatler Theatre, Foregate Street, Chester Pond Life The Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle Point of View No. 5 Cosmo, Glasgow Tatler, Liverpool Point of View No. 6 News Cinema, Aberdeen Premier News Theatre, Bournemouth Tatler News Theatre, Liverpool Point of View — Odds or Evens News House, Nottingham Ring of Steel Classic, Southampton Safety First The Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle Sport at the Local Tatler Theatre, Liverpool Waterloo Station News Theatre, London Classic, Baker Street, London Squadron 992 News Theatre, City Road, Leeds News Cinema, Aberdeen Tatler News Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester Cosmo, Glasgow Tatler News Reel Cinema, Newcastle World's News Theatre, London Waterloo Station News Theatre, London Sydney Eastbound Premier News Theatre, Bournemouth The City The Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle The Democratic Way News Theatre, City Road, Leeds The Lion has Wings Classic, South Croydon The Ruins of Palmyra Tatler Theatre, Foregate Street, Chester The Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle Tatler News Reel Cinema, Newcastle The Scilly Isles The Newe House, Pilgrim Street. Newcastle Unconquerable Minesweepers Premier News Theatre, Bournemouth Tatler Theatre, Liverpool Voice of the Vintage The Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle Women in Uniform World's News Theatre, London Victoria Station News Theatre, London Waterloo Station News Theatre, London 4th 18th 14th 6th 20th 27th 29th 1st 6th 8th 15th 13th 7th 20th 29th 29th 18th 1 3th 13th 6th 13th 20th llth 25th 15th 27th 13th 18th 27th 20th 20th 27th 15th 22nd 6th 15th 29lh 22nd 18 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 FILM UBRARIES Borrowers of films are asked to apply as much in advance as possible, to give alternative booking dates, and to return the films immediately after use. H. A hire charge is made. F. Free distribution. Sd. Sound. St. Silent. Association of Scientific Workers, 30 Bedford Row, W.C.I. Scientific Film Committee. Graded List of Films. A list of scientific films from many sources, classified and graded for various types of audience. On request, Committee will give ad- vice on programme make-up and choice of films. Austin Film Library, Longbridge, Birmingham. 24 films of motoring interest, industrial, technical and travel. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. British Commercial Gas Association, Gas Indus- try House, 1 Grosvenor Place, S.W.I. Films on social subjects, domestic science, manufacture of gas. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & a few St. F. British Council Film Department, 25 Savile Row, W.l. Films of Britain, 1940. Catalogue for overseas use only but provides useful synopses of 100 sound and silent documentary films. British Film Institute, 4 Great Russell Street, W.C. 1 . (a) National Film Library. An important collection of documentary and other films. Avail- able only to full members of B.F.I. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. (b) Some British and Foreign Documentary and other Short Films. A general list of films and sources, (c) Early Films. Films 1896-1934 still available in Britain. Coal Utilisation Joint Council, General Buildings, Aldwych, London, W.C. 2. Films on production of British coal and miners' welfare. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. F. Crookes' Laboratories, Gorst Road, Park Royal, N.W.IO. Colloids in Medicine. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. F. Dartington Hall Film Unit, Totnes, South Devon. Classroom films on regional and eco- nomic geography. 16 mm. St. H. Electrical Development Association, 2 Savoy Hill, Strand, W.C.2. Four films of electrical interest. Further films of direct advertising appeal are available only through members of the Associa- tion, 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Educational General Services, 37 Golden Square, W.l. A wide selection of films, particularly of overseas interest. Some prints for sale. 16 mm. & St. H. Empire Film Library, Imperial Institute, S.W.7. Films primarily of Empire interest. With a useful subject index. 16 mm. & a few 35 mm. Sd. &St. F. Ensign Film Library, 88-89 High Holborn, London, W.C.I. Wide selection of all types of films including fiction, comedies, documentaries, films of geography, animal life, industry. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. St. & a few Sd. H. Film Centre, 34 Soho Square, W.l. Mouvements Vibratoires. A film on simple harmonic motion. French captions. 35 mm. & 16 mm. St. H. The Ford Film Library, Dagenham, Essex. Some 50 films of travel, engineering, scientific and comedy interest. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Gaumont-British Equipments, Film House, War- dour Street, W.l. Many films on scientific sub- jects, geography, hygiene, history, language, natural history, sport. Also feature films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. G.P.O. Film Library, Imperial Institute, S.W.7. Over 100 films, mostly centred round communi- cations. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Kodak, Ltd., Kingsway, W.C.2. (a) Kodascope Library. Instructional, documentary, feature, western, comedy. Strong on early American comedies. 16 mm. & 8 mm. St. H. (A separate List of Educational Films, extracted from the above, is also published. A number of films have teaching notes.) {b) Medical Film Library. Circu- lation restricted to members of medical profes- sion. Some colour films. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. St. H. CATALOGUE OF THE MONTH Pathescope Film Catalogue, North Circular Road, Cricklewood, London, N.W.2. Pathcscope's catalogue is confined to sound and silent films on 9.5 mm. and is designed to attract the home movie fan. In consequence its lay-out and style is a change indeed from the dry entries in most catalogues. Who would not be tempted to hire Revelry, in which "When coming home 'with the milk' a party of revellers descend upon the local sweep and have a fine time with his brushes and his barrow". But it is difficult to know what teachers would make oi Ape-Y-Days, listed under Natural History. "Mary-Mary, pet chimpanzee of Mr Cherry Kearton . . . enter- tains you with a few excerpts from her repertoire and invites your company in seeking adventure. Afterwards there is tea and a quiet cigarette. A lovable creature and story all will enjoy". Teachers should not be put off by these sort of entries, for many of the films are good for school use. It is a pity that the cata ogue entries often do not list the stars of the various films, which makes them of less use to the film historian. The cata- logue lists a number of good German, French and English films of the twenties. All Walter Forde's early comedies appear to be listed with such re- markable Continental films as Kean, The Chess Player, Vaudeville, Siegfried, Money, Kriemhild's Revenge, The Spy, and La Maiernelte (silent version). The catalogue is strong on American comedies and cartoons, and lists a great number of films by Snub Pollard, the early slap-stick comedian. A unique feature is a large number of 9.5 mm. sound films. Pathescope also issues a monthly supplement giving lists of new films acquired. The current number contains Master of the World starring Harry Piel, the famous German acrobatic comedian of silent days, and a number of topical films including the Bombing of Namsos. March of Time, Dean House, 4 Dean Street, W.l. Selected March of Time items, including Inside Nazi Germany, New Schools for Old, America Thinks it Over. 16 mm. Sd. H. Mathematical Films. Available from B. G. D. Salt, 5 Carlingford Road, Hampstead, N.W.3. Five mathematical films suitable for senioi classes. 16 mm. & 9.5 mm. St. H. Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co., Ltd., Traf- ford Park, Manchester 17. Planned Electrifica- tion, a film on the electrification of the winding and surface gear in a coal mine. Available foi showing to technical and educational groups, 16 mm. Sd. F. Pathescope, North Circular Road, Cricklewood. N.W.2. Wide selection of silent films, including cartoons, comedies, drama, documentary, travel, sport. Also good selection of early Americar and German films. 9.5 mm. Sd. & St. H. Petroleum Films Bureau, 15 Hay Hill, Berkele> Square, W. 1 . Twenty technical and documentarj films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Religious Film Library, 104 High Holborn. W.C.I. Films of religious and temperance appeal also list of supporting films from other sources 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Scottish Central Film Library, 2 Newton Place Charing Cross, Glasgow, C.3. A wide selectioi of teaching films from many sources. Contaia' some silent Scots films not listed elsewhere Library available to groups in Scotland only 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Sound-Film Services, 10 Park Place, Cardiff Library of selected films including Massingham'; And So to Work and Pollard's Dragon of Hales Rome and Sahara have French commentaries 16 mm. Sd. H. Southern Railway, General Manager's Office Waterloo Station, S.E.I. Seven films (one ii colour) including Building an Electric Coach South African Fruit (Southampton Docks t( Covent Garden), and films on seaside towns 16 mm. St. F. Strand Film Company, 5a Upper St. Martin' Lane, W.C.2. Eleven films available for non theatrical distribution including Aerial Mile stones. Chapter and Verse, Give the Kids a Break and a number of others of Empire and genera interest, including 3 silent Airways films. Most! 35 mm'. Sd. A few 16 mm. St. F. Wallace Heaton, Ltd., 127 New Bond Streei W.l. Three catalogues. Sound 16 mm., silen 16 mm., silent 9.5 mm. Sound catalogue contain number of American feature films, includin Thunder Over Mexico, and some shorts. Silent 1 mm. catalogue contains first-class list of earl American, German and Russian features an shorts, 9.5 catalogue has number of early Gei man films and wide selection of early America and English slapstick comedies. 16 mm. & 9. mm. Sd. & St. H. Workers' Film Association, 145 Wardour Stree W.l. Films of democratic and co-operative ir terest. Notes and suggestions for complete pre grammes. Some prints for sale. 35 mm. & 16 mn Sd. & St. H. r , lEkiS ,N,« DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER JULY 1940 19 MERTON PARK STUDIOS LTD 44 GOES TO IT" ikkw hilCllli .H. WITH ffilOK tricCti Docb side W it. iMa« lefoci Imall Hid iliis.* iondSiii jueai (ii.SiW listo" latiUS It' sally' BEHIND THE GUNS A FILM OF THE ARMS DRIVE TO BE SHOWN IN 4,000 CINEMAS IN THE MONTH OF JULY RELEASE DATE JULY FIRST AN UNPRECEDENTED DISTRIBUTION ;j FOR AN UNPRECEDENTED EILM I APPRECIATION "At the Tatler Theatre this week there is being shown a programme of three films which quietly and undemonstra- tively do something to explain the responsibilities of Em- pire. The films do not wave flags or point with pride to the vast expanse of the earth's surface which acknowledges the King-Emperor ; they go, in their different ways, soberly to work in pointing out how our administrators work hand in hand with the natives to help them with their own problems and to educate them to the end that they may govern them- selves. . . ." THE TIMES, list May, 1940 "Three short documentary films well worth looking out for were shown together under the title 'The British Em- pire', by The Strand Film Company at the beginning of May. In presenting these short films. Strand Films feel that the story of our contribution to civilisation and the arts of peace is surer of an appreciative audience than films giving a "fiery dramatisation' of the might and splendour of the Empire. . . ." THE TRIBUNE, 7th June, 1940 "... I am most interested to note, however, that this in- structive programme will be shown at many cinemas throughout the country shortly. The dissemination of Empire Knowledge through the medium of the film is, I am confident, most effective and should be developed to the utmost to educate the young, particularly, and at the same time counteract Nazi propaganda. . . ."' SIR WILLIAM WAYLAND, M.P., J.P. (Chairman of the Empire Day Movement) ''THE BRITISH EMPIRE. . . . A Documentary Film Record", a brochure which describes Empire and other productions of the Strand Fihn Company, can be obtained by readers of "Documentary News Letter" on application to The Publicity Director, The Strand Film Company, 5a Upper St. Martin's Lane, W.C.2. THE STRAND FILM COMPANY DONALD TAYLOR, Managing Director. ALEXANDER SHAW, Director of Productions 5a UPPER ST. MARTIN'S LANE, W.C.2. Merton Park Studios: 269 KINGSTON ROAD, S.W.19 Owned and published by Film Centre Ltd., 34 Soho Square, London, W. 1 , and primed by Simson Shand Ltd. , The Shenval Press, London and Hertford GO EWS If TTEn OL 1 No 8 PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY FILM CENTRE 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W1 FOURPENCE NOTES OF THE MONTH i IN AUSTRALIA i By John Grierson \ FIVE MINUTES A discussion of the recently published plans of the Ministry of Information 5 ECONOMICS ON THE SCREEN By Professor Polanyi 1 WAR BY NEWSREEL 9 CHILDREN AS FILM CRITICS 9 FILM OF THE MONTH — ConvOy 10 A cameraman's ANGLE 12 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS 15 "world window" EXPEDITIONARY FILMS 15 SHORT FILMS NOW IN PRODUCTION 16 NOTES FROM OVERSEAS 17 VERBATIM 18 FILM LIBRARIES |iliree Steps Forward «E MINISTRY OF INFORMATION has announced the com- issioning of a series of five-minute films to be released week / week. These are to go to cinemas free, and the Cinemato- ■aph Exhibitors Association and Kinematograph Renters ociety are giving full co-operation. Some of the films have ready reached the cinemas and considerations arising from le first batch are to be found elsewhere. This policy of an timate message week by week to the cinema goers of Great ritain is the most important step in British film propaganda nee the beginning of the war. Now that the production of Ims for short term purposes has been tackled, it is to be hoped lat the Ministry will turn its attention to the longer term sues which have so far been let slide and which are of even eater importance. If the democratic purpose of Britain's ar aim is to strike home, not only to the people of this country, but to the people of the free world, the ten months delay since the beginning of the war can only be offset by ener- getic measures. It is, we believe, of paramount necessity that our propaganda message in all fields shall go further than anti- Hitlerism. To make our own people and other people of the world go to the limit, we must indicate not only what we are against but what we are for. The attitude which says "win the war first and think afterwards" is essentially one of pessimism. It is clear that the need to postulate a good world beyond war is in the minds of the Prime Minister and Messrs. Bevin and Morrison, to mention only three names. We ask that British propaganda shall reflect this outlook, that it shall look into the good things of the future as well as dwelling on the good things of the past which we seek to preserve, that it shall not only illuminate the crudities of Hitlerism but shall put something worth while in their place. In short, our propaganda must be positive. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 One Step Back SINCE THE above note was written, a new addition to the series has appeared which, although a soUtary example, is so pointless and tasteless that one wonders whether the standard of the programme is going to remain sufficiently high to make it worth while. Food for Thought, with its poor dialogue and cheap jokes, does not even succeed in putting across a message. It only creates a muddle even in the minds of those who, before seeing it, had a working knowledge of nutritional principles. Why did the Films Division pass the script, pass the production, and pass it for distribution? What part did the Ministry of Food play in the making of the film? It marks an all-time low level in cheap propaganda films — and that is saying a good deal. It is vital that the Films Division should maintain a decent level both of film quality and of propaganda. We devoutly hope that this particular production is only a passing bilious attack, and not the first symptom of a chronic disease. Handing it to Hollywood THE CHARACTERISTIC abandon of the Board of Trade has given the British production industry another blow. Their new Quota regulations, made by an Order in Council, seem to be entirely in the interest of American renting companies. The objectives of the Board of Trade appear to be short term. The new act will secure production in Britain of a hmited number of high budget films, which will be shown all over the world. This is good as far as it goes, but it will force the independent British producer into making only cheap second features. For no British producer can gamble on making a high budget film against the selling power of the American renter. Yet in recent months, and despite the war, independent British production has steadily increased in quality, and has produced films that will rank with anything from Hollywood. Now this is to be thrown away, and the field left to the Ameri- cans. There is little doubt that this legislation, in a very few months, will have produced a situation comparable to 1918- 1927, when the British film industry was completely dominated in every department by American interests. No doubt this action of the Board of Trade is part of a much wider system of financial adjustments between this country and the U.S.A. In fact the film, and all the world good will that that word suggests, is as usual being treated as of secondary importance. One can only hope that, after the war, it will not take another post war decade for the Government to realise the value of the screen for the projection of British point of view, and so undo this Order in Council. In an effort to solve these problems, independent voluntary producers, Balcon, Corfield, Smith, Mycroft and others have formed a "council of action", and have shed themselves of the studio and renting interests who clogged their work in the Film Producers' Association. They are making joint and vigorous protests as they feel their type of production is doomed. It is to be hoped that this voice of British film production will be heard in Great George Street. Union Now THE TREND OF industrial development in this country i^ towards co-operative working and the gradual elimination o individual enterprise. This has been hastened by the war an,« will probably be further accentuated by conditions after ^ war. There is now an opening towards some form of regulate* federation in the film industry. There is one example in th Newsreel Association, and another in the close exchange o views among short and propaganda film makers. The featur producing industry could probably benefit still more from som' form of central direction or authority. If it were possible fo' '^^^\ producers to bring themselves under a federated system of con trol of all branches of production, they might find the solutio:' * ''' of many of their problems. It would give them greater strengft SIR- as buyers and sellers. It would give them a more detache<' "'"'''' approach to Government departments and trade union l^^!"' without the stamp of self-interest. It would give them a mor effective method of working in the national interest. Our feelin is that if some step of this kind is not taken within the next fe\ months the confusions of the producers themselves, and tW muddle and lack of vision of the Ministry of Information aa the Board of Trade may lead to a "statesmanlike" compillsor mobilisation from above of the film industry in the national™^ interest leai Scoop ON SUNDAY evening, July 14th, the B.B.C. interpolated int< its News Bulletin an item which must rank as one of th biggest scoops ever achieved in broadcasting. This was running commentary by Charles Gardiner on the bombin, of a convoy in the channel and the subsequent dog-fight whei the British fighters drove off the raiders. For pure excitemen nothing like it has ever been heard over the air; and th authenticity of Gardiner's commentary was backed by th rattle of the machine guns, the excited remarks of the local, near the microphone, and the sensational zoom of a Hurrican over the B.B.C. van. Many people must have wonderei whether the newsreel companies were also there. They wck The pictorial side was almost as much of a scoop as th broadcast. As far as editing was concerned, those newsreel which stuck to a bald statement were by far the most sue cessful. These gave a far greater impression of actuality tha: in the cases where the real material was boosted on th cutting bench with stock shots of German bombers am suchlike. It is to be hoped that facilities for this type o shooting will continue to be widely granted. For, apart fror its value in the cinemas, it is also a permanent asset as regard the factual recording of the war. And a full film record c all aspects of operations is something which should on ni account be passed by. Horsey Keep Your Tail Up i THE TITLE OF the fijm Way Back When a Horse was a Na has been altered to Way Back When a Nag was a Horsi {Kinematograph Weekly, 4-7-40.) meo htk. .So lenic siba Jltles until m :iirpi JBiei ■Ssin J En ^ 'ill DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 Uttrt e ifeai nei! IN AUSTRALIA By JOHN GRIERSON USTRALIA IS ALL of twelve thousand miles away. Its beauty distant in the fashion of, say, Dod Procter, and its gum trees )ni(^e all the seven ages of man. Its natives are superbly ckney in vitality and have no trammels of inferiority, hey have no inferiority complex to the point of emphasis ^\t id consciously accept no living model, especially from ngland. Even in regard to the things called culture. A few, rincipally in Melbourne, sit with finger to face drinking in -; le symphonies, but, on the other hand, the huskies of Broken ill think all English actors are, ipso facto, sissies. It is also matter of self-respect to tramp on one's neighbour's foot ther than miss it. And to any throat naively bared- reach thousand willing hands. Aesthetics in general have a rough me and discussion is not yet a pursuit of the national genius. All this, by and large, makes Australia probably the most cciting, human, boisterous and humorous of the Dominions, jmeone observes that the birth of this nation like all honest rths is a noisy, dirty and bloody business. This describes So do the soldiers of the second A.E.F. marching on sremonial parade in the streets of Sydney. They are tall id handsome in the bright Australian sun and drink the ttles of beer passed in from the crowds at magnificent tention. Something of this definite and individual character mes out in their arts and particularly and significantly in leir popular arts. The women of Sydney are smarter than the omen of Hollywood, which takes genius. Their window- 'essing strikes a higher average than New York or Chicago, is, in fact, as good as the window-dressing of New Zealand — le Empire's most educated country — is bad. Their exhibition ork at the Centennial Exhibition in Wellington is as fine as ly anywhere and contains the best and most affectionate :hibit of Melanesian art in a decade. They have a good body popular verse and songs of their own. They breed witty id vicious cartoonists as America breeds sports writers. leir labour tradition stems with a gay and unindoctrinated omiscuity from the Levellers, the Chartists, the Wobblies, ^''' oung Tom Mann and the Clydeside of John McLean. Itogether they haven't much to learn from anyone about iing alive in a bright and brilliant common sort of way, ith the rights of man safe in their noddles. Australia is the nd of England England was on the day of the Jubilee when e people for a moment crawled out from behind the walls id from under the ceilings into the sunlight to praise the King. ley agree with Dostoievsky, though with less cogitation, at living is better than the knowledge of it. They put culture its place in the sense that they have not yet been deceived id destroyed by it and are so instinctively watchful that they rike down good and bad standards with an equal zest and rility. Men have grown handsome in this Australian sunlight but )t films, which are less important. The American article has he!J 'di 10)1 a zingo and shine on it which suits the climate. There is also the deep relationship which comes from being the America of, say, forty years ago, before the deluge and ten million unem- ployed. They like pictures which go places or — in their earlier age of innocence — seem to. Their theatres are resplendent and in excellent good taste like their window-dressing, even in the smaller towns. This befits the facts that they are uniquely important, as the only genuine heartfelt temples of culture outside the fight-rings, racecourses and beaches. They take their films with such em^phasis that they travel a hundred miles from the farm to see them. It took Australia to invent plate glass loges, silenced and with overhead speakers, where babies, bores and other rowdies can watch the screen and bawl their heads off without disturbing the deep concentration of the citizenry without. The Americans, by controlling supply, control the situation generally, principally Fox. In the past, the opposition, for lack of supply, has made considerable play with British films, and more so than in any other Dominion. Part sentiment, pari fa lit e cle mieux, a movement on behalf of British films has developed from the mixture of business necessity. Im- perial hankering and Pacific sensitivity. It also derives from the fact that a campaign for British films was one way of opening up finance for native Australian production. No single factor is the whole of the paradox which makes the most parochial Australian sometimes the most voluble champion of England. With these qualifications, there is an Imperial school. It has the enormous backing of a national habit of thought. Australia is the most English of the Dominions, in the swiftly narrowing sense that it did actually come from England, which is certainly not true of Canada. It talks still of England as "home" and needs the Navy more than anything. On the other hand, the affection of the home-goer discovers a singular mental reserve when viewing the habitations of his brother Britons between Tilbury and Liverpool Street. And, on the other hand, too, the affection for England is not automatically engaged by the sight of pictured West End successes or other offerings of our not so deeply English film studios. Another weakness of. the Imperial film view in Australia, as elsewhere, is in thinking that blood flows out of flags and that Indians, Canadians, Yorkshiremen, Hottentots and Whitehall officials are just one big miasmic British audience and one big abstract British market. The idea has been played with, particularly in Australia, because Australia believes it, or because it hasn't thought about it sufficiently, or because it is the sort of abstraction which sometimes appeals to the abstract philoso- phers of finance. A troubled scepticism, however, prevents the idea maturing and this, as always, is the other half of the Imperial fact. The One Family idea does not describe either the actuality or the potentiality of the Dominions, as Rudyard Kipling and Walter Creighton discovered some years ago DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 for even the dumbest to see. The factors are these. Each nation, being young, is proud of its difference. Each is, in fact, different, and within the ordinary terms which every infant learns in his first lessons in human geography. Each, though the little hand rest in the hand of the parent, carries in the little heart a big, big question mark. This sometimes has to do with finance and problems of tribute, but oftener still with a particular advertised ad nauseam brand of English culture which it suspects, dislikes and, among the stronger spirits, despises. For these reasons the One Family idea makes no films, nor distributes them much, and Australia, like the others, proceeds on its local steam, which is to say, it indulges in production on its lonesome and from scratch. The point is that the real relationships between the Empire countries are not articulated and the vital bonds which can only concern real people and real things are not maintained. If the philoso- phy of Empire were renewed and revitalised the films would come and the one big audience would come — and even the one big market would come — but not before. This is now no longer argument, but a conclusion proved. Austraha is better equipped than the other Dominions with film technicians who know American standards and, across the width of the Pacific, have to work things out for themselves. They work necessarily on the limited budget their local market allows, which is around £10,000, though on occasion it has been stretched ambitiously by dreams of One Family and American markets to £30,000 and £40,000. One gains the impression there are more film men in Australia who want to go places than in the other Dominions and the native zest makes them want to go places with an engaging ferocity. At present they are at work on half a dozen feature films, financed at least in part by the New South Wales Government. What will come out of them it is difficult to say. American standards are not easily achieved without the immense creative resources of Hollywood. Present English or Conti- nental standards are not in the Australian heart or mind. If, however, the Australians walk confidently before their own gods, something local and vital will unquestionably emerge and be better for Australia than either. It will, one suspects, be very local at first, as Saturday night sing-songs and music halls are local, with sentiment strong and humour broad; and this also was the background of Burns. Perhaps the taste of metropolitan showmanship will tend to prevent confidence in such deeply native things; or again, as in America, it may discover some of the true things which make ippea linns iom Of jiitli t\\ lide (yti iivles for national pride. Perhaps the relative rarity in the land of'xfe critical discussion — so otherwise healthy — will tend to prevent liool' the development of style. Perhaps the national preoccupation Jief with the pleasures of a richly diverting landscape will tend to limit concentration. These are Australia's production prob- lems. As yet one sees no single force which, translating a national purposeinto action, makes thefilman instrument of its; translation. Obviously and consequently, one does not see yeti the film reaching out confidently to a national purpose to give itself strength. There are good machines and good men. There is good will. Australia is the most beautiful and picaresque stretch of men and land which the refugees and pioneers of England have invested with their genius. The light may yet kindle and shoot upwards. It may happen casually out of the sprawling vitality and hopefulness of a vast; sunlit country as in America. It might, on the other hand, '\i. deliberation in these matters ever comes to Australia, happen less wastefully. The day of such flaming is not yet. The lone, individuals who feel that something so obviously astonishing: to the blood and muscle as Australia is, ought to be have something done about it, go on dreaming and promoting and: hoping and tearing their hearts out rather more than in most places. Over and behind all this, is the story of individual States, of strong directorates of education, imaginative universit) extension departments and another outlook on films alto- gether. That story must be separately set down. It might b£ as well to emphasise that the One Family idea is no good in that field either. Vital Australia will only take what is vita in England. The devitalised tale we have been telling these ter years has been death to us all over the world and, in the field o ' this News Letter's interest, no tragedy has been more foreseer and sadder, because more avoidable. The dithering of ou; distribution service — the fault not of individuals but of un^' I2ie imaginative government — has been in keeping with a countr M( which in these black years has forgotten or ignored or violatec '^ the true springs of its inspiration. We had it to say and stil * have it to say. The only basic thing in Australia or anywhere >kol is the thought that somehow, and in spite of English appear ances, there was and is the beating heart of ordinary EnglislJ^i people that created England and is its whole significance Why in the name of England we should allow it to be foreve perversely denied, diminished and thwarted, one deepl; asks, expecting now — while there is time — the swiftest cl answers. FIVE MINUTES A discussion of the recently published plans of the Ministry of Information THE FILMS DIVISION of the Ministry of Information has begun a programme of "five-minute" films. The object is to get a message across to the general cinema-going public every week, and a first list of fourteen subjects has been put into production, of which four or five will have been screened by the time this article appears. The reason for limiting th running time of these films to roughly five minutes (thoug some of them run {£> nearer seven) is largely that exhibitor will have no difficulty in fitting the weekly film into their normi programme. If the films were longer, the exhibitors might we lot fell DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 :r:.; Hi )e faced with the choice between cutting out a paid-for short booked well ahead) from their programme, or failing to show le Ministry of Information film at all. The good sense of the ilms Division is therefore to be applauded, for there was no jractical obstacle to the Cinematograph Exhibitors Associa- ion agreeing to the plan ; and in point of fact the Association ppears to have acted with promptitude and enthusiasm, thus iving the lie to certain apologists in the Ministry of Informa- ion who claim that the Trade refuses to co-operate. Of the films so far released about half have concentrated ^' W?^ ^^^ human and dramatic element, the rest being based Sii )n the "commentary and music" technique. Of the latter jride of place is taken by Priestley's Britain at Bay, made y the G.P.O. Film Unit ; of the former, the contrasting tyles of A Call to Anns (Brian Desmond Hurst) and rhey Also Serve (R. I. Grierson) are noteworthy. A Call to W. irms is frankly theatrical; chorus girls become munition vorkers, females collapse after twelve-hour shifts, and the limax represents women working what appears to be a sixteen ssShour shift in order to meet an urgent order for bullets. Here ujjhe melodramatic values must be presumed to be more ,331 important than the actual factory facts; but it is difficult to see how one can tell whether the normal audience reaction would be mepris at the conditions depicted, or a desire to join the munition workers and thus ease the shifts into more efficient hours. They Also Serve, on the other hand, takes the simple story of an ordinary housewife, and makes it dramatic by focussing our attention on the ordinary human kindliness which may be found daily in the millions of semi-detached houses of our cities. Here the film stands or falls purely by whether the audience recognises itself, or its relations, with a humorous and warm delight. In both types the morale values and the direct propaganda values intermingle, with morale ahead by half a length. The most important point about this series is, however, that the Films Division can stick a real feather in its cap if it can establish a good audience reaction to the weekly dose. For, if high quality is maintained, it may be possible to get to the point where audiences miss their weekly M.O.I, film just as much as they would miss their newsreel. The Five Minute Film might thus come to have a permanent and vivifying value in the ordinary cinemas. 15a 10 ii ECONOMICS ON THE SCREEN By PROFESSOR M. POLANYI ■ jlvijjBTHERE ARE obvious limits to the power of the camera to •epresent the outside world. Take the simple fact that Britain s an island. Photographs can show the British coast and illus- :rate the seafaring life along its shores; but no amount of holography can represent the simple fact that the country is ;ompletely surrounded by sea. This can be stated only in erms of a map which shows the coastline running round the vhole of the land. In fact, the statement that '"Britain is an sland" must be first explained by a symbolic picture, and fjj photography can only be used afterwards to illustrate its ontents. And this holds in general : the diagram is used for explaining, the photograph for illustrating outside reality. While the former guides reason, the latter appeals to the senses ind to emotion ; and only jointly do they reveal the complete luman significance of their subject. How can diagrams and photography join together to make us understand economic life, the way we make our living in society? How can they guide us through this part of reality, 50 full of the threatening conflicts of our time? The main fact of economic life is the division of labour. To this we are fatally committed, because hardly any human Deing could survive in Europe if each had to provide his own jhelter, clothing and tools. The degree of specialisation in the present division of labour can be assessed by a glance at a ilassified telephone directory : there are thousands of different •ades, all of which directly or indirectly make their contri- ^1^^. ution to the needs of the most modest citizen. The citizen ^^; [himself works in one of these specialised trades and lives . by exchanging the product of his labours with those of thou- sands of others working in the other trades. He sells his product (or has it sold for him by the firm or institution to which he belongs) and for the money received he buys what he needs : that is the process of exchange. It involves all the customers to whom the things go which the citizen produces, hundreds or thousands of people ; and all the suppliers from whom the things come which he uses, again thousands and perhaps millions of people ; and since these two groups of persons are not identical, the circle of exchanges must, in fact, be extending even further, including the exchanges between the customers and the suppliers of the citizen. In this vast circle of exchanges on which the modern standard of life depends, each participant hands on his produce in one direction, say to his neighbour on the left, representing his customers, and receives in the end — as a result of the shifts going all round the circle — the equivalent of his produce from his neighbour on the right, who represents his suppliers. Money is handed round in the opposite direction, and at each step a bargain is struck; so much goods for so much money. Thus, all the things that are exchanged have a price in money attached to them, and each person must try to produce what will sell best. Production is directed to the purpose of monetary gain. This picture is the commercial view of economic hfe which has in recent years gained wide acceptance even among its Socialist antagonists as the proper way of satisfying the citizens' personal requirements, which form the greater part of his DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 normal peace-time needs. But the battle for and against Commercialism, which has been raging at full force ever since the opening of the last century, is still the most vital, the most crucial, struggle of humanity. Collectivism, now extending in various forms over the larger part of modern civihsation, uses all its power to reduce the sphere of commerce operating through individual money bargains, in favour of direction by the State, which represents the collective purposes of society and the public view regarding the good of the citizen. Col- lectivism stands for closer solidarity, Commercialism for more individual independence ; every inch of ground is fiercely contested in the struggle of these rival tendencies. Photography of economic life can show people at work in factories, in mines and on the land; it can show their effort and their skill; their comradeship and good sense. But the photograph does not show whether they are making a profit or a loss, which from the commercial point of view is the main significance of their labours. The circle of gainful bargains in which they form a link cannot be caught by documentary shots, any more than the island nature of Britain can be represented by a sequence of sea views. This inevitable omission naturally produces the impression that the process of manu- facture is based not on the consideration of costs and receipts in money, but on some objective criterion of usefulness, implied in the emphasis which the picture lends to the visible outside features of the people at work. In fact, the dramatisa- tion of the human and technical aspects of production which must be the main documentary approach to economic life represents a technocratic view of production which is essenti- ally coUectivist. Because, if the nature of economic production is such that its value can be correctly appreciated from outside — without reference to commercial considerations — by the public to which the film appeals, then it ought to be even more certainly assessible by the public authorities, which hence would be fully competent to take its direction in hand and would, in fact, be clearly entitled and obliged to do so. It is by virtue of this coUectivist implication that the docu- mentary style originally arose in the Russian propaganda film which for the first time represented work on farms and in factories with the emphasis of a public triumph. And the same implication persists in the documentaries made in capitalist countries which ring true only if they represent public enter- prises where the valuation of products is more or less uncom- mercial, being largely based on the approval of public opinion — whereas documentaries sound hollow when dramatising private undertakings, because they leave out the balance sheet with the prices and profits (along with the managers and owners) which in reality are the prime movers of the action. This is the point where the new diagrammatic film repre- senting economic life by motion symbols sets its ambitious task. The film, or rather sequence of films, Unemployment and Money, which was reviewed in the June number of this paper, demonstrates how this new approach goes straight at the commercial side of economic life. Its main theme is precisely that grand circle of commercial exchanges, too vast to be seen by any single observer, which guides all individual economic activities in a system of highly divided labour. Just as the island nature of Britain is made visible symbolically on a map by a closed curve representing its coast line — which no other explanation, no amount of photography or of verbal description can represent with equal clarity — so does the motion symbol of monetary circulation, consisting of a rotating belt of definite width and rate of gyration which is the principal feature of this film, unambiguously establish the concept of this circulation, which no verbal explanation (and certainly no photography) can clearly impart to the popular mind. My experience with adult classes and higher school forms suggests that this symbolic notation is easily absorbed by any person of normal intelligence and can then be used asi a firm basis for further pictorial and verbal arguments. The film when demonstrated and explained in its entirety — which, requires about three to six lectures — seems to succeed in establishing a new plane, or stage, on which the major phases of business fife are visibly enacted, within reach of the under- standing and interest of popular audiences. Unemployment and Money consists of six reels. In the first the symbols are directly intelligible pictures, figures of men and women. The men represents the citizens as producers, the women show the citizens as consumers. From the homes the men move out in one direction along a circle to their jobs at the places of production, while the women go out in thei|fee opposite direction, along the same circle, towards the shops. The goods produced by the men start flowing around the circle towards the shops, the money spent by the women goes round to meet it. The second reel transforms the notation into the abstract form of which the gyrating money belt is the most essential feature. The argument which opens in the third reel and goes on with increasing complexity through another three reels, represents the changing tides of monetary circulation which determine the unstable prospects of business life. Wfe' see the paradoxical interplay between Thrift and Enter prise which results in alternate phases of depressions with undeserved misery to the workers, and of booms with unjust gains to the employers. We see the mechanism of that exaspera^ ting and immoral uncertainty which makes people cry out for coUectivist dictatorship. And yet on this new plane the commercial view of economic life is firmly established against coUectivist prejudice. The necessity of conducting economic life by the grand circle of exchanges which is made possible only by the circulation of money is clearly ascertained even while the evils of monetary disturbances are being demonstrated. And there results a determination to check these evils while maintaining and cultivating the essential mechanism of commercial life. Ultimately, it should be the task of the economic diagram film to give a firm basis to popular economic thought by a visual scheme which explains the commercial mechanism, while the documentary film would illustrate the events arising from this mechanism, and would, moreover, exercise control over the commercial theory by facing it with the results which it bears in practice. Meanwhile, there is a vast amount of work to be done to develop the economic diagram film and its use in teaching and discourse to a level at which it can become really effective ; I hope that Unemployment and Money may indicate to the careful observer a number of directions in which this work is to be pursued. m ita jivili nitiJ Ive ipk K ■the m w Tlif m M itir iiil lis. to i k lor kiio tool ■jde mil i\( taa aies nil DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 ■■alt:; WAR BY NEWSREEL Reprinted from Film News, published by American Film. Center liti :iij fTDRiES by foreign correspondents of American 013 lewspapers are trimmed to suit political and Ors nilitary needs, but the journalists have the y I jrivilege of seeing a little, asking questions and vriting their own stuff. Newsreel correspondents lave no such advantages. Foreign cameramen mployed by American newsreel companies, ■*injfiaving a peculiar war-time value, find themselves n the army and American cameramen find them- ielves at some distance from the news. Peace lews is shot by young boys. The drafting of American-employed foreign ;ameramen leaves them for the time being in he 2 I dubious position on American pay-rolls, and their films, shot under military orders, have definitely become army or government hand- Duts. Should a cameraman of one company )btain independent footage, he must share it ''t?' with other companies more or less equally. S'jBSince all films become official, no matter who oes the camera work, competition, when it ixists at all, is more in the shipping than the .hooting. ;rii 0113 Some differences exist between the countries ijlM n or near the war. In Germany all film pro- jjfl iuction is under the Propaganda Ministry and 10 outsiders are taking pictures. Always camera- Tiinded, Germany has given the filma high place '"^'* n military and propaganda strategy. It is said :;. ' ;hat Germany has more cameramen in the war Ifli :han any other country, and certainly there is no hortage of reels favourable to the Nazis shipped Toni Berlin via Lisbon and Clipper to the United States. Most of this material becomes available ^'?-^o all American newsreel companies, the largest ecipient being Fox Movietone which still has ^ German company, Foxtonendewochenschau. The American company knows little of the situation of its German company ; no money has been obtained by Fox from Germany in many year; and although large quantities of film are itollBreceived from Foxtonendewochenschau, their iource is the Propaganda Ministry. All camera- Tuen are in the German army, and, it is under- itood, have the same status as regular soldiers, '■■ "pbeing in fact just that. jjoUB] German war-newsreels, thematically Nazi, ippear as dehumanised, machine-age spectacles, , , icrrific in fireworks, devoid of the realities of Tiutilation and death. Tanks and aircraft destroy ^^* :nemy fortifications. No one is hurt. From a lOti' listance, a town is gutted by bombs. No one is ;;\tiU cilled. Blasted, smoking, elegant ruins emerge. The spirit is heroic. The mood is the mystic nevitability of the march of the German Tiachine. To obtain German Films, American newsreels ire required by contract to submit to German restrictions on presentation and commentary. [The Nazis, thus, through a long range control over cutting, editing and titling, prevent their propaganda from being used against them. Not always, however. An instance of propa- ganda turning on its maker occurred toward the end of the Polish campaign, resulting in a newsreel scoop. Films of the Westerplatte Battle (the mopping up of Poland) were joyfully shipped out of Germany to the agents of the American companies in Holland, and were relayed on their long roundabout journey to the United States. One agent, previewing the films in Holland, concluded that they were the worst possible propaganda for Germany in America. Chancing the loss of the film altogether, he flew to London arid put the German propaganda into the Lion's mouth. The British propaganda minister agreed with him that the German reel was good British propaganda, and passed it. Flown directly to the United States, it gave his company a five-day shipping beat over the other four companies. To be sure of the effect, the American editor tagged on Polish pictures of the human side of the Nazi spectacle. Most Allied pictures counter German heroics by stressing human appeal, portraying body horrors and refugee misery. In England some initiative is permitted on non-military subjects. In the war there may be different pictures of the same thing, but all cameramen are given a prescribed subject to shoot. As a result, competitive interest has languished there too. Fox controls British Movietone News; Paramount, British Para- mount News. Others are served by Gaumont. Before the recent German invasions, inde- pendent work was done in Holland, Belgium and Norway. Two Paramount men were evacuated from Namsos with the British troops, as was Fox's British Movietone cameraman. All American newsreels have active offices in Stock- holm, and several men are roving through the censor-laden Balkans and Italy. Before the war three American companies had exchange associations with foreign news- reels, and to a limited extent these arrangements still prevail. Paramount and Fox once owned foreign language reels in many countries. Both lost money on the proposition, but found that it helped in coverage costs and in booking Ameri- can features programmes, including news, in those countries. Most of these reels have folded up. Not only are no outside cameramen allowed in Russia, but no films on the invasion of Finland have been made available through sale or exchange by Russia on that unpopular enter- prise. Newsreel companies regard the absence of Russian government films as remarkable in view of Russia's well-known interest in films and the noting of cameras among Russians in films from the Finnish front. Paramount once hired a Russian cameraman who was decorated by his government for his work; later he was sent to jail for fifteen years during one of the purges. Russia seems uninterested in the kind of fragmentary propaganda that is possible in newsreels, caring only for feature pictures with the full thesis. The Clipper neutrally packs German and Allied reels side by side at Lisbon, both sides providing hundreds of thousands of feet. Editors on this end complain of too much expensive and useless footage. Large amounts are said to be either too obviously propagandist or mon- otonously repetitious. The amount of incoming footage, too, is oat of proportion to the one-reel, twice-weekly release of the American companies, making the newsreel relatively the costliest of current films. All companies hope for better picture. Every British ship, it is reported, carries a 16 mm. camera, and therefore, naval pictures are shot in the smaller size. Blowing them up to 35 mm. results in loss of quality. None of the war film material from any country is technically good. Films are shot with hand cameras, under adverse circumstances, and are duped six or seven times before reaching the exhibitor. The first actual fighting pictures came through in May, best of which were of the naval battle for the control of Norway. Naval and refugee material has been superior to land fighting films. The most spec- tacular land pictures were those shot early in the war on the conquest of Poland. March of Time, which is not interested in spot news, has had crews in London and Paris shoot- ing war background. A half-million feet of film have been stored up on the Allied home front, showing industries, war preparations, rehearsals, manoeuvres, etc. Although some of their men were drafted, they are still shooting. The com- pany expects to obtain actual fighting material by purchase. Stories are planned on " France at War" and "England at War," the latter chiefly about the fleet. Two camera crews are in the Far East ; one is en route from the Dutch East Indies; another is in Hong Kong. Despite the limitations in coverage which prevent the newsreel from showing many phases of the war, the films now reaching the American public do perform a useful function in giving a visual sense of war conditions. And although much good spot news is held back by censorship offices, this vvar is getting unpre- cedented film coverage. When it is over we shall probably have the opportunity of seeing it in detail on the screen — shot by shot. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 We have great pleasure in announcina that JAMES BRIDIE and ROBERT FLAHERTY have joined our Board REALIST FILM UNIT LTD DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 CHILDREN AS FILM CRITICS A further essay (abridged) onEkk'sKoad to Life which won a DNL prize in con- junction with the Educational Department of the Burslem Industrial Co-operative Society. By a girl pupil at Thiiley Hough Girls School IN MY OPINION, by far the most impressive film that I saw during last season was the Russian film The Road to Life. Perhaps it was the abso- lute foreignness of it that struck me. When the first character study flashed on to 'the screen I was somewhat dismayed at the ugli- ness and unrefinedness of the features. There was no attempt to beautify the faces, they were almost too true to life. I have seen many English and American films with similar backgrounds, characters from the same stage of life, but never have I seen life so fearlessly and truly portrayed. Even the poorest, the lowest character of an English film is treated so as not to appear dis- tasteful to the audience. Contrary to this, often during the course of the Russian film many looked away with a shudder, for the children's faces were worn like those of old men, and every face bore traces of hardships endured and a suspicion of life. Throughout the film there was never a face similar to those as seen on the English screen, every line, fault and expression was shown almost to exaggeration. Evidently make-up is not used as an aid to beauty in Russian films. Often one laughed during the course of the film, but usually not the clear laugh of enjoy- ment, for while the unusualness and often the ugliness became somewhat humorous, there was always something to horrify and pain us at I the same time. It was remarked that the humour of the film was similar to that of the "Charlie Chaplins". Yes, indeed, many of the humorous parts were the result of awkwardness : perhaps their shoes, too, were odd and ungainly as were their clothes and figures. Whereas the wickedness of the "Chaplin" films can be looked on as mis- chief, that of the Russian boys was vice, just the craving for the power to cheat, rob and even kill with skill. The story, enlarged by many horrifying scenes, was really simple. It was another attempt to prove that the way the mind, not the body, is influenced determines the way of life the child will eventu- ally take. The path of ruin and wickedness was pointed out to us by showing the ruin brought upon a family where hitherto love and happiness had reigned serene. The good wife of the house, while stopping for a kindly word and to buy from a street seller was attacked, robbed and killed by the actions of a street gang. Unable to find further happiness in life the husband, the father, endeavoured to drown his sorrow by drinking, and when in his terrible drunkenness he attempted to take life from his son he finally shattered the last remnants of home life, and sent yet another orphan to the streets. The son of this "home of the past" joined the boys of the underworld, with whom he slept in cellars, fought, stole and helped to wreck the lives of others. Authorities, dismayed by the ever increasing number of street bandits, raided the haunts of the underworld, collected the boys together and made preparations to send them to strict national homes. Then arose the man who shocked such insti- tutions. He looked to find good in these outcasts and determined to find it. Why not trust them, give them money, find them occupations, teach them to look on themselves as ordinary indi- viduals, fellow countrymen? His project was given trial, the boys astounded by this new treatment obeyed wishes, not com- mands, almost unquestioningly. They were, taken to a home of their own, there were no concrete attempts made to prevent their escaping. They created their own factories of industry, made their own clothes, boots and furniture. Here in this hive of activity, there was no time for thought of bygone days, and their former habits. Then came a time, when owing to severe weather conditions, transport became impossible, and the Boys Town factories were scenes of in- activity. It now became evident that the bad life of former days had not become thoroughly despicable to the boys. It was not a long job for them to destroy the results of much labour, together with many other acts of treachery. To prevent the recurrence of such a plight, the benefactor proceeded to instruct in the making of a railway. During the construction of this railway the adult leaders of the old gangs made many at- tempts to divert the boys' attention to bad habits, among them the vices of drink, cards and women. In spite of all this the railway was finally completed. One of the reformed boys, in his eagerness to prove the perfection of the workmanship, journeyed along the lines in a small vehicle. During this journey he was treacherously at- tacked, and after fighting for the prestige of his home and benefactor he was killed. His one wish had been to ride before the first engine of the new town for boys. This wish was realised when his dead body was placed carefully in front of the engine and silently conveyed to the settlement. If industry, honesty, and even feeling could be introduced into those urchins of Russia, what could be done for so many in so similar a plight? Could not they too be shown The Road to Life? Was this the appeal that Russia in her anguish sent out during her time of so great a trial? FILM OF THE MONTH CONVOY Production: A.T.P. Studios. Producer: Michael Balcon. Direction: Pen Tennyson. Distribution: A.B.F.D. IF LOVE IT IS that makes the world go round we must not expect a change of motive power in war-time; we must not be suprised to find His Majesty's Navy tacking round the eternal triangle in the intervals of duty. In Convoy, however, the problem of whether David loved Lucy arouses so little interest and, indeed, leads so inescapably to the conclusion that good sailors prefer ships to women, that one is tempted to the heresy that professional efficiency, heroism and self-sacrifice were sufficient ingredi- ents to give this film its emotional appeal. Perhaps there was no need for the embarrassed passage through the story of a young woman cast for the role of a plain nuisance. However, distributors are superstitious people and prefer the time-worn formulae. Audiences, with no choice in the matter, will accept the love interest as an inevitable characteristic of celluloid drama. And they will find more than adequate compensation in the less erotic personnel with which Mr. Pen Tennyson has peopled the lower decks of his Navy and the bridges of his mer- cantile marine. That Mr. Tennyson was suf- ficiently sensible of the qualities of ordinary people to be able to recreate them on the screen, we already knew. We knew also that he could create an environment and endow it with an atmosphere which surpassed studio conventions in authenticity. Yet his picture of naval life and ritual aboard ship is more difficult to achieve and more surely accomplished than anything he has yet attempted. Here, in a few short episodes woven into more spectacular excitements, is the rigid social code of the wardroom, the etiquette of the bridge, the single-minded devotion of the captain's steward, a worthy who enjoys the deference of his fellows as one who may choose to reveal the mood and intentions of the Old Man, that remote ruler of the floating com- munity. Here too, in the mess decks, is the inevitable "sea-lawyer", pessimistically elabora- ting the common grievance before an irreverent and hilarious audience. The dialogue and humour are up to the minute and genuine British made; the sets, photography and editing are first-rate. The naval battles are the best we have seen on the screen. Then there is Clive Brook who does succeed in convincing us that ships mean more to him than women. Unfortunately the Germans of the film are conventional automata, punctuating their sadisms with heel-clicking, as if Hitler had been educated exclusively on the less inspired per- formances of von Stroheim. It is a pity that we do not take advantage in such films as this of the opportunity to represent the Nazis as in- habitants of this planet and therefore eligible to be subjected to human standards of criticism. The public can only be bewildered and depressed by the contemplation of the enemy in the guise of ersatz men of Mars. i 10 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 fflWS UTTER MONTHLY FOURPENCE NUMBER 8 AUGUST 1940 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is issued only to private sub- scribers and continues thie policy and purpose of World Film News by expressing the documentary idea towards everyday living. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is produced under the auspices of Film Centre, London, in asso- ciation with American Film Center, New York. EDITORIAL BOARD Edgar Anstey Arthur Elton John Grierson Donald Taylor John Taylor Basil Wright Outside contributions will be welcomed but no fees will be paid. We are prepared to deliver from 3 — 50 copies in bulk to Schools, Film Societies and other organi- sations. Owned artel published by FILM CENTRE LTD. 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W.l GERRARD 4253 i A CAMERAMAN'S ANGLE By BERNARD KNOWLES, cameraman of Gaslight Reprinted by permission of The Cine- technician mri! Anot iJ(ai| JUST OVER TWENTY ycats ago, I was a staff photographer on an American newspaper, T/ie Detroit News. For some time my services were occupied on what was irt of litany the social achievements of Britain nee 1918 interpolated with the continuously ipeated phrase "We forgot Germany". But, hatever your reaction, there is no doubt that it lakes an excellent string on to which to thread le beads of Keene's sensitive shooting. He is ae of the few directors who have retained the iving care of composition and chiaroscuro hich in earlier days was the main preoccupation f documentary directors, and which has often inded to disappear in the hurly-burly of tough icial problems and the necessity for argufying. 1 New Britain our recent achievements in all ranches of social welfare, our genius in the ;s of peace, are revealed without false modesty r overweening pomposity; while the refrain of "We forgot Germany" acts as a somewhat acid corrective — rather like reading Cato's "Guilty Men" in the middle of a brand-new children's health centre. On the whole, the film should be a tonic to most audiences. What is Federation? Point of View No. 7. Production: Spectator Short Films. Producer: Ivan Scott. Distribution: Denning Films. 20 minutes THREE MEN argue out the case for and against Federation. One is impartial, the other two are for and against the idea. As presented by its advocate in this film. Federation is not new, since it consists largely of the simple plea that a world knit together by trade, commerce and communication cannot live unless it finds some means to political unity. An opponent of Federa- tion interposes some objections, largely of the kind that have been put up against any kind of world unity since the Tower of Babel. The impartial chairman, at the end, calls upon Mr. J. B. Priestley who seems to have something to say — and sometimes hasn't — about every con- ceivable subject nowadays. The balance of the argument gets nearly toppled over towards the end by a powerful attack from the opponent of Federation and never quite recovers, particu- larly as Priestley's comments are in the nature of a couple of well qualified doubts. Much of the visual material is exciting; so exciting at times that a split-personality is needed to follow both picture and commentary. One gets the feeling that this is not a movie but an illustrated broadcast. Fear and Peter Brown. Production: Spectator. Direction: Richard Massingham. Script: Graham Wallace. Photography: W. Luff. Players: Nicho- las Hannen, Stephen Haggard and Wendy Weddell. Distribution: Denning Films. 20 minutes. AS A CHILD Peter Brown was afraid of the dark. His parents laughed or scolded at his fears instead of trying to get him to understand and face his fears. So that when Peter went to school a summons from the headmaster gave him hours of dread. Peter went to the interview well- padded — no sparing of the realism here — but found praise, not punishment, awaiting him. The headmaster notices the boy's fear and tries to reason with it. "Make friends with fear" is the point made by the headmaster, meaning not himself but those fears created by Peter's over- wrought imagination. This point is heavily underscored, so much so that the final sequence — war and the new fears it brings — has more the appearance of an event-compelled postscript rather than an application of the argument to present-day conditions. The film does not quite do what it seems to be out to do — to show people that to understand fear is to be half-way on the road to its conquest. CINEMATOGRAPHY IS A PRODUCT OF APPLIED SCIENCE The position of the working scientist, the organ- isation and apphcation of scientific research, the place of science in modern civiUsation, questions of scientific education and popularisation, are discussed in THE SCIENTIFIC WORKER JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF SCIENTIFIC WORKERS This paper discusses such questions in a non- technical way from the point of view of the scientist himself. Monthly, price 3d. Annual Subscription 4s. PUBLISHED BY THE A.S.W., 30 BEDFORD ROW, W.C.I SIGHT AND SOUND SUMMER 1940 PRICE SIXPENCE presents CRISIS IN PRODUCTION together with articles by Andrew Buchanan, Doucjlas Sloconibe, Herman G. Weinbcrcj and many others Published by THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE 4 Great Russell Street, W.C.i 14 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 ALWAYS THE HIGH SPOT ON ANY PROGRAMME ^ ^^ -^9'^ ^^^ JUST ONE MORE EXAMPLE OF THE GRAND ENTERTAINMENT VALUE OF STRAND 'STARLETS* Distributed by ANGLO-AMERICAN FILM CORPORATION Ltd 123 WARDOUR STREET, LONDON, W.I Gerrard 3202 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 15 "WORLD WINDOW" EXPEDITIONARY FILMS By HANS NIETER, who has been responsible for an excellent series of coloured documentary travel films World Window film only runs for ten iiinutes — but oh! the work behind those ten linutes! In planning an expeditionary film it is even nore important than in studio work that nothing )e forgotten, because out in the wilds of India, br in the nudity of the desert, there is no possi- nlity of making up for omissions. Another very mportant point is a psychological one, and that s in the choice of assistants and collaborators. know this to be one of the most essential )roblems for expeditions, because I have had rears of experience. Having to live for months m end in caravanserais and camps in foreign ands, spending working hours and spare time ogether, makes it imperative that no member )f the unit should strike a discordant note, therwise work and life become pure hell. Our outfit consisted of one first cameraman, *ack Cardiff, and two other Technicolor opera- ors, a production manager, two chauffeurs ^ho at the same time worked as grips, and my- elf. We were accompanied by our producer nd his wife, and John Hanau, who acted some if the time as production manager and also lirected three films. The camera and lens case were carried in pecial slings in the lorry to prevent jolting over he mountain roads and desert tracks. We also arried our own planks, since Arabia is a woodless ountry; and last, but not least, the medicine lox which contained everything from castor oil 0 anti-snake serum. Permits are generally troublesome things, but laving had experience in most European coun- ties we achieved a certain happy knack of itilising the goodwill of one government to get Productions to the next; a kind of snowball ystem producing such a glut of well-meant itroductions that in time we dealt only with lie highest officials. My own introduction to lighfalutin officials began when I was im- dsoned with my outfit in Lithuania, to be berated with profuse apologies and given all tie permits I wanted. Efficient liaison in the East is tremendously Tiportant, and we were fortunate in engaging lero in Palestine who spoke nearly every European language and Arabic, Persian and urkish besides. Some directors I have met out East consider unnecessary that they should speak native inguages. I disagree with them. Being able to ay "Please", "Thank you" and "Please don't jok into the camera" to natives in their own jngue creates enormous goodwill which no irector can do without. The most valuable :sson I learnt was the importance of sincerity — never directed natives with my tongue in my heek. I got an enormous thrill out of spending 'hole nights in discussion with Hindu priests, ogis, Buddhist monks. Bedouin sheikhs and others. Sincerity paid. For my film Temples of India the Hindu priests arranged a procession of the Goddess Kali and admitted us to the sacred precincts of temples. The Yogis and Brahmins controlled the temper of the masses on the banks of the Ganges while we worked, for this fanatical multitude is easily roused into an ugly mood. Moslem Imams admitted me into the precincts of the Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem at the height of the trouble there. Most difficult of all were the Bedouins. Before even suggesting that we had come to film them we had to live in their midst for a fortnight, adapting ourselves to the complicated ritual of their lives. If you don't know the ropes it is difficult enough even to approach a Bedouin camp. For the traveller to gain admission, the morning dew must still be on the ground. To draw near to a camp during the day is to invite a hail of bullets. But their hospitality is unbounded. First comes the ritual of the three cups of coff"ee — the first against fatigue, the second for pleasure and the third to the sword — that is to say, after having drunk the third cup the guest is expected to fight with his host for the defence of the camp. When a sheep is slaughtered the most honoured guest is handed the eyes. The leader of our expedition. Count Keller, was thus exalted, but being unaccus- tomed to eating sheep's eyes he would covertly slip them down the front of his shirt. It was not unusual for us to see a pair of horrible staring eyes later dropping out of his trouser legs. As Moslem religion forbids that the human form should be portrayed, it took me a fortnight of endless discussion with the Bedouins before I found my solution in the argument that Mahomed only forbade static portrayal, but in a film they would live and move for ever. This argument was accepted to the extent that from that moment we and the camera ceased to exist for them, so that everything we filmed was part of their actual lives. Some of our most interesting work was done in the jungle in India, stalking wild animals with our camera. Here again we were fortunate in engaging Charles McCann from the Bombay Natural History Museum, who taught us how to handle snakes and overcome our feelings of revulsion. By some strange act of fate he was the only one to get bitten, by a Russels Viper, and with gusto we opened our medicine chest and pumped him full of serum. Down in the Karapur jungle we filmed herds of wild elephants and tigers. It was comparatively easy to film tigers. Beaters just drove them into the vicinity of the camera where a bait had been laid. In case they should prefer our cameraman to the dead bullock we all stood round with rifles. The elephants were far more dangerous. We waited for them at the bottom of an un- scalable bank by an elephant path at a time when we knew they would go by to drink. One false move, a sneeze, a cough, would have meant a stampede and an early finish to the film. Expeditionary films are the most terrific fun — sunstroke, thirst, fever, dislocated limbs, bugs, getting lost in the desert, dust, no sleep and more dust, getting the film through H.M. Customs — and then just ten minutes on the screen! SHORT FILMS NOW IN PRODUCTION British Films. A film for the Air Ministry; a film on Scotland (British Council); a film on land reclamation (Ministry of Agriculture); a film on the church in war-time. Ealing Studios. Engaged on a series of shorts including one on the merchant navy and one on coal. G-B Instructional. A film on the utilisation of raw materials in the war effort ; a film on physical fitness; Empire Round the Atlantic; a film on the coal industry; Towards the Stars, Ship- builders, Ports. The annual programme of Secrets of Life films is being completed. G.P.O. Film Unit. Three films on police, welfare of the workers, and health services. Inspiration Films Ltd. Danger Coast of Britain (documentary on East Anglian coast) ; Sport of Princes (polo) ; Sacred and Profane (a dramatic treatment of the difficult subject of social hygiene for the troops). Realist Film Unit. Three films on war-time cookery and four on national resources, women in industry, mother and child, and home produced food. Science Films. This company is engaged on a number of official films under the direction of F. A. Goodlifte. Shell Film Unit. Films on the air screw, hydrau- lics, malaria control, reserved occupations, the transfer of skill, the nationalisation of agri- culture. Spectator Short Films. Five films on health services, British response to the German challenge, the Air Force, sea power, and civilians in war-time. Strand Film Company. Eight films on Scotland's war effort, architecture, the Bren Gun, human effort in supply, the Co-operative Movement, school services in war-time, women teachers, Oxford. World Window. A film on the medical services. } 16 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 NOTES FROM OVERSEAS U.S.A. Pressure of the persistent advance of the double feature will result in a fresh cut in Hollywood production of shorts for 1940-41, according to a survey eight major producers reported by Variety. Twentieth-Fox is maintaining its sche- dule of 52 shorts, "but others are reported mull- ing the matter of a substantial reduction serious- ly." This will represent a second cut, for the 1939-40 schedule of 617 shorts was a reduction from 658 produced in 1938-39. Cartoons con- tinue to be favoured. Lights Out in Europe (Herbert Kline), which con- cerns the pre-war crisis days in London, Poland and France, has been released. Distributors: Mayer and Bernstein. Began at the Little Car- negie Theatre on April 1 3th. Commentary, James Hilton. A resolution calling for appointment of a special House Committee to investigate the problem of migratory transients and recommend legislation, proposed by Representative John H. Tolam, Democrat of California, won approval in the House of Representatives late in April. Grapes of Wrath was showing in Washington, D.C., at that time, and is reported to have given stimulus to favourable action on this measure which has been pending for more than a year. Brought together on March 25th by American Film Center, a committee of nutrition experts in an all-day session developed a programme of films on what is best to eat. Three kinds of film are called for: (1) National: Relation of food to soil; what we can produce; how much and what the public would consume if it could buy freely. (2) Regional : These call for co-operation with state health departments in the solution of special problems. Where pellegra exists, for example, films will be planned on its prevention and treat- ment. (3) Science: Films demonstrating the results of scientific research; on the chemistry and medicine of nutrition, e.g., on vitamins and foods supplying them, on the relation of nutri- tion to reducing fads. Four films were used in training the 120,000 cen- sus enumerators who rang the U.S. doorbells last month. Films were made by a special De- partment of Commerce crew with the assistance of a statf member of American Film Center. Canada A film about ice hockey, Canadian national sport, shot by Irving Jacoby, is reported as nearly ready for release. Mr Jacoby snow-shoed all over Canada, doing the picture for the Canadian Motion Picture Bureau (similar to the U.S. Film Service). Distribution to be arranged. Finland The Finnish Legation in Washington has pre- sented to the International Film Centre for circu- lation in the States, two films, one on the peace- ful life of the co-operatives and the other on the violent opening of the Russo-Finnish war with the bombing of Helsinki. They will soon be scored or titled in English. Information concern- ing distribution may be secured at the Inter- national Film Centre. The I.F.C. also is sending American educational films to Finland, which will be useful in reconstruction. Among those dispatched are films on agricultural problems. The I.F.C. is seeking additional good prints of educational films for that war-torn nation. to « 0 Switzerland Six new Swiss films are to be distributed iii W"* North and South America by the Internationa Film Bureau, Inc., of Chicago (59 East Vai Buren Street). Among the titles in the series an Line to Tschierva Hut produced by John Griersoi and directed by A. Cavalcanti for the G.P.O film unit in conjunction with Pro Telephon luust Zurich; ^'fl//n.vo/'/?o/?;a/;re, a story of the peopli, fcwt nh'e S( (Wl (Oi iDie the who live along the tributaries of the Rhine fron its source in Switzerland to Lake Constance Castle in Switzerland, a documentary relatinj the historical structure and origin of castles fount fcls in Switzerland ; Conge A L'Ecole D'Arosa, a ski kasd film starring thirty or more boys from ten uj ukec fifteen years of age. They will be released h; ail, [ 16 mm. on a rental and sale basis. If interest ii; the films in 35 mm. develops, they will later b released theatrically. The International Filn Bureau is a non-profit corporation, originalK set up to distribute non-theatrical foreign film; to American high schools and colleges as aid in teaching foreign languages. Out of that grev a distribution service to art theatres in varioiu parts of the country. tillii ml. DOCUMENTARY BOOKINGS FOR AUGUST (The following bookings for August are selected from a list covering its members supplied by the News and Specialised Theatres Association.) Big Game Fishing Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastlo-oii-Tyne 10th Bringins it Home Premier News Theatre, Bournemouth 24th Britannia is a Woman Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne 3rd Cari^o for Ardrossan News Theatre. Pilgrim Street, Newcastle 24th Devils of the Ocean News Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester 24th Dundee News Theatre, Leeds 31st Fitness Wins No. 4 News Theatre, Leeds 1 0th Tatler Theatre, Manchester lOlh Fitness Wins No. 5 News Theatre, Leeds 31st Fitness Wins No. 6 Tatler Theatre, Manchester 3Ist Flying Targets News Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester 17th Forty Million People Tatler Theatre, Manchester 31st Giant of Norway Tatler Theatre, Chester 17ih Gibraltar the First Out-Post New Theatre, Nottingham 3rd Know Your Money News Theatre. Leeds 24th March of Time No. I (Sixth Year) News Cinema, Aberdeen 31st March of Time No. 2 Ci->smti Cinema, (ilasgow 24th News Theatre, I'ilBriiii Street, Ncwcjstle-on-Tyne 24th Tatler Theatre. Manchester 24ih March of Time No. 3 Premier News Theatre. Bournemouth 24th March of Time No. 14 Topical News Cinema, Aberdeen 10th March of Time. The Phillipincs News House, Nuttinghani 31st Mechanix Illustrated News House. Nottingham 17th News Theatre, Bristol 3rd News Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester 3rd Natural Wonders of Washington State Tatler Theatre, Manchester Non 0u3ssi News Theatre. Pilgrim Street, Newcastle Old Blue Premier News Theatre, Bournemouth Picturesque Udaipur Premier News Theatre, Bournemouth Tatler Theatre, Manchester Point of View No. 7 — What is Federation? Tatler Theatre. Manchester New House. Pilgrim Street, Newcastle Ruins of Palmyra Tatler Theatre, Manchester News Theatre, Birmingham Seen in Bangkok News House, Nottingham Shark Hunting News Theatre. Birmingham Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tync Sheep Dos News Theatre. Pilgrim Street, Newcastle Sport at the Local Taller Theatre, M.anchcstcr Tatler News Theatre, Birmingham Squadron 992 Taller Theatre, Chester Sword Fishing News Theatre, Bristol Tell Me if it Hurts News House, Nottingham Temples of India News Theatre, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle Tatler News Theatre, Birmingham Taller News Reel Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne The Islanders latler Theatre, Manchester News 1 heatre. Leeds The Eternal Fire News Theatre. Pilgrim Street, Newcastle The Story that couldn't be Printed Taller News Reel Theatre, Ncwcastle-on-Tyne The Democratic Way « News Theatre, Leeds Under the Water News House. Nottingham Valiant Venezuela News Theatre, Bristol I7tl ITU 24tl 24tf 2411- 24tf 3Isi 3ro na nti 24th 17tf 3rd 'i:l In M lu DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 17 VERBATIM This is a word for word reportage of a Scottish ^ather describing an interview with his son's headmaster. It has direct affinities with an aspect of documentary film-making which has if anything been too little explored. ■jiD 1 ever tell you about the time I went to ;ee the headmaster of the High School? Oh! ( must tell you about that. You see I have a lad Who went to that school, and when he was about :welve or thirteen I felt he wasn't just doing too Afell, so I asked to see his report card. He told *ne it wouldn't be forward for another fortnight, io I said all right, and the boy went away quite Pleased he'd fooled the old man again. However, t asked him again in about a fortnight, and he taid. Didn't you get it? But I wasn't to be 'ooled, and told him he had packed it away somewhere; so sure enough he fished it out ind the first thing I saw was — Geography, 7 per ;ent. Geography, 7 per cent, says I, that's iurely not a very good mark, and the boy said, ^fljiVell, there were others perhaps that had more. "iiiii flaving run away to sea myself at the age of iiirteen I knew a little about geography, so [ asked him one or two questions, and was nformed that Madrid was in India and Madras n South America. So I took the report card ilong one morning to the High School. The anitor was a pal of mine — many a five bob ['d slipped him at New-year time when I used ;o run the kids down to the school — and he ;howed me in to the headmaster's room. There was the headmaster, what-was-his- lame again, a little insignificant-looking runt vith a goatee beard — Storman or something. was to stand just inside the door facing the ight while he went on writing and looking at ne from time to time over his specs. But I made straight for a chair in front of him and made iiyself comfortable. This was the wrong thing to do, for he looked up and said. Yes, so 1 said. Oh no, just you :arry on with your work I can wait, in fact >e the whole day just you carry on. He said, What did you want, but I again assured lim I was in no hurry. Evidently he couldn't :oncentrate on his writing when I was sitting lown, though he had no such difficulty when was standing on one foot after the other inside ihe door. So he said, you wished to see me, and I aid. Yes, introduced myself and mentioned ny boy's Christian name — Alan, but I don't suppose that means anything to you. He said, 3f course there were many boys in the school, but 1 came straight to the point and clapped the report card down in front of him, "'Geo- graphy, 7 per cent," what's the meaning of that? According to the little squirt the boy couldn't [lave known much geography to which of course agreed, but added there must be something ;lse. Was the geography master quite capable or Bvas my boy in the mentally deficient class? Because if the master was all right, I demanded to know why I hadn't been informed earlier of the discovery of the boy's imbecility. I could easily have afforded to take him away and put him to a school which catered for such children. On the other hand the boy had 97 per cent for maths., so I couldn't just accept the theory that the boy was daft, and was reluctantly forced to the conclusion that there was something wrong with the method of teaching geography. So the little trot hums and haws for a bit and says the method of teaching was the same as in Dr Pinkerton's time, and he had only been a matter of months at the school anyway. So I said I bloody well demanded a little more for the two to three hundred pounds I'd spent than just simply a feeble explanation of that kind, and I put on an act about him blaming a predecessor who was now dead and I wouldn't stand for it. So with that the little squirt starts getting bAMAGE TO FILM DAMAGE TO films has cost one non-theatrical library £80 since last November. Of every 90 films sent out, one has been damaged so badly that it has had to be junked and two have needed reprints of sections of from 50 to 200 feet in length. All the copies should have been good for at least a year's intensive use. The problem of wastage of this kind is unfortunately not a new one, but it seems to be getting worse. Most of the damage could be avoided if teachers would {a) keep their projectors clean, (6) thread up the film carefully, and (c) watch the film on the screen and not leave the projector to run itself. Dust in the "gate" can lay "tramlines" down the whole length of the picture even after it has passed the source of light ; the sound track can be ruined. Too small loops will strain the sprockets so that the film cannot be run again. The libraries, in most cases, have to foot the bill (a reel of 16mm. sound film cost £4). This may seriously restrict the supply of educa- tional films if libraries have to set aside for repairs and replacements money which would otherwise have been spent on fresh copies. nasty and threatening to throw me out, so I said, keep cool, keep cool, or I'll be forced to report anything of an untoward nature to a higher authority; so he calmed down a bit. Stop me if I've told you about this before. Anyway I went away after repeating what I thought of his geography master, and got the boy to buy some graph paper and pencils and rubber and a map of the world, and showed him how to plot the distance between New York and Glasgow, Glasgow and Paris, Paris and Berlin, Berlin and Tokyo, and so on, and he got quite interested because it was a method he could understand. At the next term examination his geography teacher waited till the end of the paper, had a look at it, and what to you think the bastard said — Macdonald you've been cribbing. Hell, cribbing. ASSOCIATION OF SCIENTIFIC WORKERS THE ACTIVITIES of this group have been con- tinued throughout the summer. Every week members have voluntarily come together to review and assess scientific films and the list of approved films has grown week by week. The work of the association is not confined to the academic job of assessing films; for example, it is actively engaged in promoting scientific film societies throughout the country. Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford, Cambridge, Aberdeen and Glasgow have already arranged shows for the winter. The London Scientific Film Society is getting ready for its third season in London. But, most important of all, the Association of Scientific Workers is about to issue a memo- randum on the making of scientific films; this is designed to show what films are needed and to suggest how the scientific film can be harnessed to the nation's war effort. For if we are to win not only a victory over our enemies but a brave new world, a clear understanding of the science which guides our lives will be an essential adjunct of citizenship. WORLD FILM NEWS A Limited Number of Bound Volumes for Sale Volume 1 £2 0 0 Volume 2 £1 10 0 Volume 3 £10 0 Single Copies Volume 1 3/6 Volume 2 2/6 Volume 3 2/- {Issues No. 2 of Volume 1 and No. 6 of Volume 2 are ?w longer available.) Obtainable from FILM tEiXTRE. 34 SOUO S<(UARE^ W.l 18 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 FILM LIBRARIES Borrowers of films are asked to apply as muci) in advance as possible, to give alternative booking dates, and to return the films immediately after use. H. A hire charge is made. K. Free distribution. Sd. Sound. St. Silent. Association of Scientific Workers, 30 Bedford Row, W.C.I. Scientific Film Committee. Graded List of Films. A list of scientific films from many sources, classified and graded for various types of audience. On request Committee will give ad- vice on programme make-up and choice of films. Austin Film Library. 24 films of motoring in- terest, industrial, technical and travel. Available only from the Educational Films Bureau, Tring, Herts. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. British Commercial Gas Association, Gas Indus- try House, 1 Grosvenor Place, S.W.I. Films on social subjects, domestic science, manufacture of gas. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & a lew St. F. British Council Film Department, 25 Savile Row, W.l. Films of Britain, 1940. Catalogue for overseas use only but provides useful synopses of 100 sound and silent documentary films. British Film Institute, 4 Great Russell Street, W.C.I, (a) National Film Library. An important collection of documentary and other films. Avail- able only to full members of B.F.I. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. (b) Some British and Foreign Documentary and other Short Films. A general list of films and sources, (c) Early Films. Films 1896-1934 still available in Britain. Coal Utilisation Joint Council, General Buildings, Aldwych, London, W.C.2. Films on production of British coal and miners' welfare. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. F. Crookes' Laboratories, Gorst Road, Park Royal, N.W.IO. Colloids in Medicine. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. F. Dartington Hall Film Unit, Totnes, South Devon. Classroom films on regional and eco- nomic geography. 16 mm. St. H. Electrical Development Association, 2 Savoy Hill, Strand, W.C.2. Four films of electrical interest. Further films of direct advertising appeal are available only through members of the Associa- tion, 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Educational General Services, 37 Golden Square, W.l. A wide selection of films, particularly of overseas interest. Some prints for sale. 16 mm. & St. H. Empire Film Library, Imperial Institute, S.W.7. Films primarily of Empire interest. With a useful subject index. 1 6 mm. & a few 35 mm. Sd. & St. F. Ensign Film Library, 88-89 High Holborn, London, W.C.I. Wide selection of all types of films including fiction, comedies, documentaries, films of geography, animal life, industry. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. St. &afewSd. H. Film Centre, 34 Soho Square, W.l. Mouvemenis Vibratoires. A film on simple harmonic motion. French captions. 35 mm. & 16 mm. St. H. Ford Film Library, Dagenham, Essex. Some 50 films of travel, engineering, scientific and comedy interest. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Gaumont-British Equipments, Film House, War- dour Street, W.l. Many films on scientific sub- jects, geography, hygiene, history, language, natural history, sport. Also feature films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. &St. H. G.P.O. Film Library, Imperial Institute, S.W.7. Over 100 films, mostly centred round communi- cations. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Kodak, Ltd., Kingsway, W.C.2. (a) Kodascope Library. Instructional, documentary, feature, western, comedy. Strong on early American comedies. 16 mm. & 8 mm. St. H. (A separate List of Educational Films, extracted from the above, is also published. A number of films have teaching notes.) (b) Medical Film Library. Circu- lation restricted to members of medical profes- sion. Some colour films. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. St. H. CATALOGUE OF THE MONTH Ensign Film I>ibrary. (Pleasure Hours.) 88-89 High Holborn, London W.C.I. The Ensign "Pleasure Hours" Library is confined to silent 16-mm. films only, and may be discussed from two viewpoints, entertainment and information. In the former category it is very strong in early American and British comedies. No less than five Harry Langdons, sixteen Chaplins, eight Hank Manns, four Lloyd Hamiltons, and twelve Walter Fordes are available. Two of Harold Lloyd's best efforts are also in the list — Never Weaken and Safety Last. There are also one or two films of very special appeal to the connoisseur. First of these is undoubtedly What Happened to Jones, with Reginald Denny, Marion Nixon, and Zasu Pitts. If our memory serves us, this was one of the finest comedies in that long series v/here Reginald Denny, Otis Harlan, Arthur Lake, and usually Laura la Plante, appeared. Then there are Sweeney Todd, featuring Moore Marriott (no less). The Battle of the Somme, The Battles of Coronel and Falk- land, The White Hell of Pitz Pa hi, and The Blue Light. There is also a good selection of early Westerns. As far as the informational side is concerned, the catalogue presents a less imposing appear- ance. There are a number of travelogues, a few biologicals, and the usual selection of bird and animal films. These are also listed in a separate library of Educational films, with an additional four sound films, copies of which can be bought outright at reasonable prices. March of Time, Dean House, 4 Dean Street, W.l. Selected March of Time items, including Inside Nazi Germany, New Schools for Old, America Thinks it Over. 16 mm. Sd. H. Mathematical Films. Available from B. G. D. Salt, 5 Carlingford Road, Hampstead, N.W.3. Five mathematical films suitable for senior classes. 16 mm. & 9.5 mm. St. H. Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co., Ltd., Traf- ford Park, Manchester 17. Planned Electrifica- tion, a film on the electrification of the winding and surface gear in a coal mine. Available for showing to technical and educational groups. 16 mm. Sd. F. Pathescope, North Circular Road, Cricklewood, N.W.2. Wide selection of silent films, including cartoons, comedies, drama, documentary, travel, sport. Also good selection of early American and German films. 9.5 mm. Sd. & St. H. Petroleum Films Bureau, 15 Hay Hill, Berkeley Square, W.l. Twenty technical and documentary films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Religious Film Library, 104 High Holborn, W.C.I. Films of religious and temperance appeal, also list of supporting films from other sources. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Scottish Central Film Library, 2 Newton Place, Charing Cross, Glasgow, C.3. A wide selection of teaching films from many sources. Contains some silent Scots films not listed elsewhere. Library available to groups in Scotland only. 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Sound-Film Services, 10 Park Place, Cardiff. Library of selected films including Massingham's And So to Work and Pollard's Dragon of Hales. Rome and Sahara have French commentaries, i 16 mm. Sd. H. Southern Railway, General Manager's Office I Waterloo Station, S.E.I. Seven films (one in colour) including Building an Electric Coach, South African Fruit (Southampton Docks to f Covent Garden), and films on seaside towns. 16 mm. St. F. Strand Film Company, 5a Upper St. Martin's Lane, W.C.2. Eleven films available for non- theatrical distribution including Aerial .Mile- stones, Chapter and Verse, Give the Kids a Break, and a number of others of Empire and general interest, including 3 silent Airways films. Mostly 35 mm. Sd. A few 16 mm. St. F. Wallace Heaton, Ltd., 127 New Bond Street, W.l. Three catalogues. Sound 16 mm., silent 16 mm., silent 9.5 mm. Sound catalogue contains number of American feature films, including Thunder Over .Mexico, and some shorts. Silent 16 mm. catalogue contains first-class list of early I American, German and Russian features and ' shorts, 9.5 catalogue has number of early Ger- man films and wide selection of early American and English slapstick comedies. 16 mm. & 9.5 mm. Sd. & St. H. Workers' Film Association, 145 Wardour Street, i; Wl. Film> of democratic and co-operative in^ terest. Notes and suggestions for complete pro- grammes. Some prints for sale. 35 mm. & 1 6 mm. i Sd. & St. H. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER AUGUST 1940 19 MERTON PARK STUDIOS LTD This studio began to specialise in industrial and advertising films during the last war. Accepted media for propaganda then, as now, were restricted by shortage of newsprint and hoarding spaces. In this war, a new medium, that of radio advertising, has been wiped out, and there are consequently more people than ever with something to say, looking for a place to say it. Official and commercial bodies are increasingly aware of the advantages of using films as their mouthpiece. Merton Park Studios specialise in film propaganda and THIS IS OUR SECOND WAR WHERE YOU CAN SEE STRAND PRODUCTIONS A SELECTED LIST OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF STRAND FILMS SHOWING IN AUGUST 1940 "WINGS OVER THE EMPIRE" Birch Lane Cinema, Bradford Aug. 8th Cosy Cinema, Middleton-on- Teesdale Aug. 16th Capitol Cinema, Sheffield Aug. 29th Odeon Cinema, Torquay Aug. 5th Picture House, Shildon Aug. 1st Crown Cinema, Wortley Aug. 19th Cinema, Glenbowie Aug. 31st "MEN OF AFRICA" Monseigneur, Leicester Sq., W.l Aug. 1st Monseigneur, Piccadilly, W.l Aug. 8th Monseigneur, Charing Cross, W.C.2 Aug. 29th Monseigneur, Edinburgh Aug. 29th "YOUNG ANIMALS" Savoy Theatre, Cleckheaton Aug. 12th News Theatre, Newcastle-on- Tyne Aug. 12th Dorchester Theatre, Hull Aug. 19th Cecil Cinema, Hull Aug. 19th Art Theatre, Fleetwood Aug. 22nd Scala Theatre, Sheffield Aug. 26th Tower Theatre, Goole Aug. 26th Savoy Cinema, Hull Aug. 29th "THESE CHILDREN ARE SAFE" Palladium, Beeston Aug. 12th Odeon, Torquay Aug. 26th Rex Cinema, Salford Aug. 1st STRAND FILMS FIVE YEARS .... SEVENTY-EIGHT FILMS COMPLETED EIGHT NOW IN PRODUCTION THE STRAND FILM COMPANY DONALD TAYLOR, Managing Director. ALEXANDER SHAW, Director of Productions 5a UPPER ST. MARTIN'S LANE, W.C.2. Merton Park Studios: 269 KINGSTON ROAD, S.W.19 Owned and published by Film Centre Ltd., 34 Soho Square, London, W. 1 , and printed by Simson Shand Ltd. , The Shenval Press, London and Hertford NEWS If HER OO CO rOL 1 No 9 PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY FILM CENTRE 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W1 FOURPENGE NOTES OF THE MONTH I THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC By (I conespondeiit in America 12 MONTHS — A SURVEY OF THE M. OF I. The Ministry of Informalioii has its first birilulay 1 DOCUMENTARY REDEFINED 9 FILM OF THE MONTH — The Sea Hawk 9 FILMING IN SCOTLAND 10 TWENTY YEARS OF SOVIET FILM By Ivor Montagu 12 DOCUMENTARY FILM REVIEWS 15 PIN-TABLE POLITICS By a Damon Riinyon fan 16 DOCUMENTARY BOOKINGS FOR SEPTEMBER 17 FILM MUSIC By Miiir Mathicsoii 18 FILM CATALOGUES ^.ooking Ahead N A RECENT article in the New Statesman Ritchie Calder tressed the problem of modern rationalisation arising from he substitution of such mechanisms as the photo-electric cell let alone more elaborate machinery) for the human hand and !ye. This is, of course, a basic Twentieth Century problem — var or no war — but it is also of immediate urgency. For, as balder points out, the absorption of hundreds of thousands oi leople by the immediate and imperative needs of war industry ")oses the problem of a post-war slump beside which that of he twenties would pale into insignificance. While, of course, economic trends, or even economic disasters, might well arise rem this war to make this general theory inoperative, it does ^ jeem imperative that serious thought should be given now to he problems and dangers which lie ahead. The plea for a Ministry of Reconstruction demands consideration at once; for it is now, and not after the conflict, that plans must be made to counter the serious problems which will face us when the war machine comes abruptly to rest. In this respect the film could play its part. Once plans had been made, their scope and implication could be vividly and dramatically projected to the people of this country. The problem could be stated, and the part to be played by citizens in meeting it could be clearly analysed; and, more importantly, the plans for industrial and social reconstruction could be made familiar to those millions whom they would most affect, well before the moment when they would come into operation. Even without the formation of a Reconstruction Ministry, there is no reason why a first batch of films should not be made — under expert advice — through the Films Division of the Ministry of Information. Even during a blitzkrieg, the habit of forward-looking is worth cultivating, even if it needs a telescope to bring the murky future into focus. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 Work Well Begun . . . IT IS A PITY that the exigencies of the war have put a tem- porary stoppage to much of the valuable work which has recently been undertaken by the Imperial Relations Trust. The Second Annual Report of this body states that "the activities of the Trust have been virtually in abeyance for the past six months'" and that it has been decided that for the present the income shall be allowed to accumulate. This general decision is, under the circumstances, no doubt inevitable. It is, however, gratifying to note that an exception has been made as regards certain film activities. As is well known, John Grierson visited Australia and New Zealand, as Film Officer to the Trust, in the early days of the war. Previously he had, in the same capacity, visited Canada (1938), and the subsequent setting up of the National Film Board (under the Canadian Film Act, of 1939) was just in time to lead to the invigoration of Canadian film production under conditions of war. The Trust's report states that "it is expected that Mr. Grierson will shortly be seconded from his work with the Trust" in order to continue in his position as Dominion Film Commissioner in Canada. In all these activities the initiative of the Trust can command nothing but praise. In addition, however, the Trust has been responsible for a technical film on the Welsh Grass Breeding Station at Aberystwyth, which should command good specialised showings in all the Dominions ; and it has also con- tinued the policy of making grants to the Empire Film Library. In view of these valuable activities, we can only hope that any postponement of further plans will be brief, and that the Trust will soon feel itself in a position to continue on the same lines a policy so well begun. Five Minutes THE FIVE-MINUTE FILMS of the Ministry of Information appar- ently are not meeting with that degree of public appreciation that they have secured from the National Press. Subse- quent letters and press comments from the provinces reveal a good deal of concern at the type of propaganda. It is hoped that the Research Organisation which has been under such fire in the House of Commons recently will have adequate check made of audience reaction. For instance, we hear "another million bullets" from the film "A Call to Arms" has become a term of derision in Glasgow. We wonder whether these films have been conceived as propaganda or as good films about war subjects. They certainly neglect one important advertising principle — that of contin- uity. Audiences seeing a different propaganda message each week will tend to be confused, and it is our opinion that unless the advertising principle of continuity is adopted and a number of films instead of one made round a central theme, the impression of one film is likely to be wiped out by the succeeding film. It would be interesting to know how far advertising experts and psychologists have been consulted on the choice of subject and method of treatment. Again, for instance, we hear that "Miss Grant Opens the Door" frightens some people rath< than prepares them. We must make yet another plea f( coherent planning so that the audience does not get muddle impressions, and that the coherent planning should be supe vised by propagandists and experts in public reaction. Kine Weekly 1 Boo Hitis THE Kinematograph Weekly has long been a good friend to th Industry. It has often been more outspoken in its editoria than the rest of the trade press. This is only a prefac to say that the Kine is, in future, devoting a sped feature every month recording the progress of documentar They intend to give monthly check lists of propaganda films s that exhibitors will know where to book them, a matter whic has caused some difficulty in the past. Thank you, M Payment and Mr. Carter. my ffvic fere ariel leif .void tmit Accuracy MR. DUFF COOPER, replying to a question in the House, sai that fourteen films had been made under the auspices of h: Department and had been shown to the public. We do not think the Ministry should assume credit for tb work of other sponsors, who were responsible for several of th films in this list. Men of Africa was sponsored by the Colonic Empire Marketing Board before the War; The Voice of th Guns and Italy Beware by the French Ministry of Informs tion; Musical Poster was made by the British Council, an Nonquassi as an independent venture by Leon Schauder This leaves nine films for which the Ministry were direct! responsible and six of these were five-minute films, leaving th Ministry's utilisation of all other branches of film propagand to three pictures. met 10 c we lodi u. The Biter Bit BLUSTER AND THREATS of a lawsuit followed the productio of March of Time's Inside Nazi Germany a year or two age with the result that this anti-Nazi film gained world-wid publicity and distribution. Now the Germany Embassy ii Washington is infuriated by March of Time's unsolicited hel] in distfibuUng Baptism of Fire, theNazi film of a blitzkrieg whicl is specially designed to terrify neutral countries. Every Germai effort failed to persuade American cinemas to accept the filn until Louis de Rochemont, producer of March of Time, steppec into the breach. He, copied the film, fitted it with a new, anti Nazi commentary and incorporated it in a March of Timi release called T/w Ramparts We Watch. Now the ungratefu Embassy are threatening another lawsuit. Hill! '<\k *li DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 ratli • THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC ^ By a correspondent in America 'too little and too late" is the general comment on the British war film record in North America. This applies particu- larly to feature films. It applies less to newsreels. It has been „ generally appreciated that in the last three months the newsreel ,..•- service from England has "greatly improved", "has improved ^00 per cent," "has provided 10 to 15 really good stories." ,, There has been "more material and better material", "greater variety of story angles and more interesting story angles," e.g., the industrial angles of the war. the life of the people, and ^voidance of repetitive troop marching. The origin of these :omments is American and may be taken as authoritative. Without detracting from the improvement in the facilities given, and news value encouraged by the latter-day dispensa- :ion at the M.O.I., other contributing factors will doubtless be remembered in the account. This medium of exchange was ilready established. It called for no exceptional wit on the part Df the M.O.I, to use and exploit. Producer Hitler may be said :o have provided the dramatic stories. Moreover, there has been do competition — as in the stills field — from Germany. America's editorial policy is to be thanked for this, not the in- trinsic inferiority of the German material. The German material ^'j /iewed has, in fact, been a model of powerful and thorough production. In the stills field — it may be worth interposing — the general editorial comment is that Germany still has a big ead in news value and technical quality. Feature films reflect a deep inadequacy of policy and pur- pose. What has there been? The films sent over have been to* scattered, odd, unequal, and have built up no single or solid mpression. The millions spent in creating a British film '^^■ndustry have produced no dividend of influence in England's hour of need. Nor does it seem that either the Films Council or the Film Section of the M.O.I, has been able to bring the industry into national focus. There was The Lion Has Wings. It made a huge impression in Canada on its first showing, though speeding developments Df war put it out of date in later release. To date, it has been the most useful job sent over, at least for Canada. Its success svas due to the fact that it exploited quickly the sense of victory ittached to the first raids. The sense of constructive democracy in the first reels was also a great help. It provided essential svidence that England's claim to democratic status had a basis in reality. No single factor has been more lacking in England's propaganda, and England's friends in America have felt the ''■'', lack acutely. Some complaints were registered in Canada about The Lion, to the eff'ect that it was too obvious propaganda, meaning that only Germans were killed and were made gratuit- ously to look wickeder young men than their British counter- parts. Distance shows up that sort of exaggeration. Merle Oberon's complaint to the stars just got by but tended to sicken 0 $ people on recollection. It had a synthetic and false note and seemed silly alongside the really weeping women of Poland as they came through on the newsreels. In the United States, criticism of The Lion was more pro- nounced and sufficient to make the film an indifferent com- mercial proposition. The propaganda was thought too raw. The Warning dropped in about the same time as The Lion Has Wings but was not much good for the Sitzkrieg period. The Canadians tried to bring it up to date but to no great effect. It was recognised as pre-war or, alternatively, people thought it — at that time — a scarer. The operative factor was that, in a world of news geared to the minute, it was not fresh ; and it seemed to lack importance. For Freedom — the Gainsborough Will Fyff"e film — opened well enough and was much praised for the re-enactment of the Graf Spee and Altmark episodes, but there have been no signs of it making large appeal or doing big business on later release. The comment attached to it is the fatal one that "people are getting fed up with war". This does not mean all that it says. It only means that people can't be bothered with war films that fail to connect with their midriflf and don't automatically accept expressions of patriotism that. savour of wishful think- ing. The song "We'll hang up our washing on the Siegfried Line" conveys to-day an arid record of Britain's past com- placency. WiU FylTe's intimation that he-'ll give Hitler a damn good licking — for lack of context perhaps — misses the note of authority. A distant audience was inclined to doubt whether the newsreel naifs who appeared in this film were the sort of people who could lick anything. For Freedom was also "too late". It was "not released at a good time", meaning that the Graf Spee victory had already become insignificant before the march of subsequent events and was not "victorious" enough to strengthen the North American heart at a critical time. Pastor Hall, released in Canada and about to be released — it is said energetically— in the United States, raised another problem of propaganda. Again, the film has been admired for certain intrinsic production qualities, but it is observed that concentration camps and other European cruelties create only a sense of distance in the native mind and a feeling of "Thank God we emigrated from Europe to a decent country". The Europeans will rightly reply that the American genius has its own capacity for cruelty, but unquestionably there is a native shrinking from the horror motif. There is also a sneaking feel- ing that it is the old armle'ss-baby-act of the last war being worked all over again. One cynical comment made is that it is interesting to note the British studios' sudden interest in the fate of civilization. This comment is obviously not typical. The comment that the Jewish miserere is a bit of a bore is, on the DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 Other hand, a great deal more typical than people will officially confess. Jewish maltreatment, concentration camps, sadistic lashings are, one is afraid, old stuff, alien, slightly discredited, and do not command people's deepest attention. This may represent escapism on the part of the American mind. On the other hand, as Mr. Chamberlain might say, they concern dis- tant peoples of whom America knows, or wants to know, as little as possible. The bond between democratic America and democratic Europe is not intimate enough, nor is this, seem- ingly, the way to make it so. Similar comment applies, of course, to certain Hollywood films. Of Four Sons it is said that the Central European motif has already been put in the shade by subsequent events in France. In the case of Mortal Storm it was generally felt that the protagonists were basically a better crew than those of Pastor Hall. They were "sympathetic" and an understanding of that difference would undoubtedly mean a great deal to British war films. It was observed of Mortal Storm by the important writer, Morley Callaghan, that the light in young Nazi eyes meant something positive, for which the film's democratic argument did not altogether find an equivalent. He bravely, in a coast to coast broadcast in Canada, went on to ask how the light in the democratic eye might be similarly commanded and the liberalism of the French Revolution again put on the march. He challenged the documentary films to do it, feeling that they would know best how to get to the heart of the matter. Among other British war films. Convoy (Tennyson) and Contraband (Powell) have not yet been shown (August 7). There are considerable exhibitor expectations regarding both. Mein Kampf — My Crimes and Shadow of the Swastika (Max- well) are just in. The latter is described by the bush telegraph of the trade as "Just a lot of newsreels and a problem to market". There is greater expectation of George Formby's In the Air, because it gives some promise of comedy. Madmen of Europe was shown recently as a second feature. Technically, it rates ordinary B but, with the pertinence of a parachute attack on an English country house, it commands some A-B attention. There is nothing continuous or solid to report regarding the war features. Callaghan's comment remains the critical key to the situation. The light in the democratic eye has not been dramatically demonstrated and — putting it at its simplest — the opportunity has not been adequately seized to make the American spirit feel at one with the English spirit. Nor does the inept resuscitation of the snob message of John Drinkwaler's King's People fill the vacuum. It is the one kind of message which can never fill the vacuum. Ironically, the people who arc trying hardest — and perhaps do best — to fill it, are not the English but the Americans. Walter Wanger's Foreign Corre- spondent and Long Voyage Home are typical of that effort. The British documentaries, which one would have pre- sumed had a great deal to do with that democratic light in the eye most needful to British-American relationship, have been conspicuous by their absence. It was interesting to note that The Lion Has Wings, when it wanted to project a positive and constructive democratic England, had to go to the docu- leO gee I iVEi ml Pi mde mentaries for its key images. It seemed for a moment that tht lesson had been learned. But there has been little since to fulfi! that beginning. The Warning, already mentioned, was pre-wai and out-of-date when it arrived. First Days was admired foi some technical niceties, but was too slow and failed as propa ganda. Perhaps, because it described an early phase of the war. and that Hitler's mass efficiency was being fought by a crowd, it gave the impression that England was being fought by a crowd of bewildered amateurs. One expert observer of opinion thought it would do harm, because there seemed to be a sub conscious streak of defeatism in it and people might be inclined to say "Well, if that is all England feels like doing about the war, why should we, 3,000 miles away, worry overmuch?" The path of propaganda is certainly difficult and the distance across the Atlantic has not been psychologically conquered when such strange impressions are given by an official film. The questions of tempo and of confident "pay-offs" are of particularly vital importance. Squadron 992, obviously much admired in England, is like- wise slow and, from an American point of view, finished in effectively. It, too, was "too late". Its attack on the Forth Bridge, so excellently shot and edited, is to-day slight alongside the current newsreel battle scenes from the Straits of Dover. In America, the film has been clipped to a one-reeler to get some pace into it. In Canada, on the other hand, the film is being retained practically in toto, but is being given pertinence to present-day events. Refocused in this way, it is expected to have a wide success. Half a dozen new documentaries are heralded, but have not yet been seen. ilidt This would appear to be the whole account to date and the m only thing to say about it is that England should thank heaven for the B.B.C. That organisation has, within the last few months, been gaining more and more respect with its overseas programmes. Its change of heart and character has been so widely remarked that nothing in the field of information has created more confidence in the improving spirit of England. Perhaps its clutch of talkative litterateurs are not universally admired. People observe that there is too much of the "There'll always be an England" motif in the material and of the country lanes, cottages and fields of something or other which go with that motif But, on the other hand, a new authority has come into many voices and the touch becomes blessedly a little more common. The radio newsreel is an especial success. There is a lesson in this for the film people at the M.O.I. Let them encourage what is genuine; let them allow the people of England to emerge from the synthetic fog which now hides them from observation: and the people of America will warm to a voice which they deeply and rightly believe is common to both. POSTSCRIPT. This article is due to catch the Clipper. Only a brief note can therefore be added on three British document- 1 aries which have just been seen. These are Men of the Lightship, Britain at Bay and Behind the Guns. Of these, in haste, it may Isj. be stated that their qualities arc much admired. There is no i doubt that if films of \his calibre can be sent over regularly to Canada and the U.S.A. they will achieve effective and organised distribution everywhere. August 10//;, 1940. It m iart DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 12 MONTHS-A SURVEY OF THE M. OF I. ^ The Report by the Select Committee on National Expenditure, dealing with the Films Division of the Ministry of Information, has been published as we go to Press. A detailed analysis of its contents must be reserved for our next issue. But it is clear that the Committee is under grave misapprehensions as to the meaning and value of films as propaganda, and of non-theatrical dis- tribution, in time of war. The issues raised are fundamental, for the Committee's attitude suggests that vital National needs are y once more to be ignored. Meantime, the article below (written before the publication of the Report) takes on an added significance. H lera A YEAR AGO the Ministry of Information appeared. One lin cannot say was "born" for that word implies conception, a pre- •) natal period and childhood, and the Ministry had none of these. It came into being as an adult — defective, crippled and AJ unplanned but still an adult. To account for this, it was widely : : said at the time that the authorities had forbidden the planning ■. of the services of information lest such planning were regarded -J by the Germans as an unfriendly act. :• The Ministry of Information has had a year to settle down, .: to find itself new limbs where it started without them and to lop " off the unnecessary ones. At the beginning of the war most :■; people who had given thought to the services of propaganda — :c) ^nd even some of the staff of the Ministry itself — had quite , a a clear conception of the broad objectives of the Ministry. It had to do two things. First, it had to provide a day-to-day ::) service of news and information to keep the public informed •!■: at home and abroad, to keep up spirits, to explain the events of : the war as they developed and to allay rumours. £ But more important than this first job was the really big :iii ask. The Ministry had to bring alive Britain's war aims. We i!ii vent into the war to fight for liberty. At the beginning of the Ian, var the leaders of the country took for granted that the tradi- -Mi tions and realities of the British and French Empires justified :G ;he potential sacrifice of millions of lives. They were content f:i vith generalisations. If our Dominions and if our Allies and \\i; the neutrals could not always see the point, that was their fault. \\i \nyway, the people in England who said that those at home or i\\ ibroad needed a statement of our aims were "defeatists'" : x;, vhat they really meant was that they could not see what the ivar was about themselves. I L So it was that the greatest opportunity that the Empire has 5lfi sver had to render account of its service to the world was n[4 )assed by. We were content to repeat the words "Democracy", n". 'Freedom" and "Anti-Nazism" without stating what we ii(!i neant by them. The result has been disastrous ; as months vent by it became increasingly clear that some even among )rji mr closest Allies were doubtful of the issues. The French col- ;,ifs apsed, not only because of force of arms, but also because of ;i(f: brce of moral propaganda from Germany, which had suc- • 15 ceded, over a long period, in causing internal disruption and io lisloyalty. The Germans had known all along that in the |j, oming war, propaganda was to be as important as guns. Had ;r;i i'e developed an equally clear propaganda conception of the u lemocratic freedom for which we are fighting, it is not a wild statement to say that an imaginative Ministry of Information, working closely with the War Departments, could have done much to save the day in France. But the bravery and strategy of our troops and airmen and the men in little boats were not matched by an equal bravery of outlook, and an equal moral strategy on the part of the Ministry. In looking back it is incredible that the Minister of Information should not immediately have been made a mem- ber of the War Cabinet : in fact, until recently the Ministry did not create policy in the sense that the First Lord of the Admir- alty creates policy. The Ministry was a negative body ; it car- ried out orders but it did not initiate them. The Ministry mis- understood its own function, and failed to fight for its own rights. If the Government were attempting to run the war as if it were rather a difficult kind of peace, it was the job of the Ministry to tell them with authority that this would lead — as indeed it did — to lethargic complacency among the general public and bewilderment in the United States of America. If the Government appeared to be fighting the war only to ensure the permanency of the ideals of 1939, it was the busines of the Ministry to drive into their heads that neither the Nation nor the Empire nor the Allies nor the Neutrals could be expected to pull their full weight only to preserve the past. If you ask anyone in the Ministry of Information whether these things are true, in nine cases out of ten they will agree, though they will find excuses. Some will say that the Govern- ment did not give them a lead, some that the Treasury did not not give them enough money, some that what one is suggesting is premature — or, most common of all, that what one is sug- gesting is too late ; because now there is hardly time to do anything at all. Yet one cannot believe that an energetic Ministry would give these sort of excuses. It was not the job of the Government to give them a lead ; it was the Ministry's job to give the Government a lead on the vital matter of public information. If the Treasury held up money, it was the Ministry's job to fight for it. The function of a lively Ministry of Information can never be to accept orders and to carry out other people's ideas or, because other people have no ideas at all, to do nothing. Such excuses themselves suggest what was and, to a great extent, still is the matter with the Ministry of Information. Its staff is able but infertile of ideas. It comprises men not of action but of contemplation. Their temporal home is Bloomsbury; their spiritual home is there too. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 The Films Division reflected in miniature the inhibitions of its parent. Sir Joseph Ball, now serving on the Defence Security Executive, which has recently come in for much parhamentary criticism, was appointed director of the Films Division at the outbreak of war. Described in "Who's Who" as Director of the Conservative Research Department, it was said that he had also been in charge of the film propaganda of the Conservative Central Office. This alone could hardly have been reckoned as a qualification, since of all groups handling films, the Conservative party was certainly not the most effec- tive and their films were, generally speaking, not of high quality. Ball held his position for some six months and, at any rate to the outside world, his department appeared to do next to nothing beyond endorsing The Lion Has Wings as suitable British propaganda. This film was held by a number of people to have done as much harm abroad as it did good. Apart from The Lion, early film propaganda was almost wholly confined to the G.P.O. Film Unit and the Newsreels. The G.P.O. was soon in the field with The First Days made under the threat of air raids on London which did not materialise until last month. The film was made speedily and was in the public cinemas within a short time of its completion. No doubt the administration at the Ministry had not yet been able to wreck the carefully developed relationships between the G.P.O. and the film trade, for their second production. Squadron 992, a film on the attempted bombing of the Forth Bridge, was held up for months until all topicality had been lost. The Newsreel companies, not suflfering from inhibitions and having ready-made distribution to hand, waded in with such films as Ring of Steel, Drums of the Desert, 'Arf a Mo, Hitler (Paramount), The King's Own, A Nation Springs to Arms and The Raising of Soldiers (Movietone), all of them very competent jobs. Ball gave an enthusiastic talk to pressmen in which he said that British films would be shown in every cinema in the world. Trade comniittees were set up under the chairmanship of Ball, but they do not appear to have been active in initiating production. The newsreels were made much of, but, in spite of efforts by the Films Division, they received poor facilities for shooting from the Military Authorities. Ball was followed by Sir Kenneth Clark, Director of the National Gallery, where he had made for himself a great reputation. By the time he took up his post it was clear that the urgent need was to produce films. The situation was such that almost any films would have been better than no films. Within a short time of his appointment, the trade press reported that no less than 64 short films had been ordered and that arrange- ments were in progress for a feature film in Canada. What has happened to these 64 films has never been revealed, but it is significant that recently the Minister of Information reported to Parliament that the total effort of the Ministry to date had been fourteen films. In our "Notes of the Month" it will be seen that at least one of the films listed was made before the war started, and that others were independent productions subse- quently acquired by the Ministry. One guesses that the reason why no great advance was made under Sir Kenneth Clark was that much of his time and much D'S licl 101 I til At list tyl icasi of his energies were taken up with putting his house in order Within a few months Sir Kenneth Clark was promoted to thr post of co-ordinating the creative services of the Ministry anc his place was taken by Mr J. L. Beddington, lately Assistan General Manager of Shell-Mex and B.P. and Director o Publicity for that company. As an enlightened Director oj Publicity he had a reputation second to none. He had for ytan \. , abandoned the conventional chorus-girl-cum-petrol-pum{ style of advertising and had developed the finest output o: posters that any company in Great Britain has ever had. He extended his sense of public relations into exhibitions. Hi} company was interested in the preservation of rural Englanc and did everything to remove unsightly hoardings. Although ht brought to his new job no direct knowledge of films, he had al the qualifications for an enlightened understanding of the problem of presenting the war in films to Great Britain anc abroad. Under Beddington the Films Division has moved forward It has not only promised to make films; it has actually mad< them, and they have been seen by millions of people. Althougl no plans for non-theatrical distribution and production have been published, it is believed that steps are likely to be taken ir the near future to develop this fundamental side of film work It is clear that the Films Division is meeting the immediate situation : the five-minute films cover the day-to-day needs ol propaganda, although it is to be regretted that their appear- ance is not linked with campaigns in other media, such as the Press and the Radio. One thing is surprising about them Although the films are of a high technical quality, in some cases they show signs of not being geared to realities. Thej seem to be shots in the dark. For example, a five-minute filn: on food stressed the value of eggs when they were not obtain- able. A film urging women to enter the munition factories hac to be taken off in some picture houses because there were nc jobs for women. A film on how to deal with a parachutist haj drawn wide public comment — as any cinema-goer with ears wil witness — because it provides the person meeting the Germar parachutist with a revolver taken from a dead German : mosi of us have no revolvers and not all of us can expect to find deac Germans available. No doubt the Division attributes these slips to other Government Departments — the Ministry of Labour. Food. Supply or Home Security — but it is surprising tha' the Division itself had not got the nous to sense the position. In spite of Beddington's unquestionable sense of publie relations there is, as yet, no sign that his Division is running more than a superficial advertising campaign for the war. HU sense of public relations has not yet made itself felt either ir' Great Britain or abroad. The articulation of the nation's wa; effort and war aims at home and overseas, on the public screens, in the schools, the Y.M.C.A.s, the Trades Unior Institutes, the public halls of Britain, the Dominions, th( Americas and the rest of the world, still remains to b( achieved. It is unfair to level this criticism wholly at the Films Division The whole Ministry 'of Information suffers from a neurosis We believe that it fears to articulate the social changes whicli are inevitably upon us. It is passing by the greatest opportunitj DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 ^pthat this country has ever had to state the fundamental truths ., jjj which He behind the Empire. Though one would not guess it ,,jjj from the posters at present on the streets, our Dominions are ,r g( not grocers' stores to supply this country on the cheap. They ■ j( support great and living cultures of their own. Their people .Pjhave come into this war because they believe in the principles - ~ which we stand for, and they ask, in return, one thing : that we jj should state the principles clearly and for the whole world to 1 [jj understand. It is the job of the Ministry of Information, not to f^jjSit passively by, but to give a lead in morale to this country and .i.jjto the world. .,jjj, At the moment the Ministry is distrusted — and rightly so — jjjibecause it has never stated unequivocally the deeper issues . ,ij( which underlie the present struggle. The Ministry is laughed at . .jj instead of being respected. This is because it is out of touch with the people. A Ministry of Information, to be efficient, jfij must be trusted by the people. It can only be trusted by them if - jjthey feel that there is mutual understanding. So far this under- Jstanding has been lacking. The popular press recognises and repeats over and over again .ithat we do not need spurs to our courage — the British people .'have never lacked courage. We do not need emergency measures to keep up our spirits — our spirits can look after themselves. What we do need is a morale lead. This lead only .,|Uhe Ministry of Information can give. We cannot do better liiei m Th! :i| iiaii ^h! :e3| •ihi --1 I mfl piNCE DOCUMENTARY films have so often been identified with dea [)ropaganda, the word "Documentary" has long been a col- .^lij pured one ; that is, it has stood, not only for a type of film, but hoj las carried an esthetic significance. The word "Documentary" til las, to some people, suggested "good films", to others "bad ; ij ilms". 1 Quite recently, the writer said to someone that such-and-such juti I film was a documentary. The reply was that the film in ques- 0 ion could not have been a documentary since the speaker had • ti Mijoyed it. Equally misleading and foolish is the other group r;r ^hich says that such-and-such a film could not be a good one ;j because it was not a documentary. ,i;lj I It still seems necessary to define "Documentary". For years jjK makers of documentary have developed quite a simple theory ■ j pomplementary to their practice. This theory says tnat, if one ;j i ^kes people — be they civilians or soldiers, men or women — in their ordinary occupation and the events of this world as they -U happen, be they war or peace, and relates them to the society 0 pf which they are a part, the resulting film can be lifted from jjij ;he purely informative into the dramatic. If one can relate an .,,H jffice to the industry that it serves, an industry to the world which it supplies, a process to the use to which the article made than complete this article by quoting the front page of John Bull of August 17th, 1940:— "We, Government and people, are still 'flying blind'. We have no clear view of our goal nor idea of how we shall attain it. We know we are fighting for our existence, for the destruction of tyranny and the establishment of a just peace. . . . Now, when the tide of war is lapping the Mediterranean shores, when our own land is facing the gravest threat in its history, it is more than ever essential that we should proclaim our war aims, not only for our own inspiration, but also to convince the world of the honesty of our endeavour. . . . We must efface the memories of our past blunderings, our hesi- tations and inefticiency, the bankrupt statesmanship that threw away our prestige. Unless we make a bold and confi- dent statement of what we propose to do with the victory we shall surely win, our neutral friends may be excused for thinking that we have no aim at all. They must be assured that we are not fighting to restore the wretched 'peace' of the last few years. We have said 'Good-bye' to the old Europe of makeshift frontiers and nationalist rivalries. . . . Britain's aim must be something finer, saner and wiser. We must aim at a settled peace. And we must formulate our plans now. That is the wish of the nation, voiced by intelligent men and women of all parties and of none." DOCUMENTARY RE-DEFINED is put, a man's occupation to the society of which he is a member, a dramatic quality will emerge which will hold and entertain as surely as any fictional story. When documentary films do have a story, they rely not on the fictional meanderings of the novelist, but on actual events. The three recent G.P.O. successes. North Sea, Squadron 992 and Men of the Lightship, are based on just such analyses of real life. Secondly, the maker of documentary films believes that the things which hold an audience are of two kinds: Hollywood with its Garbos and Hedy Lamarrs supplies one kind ; the other is the satisfaction of curiosity. People like to know things and to see things; in fact, people like to see for themselves, pro- vided that the seeing is done without pedagogy. And the record of documentaries in the cinemas since 1929 would seem to vindicate this point of view. Documentary films deal with real people and the real world round us. They bring people face to face with themselves and cater for a universal appetite for information. Films like The Grapes of Wrath, Pasteur and / am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, and the discursive French films on middle-class life come within the definition of "documentary", for all of them re-create actuality. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 Distribution- ANGLO-AMERICAN FILM CORPORATION Ltd 123 WARDOUR STREET, LONDON, W.I Gerrard 3202 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 THE SEA HAWK (FILM OF THE MONTH) THIS TYPICAL costume melodrama from the Warner stables would presumably hardly qualify for special prominence in documentary news I LETTER were it not for the fact that it raises — in a very interesting manner — a number of con- siderations regarding propaganda and public morale. For, in addition to swashbuckling and spectacle, in addition to the regulation overload of lush music, in addition to Flora Robson's return to the role of Queen Elizabeth — in addi- tion, in fact, to all the normal historical cliches which Warner Bros, have so successfully ex- ploited for so many years, there is this time some- thing more unusual, no less than an attempt to depict a close similarity between the Anglo- Spanish set-up of the sixteenth century and the Anglo-German set-up of the twentieth. The story of The Sea Hawk must therefore be regarded from two angles. In the first place, it presents the usual incidents; that is, Errol Flynn does a Drake-Hawkins act, capturing Spanish vessels, raiding mule-trains at Panama, getting captured and condemned to the galleys, escaping, and returning to England with the secret papers for the Queen. But in the second place, an attempt is made throughout the film, to relate the Sea Hawk's exploits to the political mise-en-scene of the period immediately pre- ceding the Armada attack. This story — as told by the film — is roughly as follows. Philip of Spain is consumed by a desire to conquer the world, but is convinced he won't do it unless he first conquers England. Elizabeth of England, while mistrusting and disliking Spain, has no desire for a war, and hates the idea of spending public funds on the construction of a large navy. On the other hand, she gives informal and clandestine approval to the exploits of the privateers who pounce on the Spanish treasure ships and divert their contents to England. Her Lord Chancellor is a Fifth Columnist, hand in glove with the Spanish Ambassador. The main question before her is whether the Armada is going to be directed against England, or not. The Fifth Columnists and the more conservative members of her cabinet say no. The bluflf Admirals say yes. The danger becomes acute. Flynn pulls a boner on a privateering expedition in Nombre de Dios bay, and a virtual ultimatum is delivered by the Spanish Ambassador to the effect that the privateers must be disbanded and imprisoned forthwith, or else. Faced by the fact of an in- adequate Navy, Elizabeth reluctantly submits to the demand (here the word "appeasement" is actually used). In the meantime she starts build- ing a big navy as fast as she can ; and when Flynn escapes from the galleys and brings news of the Armada's sailing date (slaying the Lord Chancellor en route), she has a big navy ready. War is declared, and in a speech from the poop of the new flagship she doles out a row of sen- tences which appear to have more than a chance similarity to some of the speeches in the House of Commons during September 1939. This effort to draw a historico-political parallel is both well meaning and ingenious. But it fails. Historically it fails because, among other things, there was no British Empire in those days. Politically it fails because it is just muddle-headed. The producers are clearly expecting us to identify personal as well as material similarities, but unfortunately for them, and us, all attempts at identification tend to break down. It is easy enough to compare aggressor Spain with aggressor Germany: to see in Philip, with his Inquisition and galley slaves, a fofetaste of Adoiph with his Gestapo and concentration camps: all this is plain sail- ing. But when it comes to the characters of the Queen and her court (and it is impossible, from the film's mood and context, not to continue the comparisons) we are bogged in a veritable Bannockburn of cross-purposes. Vainly we try to spot our favourite or our most disliked politicians: we flit from Eliza- beth to the Lord Chancellor, from the Spanish Ambassador to the Admiral of the Fleet, be- fogged and bewildered by ideas which, if set down here, would probably involve libel actions, if not arrest for creating alarm and despondency. Finally, there is one parallel which doesn't fit at all, however much we try. The Elizabethan privateers (clearly, if tacitly approved by the Throne) were attacking Spanish shipping in both Spanish and neutral waters for a long time before war was declared. Where is the modern tie-up, we ask vainly, only to be bewildered still more when we find the said privateers being sacrificed, like the Czechs, on a Munichean altar. The question is, how far it is useful to draw what is, in rather cloudy terms, an inspiring and invigorating moral from the Elizabethan conflict, if at the same time the circumstances of the period are strained, and indeed racked, in an attempt to provide a twin for every modern event? Many people may well claim that there is a danger here of the public's mind being un- necessarily befuddled : and fuddlement just now — even when done with the best intentions in the world, and by citizens of a country on whose sympathy and aid we most emphatically count — is just the opposite of what is needed. The story of the Armada itself would have been a better choice; for our war aims at the moment are simple — to win the war and free the enslaved people of Europe for a better, if at present an entirely vague, world order. The tradition of "up and at "em" (with not too much emphasis on finishing the game of bowls first), would go down very well. The Sea Hawk is much more uneasy, for it rakes over the em- bers of our pre-war years; it should have been shown twelve months ago. To-day, it is ideologic- ally, as well as filmically, a costume (or period) piece. FILMING IN SCOTLAND NEVER HAVE I heard such a hard, dry toneless clatter bang, no — the "N" in "bang" makes it too sweet a word for defining the Glasgow tram- car and cobble. Seen in retrospect there is a harshness in the nature of the thing which you won't find anywhere else anywhere. And yet, it was so nice around Dunure and I often felt how good the country was. The Scottish landscape is much tidier than the English and they farm ever so much better. You don't see all those unkempt hedges which restrict your view from one field to another. There're less hedges hence more expanse and roll. There is not that hairy derelict look about the ground anywhere, and nothing like the amount of dock, nettle and thistle you get all over England. Maybe it's the sheep. You find them caretaking everywhere, and maybe what they don't eat they tread down, and they keep the sides of the roads beautifully neat and seldom get in front of the car. I was asked to write about filming in war-time but I don't see how really. Because film-making is film-making and even if war conditions do have their own peculiar type of reactions on people with cameras, the people who make the difficul- ties are pretty well the same people who make the difficulties in peace-time too, if they happen to have that modicum of authority which places them that one remove above the rest. Well, they got in the way a lot, but the actual Chief Coppers and O.C.'s were easy as pie and always helpful, always and without exception. And sometimes the specimen called "man in the street" saw our camera and circled round wild-eyed at the chance of knocking off a German, but not quite knowing how to start. After all, a parachutist wouldn't set up a camera in front of a war factory without some kind of official sanction. And yet I met a shepherd who was a real natural, as natural and as absolute as hill and heather, and yet his sensi- tivity was such that speech became so obvious as to be almost unnecessary. When it was re- quired of him the talk came out in a quiet flowing lilt which had a slight resemblance to English, and when we first called at his cottage one rainy day his wife took us in and without asking who we were started to boil eggs, make tea and put out all the bread, jam, scones and cake she could find in the larder. I'm glad Scotsmen differ so much — it shows they are subject to influences; perhaps they are so sensitive that they have re- acted more emphatically to industrialism or the nostalgia of the mountain mist than we South- erners have. To one, like myself, brand new to Scotland, this emphasis was devastating to my usual approach towards what I thought to be everyday humans. I had to readjust myself and quick, but by the time 1 had readjusted the shooting was over and we had to get back, which was a pity as I was just beginning to enjoy Scot- land and to get the first faint glimmer as to what Scotland might be in spite of wars, Sauchiehall Street, films, me or anything else. 10 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 DflinMEmiiy NEWS UTTER MONTHLY FOURPENCE NUMBER 9 SEPTEMBER 1940 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is issued only to private sub- scribers and continues the policy and purpose of World Film News by expressing the documentary idea towards everyday living. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is produced under the auspices of Film Centre, London, in asso- ciation with American Film Center, New York. EDITORIAL BOARD Edgar Anstey Arthur Elton John Grierson Donald Taylor John Taylor Basil Wright Outside contributions will be welcomed but no fees will be paid. We are prepared to deliver from 3 — 50 copies in bulk to Schools, Film Societies and other organi- sations. Owned and published by FILM CENTRE LTD. 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W.l GERRARD 4253 TWENTY YEARS OF SOVIET FILM By IVOR MONTAGU. Abridged and reprinted by courtesy of The Anglo Soviet Journal Soviet I |KDta I Btti lie THE SOVIET cinema celebrated its twentieth anniversary at the beginning of this year. The decree nationalising the film industry was signed by Lenin at the end of August, 1919. Pre-revolutionary Russia had a small-scale film production, with one or two magnates and a few pretty stars. With the October Revolution these decamped to Berlin and Paris — with rare exceptions. In the hectic first months there was virtually no production, and cinemas were "municipalised", or subjected to a sort of syndi- calised staff control system. Cinemas "made do" by running and re-run- ning the features already in the country; new production was confined to newsreels and short agitational pieces consisting of news and titles. The newsreel cameraman was a figure on every front of the civil and interventionist wars. He not only had to photograph, he had — when need arose — to lay down his camera and shoot with rifle instead. Film stock was as rare as ammunition. Eduard Tisse, the brilliant cameraman of all the Eisenstein pictures, has described the anxiety of such an experience as having only 100 feet of film with which to record the first May Day demon- stration in the Red Square, Lenin's speech and all included. It was indeed not until 1922-1923 that the first feature films could be, and were, produced. The first immediately successful one was called The Two Lillle Red Devils, and dealt with the adventures of two boys, befriended by a Negro in the French interventionist armies in South Russia during the period when the territory was constantly changing hands. To the material lack of these days Poudovkin has attributed the subsequent ingenuity of Soviet cinema : "While film people abroad were so busy earning their living that they went from film to film (when they could), sometimes even accepting a script they had not themselves prepared and leaving the previous film to stranger hands to cut, and had no time to reflect and experiment regarding the nature of film, the Soviet film technician, having no film stock and therefore un- able to shoot, was able to sit down and think out the best methods of shooting when eventually he should get the chance." Thus runs the Poudovkin thesis. In the year or two immediately following 1922- 1923 new films were imported from abroad. The Soviet spectator and technician became familiar with the work of Chaplin, D. W. Griflilh, Mur- nau, and Lubitsch. When, a year or so later, Fairbanks (senior) and Mary Pickford visited U.S.S.R. they found themselves as famous and popular as elsewhere in the world. Ihc film school G.I.K. (the State Institute of Cinema) was already in being, with its faculties for budding directors, camera men and women, actors and actresses, art directors, etc. Here teacher Kouleshov expounded the gospel of mont- age, to be inferred, so the lesson ran, from the works of the Americans, and particularly the master, Griffith. One of his most talented pupils was a chemical engineer named Poudovkin. German expressionism was the chief influence on the brilliant pair, still in their teens, Kozint- sev and Trauberg (the elder Trauberg brother. Lev). Two new figures endeavoured from the start to find a style "cinematic", peculiar to cinema independent of the influences of other arts, and deriving not even from previous cinema achievements, but directly from the relation be- tween real phenomena and the cinematographic apparatus. One was Dziga Vertov, with his theory — then stimulating but now seen as naive — of the "camera eye", viz., that nothing must be arranged, nothing staged ; the camera must simply be an eye selecting from, but not otherwise inter- fering with, the stream of reality. The second was a young architectural student, who had worked in cabaret and circus, Eisenstein, whose lust for realism led him to use "non-acting material" (viz., types selected for their visual correspond- ence to the external qualities of the desired char- acter rather than for acting ability), into attempt- ing his first film (Srrike) within the four walls of a real factory instead of building sets. By 1925 already two works had been produced, Poieinkiii by Eisenstein and Mother by Poudov- kin, which were to stand out as classic landmarks in the history of the cinema. The finest leading films of the three years need only to be catalogued to stamp the period. Eisenstein turned out : October ( Ten Days that Shook the Workl), Old and New (The General Line): Poudovkin : The End oj St. Petersburg, The Heir of Jenf^hi:. Khan (Storm over Asia): Dovz- henko: Earth: Ko/intsev and Trauberg (turning away from German expressionism to French im- pressionism) : New Babylon; Trauberg (the younger brother, Ilya): Blue Express: Ermler: The Stump of an Empire: Turin: Ttirksib: Room: No. 3 Meshchanskaya Street (Bed and Sofa). These were films which proved so effective to any audience, speaking whatever language, that they were paid the ultimate tribute — forbidden, as too effective to be shown — in innumerable countries. They were films which also left an indelible impression on the whole body of world film production that was to come after. What was the principal technical factor in the style of the old Soviet silent classics which gave them their outstanding influence? This was (blessed word) "montage". Technically montage is simply the production mi m Itisc ippea if SOI DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 11 of effects by the sticking together of shorter pieces of film into a larger strip. Later there arose in the Soviet film world damaging mechanical concep- tions of montage which laid exaggerated or even exclusive emphasis on this technical method of montage. Acting, direction, scenarios hardly mattered, even casually assembled pieces could be so synthesised as to produce the right effect. The period 1925-1929 was associated no less with a development of the technical basis of the cinema. The U.S.S.R. is a very big country and many nationalities reside in it. To make a film accessible to the whole country enormous num- bers of screens had to be organised. Films also had to be translated into many languages. Soviet films, for internal consumption alone, had to be titled in more than eighty different languages. The Third Five- Year Plan involves the dis- appearance of all silent screens and the increase of sound projection units more than six times, from 9,000 in 1937 to 60,000 in 1940 (exclusive of those in schools and other places not open to the general public). The network in the country- [ side will increase 1,108 per cent : 50,000 standard and 40,000 sub-standard sound projectors, with 35,000 electrical generating apparatus for port- able work, will be produced during the Third Five- Year Plan, or to express it another way, accommodation for spectators (calculated on a basis of annual occupation of seats) — which rose as follows: 1928, 310 million; 1936, 710 million: 1939, 950 million — will increase to 2,700 million (45 per cent instead of as now 30 per cent in the countryside) by 1,942. The building of this giant industry has not been achieved without serious creative crises in the early stages. It is now generally realised in the outside world that the industrialisation and collectivisation of the first and early second Five- Year Plan periods represented an upheaval in the lives of the people that could only be described as a second revolution, in some respects even more severe, more far-reaching. The period of flowering of the classic silent Soviet cinema was followed by a period of almost complete collapse, a barren period in which films of quality were rare, almost accidents, a period from which creative film production had almost to be rebuilt anew. The only notable examples among early sound films were T/te Road to Life (Ekk), made partly under non-Soviet inspiration ; Enthusiasm, a novelty, but a blind alley; and Counterplcui, an impressive but ponderous study on a theme then vitally important, by Yutkevicj and Ermler. Poudovkin botched, and many of the masters held aloof, found excuses in the long and pro- found research into projected subjects which has always been a prerogative of Soviet artists, and left the field to those who were less self-import- i ant but, alas, less gifted. What were the causes of this interregnum? They are not listed here in relative importance, but simply jotted down as factors contributing. 1. The technical shortage. Soviet manufac- tured film stock in its initial stages was of course undependable. Cameramen found their exposure a matter of hazard, not knowing the speed of the Stock. Laboratory work was clumsy. 2. The sound position. Even before it was in general use abroad Soviet film directors eagerly welcomed sound, and described what they would do with it, thirsted after it. But sound was not available in the U.S.S.R. until long after it came into use abroad. It is not easy to transform a sec- tion of so mighty a plan of reconstruction and development of the film industry, plotted before sound, to include a technical device that turns the whole business topsy-turvy and comes in just after your plan (for five years) has already been set in motion. 3. Isolation. Shortage of valuta restricted, nearly eliminated, import of films from abroad during the First Five-Year Plan. Denied the opportunity of comparison, young Soviet film technicians developed exaggerated ideas of the qualities of their own still imperfect films, and the vain old veterans became unnecessarily criti- cal of these imperfections, and still more terrified of taking the plunge on to the studio floor. 4. Alienation from subject. Herein lay the social roots of formalism. The oldest masters were men with minds formed before the October Revolution. The early revolutionary themes in- spired them. The themes of the reconstruction period, the matters that engrossed 170 million of their fellow-citizens in the period of the First Five-Year Plan, could not be felt by them directly but only indirectly. What can it mean to a man who has never worked in a factory that some new machine or new process has lightened labour? What can a new separator mean to a man who has never had the task of separating milk by hand? The new themes, intensely dramatic for their audiences, became for the masters only the subject for a formal exercise in presentation. 5. The montage theory. The speaking figure on the screen is more individual, less symbolic, than the silent figure. Prosperity brings opportunity of self-expression, development, and attention to individuals. The narrow, mechanical conception of montage as a synthesis only in the cutting process, was unfitted to cope with the problem of expressing personality. The extremist theories of the "camera eye" and "non-acting actor" type, instead of being a fertile means of obtaining new eftects became simply a fetter restraining the film creator from using every available resource, and limiting him to a certain class only. Then, just about as far away in time from the start of Soviet sound film as Potemkin had been from the start of Soviet silent films, came Chapayev (by the brothers Vasiliev), equally his- toric, because masterfully solving (to the over- whelming satisfaction of its Russian-speaking audiences) the problem of the expression of per- sonality in film. That is to say, a realistic, "all- round" expression; not just in the Western sense of drawing out the high-powered person- ality of a star, but the acting, the depiction of a personality in relation to the social forces deve- loping around him. At this decisive stage the weight of the Com- munist Party's influence and authority firmly directed attention towards clear statement of con- tent rather than the form it was set in. The picture held as exemplary was not Erm- ler's able Peasants nor Dziga Vertov's moving swan-song Three Songs of Lenin, nor the pictori- ally beautiful IVe from Kronstadt of Dzigan, hut a simple, formless, naturalistic narrative of treach- ery and sabotage : The Party Card. The line of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in this controversy should be clearly understood. The Party was perfectly well aware that, as a writer said during the Writers' Confer- ence that discussed realism and formalism: "There can be something worse than formalism in art, and that is — no form at all." The Party was perfectly well aware that realism, the pre- sentation by art to the spectator of an impression corresponding to reality, is a constructed, formed effect, and not an automatic sequel to mere naturalism. But, as Lenin once explained, the Bolshevik method is to decide which link in the chain is the one that needs to be hauled on at the particular moment and then, for the time, concentrate all forces on hauling on it. This carries the obvious corollary that the risk is run of overlooking difficulties which may arise out of the connection with the other links, and it is necessary to be con- tinually alert to notice in time when one link be- gins to grow and transcend another in importance in the course of developing relations. At the time of the controversy excessive naturalism was not the danger, formalism was. Formalism made rotten and vitiated the usefulness of some of the finest talent, so that the creation risked ceasing to be a communication. Naturalism was the weakness only of the untalented, and could easily be corrected later. Climax occurred when, rare event in Soviet life, the Central Committee of the C.P.S.U. made time to see Eisenstein's current opus (still un- finished after millions of roubles' expenditure, and two years' work, and one re-writing half-way through), Bezhin Meadow. The Central Com- mittee decided it should be junked. The film technicians' organisation was invited to condemn it. They insisted on seeing it first. They saw it. Followed a conference, during which for days Eisenstein stubbornly defended his view- point, at last yielded and conceded the principal and most generally held criticisms of his col- leagues. Eisenstein was "punished" by being given a long holiday in the Crimea, the best scenarist, composer, and assistant director in the U.S.S.R., and unlimited resources as soon as he had chosen, and was ready to start on, his next subject. The battle was won. A fertile period followed synchronising with the present great growth of prosperity, and with it general enjoyment of the arts, in the U.S.S.R. Eisenstein's own next picture was a triumphant, popular success, and the film world turned its attention to smoothing out the excesses of naturalism, and did so in its stride, by the simple process of raising the general technical ("film cultural") level. This zigzag method of progress, characteristic of the Soviet Union, may be hectic, but it usually gets ahead faster than the alternative of sitting looking at the chain, not hauling on anything at all, and arguing about the exact volume of the forces that should be applied simultaneously to all the various links. 12 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 DOCUMENTARY FILM REVIEWS Men of the Lightship. Production: Alberto Cavalcanti. Direction: David Macdonald. Dis- tribution: A.B.F.D. 23 minutes. By a Film Fan THIS is the third and last epic documentary that Cavalcanti has produced for the G.P.O. He is now at Ealing. Like its predecessors North Sea and Squadron 992, Men of the Lightship is a suc- cess. In its first month it had a vast number of bookings and the audiences lapped it up. It is difficult now to review films in terms of direction, photography, production and sesthetic results. Men of the Lightship is a good film; it is well made; it has everything that Cavalcanti and the G.P.O. Film Unit can give to a documentary film or real film or anything you like to call a film about real people doing real things. I saw it at the Odeon on Saturday night and I have seldom seen a short get so much applause. There were four bursts through the film and at the end the clapping went on until the next titles were on the screen. It says a lot for the film but it says more, it says that we want to see films that show what is going on. We want to see the reasons why we have to live in the dark ; why we suddenly stop talking and say "Did you hear that?" During the last year we have seen a few films which are supposed to be about the war. The features using the war as just another background for the same old story. We have seen their un- cnthusiastic reception in the cinemas. We have seen the Ministry of Information films. Their booking lists were longer than any, but only because they were free and were shown by courtesy of the film trade. The antigossip shorts — phoney films about phoney people. We do not want to see a twerp in a Mayfair bar as a representative of us. A Call to Arms — two floozies from a sheebang, calling who to arms — to their arms but certainly to no one else's. Sea Fort. — Nearer the right line, but missing as badly as the others. We do not want soldiers" dreams of action, and real films do not mean indiscriminate slapping together of odd shots with a prissy commentary. Miss Grant goes to the Window. Perhaps the only near successful one of the bunch. It is about a middle-class woman and deals faithfully with her and we accept it for that reason. The commercial producers can do as they want, but the Ministry of Information can't. Through all their productions there has been a consistent disregard both of the people they are supposed to be about and the people they are for. The films seem to have been made by an isolated few who, superior and secure in their tall white Bloomsbury castle, forget that they are using our money to insult us. We do not want to see the war through Charlies, and floozies. This time wc want the real M'Coy, the war is too close and too personal for it to be translated in the present terms of the Ministry of Information. We want more of Squadron 992, Men of the Lightship and less of Call to ^rw^and Sea Forts. Airscrew. Production: Arthur Elton. Direction: Grahame Tharp. Diagrams: Francis Rodker. Photography: Sidney Beadle. 20 mins. Dis- tribution: Petroleum Films Bureau. By an Aeronautical Engineer THIS film falls into two parts, the first showing the making of an airscrew, from the metallurgists inspection of the raw material to the final check- ing of the finished article by the A.l.D. (Aircraft Inspection Department). The second explains the need for variable pitch airscrews and shows the mechanism of a well-known type. The film has been shot in the actual factories, and is inter- leaved with explanatory diagrams. The first part gives a clear-cut picture not only of the production of an airscrew blade but of the spirit of modern precision engineering. Nowhere is there the taint of "whang-bar worship", the adoration of incomprehensible complication for its own sake (Cf. the theatrical film's conception of a "scientific laboratory"). The subject is ideal. Everyone knows what an airscrew is for and what it looks like. It is a simple lump of metal — at least, the type shown is — so it is possible to follow its progress from forging to stockroom without interruption by the appearance of com- ponents down tributary streams of production. Finally, it has a characteristic and beautiful shape that can never be confused with the machines operating on it. The producers have risen to the opportunity and their austere treatment echoes the clarity and accuracy of the craftsmanship of their subject. The second part, showing the variable pitch control gear, raises greater difficulties. It involves far too many principles from many branches of science to be explained in the time available with- out over-simplification and inaccuracy. The mechanism itself, although simple enough in principle, is complicated in practice, looking like a three-dimensional maze. The film keeps to essentials, explaining what a variable pitch air- screw is for, what it looks like and how it is used. First is shown the connection between change of pitch of the airscrew and change of gear in a motor car. The mechanical linkage that changes the pitch in llight is shown in actuality and in diagram. The automatic variation of the pitch with engine speed is stated as a fact, no attempt being made at the necessarily loose explanation that is the only alternative. Some very clear shots show the working of the gear in flight. The whole film gi\es one the impression of being made from the inside, not from the outside i by a talented director who has carefully studied his brief but no more. Commentary is used spar- ingly; it is possible to watch the screen without constant verbal nudging. There is, in fact, a greater emphasis on pictorial values than is usual in films of this kind, so many of which seem to be planned by experts on radio talks. The play of light on polished metal is used with the delight shown by the cameramen of old silent films, but its effect is intensified by the rigid discipline of the subject. After each one of the many surface treat- ments the blade undergoes, the texture of metal shows the nature of the treatment as clearly as do the pictures of the actual processing. Photography of this quality is unfair to the animated diagrams that follow it without break in continuity. So long as the diagrams are still they match the photographs perfectly, being in continuous tones and in perspective: When they start moving the inevitable quavering of outline is emphasised by the comparison. To attempt to animate shaded drawings of bevel gears and sleeve cams, moving slowly, is to attempt to transcend the limits of the cinematographic pro- cess. It is not possible to draw the pictures accurately enough to avoid slight quavering and this is damaging in representations of essentially rigid materials. The style of Felix the Cat (i.e., the style of a blue print) would have been as appro- priate, and more successful, than the style of Pinnocchio. To sum up : Airscrew sets a new standard for engineering films as Aero Engine did in its day. It is a film that will be enjoyed by layman and engineer alike. What's for Dinner, Green Food for Health, Choose Cheese. Production: Realist Film Unit. Producer: John Taylor. Direction: Ruby Grier- son. Camera: A. E. Jeakins. Distribution; Non-T. 10 min., 5 min., 5 min. respectively. THESE THREE films are a contribution to the National EtTort by the British Commercial ' Gas Association. Their object is to put across certain vital points regarding what foods to eat and how to cook them. This means (a) How to get the maximum nutrition from home grown foods and (h) how to make rationed foods go as far as possible. Of the three. Choose Cheese is the most straightforward and practical. It makes its points economically and cogently, and 1 1 is distinguished by a shot of a steaming dish of cauliflower au gratin which makes the mouth water. Green Food for Health and What's for Dinner attempt a trickier technique — the putting across of important points by means of comedy. To this end Archie Harradine and Joan Stern- dale Bennett (both of the Player's Theatre) have been recruited with great efl'ect. In IVhat's for Dinner the trick eflTects are exceedingly funny, and the gag of moving the characters about to He fpei (ipei )OCl Pi im I DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 13 m the commentator's orders is done as well as Pete Smith does it. Nor does the delightful appearance of Archie Harradine as a surrealist paper-hanger clash with the film's piquant message on the value of casserole cookery. Green Food for Health is less successful, probably because a comedy scene (of a family suffering from colds, dyspepsia, acidity and ill- temper through wrong feeding) intrudes rather unexpectedly on the more straightforward de- siHi scriptive style of the rest of the film. m Long Live Poland! Time: 108 minutes, accom- panied throughout by Polish commentary. Pro- duced by the Polish American Film Corporation, of Chicago, and featuring the activities of Polish soldiers in France. DOCUMENTARY is hardly the word 1 would em- ploy in describing this full-length film showing Poland, briefly, before the invasion, and after when they formed their army in France. It is rather a series of newsreel shots strung together, in more or less cohesion. The film opens with scenes of peasants in peace-time digging up the potato crop; which later was to be swallowed up by the German troops. From the broad streets of Warsaw, that gay and dignified city of modern Poland, we travel to Kracow, which is a poem of medieval loveliness: then suddenly, the bombers come, hringingdestruction to life and building.and Warsaw is a shambles. The people that escape do ■ not give up hope, they come, weary and grim in a continuous stream into France, where they train to become soldiers and nurses again. (There is created in France a little Poland, where every- body is eager to continue the battle on foreign soil.) There are more scenes of activity in France showing General Sigorski, Paderewski, and Mme Biddle taking part in some interesting events. The film finishes with scenes of Paris taken only two days before the Germans entered the city. Though undoubtedly this film was made with the utmost sincerity, the direction is dull and the photography indifterent ; except for one sequence of Polish soldiers billeted in a French chateau where the photography is excellent and for the first time the people on the screen really live. The smiling faces and efficiency of the young Poles is impressive. The film runs for 108 minutes and it would be much more vital and interesting if it were cut to 30 minutes, particularly those interminable speeches with only the news camera men wiggling in and out of the Ministers" ' legs to break the monotony. Flying to Australia with Ivan Scott. Production: Spectator. Producer: Ivan Scott. Distribution: Dinning. 10 minutes. THE job of the maker of travel films is becoming increasingly difficult unless he has plenty of time to spend in the places which he visits. The in- defatigable Fitzpatrick has made the world look a lot less exciting than the next door neighbour's garden; Movietone, before folding up their Magic Carpet, managed to float around in a very thorough way and Universal have given us many, many glimpses of the more exotic pursuits of the peoples of the world which, alas, seem so often to be connected with snakes. The more accessible parts of the earth's surface have been only too well covered. There have been some memorable films of strange places but these have not, strictly speaking, been travel films; only World Window, bringing colour and superb shooting to ruin and palace, has made travel films that one can remember. When the travel film maker travels by air his job is even more difficult. Breakfast at Basra or Bucharest, lunch at Baghdad or Damascus and in between, the oft-repeated shot of the Temple or the pilots lighting cigarettes. Then on across the usually shark-infested sea to the picturesque water market and the Chinese junk. In this film, Flying to Australia with Ivan Scott, Mr. Scott takes us across the world by K.L.M. (Incidentally there seems to be some ambiguity in the title. It appears that the film was taken by a cameraman working without a directpr. In the absence of any credit titles it is difficult to know who exactly did make it.) The film was shot in Dufaycolour. This is particularly good in the shots of the countries taken from the air. The hazy patterns of green fields, blue sea or golden desert are extremely successful and a great improvement on the usual rather flat shots in black and white. The cameraman has also taken advantage of the colour to do full justice to the glistening aeroplanes, silver blue against a deep blue sky. The film ambles along the well-known route pleasantly enough and, receiving no assistance from the sound track, takes us safely to Sydney. The U.S. Navy. Production: March of Time (No. 4, Sixth Year). Distribution: R.K.O. Radio. 18 minutes. By a Producer YEARS AGO the March of Time stories did take, within their journalistic limits, a sincere and courageous line. We had not only a story, sometimes but not necessarily sensational, but a definite attitude to it. In those days March of Time used to get cheers from the audience and trouble from the censors. Now, I cannot imagine audience or censors getting any sort of reaction from it: like other organisations a good deal nearer home, it feels the necessity to keep on talking, in as loud a voice as possible, without committing the cardinal error of ever saying anything. Its a great pity, for we need plain state- ments from somewhere, and we used to get them from the March of Time. However, if they find that they cannot bring themselves to say anything, they will need to revise their technique pretty radically if they're going to keep up their circulation. The U.S. Navy contains no material that we haven't already seen in newsreels, or seem to have, and there are no synchronised sequences to brighten it up. More human material, with plenty of dialogue, might help these latter-day issues to get by. As it is. The U.S. Navy smells very strongly of war-jitters. The main idea seems to be to find some sort of a scapegoat for the supposed present inadequacy of their navy, and in this role we rather surprisingly find cast the 1922 Washington Conference, which cut down all naval building programmes. I should have thought past Isola- tionism towards Europe and conciliation of big- business interests towards Japan would have filled the role better. Exception might also be taken to the tacit assumption of the disappear- ance of the British Navy implied by the compari- son of Axis (Japan-Germany-Italy) and U.S.A. tonnage, which even so at this moment dis- counting future Axis losses and American building, leaves the U.S.A. at a disadvantage of only 17 to 21. Another of their worries seems to be the Panama Canal, "For if the locks were attacked and rendered useless, the U.S. Navy might be stranded in one ocean, leaving the other ocean defenceless to the enemy." Not very flattering to us! Well, there's the choice. They can either change their technique, or make their arguments clear and honest once more. The present unhappy condition is merely boring. Transport on Trial. Production: Spectator. Distribution: Denning. 18 minutes. THIS NEW EDITION in the "Point of View" series argues the case for and against the unification, through State control, of the country's entire transport industry. The fundamentals of the problem are quickly put — chaos on the roads, complaints by the railway companies of unfair competition, high fares, poor services, low wages. Mr. Pro and Mr. Con then argue their respective views, with Ivan Scott endeavouring to do a neat balancing act in the chair. The advocate for nationalisation makes out an extremely good case — such a good case that his opponent is reduced to citing the love of children for model railways as a reason for re- taining the present system and leaving it all to the railway companies. In fact he is on such poor ground that he forgets even to put forward the usual arguments for private ownership, and flounders about in a most unconvincing manner. Unlike one or two recent films in the "Point of View" series, the visuals are extremely pertinent to the quickly-changing discourse on the sound track, and the film succeeds in giving a compre- hensive survey of all forms of transportation, and their inter-connection. Photography, music and diagrams are excel- lent. Altogether, a thoroughly interesting con- tribution to a question which affects the entire population. Britain's Youth. Production: Strand Films. Pro- ducer: Alexander Shaw. Direction: Jack Ellit. 1 1 minutes. YET ANOTHER Competent and practical Fitness Film which relates closely to the War Effort, and is remarkable for a commentary written and spoken by C. B. Fry. It is well photographed and cut, but does not merit any more elaborate comment. 14 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 LESS PROPAGANDA, MORE PEP THE CINEMA has reached a critical point in its development. Depending upon exhibition of its products in thousands of cinemas, and upon the weekly patronage of millions of people, it is in danger of ceasing to cater for those millions, of seeing them turn silently away from its doors and drop their pennies and nickels into the coffers of other amusements. Catering for millions, the cinema developed a vitality, a vigour and a character of its own : this alone made possible its rise to dominant position in the world of entertainment and its growth into becoming one of America's largest industries. Once it ceases to cater for the masses, the movie — the most democratic form of entertain- ment in history — is in danger of becoming lifeless and sterile ; as lifeless and as sterile as the B.B.C. programmes have become under the stern con- trol of moralists and would-be dispensers of cul- ture to the masses; as uninspired and as tepid as the present-day British theatre; as vital and as interesting to ordinary people as a symphony concert. The cinema began in the gutter. Though it be- gan its rise only some fifty years ago there is already dispute over origins. It will never be clear who was responsible for all the early inventions which made possible the taking and projection of the moving picture; its inventors were, for the most part, obscure, embittered men whose efforts were regarded by relatives and friends as attempts to avoid making an honest living. Many of them must have come from the photographer class; pictures of those early adventurers — who haunted beaches, public houses and parks — show them to be either misfits and cranks, or persuasive confidence men engaged in selling gold-bricks to suckers. It was in the hands of down-at-heel and des- pised men of this kind that many of the early efforts to take moving pictures began. But even where the inventors were disinterested men of science they were unable to exploit their dis- coveries for themselves : that is why such men mostly died in poverty after seeing others en- riched by their early work. The exploitation fell into the hands, mainly, of showmen and music- hall managers. Illiterate, vain, brass-lunged, rough-hewn, these men boosted the new sensation throughout the length and breadth of Britain and America. The film began its career at the tail-end of music-hall programmes, in fair-ground booths and in peep-show stands. The kind of reputation it thus gained for itself can best be gauged today by inviting a clerygman to look through the shut- ters of any penny peep-show in a pin-table amusement saloon. Bv "SEVORC Showmen, music-hall managers, and barkers brought the film to the people. Much the same type of man began making film, once the early novelty of showing actual events had begun to wear. The simple rule-of-thumb standard for such people was — would it go down with the public ; not the middle-classes, but the back streets, the slums, the labouring classes and the artisans whose likes and dislikes could be gauged by their attendances at the music-hall, then in its heyday, and in the touring stock companies with their melodramas of the "Maria Marten" type. It was this attempt to make films the masses wanted to see that enabled the movies to rise above all the other forms of entertainment ; to produce an art unequalled for vigour and crudity since the days of the playhouses adjoining the whore-houses and stews of Bankside. This development along the lines of popular taste was all the more easily accomplished be- cause Governments, propagandists, preachers and middle-class intellectuals failed to see the great possibilities of this new entertainment. The dirty, cheap-priced, dark little halls, crowded with children, with servant girls, with labourers, were regarded with horror by the righteous and with contempt by the highbrows. The middle-class advance-guard thinkers were too busy emptying the theatres by turning them into debating clubs to notice the cinema; which in any case would not suit them so long as everybody could go in for a few pence. As showmen grew rich from the proceeds they often began to exhibit signs of dislike for the dis- repute into which the movies had fallen and remained, and began to try to earn respectability. These efforts, however, were soon corrected when the takings showed a fall. The clinging to stage technique and acting went overboard because of the silent pressure of the box office, as did efforts to turn "great stage plays" into films and to film "great actors" in these plays. Cinemagoers with their pennies forced the movie makers along the road to greatness, forced the development of a film technique. The most striking evidence of the Tightness of popular taste was the rise of Charlie Chaplin : to-day he has been worshipped into paralysis by the intellectuals, but he was made famous and great by the pennies and twopences of the uneducated and uncultured poor at a time when these self-same intellectuals were decrying the movies and Chaplin as "vulgar". Another example of the failure of the cultured to realise the power and importance of the cinema, is shown by the indilfercncc — at the time of his greatness — to Griffiths. He was one of the great figures of the silent screen. His outstanding IUTA igivi ttwti tyou m iihe lown mfoi polii liis II ID' developments in movie technique were, some fifteen years later, taken over by the Russians, Griffiths passed unnoticed by the advance guard; but the Russians were worshipped, though the technical achievements for which they were acclaimed had all been used to the full by Griffiths and enjoyed by movie-goers fifteen years before. So, throughout the silent era one finds the pressure of popular taste and demand creating the movies, and making them into one Jme| of the greatest of all mass entertainments. All this is passed and forgotten to-day. Theltm?) film industry has grown. There is much money to pit ti be made and reputation to be won. Those who despised it now seek entrance to its portals. The back street cinema has given way to the luxury super and the prices of seats has risen accord- ingly. A new public has come into the cinema, and around it a host of film-doctors, advisers, preachers, propagandists and theorists have assembled. Governments have found its value as propaganda. The results are beginning to show in the loss of vitality in the present-day cinema. The film critics of to-day have been recruited from the Film Societies of yesterday and reflect a corresponding namby-pamby attitude to life. Censorship, politics — both left and right — and increasing catering for a middle-class public has devitalised the movies. A glance at the films of ^{ to-day will show that. Crook films are now scripted by policeman; outlaws are shown with abject apology ; the films of plays by Bernard Shaw are hailed as "great" even though nobody moves during the whole film from one end of a room to the other. Pro- cessions of Queen Victorias, and suitably ironed- out suburbanised Victorian statesmen, move drearily across the screen for hours on end to the delight of snobbish suburbia and the nodding' approval of schoolmasters who still feel a little wicked at being seen in a cinema. These are signs of the change. Some may think it a change for the better, but there can be no doubt that, sooner or later, the box office in the prosincial cinemas will spell out the letters r-u-i-n to the industry unless it is checked. Great movie art and popular taste are not opposites but complementary. Governments can subsidise the distribution of milk without affect- ing the taste of milk— people either like it or they don't. But popular opinion can express itself about entertainment only if it is here to go to it or stop away. Along lines of catering for popular t;1stes the movies can live; along the lines of deliberate art-creation and propaganda it is doomed, as the theatre, to become the preserve of a minority. loU! Did I h ki DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 15 PIN-TABLE POLITICS By A DAMON RUNYON FAN PIN TABLES is no spare-time occupation, and I am giving one the Go To It with both hands and feet when Movie Mike comes the hello and how are you over my shoulder. Mike has been going to the movies since he was old enough to reach up to his mother's purse 'Tion the kitchen mantelpiece, and as he goes only •i to westerns and gangster epics he has a left known in pin-table circles as the humane killer. ISo naturally I am polite and respond to Mike's suggestion that I give my views on the war and Ithe conduct of the belligerent nations. I am not a guy who goes around much but it ihappcns one night I am in one of those towns it lis careless talk to mention the name of, when some guys let off some hooters. Now I wish to say I do not like to spend the night alone with a strange siren so I make for a shelter, stopping only to select myself a book. I gets one called •Guilty Men and it is not till I am well and truly icomfortable that I find it is not a crime book but a political yell. It is such as 1 remember of this book that I give out in chunks to Mike feeling sure that he has not read a book since they stopped the Racing Almanac. "By all accounts," I says, "we are not doing well. We give in to Hitler for many years, and then when we have no more to give away we are in a war fitted out with bows and arrows. Though 1 am a fall guy for pin tables I could not hold my position in the pin-table world if I am failing all the time. But these political guys who do the wrong thing still get away with it and I am in favour of demoting them to the ranks. Ap- peasement," I say, "is . . ." "Appeasement," says Mike getting all sored lup, "I am sick of hearing that guy's name. He must have one good publicity guy for not one day goes past but 1 am reading his name in the papers. Why pick on him to blame — or maybe it is to throw a dummy so that no one is to know the truth." "What is the truth," I ask, not that I wish to hear, the world being full of guys who will give you how to win the war all the time and any time, but not wishing to get Mike all upset. "Well," says Mike, "since horse-racing is stopped I am putting my mind on the political racket though as farasi can see there is no money in it, all of the graft having been got long ago. I What is wrong 1 wish to say is our Government do not go to the movies." It is clear Mike is in a gabby mood, so I ven- ture at this point to make some correction. "I seem to remember," 1 says, "that Mr Korda j never has a show but all our politicians are i^f present." "When I say movies," says Mike, "I do not ij I mean illustrated Boys' Own Papers but movies, and I exclude from such all British films. Indeed '■ I argue that too many of our Cabinet men try to fi^t j fight the war like it is a British film script, and it is to be expected that this would make things very easy for Hitler, who does not know of these scripts anyway." "I am no Vernon Bartlett," says Mike "but I am familiar through my many years at gangster epics with the peace conference idea. When the mobsters get together to split up the territory one and all know that this arrangement is only to be kept while convenient. Such things as Munich happen in Chicago but no one there is dumb enough to regard them as anything but playing for time. I know that mobsters fight each other but always team up against the cops, and 1 am not surprised when Stalin and Hitler join together though everyone else is. I am no General Ironside, bur I am not surprised to hear of the petrol tanks in Nazi planes that seal up when hit by a bullet because I am aware that Al Capone had this idea many years ago for dealing with stray copper bullets at the back tyres of his armoured cars. 1 am not so foolish as to fight Tommy Guns with bayonets because many a time I see great work done with Tommy Guns by mobsters in the movies. I am no Duff Cooper, but I am not taken unawares by the Fifth Column idea because I know from my movies that gang- sters rely on grafting politicians to protect them from the cops." "It is no use," says Mike sadly, "sending these men to the movies now. It is a life study and starts in the nursery. I am sure that we cannot do any good until men w;ho have spent their lives in the study of the gangster epic, like Warner Brothers, are taking over the national war effort." "Now," says Mike, "what is the winning score on this pin-table?" NOTES AND NEWS London. The London Scientific Film Society will begin its third season in October. Prospective members should get in touch with the Secretary, 30 Bedford Row, London, W.C.I. Canada. The National Film Society, the Home and School Association of Ontario and Shell Oil are combining in an attempt to enlist the support of parents and teachers for "educa- tion-by-films". It is stated that there is a great demand for such shows and that in Ontario alone audiences will total as many as 30,000. In addi- tion the National Film Society states that more and more films are becoming available for this purpose. It is claimed that 1,341 reels have been shown to audiences of approximately 180,000 people during the past season and they have 128 films in their own library. This has given the impetus to many Canadian schools to start their own film libraries. South Africa. The National Bureau of Edu- cational and Social Research, Union Education Department, is an exceptionally active organ- isation. This Bureau maintains a national film library, membership of which is open to schools, universities, technical colleges, social welfare societies, scientific societies, departments of public healths, Sunday schools and other recognised educational and social welfare groups. British East Africa. At present there is no show- ing of 16 mm. films for educational motion pictures in the schools of this territory. But, during the last year, the Departments of Edu- cation of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika as well as some of the more advanced schools have been studying the problem and making inquiries. SIGHT AND SOUND SUMMER 1940 PRICE SIXPENCE There are still BLUE BIRDS Published by THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE 4 Great Russell Street, W.C.i 16 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 DOCUMENTARY BOOKINGS FOR SEPTEMBER ( The following bookings for September are selected from a list covering its members supplied by the News and Specialised Theatres Association.) Adventures of Chico Classic Cinema, Upper Tooting Rd., S.W.I 7 (3 days) 19th A Boy, a Girl and Birds Tatlers News Reel Cinema, Newcastle 21st Arabian Bazaar Premier News Theatre, 2 Albert Rd., Bournemouth 7th American Youth World's News Theatre, Praed Street, Edgware Road, W.2 (4 days) 12th Tatlers News Theatre, 25 Church St., Liverpool (6 days) 9th Beat of the Drums World's News Theatre, Praed Street, Edgware Road, W. 2 (3 days) 9th Border Collie News Theatre, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne 14th Colourful Curacao Classic Cinema, Upper Tooting Road, S.W.I 7 (4 days) 1st The News House, 92 Upper Parliament St., Nottingham 7th Charters Great and Small Tatlers News Reel Cinema, Newcastle 28th Ducks and Drakes (G.B.C.) The Little Theatre, Bath 1 4th Tatlers News Theatre, 25 Church Street, Liverpool (6 days) 2nd Delhi News Theatre, High Street, 4, Birmingham 7th Tatlers News Theatre, 25 Church Street, Liver- pool (6 days) 23rd Dangerous Comments Tatlers News Theatre, 25 Church Street, Liver- pool (6 days) 2nd Drunk Driving Tatlers News Theatre, 25 Church St., Liverpool (6 days) 23rd Flying to Australia Classic Cinema, Above Bar, Southampton (4 days) 15th Fear and Peter Brown World's News Theatre, Praed Street, Edgware Road, W.2 (3 days) 16th Fingers and Thumbs The News House, 92 Upper Parliament Street, Nottingham 14th Flying Stewardess Tatlers News Reel Cinema, Newcastle 7th Flying Targets Tatlers News Reel Cinema, Newcastle 14th Fly Casting Tatlers News Reel Cinema, Newcastle 21st Gibraltar the First Outpost Waterloo Station, News Theatre, S.E.I (4 days) 26th Gullible Gulls The News House, 92 Upper Parliament Street, Nottingham 21st Home Early News Theatre, Pilgrim St., Ncwcastle-on-Tyne 7th Historic Cities of India News Theatre, Pilgrim St., Ncwcastle-on-Tyne 14th How to Eat Tatlers News Theatre, 25 Church Street, Liverpool .Wth How to Eat Tatler Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester 28th Human Fish The News Theatre, Peter Street, Bristol 28th How to Eat News Theatre, City Road, 1, Leeds 28th Men of the Lightship Classic Cinema, Upper Tooting Road, S.W.I 7 (4 days) 22nd March of Time No. 3 Premier News Theatre, 2 Albert Rd., Bournemouth 21st Men of the Lightship Tatler Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester 14th March of Time No. 3 Tatler Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester 21st Men of the Lightship The News Theatre. Peter Street, Bristol 7th Money Makers of Manhattan Tatler Theatre, Station Road, Birmingham 28th March of Time No. 13 The Little Theatre, Bath 7th March of Time No. 1 (New Series) The News Cinema, Diamond Street, Aberdeen 7tli Men in Danger The News Cinema, Diamond Street, .Aberdeen 14th March of Time No. 2 Classic Cinema, S. Croydon, London (3 days) 26th March of Time No. 3 World's News Theatre, Praed Street, Edgware Road, W.2 (4 days) 12th March of Time No. 4 Victoria Station News Theatre, S.W.I (7 days) 2nd Men of Africa Victoria Station News Theatre, S.W.I (3 days) 16th March of Time No. 5 Victoria Station News Theatre, S.W.I (7 days) 30th March of Time No. 4 Waterloo Station News Theatre, S.E.I (7 days) 2nd Men of Africa Waterloo Station News Theatre, S.E.I (4 days) 12th Men of the Lightship Waterloo Station News Theatre, S.E.I (3 days) The News House, 92 Upper Parliament Street, Nottingham Tatlers News Reel Cinema, Newcastle March of Time No. 5 (Bill Posters) Eros News Theatre, Piccadilly, W.l (7 days) March of Time No. 5 Waterloo Station, News Theatre, S.E.I (7 days) Men of Glasket News Theatre, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne March of Time No. 3 (Sixth Year) News Theatre, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne Men of the Lightship News Theatre, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne Point of View No. 6 Waterloo Station News Theatre, S.E.I (4 days) Point of View No. 7 Tatler Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester Profit without Honour Classic Cinema, Above Bar, Southampton (4 days) Paradise of the Pacific News Theatre, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne Picturesque Udaipur News Theatre, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne Pleasure Isle News Theatre, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne Quaint St. Augustine Tatler Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester News Theatre, City Road, 1, Leeds Ruins of Palmyra The News Theatre, Peter Street, Bristol Roof of the World News Theatre, High Street, 4, Birmingham Ruins of Palmyra News Theatre, City Road, 1, Leeds River Thames Classic Cinema, S. Croydon, London (3 days) Ruins of Palmyra Classic Cinema, S. Croydon, London (4 days) Reporter in Soho The News House, 92 Upper Parliament Street, Nottingham Ruins of Palmyra Premier News Theatre, 2 Albert Road, Bournemouth Unseen Guardians Eros News Theatre, Piccadilly, W.I Tatlers News Theatre, 25 Church Street, Liverpool Unconquerable Minesweepers Tatlers News Reel Cinema, Newcastle Unseen Guardians News Theatre, High Street, 4, Birmingham Unveiling Algeria News Theatre, 16 Oxford Street, Manchester Valiant Venezuela News Theatre, City Road, 1 , Leeds 16th 23rd' rat loin 28thj (tllj G.-B. INSTRUCTIONAL LTD. LIME GROVE • SHEPHERD'S BUSH • W.I2 TELEPHONE • SHEPHERD'S BUSH 1210 G.B.I.'S LATEST PRODUCTION RAN 15 WEEKS AT NEW GALLERY CINEMA REGENT STREET • W.l DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 17 THE ABSENCE in the Documentary film of "big names", of Technicolor, of gigantic publicity campaigns or any of the other devices used to herald the arrival of a "super" film, gives it no superficial appeal to the general public. For this very reason I believe that music can serve one of its most satisfying and useful pur- poses in the Cinema in connection with the Documentary, provided that its possibilities lare fully utilised. The absence of these customary trimmings throws the film itself into a more normal per- spective; pure sight and sound are entirely dependent on one another to make up the ideal Documentary picture. At the same time, music plays a doubly important part, providing, as it must, a larger share than usual of the entertain- ment value. Music can help to humanise the subject, and widen its appeal — an important point at the present moment, when the Documentary is instrumental in supplying propaganda valuable to our war efi"ort. Music can make the film less 4 intellectual and more emotional. It can influence the reaction of the audience to any given se- quence. Witness Walt Disney. The whole tempo and mood of his pictures come, not from Donald Duck's quackings, but from the skilful use of music. This is designed to give comedy, pathos, or what-you-will to his animated cartoons. Immense trouble is taken over this music, and very score is specially written or arranged. Music for the Documentary must also be specially written. If music is considered necessary it should be treated as an integral part of the script, and the difficult question of finance should not be left to chance or afterthought, but should be settled before shooting begins. A first-class script writer is engaged for the script. Why then run the risk of falling off in the music? To suppose that music re-recorded from gramophone discs can suffice is a fallacy. Its le is liable to mar the whole effect of a film. Apart from the general difficulty in finding music sufficiently appropriate, as I know to my :ost, it is almost impossible to find, in one work, passages suitable for every sequence in a film. Yet if more than one work be employed, or, worse still, more than one composer, the music will be lacking in homogeneity. More- over, the best recorded music available boils down to a selection of the well-known concert works. These, to a number of people, will have associations quite beyond the control of the director of the film. They will recall past per- formances and memories. "What's that bit of music they're playing?" someone will ask. "I know it so well," another will say. Three FILM MUSIC By MUIR MATHIESON seconds of film lost, half a minute of film lost. However much or however little it be, the atten- tion has wandered and the illusion of the eye has been shattered by the distraction of the ear. Music that was to link two small sections of film together has had the reverse effect. It is essential therefore that music in the Documen- tary film should be devoid of association. There is no dearth of composers — of British composers — to supply this need. The growing interest in films is reflected in the number of eminent composers who have now written film music — Addinsell, Alwyn, Benjamin, Bliss, Britten, Greenwood, Lambert, Leigh, Toye, Walton, to mention a few. Musicians of this calibre can aid the Documentary, with its message to convey, by striking directly at the emotions. Urgency, fear, comedy or drama — all the traditional expressions — can now be built into a logical, musical whole, thus making a vast advance from the old days of "hurry" music, "the villain's entry," and "young love". In effect, film music seems to me to fall under three general headings: I. Pictorial Colour; 2. Emotional Colour; 3. Unexplored Territory. The first and most obvious of these. Pictorial Colour, illustrates the place or object shown on the screen and is more or less realistic music — oriental, pastoral, or mechanical, as the case may be. In Squadron 992, for instance, a barrage balloon was being brought out of its hanger, and it gave a lurch in mid-air. The music, as it tripped through the air caused it to suggest some clumsy elephant dancing. The second. Emotional Colour, amplifies the thought and feelings of the characters or the mood underlying the scene. In the rowing se- quence of Men of the Lightships, the composer conveys not merely the actual rhythm of the rowing but some of the thoughts of the men — the horror and endurance of men bombed, machine-gunned in an open boat at sea, and lost for days in fog. Another illustration of the use of this type of music can be heard in one of the early sequences of The Lion Has Wings, where the marching of Germany's youth was contrasted with the games of peace-loving Britons. The sombre rigidity of the music and the dreary harmonies gave an almost pathetic effect to what otherwise might have been a very impressive German marching scene. Had stirring martial music or the exciting sound of brass bands been used, an entirely wrong effect would have resulted. This third heading. Unexplored Territory, comprises most of the experiments in recording, orchestration, rhythm and general musical effects. This is naturally an interesting field for the composer and offers the greatest possibilities for the development of a perfect form for music in pictures. First and foremost is the question of collabora- ting music and the spoken word. In the Docu- mentary the ideal blending of these two factors could draw its parallel from the concerto form of music, in which the orchestra accompanies and colours statements from the solo instru- ment, and develops and intensifies its various themes. With the commentary as the solo in- strument, this recipe applied to films, could help to do away with the rather slap-dash mixing of commentary and music. To overcome the technical difficulties of orchestrating for and re-recording with various types of voices, there is still much experimenting to be done. If the musical sounds least likely to interfere with the modulations of specific voices could be gauged accurately, there would be no need to fade-out music on account of the in- audibility of the words. This fading out must naturally destroy the essential flow of musical thought, and subconsciously create a disturbing element in any scene. It should be possible to write and score, as in the concerto, so that the voice, like the solo instrument, need never be lost. Consider, as an example, J. B. Priestley's voice. During his broadcast last Sunday, it struck me that there was a voice which could take the place of the instruments of the middle register of the orchestra. The rest of the instru- ments would then confine themselves to the upper and lower registers, and neither would interfere with the other. This process would be a step towards elimina- ting the theory that music can be crept in and faded out mechanically without the audience noticing — a feat which I maintain is impossible. A sound is either audible, or it isn't! The mechanical control of music, used with a pur- pose, however, can often give a good dramatic result, as in the artificial throttling of a big orchestral chord. But, as a general musical principle, in films it can never be successful. In place of this half-hearted negative method of creeping in and fading out music, a positive foundation based on logical dissection of the musical possibilities must be found for every bit of music. Where, for example, the commenta- tor's voice has worked up to a high emotional level, music can come and carry on the sound without its presence being noticed as a separate entity. It can develop rhythmic suggestions from words. It can carry ideas through dissolves and fade-outs. It can prepare the eye through the ear. It can merge un-noticeably from realistic sound into pure music. It can shock. It can startle. It can sympathise. It can sweeten. But, for the love of Mike, never let it be mediocre! 18 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 I FILM LIBRARIES Borrowers of films are asked to apply as much in advance as possible, to give alternative booking dates, and to return the films immediately after use. H. A hire charge is made. F. Free distribution. Sd. Sound. St. Silent. Association of Scientific Workers, 30 Bedford Row, W.C.I. Scientific Film Committee. Graded List of Films. A list of scientific films from many sources, classified and graded for various types of audience. On request Committee will give ad- vice on programme make-up and choice of films. Austin Film Library, 24 films of motoring in- terest, industrial, technical and travel. Available only from the Educational Films Bureau, Tring, Herts. 35 mm. & 16 mm, Sd, & St. F, British Commercial Gas Association, Gas Indus- try House, 1 Grosvenor Place, S,W.l. Films on social subjects, domestic science, manufacture of gas. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & a few St. F. British Council Film Department, 25 Savile Row, W.l. Films of Britain, 1940. Catalogue for overseas use only but provides useful synopses of 100 sound and silent documentary films. British Film Institute, 4 Great Russell Street, W.C.I. («) National Film Library. An important collection of documentary and other films. Avail- able only to full members of B.F.I. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H, (b) Some British and Foreign Documentary and other Short Films. A general list of films and sources, (c) Early Films. Films 1896-1934 still available in Britain. Coal Utilisation Joint Council, General Buildings, Aldwych, London, W.C.2. Films on production of British coal and miners' welfare. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. F. Crookes' Laboratories, Gorst Road, Park Royal, N.W.IO. Colloids in Medicine. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd, F. Darlington Hall Film Unit, Totnes, South Devon, Classroom films on regional and eco- nomic geography, 16 mm, St, H, Educational Films Bureau, Tring, Herts, A selection of all types of film. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Educational General Services, 37 Golden Square, W.l, A wide selection of films, particularly of overseas interest. Some prints for sale, 16 mm, & St, H, Electrical Development Association, 2 Savoy Hill, Strand, W,C.2. Four films of electrical interest. Further films of direct advertising appeal are available only through members of the Associa- tion, 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Empire Film Library, Imperial Institute, S.W.7, Films primarily of Empire interest. With a useful subject index, 16 mm. & a few 35 mm. Sd. & St. F. Ensign Film Library, 88-89 High Holborn, London, W.C.I. Wide selection of all types of films including fiction, comedies, documentaries, films of geography, animal life, industry. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. St. & a few Sd. H. Film Centre, 34 Soho Square, W.l, Mouvements Vibratoires. A film on simple harmonic motion. French captions, 35 mm, & 16 mm, St, H, Ford Film Library, Dagenham, Essex. Some 50 films of travel, engineering, scientific and comedy interest. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Gaumont-British Equipments, Film House, War- dour Street, W.l. Many films on scientific sub- jects, geography, hygiene, history, language, natural history, sport. Also feature films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. G.P.O. Film Library, Imperial Institute, S.W.7. Over 100 films, mostly centred round communi- cations. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Kodak, Ltd., Kingsway, W.C.2. (a) Kodascope Library. Instructional, documentary, feature, western, comedy. Strong on early American comedies. 16 mm. & 8 mm. St, H, (A separate List of Educational Films, extracted from the above, is also published, A number of films have teaching notes.) (A) Medical Film Library. Circu- lation restricted to members of medical profes- sion. Some colour films. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. St. H. CATALOGUE OF THE MONTH National Film Library Catalogue. Second edi- tion, published by the British Film Institute. Price One Shilling. 167 closely printed pages packed with interest- ing matter, reference and illustration. 137 pages are devoted to the National Film archives. This section is much more than the catalogue it modestly claims to be. It is in fact a concise and lively short history of the motion picture from views on a linen roller dated about 1790 to today. Under the record of books appears "The Bia- scope, or Dial of Life Explained", by Granville Penn, Esq., London, 1814, being "an account of a device to impress man with the passage of time and so inspire him to moral conduct". Under National Government propaganda films (1931- 35) appear the following items: — Arthur Prince and Jim (1935), in a ventriloquial sketch. The Great Recovery (1934), and Red Tape Farm (1931). Apart from records of material under per- manent preservation, 30 pages cover a magniti- ccnt selection of films that are borrowable by full members of the Institute. For 1.?. 6d. per reel one can see Charlie again in The Champion; prove Euclid 1 : 32 never to forget it ; or be witness to the tremendous challenge behind the simple title words "Enough to Eat". March of Time, Dean House, 4 Dean Street, W.l. Selected March of Time items, including Inside Nazi Germany, New Schools for Old, America Thinks it Over. 16 mm. Sd. H. Mathematical Films. Available from B. G. D. Salt, 5 Carlingford Road, Hampstead, N.W.3. Five mathematical films suitable for senior classes. 16 mm, & 9,5 mm, St. H, Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co., Ltd., Traf- ford Park, Manchester 17. Planned Electrifica- tion, a film on the electrification of the winding and surface gear in a coal mine. Available for showing to technical and educational groups. 16 mm. Sd. F. Pathescope, North Circular Road, Cricklewood, N,W,2, Wide selection of silent films, including cartoons, comedies, drama, documentary, travel, sport. Also good selection of early American and German films, 9,5 mm, Sd, & St. H. Petroleum Films Bureau, 15 Hay Hill, Berkeley Square, W.l. Twenty technical and documentary films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Religious Film Library, 104 High Holbom, W.C. 1 . Films of religious and temperance appeal, also list of supporting films from other sources. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Scottish Central Film Library, 2 Newton Place, Charing Cross, Glasgow, C.3. A wide selection of teaching films from many sources. Contains some silent Scots films not listed elsewhere. Library available to groups in Scotland only. 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Sound-Film Services, 10 Park Place, CardiflF. Library of selected films including Massingham's And So to Work and Pollard's Dragon of Wales. Rome and Sahara have French commentaries. 16 mm. Sd. H. Southern Railway, General Manager's Office, Waterloo Station, S.E.I. Seven films (one in colour) including Building an Electric Coach, South African Fruit (Southampton Docks to Covent Garden), and films on seaside towns. 16 mm. St. F. Strand Film Company, 5a Upper St. Martin's Lane, W.C. 2. Eleven films available for non- theatrical distribution including Aerial Mile- stones, Chapter and Verse, Give the Kids a Break, and a number of others of Empire and general interest, including 3 silent Airways films. Mostly 35 mm. Sd. A few 16 mm. St. F. Wallace Heaton, Ltd., 127 New Bond Street, W.l. Three catalogues. Sound 16 mm., silent 16 mm., silent 9.5 mm. Sound catalogue contains number of American feature films, including Thunder Over Me.xico, and some shorts. Silent 16 mm. catalogue contains first-class list of early American, German and Russian features and shorts, 9.5 catalogue has number of early Ger- man films and wide selection of early American and English slapstick comedies. 16 mm. & 9.5 i mm. Sd. & St. H. 1 Workers' Film Association, 145 Wardour Street, '■ Wl. Films of democratic and co-operative in-, terest. Notes and suggestions for complete pro- grammes. Some prints for sale. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 19 MERTON PARK STUDIOS LIMITED 1,000 copies of the National Savings film "ALBERT'S SAVINGS" featuring STANLEY HOLLOWAY, have been made for distribution throughout the country New Jilms in preparation A film about British Shipbuilding A film about British Coal A film about British Schools Three films about British Food Besides Several Technicolor cinema shorts for commercial advertisers 20 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER SEPTEMBER 1940 DOCUMENTARY'S BEST-KNOWN SYMBOL THERE ARE OVER FORTY STRAND FILMS NOW IN DISTRIBUTION EACH OF THESE WILL BOOK TO AN AVERAGE OF 500 CINEMAS TD THE STRAND FILM COMPANY L^ DONALD TAYLOR, Managing Director. ALEXANDER SHAW, Director of Productions 5a UPPER ST. MARTIN'S LANE, W.C.2. Merton Park Studios: 269 KINGSTON ROAD, S.\V.19 Okik'iI (iiiil piiblhlicil l>y Hint Ccnirv Ijil . 34 Sulm Sqiuirc, t.oiHlini. IT I, {nut prii:icil hy Simsoti Sluintl l.iil., Tlic Sluiiviil /'/■<•«, I (niiliin unit Hiiijord NEWSIITTER CO DOCUIVIENTARY — THE CREATIVE INTERPRETATION OF REALITY VOL 1 No 10 PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY FILM CENTRE 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W1 FOURPENCE 1 NOTES OF THE MONTH 3 M.O.I. UNDER FIRE Analysis of the Select Committee's Report 5 NON-THEATRICAL Analysis of the M.O.I. Programme 6 DOCUMENTARY BOOKINGS FOR OCTOBER 7 NEWS FROM OVERSEAS 8 REVIEWS OF M.CJ.I. NON-THEATRICAL FILMS 10 A MINISTER OF BROADCASTING? Capt. Plugge's speech in the Commons 13 THE OTHER CINEMA hv R. S. Miles 14 ROSTER OF ONE YEAR'S PRODUCTION OF SHORT PROPAGANDA FILMS 16 FILM SOCIETY NEWS 17 BOOK REVIEWS 18 FILM CATALOGUES Government Cinematograph Adviser IN THEIR REPORT the Select Committee on National Ex- penditure records that the experience of the Government Cine- matograph Adviser was freely used both in the pre-war plan- ning of the Films Division of the M.O.I, and in the subsequent work of the Division up to the end of December. Since then, and contrary to Treasury instruction, the Sub-Committee reports that he has not been consulted. Commenting upon this an Evening News correspondent states : — "The man whom the Film Section is advised to consult be- fore embarking on future film production is Mr. J. G. Hughes Roberts, a Stationery Office official. He is at present 'seconded' to the Film Section. Soon after the end of the last war the War Office discovered, with some alarm, that it had in its Whitehall cellars many miles of highly-inflammable film, taken on the various battle fronts. No one knew how to keep films safely, so that it was with a good deal of relief that an ex-Salvage Corps officer, Mr. Foxen Cooper, was found in the Stationery Office. He at least knew how to put out fires, and he became custodian of the nation's official films. With enter- prise he developed his new charge until he became the Govern- ment's film librarian. So it happened that whenever any pro- fessional producer wanted to borrow a bit of old war film for incorporation in a new picture, Mr. Foxen Cooper was the oracle who decided for or against permission to borrow the old celluloid. Inevitably, he was consulted on all Whitehall's film problems, and the post of Government Cinematograph Ad- viser was perpetuated by Mr. Hughes Roberts' succession to Mr. Foxen Cooper. This is the only explanation, I am told by leaders of the film industry, for the peculiar situation of a Stationery Office official being an expert on film matters." DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 Lines behind the lines The Cunard White Star Line and the railways appear to have lost all initiative as far as films are concerned, film news, published by American Film Center, lists 54 films belonging to these two groups — mostly of the British countryside — that have been withdrawn from circulation in the United States for the duration of the war. This can only appear as defeatism to our friends in the U.S.A. Fortunately, the technical quality and entertainment value of the films con- cerned are in most cases of a low order. In spite of this backsliding on the part of two great com- mercial enterprises, a large number of other British films is available from various sources such as the Museum of Modern Art, Universities, the Travel and Industrial Development Association and the Y.M.C.A. Though the lists include a number of films which might well be withdrawn owing to the fact that they are out of date, or technically poor, or both, the general level of interest is high. It is most gratifying to find 46 G.B.I, films listed with the others. Documentary Roues A CURIOUS error was made by the London correspondent of the Manchester Guardian dated September 7th. In referring to the Select Committee's Report, he alleged that one of the factors which is weakening the Films Division of the M.O.I. is "the gradual dissipation of the British School of Docu- mentary Film-Makers". The word "dissipation" conjures up a pleasing vision of Pompeian orgies in the vicinity of Soho Square, but presumably the writer of the paragraph is really suggesting that the documentary units are beginning to break up and collapse. However, our trained investigators, after careful scrutiny of buildings, apparatus and personnel, report that everything is going along as usual. The documentary movement has always been sensibly fluid as regards inter- change of key-men and of ideas ; and the Manchester Guar- dian's correspondent should be able to distinguish between chaos and the Heraclitan theory. Time WE HOPE that DNL subscribers will realise that under present conditions we cannot guarantee delivery on the first of the month. Every effort is being made to achieve punctuality. ido Fori [ism lortei (here idde ten RUBY GRIERSON /On September 17th the liner "City of Benares", carrying children to Canada, was torpedoed. As well as the children and their escorts it carried down with it the best-loved member of the Documentary Film Movement. It was no chance that Ruby Grierson was chosen to make the official film of evacuation by sea ; her gift for handling people, and especially children, was one of the most notable of her many qualities. She came to documentary from school- teaching, and rapidly proved herself as one of the most promising recruits the movement had ever had. Her co- direction of "To-day We Live" established her as one of those few directors whose passionate sympathy with the life and spirit of ordinary people has formed the real main artery of documentary progress. There is no need to give a bare list of her films ; it is perhaps more important to remember the qualities which she so often added to the films of others. No one would deny her much of the credit for "Housing Problems", "The Londoners", and many of the Strand films on the Zoo. But the loss of a fine film director is as nothing compared with the personal loss to each one of us. Only in memory can we recapture her good temper and her good humour, her fierce enthusiasms and her physical and spiritual energies. In the temperamental world of documentary film makers, she stood for more than level-headedness ; she kept the basic ideals of this type of film making always to the front, and she was called in on many occasions of difficulty or doubt. Her personal companionship, too, was sought by all, and the many evenings spent in the hospitality of her home gave to documentary a common domestic hearth. It is but small comfort to realise that she died among children, whom she always loved and understood. To all of us her loss is greater than words can measure. But she leaves us more than a memory: she leaves an influence and a spirit which will stay as long as we go on trying to use films as an instrument for good. lie CI Ui islr WD FROM THE G.P.O. FILM UNIT Although Ruby Grierson never worked at the G.P.O. Film Unit, we all looked upon her as one of us. It was her spirit and enthusiasm that we liked so much. In our world, where we seem to be half politicians and half film-makers Ruby was one of the few who never wavered from her principles. She would screw up her face and say fiercely: "You can't do it, you can't do it. It's not pure", and seeing her pluck and determination, you were heartened and realised that what you were trying to do in documentary was worth while after all. In her work she had the unerring sympathy of the intuitive woman. Her films were full of that real humanity that is the most difficult of all qualities to put on the screen. Her handling of women ^nd children was superb. And her last film, "Ihey Also Serve", a simple story of the day in the life of a working woman, gave promise that perhaps from her could have come the drama of the people that we all hope documentary will make one day. It'll still be made, but not as Ruby Grierson might have made it. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 M.O.I. UNDER FIRE An analysis of the report of the select committee on national expenditure on the Films Division of the M.O.I. Excerpts are quoted by permission of the Controller, H.M.S.O. reactionaries posing as guardians of the public purse will undoubtedly be able to use this Report to justify inaction. For any such report, containing even a mild and partial criti- cism of public expenditure on a new enterprise, can be dis- torted into an argument for a laissez-faire policy. It is essential therefore to discover whether the Report produces any serious evidence for condemning the officially sponsored film as an instrument to express the problems and spirit of the nation. The second of the thirteen recommendations reads — "The Films Division should not in future assume direct responsibility for the production of feature films by the provision of public money." Recommendation (8) reads — "No further commitments should be entered into in con- nection with the proposed scheme of non-theatrical display, unless very clear evidence is obtained from experience that it is making a contribution to the war effort commensurate with the expenditure." When we examine the body of the Report for the evidence on which these two recommendations are based it is found to be contradictory. Under the heading "Feature films" we are told : "The wide distribution secured by commercial feature films gives excellent opportunities for disseminating, if not direct propaganda, an impression of the British attitude both to the issues of the war and to wartime conditions." Without enlarging upon this curious distinction between "direct propaganda" and "an im- pression of the British attitude both to the issues of the war and to wartime conditions", the Report goes on to explain the advantage of saving public money by encouraging commercial producers to produce feature films of national value with their own finance. Yet three paragraphs later we are told of "a number of cases in which commercial producers made films which they thought were excellent propaganda but which in the opinion of the Ministry were disastrous and were calcu- lated to have precisely the effect which the Ministry did not desire." Still undeterred, the Report plunges on — ^"Day to day interference by the Ministry in the affairs of commercial pro- ducers is to be deprecated . . . they should be allowed to choose their own themes and develop them in their own way." Here is a tangle of arguments which would baffle anyone except a Parliamentary Committeeman. But the Sub-Com- mittee has a time-honoured solution — "The way to make sure that they [the commercial pro- ducers] regard it as a duty not to run counter to the Ministry's line of propaganda is to achieve close, friendly and mutually acceptable working arrangements between the two parties to that end." It may well be true that Government-sponsored feature films ; are an unsound speculation with other quicker and cheaper channels of film propaganda available, yet the case here is not proved and the ban which the Report attempts to put on such films must not be allowed to prevent future consideration of feature films as a means of public expression under the control of the community. There is a danger that the Sub-Committee's determination to restrict itself throughout the Report to short-term con- siderations may inhibit long-term planning after the war as well as now. This may perhaps be regarded as a point of secondary importance at this stage in the war, but the Sub- Committee's conception of the meaning of "long-term" and "short-term" is such that urgent propaganda needs of the moment are dismissed on the ground that they have no immediate importance. This is particularly true in the case of the non-theatrical scheme for documentary distribution which is criticised by the Report in the second of the recommendations quoted above. This scheme, on which the Ministry of Informa- tion originally proposed to spend £172,000 in twelve months provides for the production of special films described as "instructional and explanatory". "They will include films with a special wartime significance, such as films on cooking and salvage, and also films of a more general character showing the contribution of the Empire to the war effort." This Ministry of Information project aims at reaching an audience, inaccessible through the channel of the ordinary cinema programme, to the total number of one million a week. The Sub-Committee's view of the scheme is as follows: "That it could play some part in a scheme of national propa- ganda cannot be doubted, if cost be ignored. Much of the usefulness of such a scheme, however, would appear to be as a means of general education. However desirable this may be in time of peace, the Sub-Committee find it difficult to justify such expenditure in time of war, and they regard the cost of reaching an audience of one million a week by this method as out of all proportion to the cost of films shown in cinemas which are estimated to reach an audience fifteen or twenty times as great." These objections are plain nonsense. It is difficult to see how films "with a spdtial wartime significance, such as films on cooking and salvage, and also films of a more general character showing the contribution of the Empire to the war effort", may be desirable in time of peace but too expensive in time of war. Such a glaring non-sequitur is startling evidence of muddled thinking. It is equally unreasonable to complain of the expense of giving a special propaganda message to a special audience on the ground that it would be cheaper to give a different message to a different audience. It is difficult to believe that the real objections of the Sub- Committee to the non-theatrical scheme are those which it chooses to emphasise. A clue to the true basis of its anxiety may be found in a tendency (revealed at several points in the Report) to discourage initiative and to direct the energies of 1 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 the Films Division out of new channels into old ones. The non- theatrical scheme which displeases the Sub-Committee because much of its usefulness "would appear to be as a means of general education" is suspect because it is big, bold and new ; moreover, since it is not similar to anything being done by the feature film producers, the newsreel companies, the British Council, the Film Institute, or the Government Cinematograph Adviser it cannot be handed over to any of them ; for it would appear to be the desire of the Sub-Committee to distribute the Films Division's responsibilities elsewhere. Being unable to do so in this case, the Sub-Committee has to content itself with rapping the Films Division over the knuckles for one of its few displays of initiative during the period covered by the Report. In considering the documentary film for theatrical distribu- tion the Sub-Committee is equally uneasy. "The documentary film, the film of an instructional or informative character, has very serious limitations as a means of propaganda in time of war. The first of these lies in the fact that a full-length docu- mentary, though not indeed so laborious an undertaking as a feature film, may require several months for its production and may become out of date before it is completed." Moreover the Report finds the extent and speed of distribution of the theatri- cal documentary unsatisfactory in wartime. "A documentary film marketed in the ordinary way, may reach about 1,500 cinemas out of a total 4,500 cinemas in the country in the course of one and a half to two years. ... In time of peace this result is satisfactory. In wartime and for the purposes of propa- ganda this arrangement has the two-fold defect that the mes- sage is conveyed to the public too slowly and never reaches the greater part of it at all." This completes the Report's list of "very serious limitations" of the documentary film as wartime propaganda. The reader, seeing that the criticism of slowness in production applies particularly to the "full-length documentary", will search for references to the propaganda performance of short documentaries which are, after all, the commonest kind. He will search in vain. In spite of the fact that since the outbreak of war several short documentaries have been completed for the Ministry of Information in seven days, the Report does not acknowledge the existence of the short documentary. To com- pensate for the omission the Sub-Committee has discovered and reported a new kind of film. This is the five-minute film (in some cases running longer than its narfte). It is acknow- ledged that in the case of these films the Films Division has overcome not only the problem of production speed but also the problem of distribution referred to above. They are distributed free, and within a month of completion, to every cinema in the country. The reader may well ask whether the "very serious limitations" of the documentary film might not be similarly overcome. If he has seen some of the five-minute films he may even ask whether, in many cases, they are nothing more or less than short documentaries. But for the purposes of the Report, documentaries can only be "full-length". In reporting the past failures and inadequacies of the Films Division in the documentary as well as other fields the Report fails to distinguish between faults inherent in the propaganda media and faults in the ways in which those media have been used. We learn that while in the period September, 1939, to June, 1940, 49 documentary films had been completed or were in production, 17 films "had for various reasons to be aban- doned". To have recorded these various reasons might have proved embarrassing but it is to be hoped nevertheless that they were thoroughly investigated by the Sub-Committee. In that case it would have been revealed that almost always the subjects chosen either would have been rejected at the start by any competent propagandist or, they formed no part of any considered programme of propaganda or information. Indeed^ many producers employed by the Films Division protested against the subjects allotted to them on these grounds. The Sub-Committee is admirably conscious of the essential importance of relating subject-matter of films to a co-ordinated policy. A great deal of the Report is devoted to showing how "the work of the Films Division in the Home field has been largely ineffective through the lack of clearly defined objectives on the part of the Ministry". The solution to the problem is expressed as follows — "The Sub-Committee consider that it is the duty of the Films Division in the interests of economy and efficiency to demand precise directions from the Home Intelli- gence Branch before embarking upon any programme of films in this country". Later in the Report the Sub-Committee takes pity on the Home Intelligence Branch and spreads wider the responsibility for issuing precise directions to the Films Divi- sion. Directions are to come "from within the Ministry or from another Department of the Government". The Films Division may be forgiven if it despairs, finding itself bereft of all re- sponsibility save for the task of conducting a wild goose chase after instructions. Nevertheless the Films Division may take heart. Fortun- ately it need not even fall back on the Sub-Committee's one wild polysyllabic guess at the wartime function of the film, which it describes as a means to "break down the psychological bar- riers to the fulfilment of particular national requirements". The Films Division may take heart from the simple fact that the newspapers appear every morning undirected by any Govern- ment Department and contrive nevertheless to record the pro- gress of the war and to instruct and enhearten the public by the simple process of giving information. The Sub-Committee ap- pears, in writing its report, to have overlooked the possibility that there was a reason for calling the Ministry with which it deals not the Ministry of Morale, but the Ministry of Informa- tion. Information is the key to morale. And there is no mystery, no difficulty in imparting information by film: information to tell the people what is happening, what they must do, how and why they must do it. Even information for the Government, which will instruct and enlighten them with news of what the people are thinking and saying and doing and what the people are telling the Government to do. There is no difiiculty about it. But it is necessary first to forget the timid toe-wetting investigation of propaganda and films undertaken in tl]is Sub-Committee's report. It is neces- sary to forget such silly assertions as that "it is difficult to relate the contents of documentary films to precise and transient needs". A few visits to the cinema will restore sanity. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 NON-THEATRICAL An Analysis of the M.O.I. Non-Theatrical Schemes, after modification to meet the criticisms reported in the preceding article. b 11) '" [THE FILMS DIVISION of the M.O.I, has this month published the most comprehensive plans for the non-theatrical circulation of films that this country has ever had. This news is the more welcome since at one time there were signs that non-theatrical distribution might be allowed to go by default. At the beginning of the war, the excellent G.P.O. road-show service was aban- doned for no better reason, apparently, than that the Films Division as then constituted had neither the imagination nor the wit to see that an essential means of communication be- tween Government Departments and the people they served was being jettisoned. Just as the present plans for non-theatrical distribution were being completed, yet another influence threatened them. On August 21st, the Select Committee on National Expenditure published its report on the Films Divi- sion, which roundly condemned the non-theatrical scheme, principally on the grounds that it had a strong educational flavour, the Committee holding that education is not a fit activity to encourage in wartime. Fortunately the report was so inept as a whole that the Films Division has evidently felt justified in going ahead without paying much attention to it, though some modifications have been introduced to meet the Committee's objection to too high expenditure. The non-theatrical plans examined by the Select Committee were as follows : (1) A rural scheme for 65 projectors and cars, to be hired by the M.O.I. (2) An urban scheme for 50 projectors and cars, to be pur- chased by the M.O.I. (3) A loan scheme for 100 projectors, to be purchased by the M.O.I, and loaned, half to public libraries and half to national organisations. (4) A scheme to hire public cinemas outside ordinary programme times. Excluding the production of films specially designed for non-theatrical use, the cost was estimated at £172,000, the audience at almost one million a week. The modified plans show a saving of £42,000. The rural scheme has been dropped, but the urban scheme has been 'widened into a regional scheme with 76 mobile projectors instead of 50. These will serve not only the towns but rural areas as well. In towns the programmes will generally be de- ;i) isigned to link up with propaganda campaigns undertaken by the M.O.I, or other Ministries. In the country, particularly in those districts not served by a public cinema, the programme will be lighter, and not confined to propaganda and instruction. The loan scheme of projectors has been cut from 100 pro- jectors to 50, and these will be put at the disposal of local authorities. They will usually be placed in public libraries, and this is perhaps the most novel part of the whole scheme, for it is a first step to providing "citizen's cinemas" devoted to public instruction and information. The public libraries will become community centres where groups can see programmes of films specially selected to meet their particular interests or needs. In addition, public cinemas will be hired in the mornings and programmes screened of films of particular interest to house- wives. One very important part of the plan did not apparently come under the scrutiny of the Select Committee. A Central Film Library has been set up to amalgamate the G.P.O. Film Library and the Empire Film Library, and to supply prints free on loan to approved borrowers owning their own projectors. Thus, for the first time this country finds itself with a centralised film library which one hopes will absorb all the other free libraries, so that borrowers will no longer have to get their films from half a dozen different sources. It is to be hoped, too, that the Film Institute, at present outside the scheme, will be drawn in. Its service of reviews, not only of educational films, but of feature films, must come within the scope of the Central Film Library. So, too, should the Institute's invaluable service of instruction on how to purchase and handle projectors. The other principal part of the Institute's work is cultural, the collection and preservation of films of cultural and historical interest. This function, too, might well be added to the Central Film Library. The Films Division has not confined itself to planning dis- tribution alone ; provision has been made either to acquire or to produce films to meet the needs of the various services. The Central Film Library will presumably be stocked from the films already held by the G.P.O. and Empire Film Libraries, and other films will be added as opportunity allows. The Regional and Public Library services will be supplied with films from three sources — suitable films acquired by the M.O.I, from out- side sources, such as the Gas Industry films on wartime cookery and Men of Africa; films commissioned by the M.O.I. itself during the past year on various occasions for various reasons, including some "five-minute" films; and a series of 21 films commissioned in July and specially designed for the ser- vice. All three classes of films are included in the lists appearing on pages 14 and 15 of this issue. I! DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 DOCUMENTARY BOOKINGS FOR OCTOBER (The following bookings for October are selected from a list covering its Members, supplied by The News and Specialised Theatres Association.) Alice in Switzerland News Theatre, Leeds 26th Apes & Monkeys Tatler News Theatre, Birmingham News Theatre, Leeds Tatler, Manchester 19th 19th 5th Babes in the Wood News Theatre, High Street, Birmingham 12th Black Nugget Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle 12th Bridge Across the Skies Tatler Theatre, Chester 5th Bringing It Home Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle 12th Compleat Angler The News House, Nottingham 26th Delhi Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle News Theatre, Bristol Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle Tatler Theatre, Chester Tatler, Manchester 5th 12th 12th 26th 19th Devils of the Ocean Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle 12th Ducks and Drakes The News House, Nottingham 12th Dundee The News Theatre, Leeds 12th Face of Shanghai Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle 5th Fear and Peter Brown Tatler Theatre, Chester News Theatre, Leeds Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle 26th 12th 26th Fitness Wins No. 7 News Theatre, Leeds Tatler, Manchester 26th 26th Flying Stewardess The News Theatre, Bristol 19th Forty Million People Topical News Cinema, Aberdeen 5th Four and Twenty Fit Girls Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle 26th Freaks of the Deep News Theatre, High Street, Birmingham 26th Ghost Island Topical News Cinema, Aberdeen 26th Going Places No. 74 Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle 19th Jutland Holiday Tatler, Manchester 12th Last of the Windjammers Tatler News Theatre, Birmingham 12th Life Begins for Andy Pandy Tatler Theatre, Chester 26th Lovely Wales Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle 26th March of Time No. 3, 6th year (America's Youth) Topical News Cinema, Diamond Street, Aberdeen 30th (Sept.) The News House, Nottingham 30th (Sept.) March of Time No. 4, 6th year (The U.S. Navy) Tatler Theatre, Manchester 14th The Newe House, Newcastle-on-Tyne 14th The News House, Nottingham 21st Men of the Lightship News Theatre, High Street, Birmingham 5th Michael Flagherty News Theatre, Leeds I9th Netherlands Old and New Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle 19th New Hampshire News Theatre, High Street, Birmingham 12th News Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester 12th Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle 5th Old Blue Tatler Theatre, Chester 19th Rocking through the Rockies The Tatler, Leeds 19th Sacred Ganges The News Theatre, Bristol 19th Secrets of Coco Islands Topical News Cinema, Aberdeen 12th Skygame Tatler, Manchester 12th Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle 5th South Africa The News House, Nottingham 19th Sport at the Local Tatler Theatre, Chester 12th Stranger than Fiction The News House, Nottingham 26th Sword Fishing Tatler Theatre, Chester 12th News Theatre, Leeds 26th Tatler, Manchester 19th Television Preview Tatler News Theatre, Birmingham 12th News Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester 26th The Big Fish Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle 19th The Fox Hunt Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle 5th The Lion Hunter Tatler, Manchester 12th The Tiger Hunt The News House, Nottingham 12th The Volcano Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle 26th The Whalers Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle 26th Twinkling Fingers Tatler News Theatre, Birmingham 19th Unconquerable Minesweepers News Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester 5th Unveiling Algeria Newe House, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle 26th Valiant Venezuela Tatler Theatre, Chester 5th Washington Parade No. 6 News Theatre, Oxford Street, Manchester 19th West of Inverness Topical News Cinema, Aberdeen 12th Winter Playground News Theatre, High Street, Birmingham 19th Witihin a City News Theatre, Leeds 5th Tatler, Manchester 5th Young Animals Tatler, Manchester 26th Zoo in Wartime The News House, Nottingham 19th Zoo's Zoo The News House, Nottingham 5th CORRESPONDENCE SIR : All who are interested in the non-theatrical distribution of films will be grateful to you for the paragraph on "Damage to Film" in your August issue. This is a problem which deserves more atten- tion than it generally receives. In the past, facili- ties for learning the technique of sub-standard projection have been offered by a number of vacation courses and refresher courses. The war, however, has led to a temporary suspension of such gatherings. While the subject is, of course, primarily one where "practice makes perfect" the tyro-projectionist may find that a little read- ing-up of the subject beforehand saves him both anxiety and expense. It has at any rate been with this object in view that our pamphlet on Using School Projectors (post free \s. 2d. from the British Film Institute, 4 Great Russell Street, London, W.C.I.) has been compiled. H. D. WALEY, Technical Director, British Film Institute SIR : The need for instructional films in the Army is more than crying. There must be hundreds of training battalions like this one and I expect they all use the same flint-axe methods. Half of the instructors seem barely to understand what they are talking about themselves, and most of the others could not express themselves more obscurely if they had cleft palates. A course which deals with the parts and maintenance of the lorry could be perfectly covered by three or four films of the Transfer of Power or Lubrication of the Petrol Engine type. The mechanism of the Lewis gun, which remains forever a sacred mystery to most soldiers, would also respond to similar treatment. Field training and foot drill — in fact, everything we are taught, could be taught quicker and more thoroughly by films. The reason is, I suppose, that the authorities still think they are dealing with a regular army of enlisted professional soldiers, instead of a hetero- geneous bunch of men conscripted cross- sectionally from every group, denomination, bracket and class in the country. (Signed) documentary Somewhere in England. (In the Army) A DECADE IN THE SERVICE OF DOCUMENTARY AND— AS EVER— ALWAYS READY TO CARRY OUT COMPETENTLY, EXPEDITIOUSLY AND OBLIGINGLY EVERY REQUIREMENT THAT CAN BE USEFULLY PROVIDED BY A MODERN LABORATORY PREVIEW THEATRE (R.C.A.) and PRIVATE CUTTING ROOMS TELEPHONE: 1366 GFRRARD STUDIO FILM LABORATORIES L™ 80-82 WARDOUR STREET & 71 DEAN STREET, LONDON, W.l Ji DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 NEWS FROM CANADA THE FIRST YEAR of the National Film Board's activities closes with some forty pictures either in distribution, on the stocks, or in script prepara- tion. On the war side, the sixth film in the monthly series, Canada Carries On, was released on September 16th. Its subject is the Common- wealth Air Training Plan — the vast scheme being undertaken jointly by Canada, Australia and New Zealand to supply 35,000 airmen a year for Commonwealth defence. The film is a two- reeler (an unusual length in Canadian theatres where ten minutes is the normal maximum for a short) and promises to be as good-looking a pic- ture as has yet come out of Canada. Raymond Spottiswoode (Audio Pictures, Toronto) directed, with Roger Barlow, an experienced air photo- grapher, as associate director and cameraman. The theme of the film is that flying is the last stronghold of individualism in a world of mass operation; and that Canadians, by reason of their country's long tradition of the "bush pilot" — the lonely, pioneer flyer relying on his air-sense as much as on his instruments — are specially well fitted to that individual capacity and initia- tive needed in war flying. Beyond the air-film — to be titled Wings of Youth — five further films in the series are in production or lined up. They are: — 1. Refugee Children. This film will cover all phases of the evacuation of children from the time they leave the U.K. to the time they settle down in their new Canadian homes. Material of the arrival of children at "an Eastern Canadian port" has already been shot by Associated Screen News: the children were interviewed on their first reactions to Canada, on what England was like in its warpaint, and on what they would do on meeting their first Red Indian. They then gave a massed singing of "There'll Always be an England" for the benefit of the cameras. The following story is told by the cameraman : In the train carrying the children inland from the port of debarkation, a group of kids from Manchester stretched a rope across the corridor, preventing passage in either direction. Canadian passengers wishing to get to the dining car were forced to pay a toll in order to pass the rope. On being asked what the idea was, the children replied : "We understand that in Canada you've got to have a racket. This is our racket. Five cents, please." There seems little doubt that with material of this kind available, the film will be pretty good. (Ruby Grierson was shooting material for this film when she lost her life on the torpedoed liner). I. A film on the swift growth of the Canadian navy since the outbreak of the war. Associate Producer will be Lieut. John Farrow, late director for R.K.O., and now with the Naval Intelligence Service in Ottawa. 3. Two intimate, human films on the life of a recruit in the Canadian army. One film will be made at Camp Borden, a big training centre for English-speaking men in Ontario, and the other at Valcartier, the largest camp in French-speaking Quebec. The films will be shot and released simultaneously, but will be entirely separate in their scripting and pro- duction. The Valcartier film will be the first all-French subject made specifically for release in French Canada. 4. Morley Callaghan, Canadian writer and play- wright more celebrated in the U.S. than in his own country, recently wrote dialogue and narrative for Irvin Jacoby's ice hockey film. Becoming interested in films, Callaghan is now working on the script of a picture for the war series provisionally entitled This is My Country. Object of the film will be to articu- late the average Canadian's thoughts about himself, his neighbours and his country in such a way as to provide a positive reply for the democratic way of life to the Nazi challenge. Squadron 992, slightly shortened in length and with a new opening and ending to bring it up to date and to give it Canadian reference, began its theatre career here on August 21. First reports are that it is doing well, and that the jokes, in spite of the Scottish dialect, are understood and appreciated. During last spring Radford Crawley, a well- known Canadian amateur film maker, made considerable experiments in production on 16 mm. Kodachrome colour. One of the results was Four New Apple Dishes, a one-reel film on apple cookery for women's groups. Another was the discovery of a fast, cheap and high-standard method of production for the non-theatrical field, having the novelty of colour and the advantages of simple post-synced sound (usually comment- ary and music). The Film Board has now embarked on a big programme of 16 mm. colour films to be shot silent during late summer and autumn, and edited and synchronised through the winter months when exterior production is rendered difficult by adverse weather and sub-zero tem- peratures. The subjects include : — 1. Ottawa. 2. Duck Hunting. 3. Moose Hunting. 4. The Canadian Autumn, (these for tourist purposes). 5. The Peace River (the last great agricultural frontier in the North West). 6. The shipping of the Great Lakes. 7. The Icelandic community in Manitoba. Other subjects are under consideration. Already acquired by the Board as a lead-off" for the series are five existing colour-films on Cana- dian wild flowers, Canadian birds, handcrafts of Quebec, hydro-electric power and horticulture. The production programme is largely in the charge of Radford Crawley, who is using the opportunities present to train apprentices in the elements of shooting and editing. The National Film Board has acquired the Canadian rights of Herbert Kline's film Lights Out in Europe. Retitled Not Peace but a Sword, it is having its Canadian premiere at a big open-air theatre on the grounds of the National Exhibition at Toronto. Alexander Korda has presented the Board with the non-theatrical rights of The Lion Has l-Vings. These two films, together with the N.F.B.'s own survey of the first year of war. On Guard for Thee, are being released immediately for wide non-theatrical circulation across the country. FROM U.S.A. THE British Government has accepted an invi- tation to establish a British Section of Inter- national Film Center on an experimental basis. This Section, which is under the control of International Film Center, will co-operate in bringing to the U.S.A., and making available for general distribution, British films of educa- tional value. Mr Richard Ford, lately attached to the Odeon circuit in Britain in connection with Oscar Deutch's educational schemes, has been appointed to take charge of the British Section. International Film Center has been instru- mental in bringing to the U.S.A. films from Fin- land, Holland, Britain, Canada, and the Latin- American Republics, and has sent selected American films of educational value all over the world. FROM AUSTRALIA THE GROWING uscof motion pictures for adver- tising, educational, documentary and religious purposes is indicated by the sharp increase in im- ports of sub-standard (mainly 16 mm.) films from 633 in 1935 to 1,189 in 1937 and 1,935 in 1938. Most of these films came from the United States. Visual education has made substantial progress in Australia where the Education Departments of the respective States encourage the use of films in state schools. In New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia the Govern- ments do not bear any part of the cost of the pro- jectors, the purchases being made with funds supplied in most cases by Parents' and Citizens' Associations. However, in South Australia and Tasmania, the Governments contribute one- third of the cost of the projectors. At the begin- ning of 1938 there were 170 state schools in South Australia equipped with projectors, and in Tasmania, 74. In New South Wales there were only 21, and in Victoria, 50. \ DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 NON-THEATRICAL PRODUCTION BY THE M.O.I, All the films reviewed on this and the next pages were specially commissioned by the M.O.I, for the new non-theatrical programme described on page 5. Each film runs for about ten minutes, and the whole scheme at present comprises 21 films. The venture represents the most important advance in the social use of cinema by the Government that this country has ever seen. Religion and the People. Production: British Films Ltd. Associate Producer: Arthur Elton. Director: Andrew Buchanan. Religion and the People shows how various creeds — Church of England, Roman Catholic, Free Church and Jewish — can flourish under a democracy. Unshackled by arbitrary rules from secular authority in Britain, religion is a matter of individual conscience. The film touches pleasantly enough, but not very profoundly, on the work these four religious groups are doing to maintain the physical and spiritual needs of their congregations. An unusual feature of the film are the scenes inside the Great Synagogue which can rarely have been seen before, and which are beautifully photographed and composed. Six Foods for Fitness. Production: Realist Film Unit. Associate Producer: Basil Wright. Director: Ruby Grierson. THE HOME FRONT is as much a part of the war effort as the battle front ; civilians are the soldiers of modern war. It is only if the civilians play their part and keep up their strength that the war can be won. The main object of the film is to make everyone understand the importance of eating foods which are easily available in wartime and to persuade them to eat the right foods. The shape of the film is built round the repetition, visually and in words: milk, cheese, fish, oat- meal, green vegetables, potatoes. This is not just war-food propaganda. For these foods should be the fundamental basis of all feeding, in peace as well as in war. We see the six foods raw, we see them cooked, we see them eaten, and finally, an imaginative cinematic trick plants these commo- dities firmly in our minds, for they are repeated at the end of the film in reverse motion — milk rushes backwards from glass to jug ; a cut cab- bage uncuts itself and ends up intact ; potatoes leap out of the saucepan and join themselves together on a plate. Such trickery is often used simply for its own sake, but in Six Foods for Fitness it has a real function to perform. It fixes the list forever in one's mind. Finally, the film is not just a bare set of pictures of foods. The people eating them are directed sensitively and intimately. It is sad to think that this is Ruby Grierson's last film, unless her partly completed film on the children for Canada can be finished. Village School. Producer: Alex. Shaw. Associate Producer: Arthur Elton. Director: John Eldridge. Camera: Michael Curtis. Commentary: Mrs James. THIS VIVID and curiously exciting film deals with life in a village school under the double impact of evacuation and the general war situation. Unlike the other films of children made during the first year of this war. Village School concentrates on the teacher's point of view, and here it gains great strength in the fact that it is commentated by the teacher who actually appears in the film. Shehasalmostanidealcommentaryvoice,andhas certainly the first female voice to carry a full reel without being monotonous or irritating. The re- sult is that a pleasantly personal quality comes out of the film, while the practical note intro- duced by the teacher's expert descriptions pre- vents the scenes of the children lapsing into well- shot sentimentality. The shape of Village School is very simple, being a straightforward description of the activi- ties of a typical day. In addition to scenes of school activities, a good deal of emphasis is laid on the extra problems and responsibilities of teachers as regards the evacuee children. There is one especially good incident dealing with a pair of worn-out boots which is reported by the director and cameraman with a naturalistic ease which is most praiseworthy. The whole treatment of the subject is indeed free from any attempt to get "effects". It is a human story, humanly told. And, quite apart from its non-theatrical value, one may well guess that it would also be highly popular in the public cinemas. A Job to be Done. Associate Producer: Arthur Elton. Director: Donald Alexander. Photo- graphy: Stanley Rodwell. THIS IS A courageous effort to deal with a com- plicated and rather technical subject. The object of the film is to describe the method of working of the Schedule of Reserved Occupations and at the same time to detail some of the ways in which the best use can be made of civilian man-power for supply. The sequences therefore deal not only with scenes in employment centres and suchlike offices, but also in factories and in training centres where unskilled workers are turned into skilled engineering craftsmen. The film largely depends on the March of Time technique — that is, mainly commentary, with interpolations by one or two sequences of direct sound. Clearly such a difficult subject could not be successfully treated in any other way — at any rate, in view of its limit of ten minutes; but it is a pity that the commentary is spoken in a harsh and unsym- pathetic voice. Nevertheless, A Job to he Done does succeed in giving a pretty succinct general review of the subject, and not least of its merits is its emphasis on the constant changes and adjustments which have to be made to meet new, and often unforeseeable, conditions of war. Silage. Production: British Films Ltd. Director: Andrew Buchanan. MOST OF THE films for the Ministry's non- theatrical .scheme, though designed with some specific audience in mind, are suitable for show- ing almost anywhere. Silage is an exception. It is an instructional film designed for farmers and only suitable for such an audience. Its intention is purely instructional. It tells the farmer how to use home produce for winter cattle feeding in- stead of imported cattle cake. Such films look easy to make on paper, yet they are often failures, as anyone who has seen the Army Instructional films, for example, the Bren Gun film, will agree. Silage, however, is beautifully clear, and is one of the few instructional films which, once seen by an interested audience, will be remembered. Th© process of making the container for silage is shown in clear and unconfused detail and the film is a blue print for the making of other instructional films of the kind. The argument is clear ; the pictures show just what one wants to see and nothing more; the commentary is simple, plain, and tells one just what one wants to know. Nurse! Production: Pathe. THIS EFFICIENT film survcys the work being done by women in all branches of the nursing pro- fession in peace and in war. We see schoolgirls doing preliminary training before going to the hospitals. We see classes in the hospitals where they learn the elements of nursing from bandag- ing, through elementary dietetics, to the all- important business of looking after convalescent patients in their beds. There are brief sequences too of the nurses' job in the operating theatre and in midwifery ; and the film ends with the work of a mobile operating theatre and casualty clear- ing station for use in ever-present emergencies. This sequence at the moment is obviously the one of most immediate interest to everyone. The film also pays tribute to the women who have volunteered to do spare-time nursing jobs to supplement the regular nurses in time of war. The film is treated, very successfully, in a straightforward newsreel fashion and from this method of presentation gains an actuality which suits the subject well. It might be noted though, that neither the camera work nor the opticals are up to the usual short-film standard. White Battle Front. A Seven League produc- tion. Associate Producer: Basil Wright. Director: Hans Nicter. Camera: B. Browne. Commentary: Arthur Calder Marshall. WHENEVER ARMIES havc fought together in the past disease has battled against both sides The grim camp followers. Typhus, Typhoid and In- fluenza have cut down both sides impartially, claiming more victims than cannon or cold steel. Learning hard lessons from the last war, science is constantly at work discovering and perfecting methods of combating the ills and diseases which are always ready to strike at large bodies of n^en living under what must always be primitive conditions. White Battle Front tells the story of this unceasing war. It tells, too, the story of the DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 work done to repair the shattered men who re- turn from a further battle front. Dramatically directed by Hans Nieter of World Window fame, the film uses every legitimate camera trick to im- press and to excite interest. It is no calm and ordered survey but a series of brilliantly lit and carefully planned shots which give a vivid im- pression of a great and important work. Mother and Child. Production: Realist Film Unit. Associate Producer: Basil Wright. Direc- tion: Frank Sainsbury. Camera: A. E. Jeakins. AT THE outbreak of war, when hospitals were being emptied and made ready to receive air-raid casualties and the tendency was for all public health organisation to be subordinated to the imminent demands of the blitzkrieg, one simple fact was forgotten by many a harassed official. However thick the bombs may fall, women will still have babies. Moreover, it is no less im- portant to safeguard the life of the new-born citizen than to succour the air-raid victim. This film demonstrates that the problem has now been tackled and the solution provides the best kind of pro-democratic propaganda. Mother and Child uses the experience of a typical family to show how the excellent maternity and child-welfare services which Britain was developing before the war are now going ahead again, and have been adjusted to meet the special wartime needs of mothers. The Realist Film Unit production team has made this type of film peculiarly its own and has created high standards of authenticity and pro- duction quality which are here well maintained. The film is not primarily designed to report British achievement in the field of social service, but to inform mothers of the facilities available in order that they may take advantage of them. For either purpose it might have been well to include information on the maintenance of maternity services where the social services in general have been disrupted by bombing. Evacu- ation can never be a complete answer to this problem. Perhaps the Ministry of Information will make a second film on service for mothers unable to leave areas under fire. Food Convoy. Producer: A. R. Taylor. Direction: John Lewis. Camera: Waxman and Dinsdale Made at Merton Park Studios. MADE FROM material shot for the Cadbury rationing film Bringing it Home, this production is for the most part a nicely shot picture of the journey of a convoy to a British port. There is no attempt to stage sensational sequences. The normal routine of convoy duty has been rightly regarded by the director as sufficiently engros- sing. Thus an air-raid alarm proves to be British Spitfires, and the sequence thereby shows the alertness and efficiency of the escorting destroyers from the point of view of everyday routine. Apart from the opening and closing sequences, which are not at all effective, there is no com- mentary. The convoy story is told by post- synchronised snatches of conversation on the part of the crews. These, combined with the natural sounds, give a pleasant air of authenticity particularly in the dry comments of a Scotsman on the joys of seafaring life. Food from the Empire. Direction and Photo- graphy: R. Thumwood. Merton Park Studios. THIS IS an unpretentious film describing the con- tribution to our food supplies being made by the Dominions and Colonies. It is based largely on the familiar trick shot of the shopping basket with inset scenes of the Dominions and Colonies concerned. While there is nothing very striking about this film it does quite competently put across a useful reassurance message. Coastal Defence. Production: British Movie- tonews. Commentary: John Snagge. THIS FILM is about 95 per cent newsreel material, and therefore is to a great extent superficial both in content and continuity. There are several sequences from the excellent item about the bombing of channel convoys which include those famous shots in which the bomb can be actually seen being released from a diving Stuka. For the rest, various shots of artillery, infantry, home guards, mechanised transport and the like are strung together to build up a not unimpressive picture of our preparedness against invasion. It is a pity the commentary could not have been somewhat more informative. SIGHT & SOUND SUMMER 1940 PRICE SIXPENCE There are still BLUE BIRDS Published by THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE 4 Great Russell Street, W.C.i OPEN LETTER TO ALL FILM INTERESTS WORLD'S PRESS NEWS announces the introduction of a regular fortnightly column devoted to Documentary Films and the use of the Silver Screen as an advertising and publicity medium by the Government and by Big Business. This column is written by an expert ; crisply, authorita- tively, knowledgably, You will be interested in his views and comments. Far-seeing advertising men recognise that in the publicity field, the documentary film has an increasingly important role to play and WORLD'S PRESS NEWS is glad to render this extra service to advertising. Every Thursday — Price 6d. Direct Subscription — 30/- per annum WORLD'S PRESS NEWS 112 Fetter Lane, E.C.4 ! 10 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 NIWS UTTER MONTHLY FOURPENCE NUMBER 10 OCTOBER 1940 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is issued only to private sub- scribers and continues the policy and purpose of World Film News by expressing the documentary idea towards everyday living. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is produced under the auspices of Film Centre, London, in asso- ciation with American Film Center, New York. EDITORIAL BOARD Edgar Anstey Arthur Elton John Grierson Donald Taylor John Taylor Basil Wright EDITOR Ronald Horton Outside contributions will be welcomed but no fees will be paid. We are prepared to deliver from 3 — 50 copies in bulk to Schools, Film Societies and other organi- sations. Owned and published by FILM CENTRE LTD. 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W.l GERRARD 4253 A MINISTER OF BROADCASTING? The affinity between broadcasting and films, considered as media for propaganda, has been long apparent. Accordingly we reprint an abstract from Captain Plugge's speech in the House of Commons on the war situation. (From Hansard, August 20th, 1940, by permission of the Controller of H.M.S.O.) I HAVE often wondered why it is frequently said, and it has been said in this House, that propaganda is not British. I submit to the House that propaganda embodies the fundamental British spirit, since it consists in trying to induce people to do the right thing merely by talking to them and persuading them to do it, against the other method, which is to apply force and inflict bodily injury to make people fall in with your ways. I do not wish, however, to base my remarks on propaganda as such, but I wish simply to limit my criticisms to the means, or absence of means, employed in transporting propaganda. If we review the various events which have occurred since the advent of the Government, and correlate them to propaganda, we can see what effect propaganda has had. Broadcasting has been the principal means. Broadcasting is a new weapon with which we were not faced in the last war. I believe that very few hon. Members in this House realise how weak we are in this respect. Before the war started, Great Britain had 16 broadcasting stations, of which two were high-powered — by high-powered, I mean stations of 100 kilowatts or more — operating on 12 wave- lengths, of which seven were clear channels, including one long wave. Germany had 40 sta- tions, 10 of which were high-powered, operating on 31 wave-lengths, of which 17 were clear chan- nels, including one long wave-length. (A clear channel is a channel allotted to a country to itself alone, unshared with anyone, and therefore it is possible for that country to construct a very high-powered station on that channel.) Long wave-lengths are very important in Europe, because they carry very far in day- light, and there are very few to allot. Never has a country been granted more than one long wave (except Russia) at international conferences. Several countries, such as Italy and Switzerland, have never succeeded even in obtaining one.) When war broke out, Germany maintained all her wave-lengths and stations in operation, whereas we scuttled 10 of our 12 wave-lengths and therefore we had at the beginning of the war 16 stations operating on two wave-lengths with one programme only, as against Germany's 40 stations on 31 wave-lengths. After the occupation of Poland the forces of the enemy in the asther world increased- to 50 stations, of which 1 1 were high-powered, operat- ing on 40 wave-lengths, 21 of which were clear channels and two were long wave. After the conquest of Norway and Denmark, Germany increased her aether strength to 68 stations, of which 1 1 were high-power stations. operating on 52 wave-lengths, 26 of which were clear channels and four were long wave. After the conquest of Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg the number of stations operated by Germany further increased to 84, 13 of which were high-powered operating 62 wave-lengths with 29 clear wave-lengths. She also increased her long wave channels to six. Up to now the increase of aether power by Germany had been at the ex- pense of the neutrals. By then we had re- opened three of our scuttled wave-lengths, and were operating on five wave-lengths. When Germany started to occupy France she further increased her iether power but now at the expense of Allied channels. After the capture of Paris and the French surrender, Germany's cether power increased to 112 stations, of which 24 were high-powered, operating on 82 wave- lengths, of which 37 were clear channels and seven were long wave. At this moment came the entry of Italy into the war, and a further 50 stations on some 20 wave-lengths joined the anti-British brigade. That is the position in which we find ourselves to-day. How is it possible, however good our propaganda — and I am making no criti- cism of our type of propaganda — for us to compete with Germany? It is the same thing as trying to carry on business with 16 cargo boats when your enemy possesses 1 62, most of which are faster, larger, have a bigger cruising range, and cover ten times more routes than your own. We simply do not possess the cargo space to transport our propaganda, however good it may be. Now, quite apart from the greater advantage which Germany possessed and has now vastly increased in the sther field, we must remember that geographically, apart from the war, England is at a natural disadvantage from an international radio point of view. Great Britain is situated at the end of a Continent and, therefore, 180 degrees of its stations' radiations fall into the Atlantic and only one-half fall on fertile soil. Germany, on the other hand, is situated in the middle of Europe, and all the 360 degrees of her broadcasting waves fall on fertile soil in all directions. The fact that a country can hear a British station is in itself propaganda, because inhabi- tants of all countries have got into the habit of judging the power, importance and efliciency of a country by the manner in which they receive th^^t country's broadcasting stations. That is why the Mediterranean is a very bad area for us. There it is practically impossible to receive clearly or with case any of the British medium-wave t DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 11 channels. Short waves are received, but there are few instruments in Europe that receive short waves. I estimate that, in France, about one in every 100,000 sets is capable of receiving short waves. It is worrying sometimes to see the con- fusion that exists about these things. The Minister of Informatilon, as he stated in this House, does not consider himself an expert on broadcasting, and I remember that, when reply- ing to questions about the bad reception of our medium waves in France, he said it was true that medium waves faded but that short waves were well received. That is true, but there are no short-wave receivers. Where you get an audience of 100,000 listening to medium waves you get an audience of only two or three listening to short waves. I have mentioned the Mediterranean. That sea is far from the United Kingdom, but we possess colonies in the Mediterranean ; Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, and we are allied to Egypt. There is no reason why the whole of the Mediterranean should not be covered by British wave-lengths and stations operating thereon. Some ten years ago, 1 was instrumental in obtaining a British wave-length for Malta, but that wave-length was never utilised, and eventually Germany occupied it, as the station was never built. The same thing applies to the United States. Around the American Continent we have Bermuda, Jamaica and many other Colonies where medium wave-length stations could be established. Some might not reach over the distance in daylight, but at night great areas would be covered. Transmitting after dark can be fruitful, especially to a country like the United States, where there are four standards of time. America understands this position so very well that she has 800 stations operating on the medium wave-length, and 30 alternative programmes in New York alone. The state of affairs is equally well understood in Canada which has 91 broadcasting stations, and where I had long talks with the Canadian Minister for Broadcasting and the Canadian Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. They both asked me with dismay how it was possible that we allowed the Germans to conquer the whole ^ aether world of Europe without taking the obvious steps. When in America recently, I had the opportunity of talking to many of our friends there. One of them. Senator Pepper, !was particularly anxious about our broadcasting isituation. He said that broadcasting was of the utmost value because it showed to the masses the degree of a country's efficiency. American people could not come over here to see where our guns were or exactly what we were doing, but they could tune in on their radio sets and hear for themselves each and everyone that we were completely neglecting the most modern and one of the most efficient war weapons. the What is broadcasting? Broadcasting is just latest and most modern method of travel. It is the travel of the mind without the transport pf the body. It is the forerunner of the physical occupation of a country. The conquest by Germany of Austria and Czecho-Slovakia was greatly helped by the fact that German was understood in those countries. This applied in a lesser degree also to Poland and the Scandi- navian countries and Holland, where German is widely understood. It does not apply to France and England where conquest by radio is more difficult. I would point out that Hitler has never bombed a radio station because the most important thing when occupying a country is to seize the broad- casting station. The moment you possess the principal broadcasting station you have greater control of the country than if you were on good terms with the Government itself, because you can instruct all the inhabitants what to do and what not to do, accompanied by the neces- sary threats. If you were to destroy the broad- casting station it would take six months to build a new one. In the case of the surrenders of the Dutch Army, the Belgian Army and the French Army, they all happened some 48 hours after the principal broadcasting stations had been occu- pied by Germany. The influence that can be exercised through a broadcasting station is immense, apart from the fact that while fighting is going on appeals can be made to the soldiers to surrender. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister spoke of attempts that were made by the enemy in the invaded countries on the Con- tinent to cause the soldiers to think they could not fight. That is absolutely the key of the situa- tion. Broadcasting was the method of making them think that they could not continue the fight usefully. We cannot conceive of t|je power which can be exercised through broadcasting; it is like a person whispering in the ear of all the people all the time. What is the remedy to be applied in a situation like this? The value of broadcasting is naturally greater at the beginning of a campaign than it is when events such as those we have witnessed have taken place. Nevertheless there remain two or three things which can be donq and should be done. We should create in Great Britain a great number of freedom stations. That is a term which I will explain. When a country is conquered and its broadcasting stations are conquered there is no reason why another broadcasting station should not be established across the Channel, manned prefer- ably by the nationals of the conquered country, and if possible with the actual operators of the old stations. The B.B.C. has had the foresight to construct a certain number of stations in case anything might happen to those they already possess. No channel should be allowed to remain silent. Freedom stations should be broadcasting during the whole 24 hours of the day. Two of them should be allotted to Norway, two to Denmark, two to Holland, two to Belgium and probably four or five to France. Our present broadcasts of 1 5 minutes a time to the inhabitants of the occupied countries are not good enough. It is important to create an audience. I have had a certain amount of experience in creating audi- ences from one country to another and it is impossible to create a large audience to a broad- casting station unless you broadcast for at least three or four hours in the language of the country concerned. Supposing I were to tell hon. Mem- bers that to-morrow the Norwegian station at Oslo would broadcast every day for 15 minutes in English. Is there anyone here who would tune in regularly to that particular 15 minutes? Could they even find it once? But if that station were giving out continuous broadcasts in English over six hours daily then it is very likely that at certain times many more people would hear them and in that way a large audience might be built up. It is a feature of broadcasting that the nation- ality of a broadcasting station has nothing to do with its geographical position, but only with the language it speaks and where it is received. What we have allowed the Germans to do is practically the same as if we had allowed them to set up stations in London, Birmingham, Glasgow and elsewhere. If we had a Dutch station somewhere in the north, the result would be just the same to the Dutch listeners as if the station were at Hilversum, its old situation. The listeners would not be able to tell that it was in a different position. I was talking just now about the value to an enemy of occupying the broadcasting stations. We talk about the possible invasion of this country. What would be the first thing for the enemy to do? It would be to capture our principal broadcasting stations. We should have either to blow them up and have none ourselves or let the enemy take them. The way to overcome that is to build up all over England some 500 broad- casting stations of very small power, something like 100 to 150 watts, in nearly all the smaller towns and large villages. Such broadcasting stations would not cost much more than £2,000 each. The sets are available in the U.S.A. We could put in 500 operators and they could use all the wave-lengths of Europe, because such small broadcasting stations are not interfered with by distant stations, though they on their part would interfere with the reception over here of broad- casts from distant stations, and in that way would spoil efforts of subversive propaganda. Even if some of these stations had to be destroyed we should retain control of the remaining ones. We have a Minister of Air and a Minister of Aircraft Production ; in the aether field we should have a Minister of Broadcasting as well as the Minister of Information. The Minister of Broad- casting would have the duty of establishing and organising the freedom stations, and acquiring the necessary wave-lengths, and all the channels could then be used for propaganda. If we do not assist the efforts of our Fighting Forces by a powerful broadcast system we place them in the position of men fighting with one arm tied behind their backs. It is said that we should pass to the offensive. We could certainly stage at once an offensive in the cether. We have the means of doing it and we could establish the necessary stations. If the position were reversed, if we disposed of 170 stations and the Germans had only 16 stations, think of the superiority we would possess over them, with their internal dissension, their occupied countries, their various races. 12 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 REALIST FILM UNIT LTD Films Completed in September "MOTHER AND CHILD "6 FOODS FOR FITNESS FOR THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION ) ) ) J "IT COMES FROM COAL ) ) FOR THE BRITISH COMMERCIAL GAS ASSOCIATION III CHARING CROSS ROAD, W.C.2 TELEPHONE ■ GERRARD 1958 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 13 THE OTHER CINEMA By R. S. MILES, a Teacher of History at the Wedgwood Institute, Stoke-on-Trent, who is Chairman of the North Staffordshire Teachers' Film Association, and who originated the Stoke-on-Trent Secondary Schools Film Society. This article was written before the publication of the M.O.I, non- theatrical plan. I THERE ARE many people like myself, who, in addition to being interested in the cinema which has its home in palatial "Odeons", "Ritzs", "Regents", etc., are very keen on that branch of the cinema which is to be found in classrooms, clubs, institutes and barrack rooms. The poten- tial audiences here are great in number; their intellectual qualities generally much higher than the norm of heterogeneous cinema audiences and their sense of co-operation for improvement well known. There are no uniformed attendants, tip-up cushioned seats, subdued lights, soft carpets and sugary music. Instead the seats are hard and scrape harshly on the floor ; the lighting is crude, revealing and business-like; music is, perhaps, non-existent. The rooms were built without the least conception of the demands of a cinematograph, while the projectors themselves cannot bear comparison with those of a pro- fessional cinema. The smaller screen, the less powerful light, the not quite so good sound apparatus (if one is to be had at all, for the majority of sub-standard projectors in use are, as yet, silent), the necessary reel-changing inter- val almost reproduce the conditions of early cinemas. Then the novelty made people endure discomfort and periods of waiting while reels were changed or film repaired. To-day, luxury and mechanical efficiency go hand in hand, while those people who are interested in the cinema as something more than a vehicle for parading beautiful women and well-groomed men are forced to endure conditions that range from second to thirty-second rate. There are many contributory causes to these conditions — lack of suitable films and lack of co-ordinated effort among others. The whole business is a vicious circle which can perhaps only be broken by the stimulation which would come from co- ordinated eff"ort. This cinema can never hope ' to compete with the professional one, but there I are certain aspects which could be modified to achieve far greater efficiency and power for the sub-standard film movement which, I am I convinced, has an increasingly important part ' to play in modern life. It is a twentieth-century invention eminently suited to twentieth-century ' needs. I have long advocated standardisation . of projectors, planned series of films with the ' audiences for whom they are made continually in the producers' minds and, for school pur- poses, a certificate of merit awarded jointly by teachers who are interested in films, other educa- tional experts and film technicians. At present, however, I consider that a great forward step can be made in the intelligent use of the available films if distribution be first unified, then decen- tralised— a process requiring a large government subsidy or a gift of Nuffield dimensions. The scheme implies collecting under one authority (The National Cinema Library?) all the films, 16 mm. and less, available for distribution and, from this collection, stocking various local distribution centres throughout the country. These centres would be branches of the Central Library controlled by it and responsible to it. Thus Westmorland, Devon and Cornwall would have their county film libraries as they now have their county book libraries, and in most cases the library would be in the county town although in others the distribution of population might militate against this. This system of regional libraries would, then, be roughly based on a county disposition but in some cases, e.g. Lancashire and Yorkshire, there would need to be more than one library. For example : Birmingham Area The Regional Office and Library would be in Birmingham which would supply the following towns: — Willenhall, Walsall, Wednesbury, Wol- verhampton, Bilston, Tipton, West Bromwich, Dudley, Oldbury, Smethwick, Rowley Regis, Stourbridge, Halesowen. The remainder of Warwickshire would be supplied from Warwick ; Worcestershire from Worcester; while Stafford- shire might well be supplied from Stoke-on-Trent rather than from Stafford. Manchester Area The Regional Office and Library would be in Manchester and would supply Stockport, Sal- ford, Sale, Ashton, Stalybridge, Hyde, Glossop, Oldham, Rochdale, Bolton, Bury, Eccles, Leigh, Middleton, RadcliflTe, Farnworth and Heywood. Lancashire would have two more libraries at Liverpool and Preston while in the West Riding, libraries could be established at Wakefield, Sheffield and Leeds. Geographically there would be very few diffi- culties and the transport to be utilised could well be the omnibus services which are now almost omnipresent. The advantages that I claim for this scheme are: — (1) Films would be rendered available more frequently because swift transport would be used. (2) There would be economy on postage. (3) In the present circumstances borrowers would not be disappointed by late deliveries. (4) The presence of these libraries in the areas would stimulate interest in sub-standard films, for the following services could then be the more easily supplied: — {a) Previews of films for intending users. {b) The formation of Film Societies using the facilities afforded by these libraries. (c) The provision of lecturers and road shows to those places not possessing a projector The difficulties, I know, are enormous. Among them, of course, the paramount one is finance for it enters at every turn ; in the equipping of the libraries and their maintenance and in the pay- ment of salaries, although I believe that if educa- tional authorities could be brought into active participation in the scheme by the helpful interest of the Board they could provide, without much extra staff and within their own buildings and organisation, the necessary stocking, viewing and clerical facilities. Other difficulties to be faced are : — Provision of films and the financial interests of distributing and producing firms. The first could be met by an allocation of films at present in circulation, but much would depend upon the good-will of the various commercial concerns that produce and distribute their own films, e.g. Petroleum Films Bureau and British Commercial Gas Association. Again there would need to be a steady flow of new films and again these concerns would have to be relied upon for support, although they would perhaps wel- come a national organisation which would distribute their films. From such Government departments as the Ministry of Information (in war-time) and the G.P.O. (in peace-time) there should be an ample and assured supply. But all this leaves untouched the question of the supply of purely educational films, i.e. specific teaching films. At present the satisfactory ones are very few and it may reasonably be said that only one company (G-B Instructional) has made a con- sistent effort to produce such, and without having obtained much, if any, financial gain. Such sources as do exist have practically dried up (vide article "Crisis in Production", Sight and Sound, Summer, 1940). I wonder if this unifi- cation of distributive facilities might be utilised to secure a unification of production of educa- tional films under the asgis of the Board of Education, if not with the support of subsidies from it? After all the Board will have to take a far more active cognisance of the qualities of educational film. One reform which would result from the centralisation of distribution would be the fixing at a uniform level of borrow- ing charges. At present the anomalies are laugh- able. There are the outlines of the problem. To me, as a user of sub-standard films it seems an important one. There are great potential audi- ences for these films in the country — audiences whose numbers will increase this winter if black- out conditions impose hardships on travelling after dark. The cinema must be taken to these people for with it will go, not only national propaganda to swell the war effort, but intellec- tual propaganda for those times after the war when, as we hope, a better world will result, with the cinema playing its part in that new order. Let the Forces, Farmers' Clubs, Gardening Clubs, Women's Institutes and Clubs, Village Institutes, Boys' and Girls' Clubs, Adult Educa- tion classes, as well as Schools share the scheme Let the cinema achieve a greater significance than it has hitherto done. 14 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 i ROSTER OF SHORT PROPAGANDA FILMS The list published below represents the fullest roster obtainable of short propaganda films made in Britain durin^ the first year of the war. It also contains certain pre-war films which have been acquired by the Ministry of Information for their non- theatrical programme. Every effort has been taken to make the list as complete and accurate as possible. The dates noted are in each case those of completion or distribution. We should like to express our gratitude to the many firms and organisations who have assisted us in compiling the list, and especially to the Films Division of the Ministry of Information and the Films Committee of the British Council. ABBREVIATIONS. T: Theatrical Distribution. Non-T: Non-theatrical Distribution. C: Commissioned by the Ministry of Information. *: Included inthe Ministry of Information s non-theatrical scheme, t : Completed before the outbreak of war. Figures in brackets at the end of entries refer to the issue of D.N. L. in which the film has been reviewed. The roman figure gives the issue, the ordinary numerals the page. *Airscrew. Variable pitch propeller. Shell. September, 1940. Non-T. (IX, 12.) *AI1 Hands. Anti-gossip. A.T.P. September, 1939. T. and non-T. C. Answer, The. Spirit of Britain. Spectator. Aug., 1940. T and non-T abroad. *Atlantic Patrol. The Canadian Navy on con- voy. National Film Board of Canada. T and non-T. Backyard Front. Dig for Victory. British Films. February, 1940. T. *Battlefleets of Britain. March of Time. T and non-T. *Behind the Guns. Munitions. Merton Park Stud- ios. June, 1940. T (1,000 copies sent out with newsreel) and non-T. C. (VIII, 12.) *Big City. London at war. Strand Film Co. July, 1940. T and non-T. C. (VIII, 12.) Bringing it Home. Food supplies. Merton Park Studios (for Messrs Cadbury). January, 1940. T and non-T abroad. (See also Food Convoy.) Britain Shoulders Arms. Rebirth of British Army 1918 to 1940. Paramount. November, 1939. T. (Ill, 6.) ♦Britain's Youth. Why Britain is a fit nation. Strand Film Co. July, 1940. T and non-T. C. (IX, 13.) Britannia is a Woman. Women's war work. Movietone. T. (See also Women in Wartime.) (IVI, 6.) British Made. "British Made" is the hallmark of excellence. Travel and Industrial Development Association. March, .1940. Non-T and T abroad. *Canada at War. March of Time. December, 1939. T and non-T. (V, 7.) Cargoes. Mediterranean sea routes. Travel and Industrial Development Association. February, 1940. T and non-T abroad. Carrying On, Railways in Wartime. British Foundation Pictures. October 1939. T. *Choose Cheese. Food value of cheese. Realist Film Unit for the Gas Industry. August, 1940. Non-T. (IX, 12.) Circus, The. National Savings. Merton Park Studios. January, 1940. T. City of Progress. (Non-theatrical version of The Londoners.) Travel and Industrial Development Association. April, 1940. Non-T abroad. Civilian Front. G.B.L April, 1940. T. Daily Bread. (Adaptation of Fulfilment..) Wheat supplies. Merton Park Studios. Decem- ber, 1939. Non-T in Britain. Tand non-T abroad. *Dangerous Comment. Anti-gossip. A.T.P. Sep- tember, 1939. T and non-T. C. Do it Now. Wartime precautions for the public. G.P.O. September, 1939. T (1,000 copies). C. Empire Round the Atlantic. Atlantic countries. G.B.I. August, 1940. T and non-T. Factory Front. Munitions production. G.P.O. October, 1939. T. C. *Farm Tractors. Mechanised agriculture. Shell. September, 1940. Non-T. *Feed the Furnaces. Salvaging scrap metal. Mer- ton Park Studios. July, 1904. Non-T. First Days, The. London during the first weeks of the war. G.P.O. November, 1939. T. C. (I, 6) Fear and Peter Brown. War neurosis. Spectator. July, 1940. T. (VIII, 13.) *Fighters of the Veldt, The. South Africa's Arm- ed Forces. Made in South Africa. Non-T. *Fire. Training and functions of the A.F.S. British Films. T and non-T. *Food Convoy. (Non-T adaptation of Bringing it Home.) *From Family to Farm. Turning waste-food into feeding stuffs for animals. John Page. May, 1940. Non-T. *Front of Steel. Canada's Munitions Drive. National Film Board of Canada. T and non-T. *Furnaces of Industry. The steel industry. Mer- ton Park Studios. 1940. Non-T. C. *Green Food for Health. Realist Film Unit (for the Gas Industry). August, 1940. Non-T.(IX, 12.) Green, The. National Savings. Merton Park Studios. May, 1940. Non-T. *Harvest Help. Bringing in the harvest. Merton Park Studios. August, 1940. Non-T. C. Home Front. British democracy. Co-operative Society of London. April, 1940. T and non-T. (IV, 7.) Home Front. Canada's industrial effort. Nation- al Film Board of Canada. T and non-T. *Into the Blue. Training of airmen. G.B.I. July, 1940. Non-T. C. Island People. Survey of life in Britain. Realist Film Unit. February. 1940. T abroad. (IV, 6.) Italy Beware. Allied Forces in Middle East. Paramount. April, 1940. T. (Released abroad as Drums of the Desert.) (VII, 7.) *It Comes from Coal. Uses of by-products of coal in war and peace. Realist Film Unit. Sept- ember, 1940. Non-T. *King's Men, The. A review of the Fighting Forces. Movietone. Non-T. C. *Letter from Aldershot. The Canadian Expedi- tionary Force in Britain. Realist Film Unit for The National Film Board of Canada. T and non-T. London River. Import and export. British Films. March, 1940. Non-T in Britain, T and non-T abroad. *tLondoners, The. The history of London's Government. Realist Film Unit, for the Gas Industry. Tand non-T. (See also City of Progress.) *tMedieval Village. Traditional British village life. G.B.I. Non-T. *tMen of Africa. Colonial administration. Strand Film Co. T and non-T. (VI, 7). *Men of the Lightship. Sinking of the East Dud- geon lightship. G.P.O. July, 1940. T and non-T. (IX, 12.) *[Merchant Navy, The.] G.P.O. September, 1940. Non-T. C. *tMiss T. Diet and health. G.B.I, for the Electrical Association of Women. Non-T. Musical Poster. Anti-gossip. Travel and Indus- trial Development .Association. October, 1939. T. Nation Springs to Arms, A. Beginning of war and the Army in training. Movietone. August, 1940. T. New Britain, The. Twenty years of British achievement. Strand Film Co. July, 1940. T and non-T. C. (VIII, 13.) Nonquassi. African tribal story. Schauder. June, 1940. T. *66 Northbound. Road transport in wartime. Spectator. 1940. Non-T. C. *Now You're Talking. Anti-gossip. A.T.P. Sep- tember, 1939. T and non-T. C. On Guard in the Air. Britain's air defences. G.B.I. Feb., 1940. T and non-T abroad. *tPlan for Living. What everyone should know about diet. G.B.I, for the Gas Industry. Non-T. *Ports. British ports. G.B.I. 1940. Non-T. C. *tProtecfion of Fruit. Instructional film for far- mers. Shell. Non-T. (II, 12.) Raising Air Fighters. Training pilots. Para- mount. September, 1939. T. ♦Raising Sailors. Pathe. Non-T. C. ♦Raising Soldiers. Movietone. Non-T. C. Raw Material is War Material. Waste paper. Crighton Film and Radio Publicity. (For Ministry of Supply.) Januar>-, 1940. Ring of Steel. British defences. Paramount. Ap- ril. 1940. T. Royal Review. The King and his people. Para- mount. December, 1939. Non-T in Britain. T and non-T abroad. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 15 Sailors without Uniform. British fishermen. Spec- tator. July, 1940. T and non-T abroad. Save Your Way to Victory. "Lend to defend". April, 1940. Non-T. ♦Shipbuilders. The shipyards of the Clyde and the North East Coast. G.B.I. August, 1940. Non-T. C. S.O.S. Lifeboat men. Eldridge and Curtis. June, 1940. T and non-T abroad. *Spring Offensive. Renaissance of British agri- culture. G.P.O. 1939. Non-T. C. Squadron 992. The balloon barrage. G.P.O. June, 1940. T C. (V, 6.) These Children are Safe. Evacuation. Strand Film Co. T and non-T. (American version — What of the Children?) (II, 12.) *They Also Serve. Housewives in war effort. Realist Film Unit. July, 1940. T and non-T. C. Undersea Patrol. Submarines. Paramount. Feb- ruary, 1940. T. * Vital Service. A modern hospital. Shell. Octo- ber, 1939. Non-T. (VII, 6.) Voice of the Guns. Armaments. Pathe. June, 1940. T. (VII, 7.) War Comes to London. Movietone. October, 1939. T and non-T abroad. (Ill, 6.) What is Federation? Federal Union. Spectator. July, 1940. T. (VIII, 13.) ♦What's for Dinner? Casserole cooking. Realist Film Unit for the Gas Industry. August, 1940. Non-T. (IX, 12.) * Women in Wartime. (Non-T version of Britannia is a Woman.) Young Folks Show the Way. School savings. Movietone. July, 1940. Non-T. 5-MINUTE FILMS DISTRIBUTED BY THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION UP TO THE END OF AUGUST Title Completed Released Made by ♦Albert's savings (made for June/40 12/8/40 Merton Park Studios Ltd. National Savings Committee and (Director: H. Purcell) acquired 12/8/40) ♦BRITAIN AT BAY 26/7/40 15/8/40 G.P.O. Film Unit (Com- mentary by J. B. Priest- ley) CALL FOR ARMS, A . . 27/6/40 22/7/40 D. & P. (Director : Brian Desmond Hurst) FOOD FOR THOUGHT 8/7/40 29/7/40 Ealing Studios (Director : Adrian Brunei) ♦miss grant goes to the door . . 2/7/40 5/8/40 D. & P. Studios(Director : B. D. Hurst) MR BORLAND THINKS AGAIN 18/8/40 2/9/40 British Films (Director: Paul Rotha) ♦salvage vv'ith a smile . . 22/7/40 26/8/40 Ealing Studios (Director : Adrian Brunei) ♦sea fort 26/7/40 19/8/40 Ealing Studios (Director : Ian Dalrymple) WESTWARD ho! 1940 23/6/40 8/7/40 D. & P. Studios (Direc- tor: Thorold Dickinson) ♦ Also distributed non-theatrically by the M.O.I. FILMS COMMISSIONED BY THE FILMS DIVISION OF THE M.O.I. FOR DISTRIBUTION UNDER ITS NEW NON-THEATRICAL SCHEME working title PRODUCTION UNIT DIRECTOR ASSOCIATED PRODUCER ANTI-AIRCRAFT G.B. News COAL FRONT G.B.L Frank Searle Bruce Woolfe COASTAL DEFENCE Movietone News DAY IN A FACTORY, A Strand Film Co. Edgar Anstey Arthur Elton FOOD FROM THE EMPIRE Publicity Films Cecil Musk Jack Holmes JOB TO BE DONE, A Shell Film Unit Donald Alexander Arthur Elton KEEP FIT G.B.I. Mary Field Bruce Woolfe MOTHER AND CHILD Realist Film Unit Frank Sainsbury Basil Wright NURSE! Pathe PEOPLE'S HEALTH, THE G.P.O. Patrick Jackson Jack Holmes RAW MATERIALS G.-B.I. Mary Field Bruce Woolfe RELIGION AND THE PEOPLE British Films Andrew Buchanan Arthur Elton SCHOOL SERVICES IN WARTIME Strand Film Co. E. H. Carr Arthur Elton SILAGE British Films Andrew Buchanan SIX CIVILIANS Spectator Michael Hankinson Basil Wright SIX FOODS FOR FITNESS Realist Film Unit Ruby Grierson . Basil Wright TRANSFER OF SKILL Shell Film Unit Geoffrey Bell Arthur Elton VILLAGE SCHOOL Strand Film Co. John Eldridge Arthur Elton WAR AND ORDER G.P.O. Harry Watt Jack Holmes WELFARE OF THE WORKERS G.P.O. Humphrey Jennings Jack Holmes WHITE BATTLE FRONT Seven League Hans Nieter Basil Wright 16 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 FILM SOCIETIES CARRY ON It takes more than an aerial blitzkrieg to damp down the energies of the Film Society movement. As the Autumn Season begins letters come in from secretaries in all parts of Britain, reporting not merely normal activities but also (in many cases) new schemes of special wartime significance. Several societies for instance are catering specially for the Armed Forces, for refugees, and for various welfare centres. The real social importance of the Movement is finely illustrated by this renewed vitality and will, it is hoped, be rewarded not merely by seasons financially successful but also by an increased recognition, both by the public and by the authorities, of the value of Film Societies to the community. PROBLEMS From reports so far received the main problems at present seem to be first, the increasing shortage of new foreign films; secondly, prob- lems of transport; and thirdly, internal dis- organisation caused by the fact that key mem- bers of many committees are now involved whole time in important war work. Revivals can help to solve the problems of sub- ject matter, particularly if the programmes are built round specific themes (e.g. "Hitchcock — from Elstree to Hollywood", "Music ip Films", "Hollywood Film Comedies", etc.). It may be presumed that under present conditions the big renters will be much more amenable to accepting one-day hires at low rates. NEWS FROM THE SOCIETIES The Secretary of the Merseyside Film Institute Society reports: — "We are arranging a rather ambitious pro- gramme for the season. The war has given us opportunities for putting on film shows to audiences (like the Army) who in normal circum- stances would not have been able to see or study documentary films. "An exhibition, in conjunction with the Corporation of Liverpool, on 'The Art of the Cinema — The Film as a Social Factor', is to be held in the Bluecoat Concert Hall from Septem- ber 23rd to October 5th. The exhibition — of stills and posters — will be split up into sections show- ing the value of the film in the various spheres of life, viz. : Entertainment, Social Welfare, Educa- tion, Science, Industry, Religion, etc. There will be also, it is hoped, a display of equipment both early and modern and for amateurs, and information regarding directors, comparative costs of films and, if possible, diagrams to show the financial tie-up of the British Film and Distributing Industries. During the first week of the exhibition there will be daily shows in the Society's rooms of 16 mm. films, mostly social, documentary and cartoon. We hope to have a historical section of stills from early films. The first Film Show of the season is being held on Wednesday, October 2nd, at the Philharmonic Hall, when the Sacha Guitry film lis Etaient Neiif Celihalaiies will be given together with Forty Mi/lion People and other shorts. We are faced with the problem of late hours so intend having a running buffet at the hall before the show which is timed to end at 9 p.m. It is hoped to continue the Film Shows of outstanding Continental and Documentary films monthly at this hall, also 16 mm. shows monthly in the Society's rooms — the latter being on specialised subjects (e.g. Geography, History, etc.) and a monthly show of experimental films at a local cinema — probably on a Sunday. The monthly Bulletin has been issued to members throughout the summer and will be continued. Shows have been given for British and for French troops and further projects include shows to refugees, wel- fare centres and canteens, and to school children." After a successful annual meeting, the Dundee and St. Andrews Film Society has arranged an extended season of ten performances. The first is on October 13th, the last on March 9th. It is planned to invite members of the Forces to at- tend performances as guests of the Society. The Edinburgh Film Guild is planning a varied international film programme for the season. (Details in the next issue of DNL.) Mancliester and Salford have deferred a deci- sion on the autumn season until the problem of cinema hire (arising from the probability of Sunday opening being introduced) has been clarified. In any case a Spring Season is con- templated. From the Ayrshire Film Society comes news that sub-standard shows are being arranged for local R.A.F. Units, and that a season of at least five normal meetings is being planned, at both branches of the Society. A series of sub-standard sound shows is also being planned. Plans regarding the current season by the Tyneside Film Society are not available at the time of going to press, as the annual meeting does not take place till mid-September, while the Exeter Film Society has lost so much of its key personnel to the Services that its future is at present doubtful. Belfast reports that arrangements are in pro- gress for a season which will include at least six repertory shows of foreign films and British documentaries. It is also hoped to arrange sub- standard shows and to continue the Society's campaign for a wider use of the film in schools. The "Film Review" is still being published, though necessarily in a smaller format. IMPORTANT The attention of all Film Society secretaries is directed to the articles and reviews in this issue dealing with the Ministry of Information Non- theatrical Films. All these are available to Film Societies free of charge on 35 mm. and 16 mm. stock, and are obtainable from The Central Film Library, Imperial Institute, South Kensington, London, S.\V.7. TWO CONTINENTAL FILMS AMOK. French: From a story by Stefan Zweig. Director: Fedor Ozep. Photography: Curt Courant. Sets: Lazare Meerson. With: Marcelle Chantal, Jean Younel, and V. Inkijinoff. THE FALL OF A TYRANT. Czechoslovakiait: From a play by Karel Kapek. Director: Hugo Haas. Photography: Otto Heller. The story of Amok is set somewhere in the East Indies, and the central situation, which was no doubt thought very daring, is of a wife who, finding herself pregnant by her lover, and hubby coming home, goes to the local doctor for an abortion. He feels a bit insulted and refuses, then falls for her and says he wants to help. But she's insulted by this time, and in a huff goes off to a female unqualified herb expert, who, in spite of her — presumably — extensive experience in this sort of thing, bungles the job completely. Wifie snuffs it and doctor, to redeem himself and keep it all a secret from suspicious hubby, who is having her taken to Europe for an autopsy, tips her coflin into the ocean and projects himself after it. All this has been directed by Ozcp with the maximum amount of heavy atmosphere, and long, meaning looks. Ozep, of course, is the Russian emigre who made The Living Corpse, Yellow Ticket, Brothers Kanimazov, and inore recently Dame de Pique from Pushkin's story. He was always a bit hea\y-handed, but sometimes used to get away with it, notably in Brothers Karamazov. Here, I'm afraid, the impending doom business is a complete flop. The Fall of a Tyrant is a much better film, Czechoslovakian but dubbed into English quite successfully. The story, from Kapek's play, is of a European country which its dictator is arming and leading towards war. At the same time, there is a strange cholera plague which strikes down and kills almost every man in it as he passes the age of 40. A poor doctor discovers an effective serum and after proving it publicly, tries to use this power to prevent the war. He is unsuccessful, even when the head of the armaments firm catches the plague, but when the Dictator himself DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 17 goes down with it on the day of the declaration of war, the Dictator at last agrees to call the doctor in and the war off. But the doctor is killed by the war-crazy mob on his way to treat the Dictator, and the war is on again. In the end the Dictator dies, the war is lost, the formula of the doctor's serum is found and the country settles happily down to democracy again. This film is a polished bit of production. It moves along nicely, the acting is all quite competent, and there are several happy touches of direction ; notably where, in the interview between doctor and dictator, the camera pans from one's feet to the other's, then from chest to chest, then from face to face. And yet the final effect of this film, no less than Amok, is depressing. Between the two of them we can get a good glimpse of the state of things that has landed us where we are to-day. Both are based on the same paralysing individualist view of life, the old middle-class pre-occupation with personality. In Amok this is obvious enough. We're supposed to be mightily interested in the fate of a handful of people none of whom is worth a tinker's curse. A malignant fate has got them by the short hairs and they can do nothing about it except commit suicide or otherwise die in as gentlemanly or ladylike way as possible. This suicide motif is characteristic, as is the fact that throughout the film there is not a single ordinary, decent human being. Everyone is either wrestling with complexes and suppressed desires or is a member of the dangerous, incalculable mob vaguely threatening from below. It is this same ignorance of and fear of the mob Ithat is the real fault of Fall of a Tyrant. The sym- pathetic liberal mind behind the film, which I take it is probably Kapek's, though firmly op- posed to Fascism, has no real understanding of it or of its appeal to the mob. And so the only J) Solution it can offer is really the obverse of the Fascist coin. Instead of a militant dictator driving I the people towards war, we are to have a peaceful scientific doctor forcing them into what he con- siders better ways. The effective power has merely changed hands from one individual to another, and in place of the Fascist bogey we are to have the scientific bogey. And note that the cholera epidemic is quite unexplained: it, like the hand of fate in Amok, comes and goes as it pleases and nobody can do anything about it. The mob, too, is incalculable : it whoops for war, murders a harmless man, and whoops again for peace, all for no good reason. And so, in despair, the film turns to the feelings of certain middle- class individuals as a forlorn hope. The doctor doesn't want war, the women don't want war; this is all it can offer us. This is a philosophy of despair. In the last in- stance the feelings of individuals don't count very much, it's that mob we've got to get at. Fascism taps its potentialities in a certain limited fashion, but its real untried sources of vitality are still waiting to be used. Once we learn that the mob is by no means incalculable and set about under- standing it we'll soon find that democracy doesn't Deed any deus ex machina such as a cholera epi- demic to get its effects. And the first essential to understanding is to stop being contemptuous of it. BOOK REVIEWS Report by the Advisory Committee of the Scottish Film Council and Scottish Educational Film Association on the General Principles Governing the Production of Educational Films. Price 1 /- net IN THE FOREWORD to this report it is rightly pointed out that although the present time may be thought inopportune for its publication, now more than ever, the education of the children is of paramount importance. At the Conference which accompanied the annual general meeting of the Scottish Educa- tional Film Association held in Edinburgh on 8th May, 1937, representatives of the film trade were present. They pointed out "that they did not know what the schools wanted, but that if they had an authoritative statement of what was re- quired and would be used they would try to pro- duce it". This report is the answer, and it pro- vides a set of working plans for the educa- tional film producer — detailed sections are de- voted to form, length, content, titles, maps, diagrams, teaching notes. General sections deal with "when is the making of an educational film justified", "The relation of teacher and film", "the relation of film and curriculum", etc. Apart from these considerations there are 25 pages of lists of subjects for films which have been drawn up by specialist panels working with the responses of 600 teachers to a carefully con- sidered circular letter. The amateur is recognised as being in a posi- tion to contribute films of great value, for he can experiment with methods of production which are too revolutionary to be adopted in orthodox work before they have proved themselves. It is suggested that as he is not compelled to show profit on his production, and is therefore not de- pendent on securing a wide market, he may most usefully turn his attention to films of more speci- alised and limited appeal than those listed. A most useful bibliography of books, reports and articles on visual education occupies the last nine pages. The world which glints through this report is one of hard material fact. If the findings be adopted in a narrow-spirited manner the child will still have to discover the newer and grander syntheses resulting from advances in biology and atomic physics in the same frag- mentary way most of us come upon the new outlook. The Assessment of Educational Films. Published by the Scottish Council for Research in Educa- tion. Price \s. IN SCOTLAND in December, 1930, the Executive Committee of the Scottish Council for Research in Education set up a sub-committee on visual aids in education "to explore the possibilities in regard to the use of all forms of, and appliances for, visual illustration in schools" . . . The present publication is one outcome of the Committee's work. "Childhood has its own ways of seeing" (Rousseau) is the guiding principle behind the approach and the general outlook is defined in these words: "The task of education is not merely to adjust the child to his physical en- vironment but likewise to acculture him to the spiritual resources of mankind — religion, art and literature, the creation of which is essentially a human achievement." The Committee first set about devising a teacher's appraisal form. This necessitated a knowledge of pupils' reactions to films, and led to a pupil's appraisal form. A summary form was later introduced as a means of collating pupils' responses. After sufficient experience of the use of these forms had been gained it was thought advisable to enunciate the general principles de- rived from the investigations. These are formu- lated in the final section of the book which is a concise report upon an inspired yet businesslike job of work. The appendices included are: Pupil's Ap- praisal Form, Instructions to teachers and Sum- mary of Pupil's Appraisal. Using School Projectors. Published by The Brit- ish Film Institute; price one shilling. Starting with a short account of the theory of projection behind the diascope and episcope the manual proceeds to a description of the mechan- ism of the silent cine projector. Additions neces- sary for the reproduction of sound, viz., sound track, scanning system and smoothing system are simply and clearly explained. The second section deals with projection practice, preparation of the projection room and care of projectors. Under Section III a number of special problems and emergencies receive attention, e.g., reverberance ; open electric circuits; shutter ghost; film break- age, etc. The three final pages are devoted to listing the libraries from which films may be borrowed or hired. A great deal is covered in the 40 pages of this manual, yet all of it is adequately treated and excellently illustrated. Choosing School Projectors. Published by The British Film Institute; price sixpence. Besides cine projectors the present publication covers other projection apparata including the standard lantern, episcope, and epidiascope. Sections II and VI deal most competently with practical problems, e.g,. light output of cine pro- jectors, range of lenses, screen surfaces and size of screen, etc. Under Section III 38 types and makes of silent projectors and 35 sound projec- tors are listed. Optical aids in the form of film strip projectors, lantern slide projectors, episcopes and epidiascopes are also catalogued. Section V provides information on film libraries from which films may be borrowed or hired. 18 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 FILM LIBRARIES Borrowers of films are asked to apply as much in advance as possible, to give alternative booking dates, and to return the films immediately after use. H. A hire charge is made. F. Free distribution. Sd. Sound. St. Silent. Association of Scientific Workers, 30 Bedford Row, W.C.I. Scientific Film Committee. Graded List of Films. A list of scientific films from many sources, classified and graded for various types of audience. On request Committee will give ad- vice on programme make-up and choice of films. Austin Film Library. 24 films of motoring in- terest, industrial, technical and travel. Available only from the Educational Films Bureau, Tring, Herts. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. British Commercial Gas Association, Gas Indus- try House, 1 Grosvenor Place, S.W.I. Films on social subjects, domestic science, manufacture of gas. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & a few St. F. British Council Film Department, 25 Savile Row, W.l. Films of Britain, 1940. Catalogue for overseas use only but provides useful synopses of 100 sound and silent documentary films. British Film Institute, 4 Great Russell Street, W.C.I, (a) National Film Library. An important collection of documentary and other films. Avail- able only to full members of B.F.I. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. (b) Some British and Foreign Documentary and other Short Films. A general list of films and sources, (c) Early Films. Films 1896-1934 still available in Britain. Coal Utilisation Joint Council, General Buildings, Aldwych, London, W.C.2. Films on production of British coal and miners' welfare. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. F. Crookes' Laboratories, Gorst Road, Park Royal, N.W.IO. Colloids in Medicine. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. F. Darlington Hall Film Unit, Tatnes, South Devon. Classroom films on regional and eco- nomic geography. 16 mm. St. H. Educational Films Bureau, Tring, Herts. A selection of all types of film. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Educational General Services, 37 Golden Square, W.l. A wide selection of films, particularly of overseas interest. Some prints for sale. 16 mm. & St. H. Electrical Development Association, 2 Savoy Hill, Strand, W.C.2. Four films of electrical interest. Further films of direct advertising appeal are available only through members of the Associa- tion, 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Empire Film Library, Imperial Institute, S.W.7. Films primarily of Empire interest. With a useful subject index. 16 mm. &afew 35 mm.Sd. &St. F. Ensign Film Library, 88-89 High Holbom, London, W.C. 1 . Wide selection of all types of films including fiction, comedies, documentaries, films of geography, animal life, industry. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. St. & a few Sd. H. Film Centre, 34 Soho Square, W.l. Mouvements Vibratoires. A film on simple harmonic motion. French captions. 35 mm. & 16 mm. St. H. Ford Film Library, Dagenham, Essex. Some 50 films of travel, engineering, scientific and comedy interest. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Gaumont-British Equipments, Film House, War- dour Street, W.l. Many films on scientific sub- jects, geography, hygiene, history, language, natural history, sport. Also feature films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. G.P.O. Film Library, Imperial Institute, S.W.7. Over 100 films, mostly centred round communi- cations. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Kodak, Ltd., Kingsway, W.C.2. {a) Kodascope Library. Instructional, documentary, feature, western, comedy. Strong on early American comedies. 16 mm. & 8 mm. St. H. (A separate List of Educational Films, extracted from the above, is also published. A number of films have teaching notes.) {b) Medical Film Library. Circu- lation restricted to members of medical profes- sion. Some colour films. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. St. H. CATALOGUE OF THE MONTH Religious Film Library. 104 High Holborn, London, W.C.I. The films listed here are designed for use in Religious Film Services — "to supplement or re- inforce the spoken word" — or for general religious instructional purposes. But the preface to the catalogue also points out that churches which own or can borrow projectors can do much good work in reception areas, camps and hos- pitals. Various types of films are available. There are screen versions of Tolstoi's short stories {Where Love is God Is and What Men Live By), made by G.B.I. There are one or two feature films such as Turn of the Tide and The Passing of the Third Floor Back. There are also a number of moral tales, some interest films {Symphonies in Stone, for instance), one or two documentaries such as Marion Grierson's For All Eternity, and one or two Secrets of Life and travelogues. Most of the films are 16 mm. sound. But there is also a comprehensive section of 16 mm. silent films, and in many cases teaching and lecture notes arc available. Some thirty films are also supplied on 35 mm. sound. There are also a num- ber of sound recordings of hymns, prayers, etc., so that a complete religious service can be built up from the catalogue. Specimen services are given. The latest additions to the catalogue include three 16 mm. sound films, The Spirit of England, Ripe Earth and The Rich Young Ruler; and 16 mm. silcnts on Baffin Land, Thibet, and India. March of Time, Dean House, 4 Dean Street, W.l. Selected March of Time items, including Inside Nazi Germany, New Schools for Old, America Thinks it Over. 16 mm. Sd. H. Mathematical Films. Available from B. G. D. Salt, 5 Carlingford Road, Hampstead, N.W.3. Five mathematical films suitable for senior classes. 16 mm. & 9.5 mm. St. H. Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co., Ltd., Traf- ford Park, Manchester 17. Planned Electrifica- tion, a film on the electrification of the winding and surface gear in a coal mine. Available for showing to technical and educational groups. 16 mm. Sd. F. Pathescope, North Circular Road, Cricklewood, N.W.2. Wide selection of silent films, including cartoons, comedies, drama, documentary, travel, sport. Also good selection of early American and German films. 9.5 mm. Sd. & St. H. Petroleum Films Bureau, 15 Hay Hill, Berkeley Square, W.l. Twenty technical and documentary films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Religious Film Library, 104 High Holbom, W.C.I. Films of religious and temperance appeal, also list of supporting films from other sources. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Scottish Central Film Library, 2 Newton Place, Charing Cross, Glasgow, C.3. A wide selection of teaching films from many sources. Contains some silent Scots films not listed elsewhere. Library available to groups in Scotland only. 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Sound-Film Services, 10 Park Place, Cardiff. Library of selected films including Massingham's And So to Work and Pollard's Dragon of Wales. Rome and Sahara have French commentaries. 16 mm. Sd. H. Southern Railway, General Manager's Office, Waterloo Station, S.E.I. Seven films (one in colour) including Building an Electric Coach, South African Fruit (Southampton Docks to Covent Garden), and films on seaside towns. 16 mm. St. F. Strand Film Company, 5a Upper St. Martin's Lane, W.C. 2. Eleven films available for non- theatrical distribution including Aerial Mile- stones, Chapter and Verse, Give the Kids a Break, and a number of others of Empire and general interest, including 3 silent Airways films. Mostly 35 mm. Sd. A few 16 mm. St. F. Wallace Heaton, Ltd., 127 New Bond Street, W.l. Three catalogues. Sound 16 mm., silent 16 mm., silent 9.5 mm. Sound catalogue contains number of American feature films, including Thunder Over Mexico, and some shorts. Silent 16 mm. catalogue contains first-class list of early American, German and Russian features and shorts, 9.5 catalogue has number of early Ger- man films and wide selection of early American and English slapstick comedies. 16 mm. & 9.5 mm. Sd. & St. H. Workers' Film Association, 145 Wardour Street, Wl. Films of democratic and co-operative in- terest. Notes and suggestions for complete pro- grammes. Some prints for sale. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER OCTOBER 1940 19 THE GAS INDUSTRY FILM LIBRARY announces FOUR NEW FILMS * GREEN FOOD FOR HEALTH * WHAT'S FOR DINNER * CHOOSE CHEESE 3 Short Films on Food Presented to the Ministry of Food for the National Food Campaign. * IT COMES FROM COAL A film about coal as a source of chemical wealth. The British Council is arranging to show a version of this film overseas. All four films are available free of charge on 35 mm and 16 mm from THE BRITISH COMMERCIAL GAS ASSOCIATION GAS INDUSTRY HOUSE ONE GROSVENOR PLACE, LONDON, S.W.I OF THE 200 BRITISH DOCUMENTARY EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC FILMS LISTED LAST MONTH BY DO L AMERICAN FILM CENTER AS BEING SHOWN IN AMERICA 34 WERE PRODUCED BY THE STRAND FILM COMPANY Spi Owned and published by Film Centre Ltd., 34 Soho Square, London, W.\, and printed by SImson Shand Ltd., llu- Sluiivul Press, London and Hcrijurd m\jm\ DOCUMENTARY — THE CREATIVE INTERPRETATION OF REALITY VOL 1 No 11 PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY FILM CENTRE 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W1 FOURPENCE 1 NOTES OF THE MONTH 6 FILM OF THE MONTH Foreign Correspondent 10 SOCIAL RESEARCH AND THE FILM By Tom Harrisson i FILMS AND A PEOPLE'S WAR 6 FILM COMMENTARY n OVERSEAS NOTES 4 BROADCAST London Can Take It 14 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS By Sir Kenneth Clark 7 DOCUMENTARY BOOKINGS FOR NOVEMBER 16 FILM STRIP IN EDUCATION By W. E. Tate 5 M.O.I. FIVE MINUTE FILMS List for September and October 9 FILM SOCIETY NEWS 18 FILM LIBRARIES Speed THE FILMS DIVISION of the Ministry of Information has shown commendable hustle in commissioning a quick-fire film called London Can Take It, and whisking it oflF to New York by clipper as soon as the first print was available. Made by the G.P.O. Film Unit in under two weeks, it presents London's citizenry and architecture under the blitzkrieg. It is good to see a first-class propaganda move of this type made by a body which has not yet completely redeemed its reputation for ineffectiveness. Mass Observation WE HAVE DEVOTED a number of pages in this issue to an investigation by Mass Observation of the effect of propaganda films on cinema audiences. The conclusions reached are, of course, entirely those of Mass Observation but, whether they are correct or incorrect, we believe that they raise issues of the greatest importance to everyone interested in public persuasion. The M.O. conclusions are based on films issued some weeks ago, and to put the investigations into proper perspective, we have received the following memorandum from the chief investigator: — 'Tt should be pointed out that the M.O.I, has just started the second series of Five-Minute shorts and these are very definite successes. The first of these was Front Line. The second, Ashley Green Goes to School, dealt again with evacuation and was equally successful, while the third release, Britain Can Take It (5-minute version of London Can Take It) has had the most extraordinary blurbs from the Press. The response from the public has been excellent, at least as good as the response to Britain at Bay.'' DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 Versatility THE PERMANENT Staff of the Films Division of the M.O.I, has been selected, either from the administrative sides of the Film Industry, or from outside the film industry altogether. We believe that such a selection has been a right one, and it fol- lows that the job of the Division is to initiate, guide and inspire production, and to organise distribution. It is therefore a little surprising to find the name of Mr. Dallas Bower, one of the Division's permanent staff, on the credit titles of Channel Incident, thus breaking the almost invariable custom of Civil Service anonymity. This is either an exception to be regretted, or a precedent. If the latter, the Films Division must very care- fully consider whether its staff is in fact qualified to undertake the skilled and creative task of film production and whether, even if the staff be qualified, it is sound policy to undertake such work. If it decides directly to enter the field of production the Division must see that, in future, its work in this direction is at least as good, and preferably better than, any similar work done by outside professional units. Gift Horse Technique IS THE Films Division of the Ministry of Information aware that a number of cinemas are not running the weekly Five- Minute Films supplied to them? One diligent searcher after Front Line reports fourteen abortive visits without finding it running at all. This was in the week beginning October 7th, when the film should have been in all first-run cinemas. Our information is that the curtailment of running time caused by earher closing has led managements to drop Five-Minute films before other items, chiefly on the ground that they are supplied free, and therefore their omission involves no shadow of monetary loss. What remedy the Films Division can find is a matter for investigation. But what many people would like to know is what check the Division keeps on the actual circulation of its films. If, as suggested by a contributor else- where in this issue, the only check is from cinema managers, there is clearly something very much wrong. It is one thing to send a copy of a film to 4,000 cinemas and quite another to get it shown. It looks as though action is needed. A good checking system could cover, not only showings, but also audience reactions. Maurice Jaubert ALL FILM-MAKERS will be sad to hear of the death of Maurice Jaubert, probably the most talented composer of all those specialising in music for films. Few of the big French films lacked his name on the credit titles, and there is no doubt that the qualities he added to them were an important factor in their success. He came over to England in 1937 to write the music for Cavalcanti's We Live in Two Worlds, and made many friends during his stay. Jaubert was in the French Army and lost his life during the blowing-up of bridges over the Meuse. We extend our sincere sympathy to his widow and daughter. Two Important Jobs ALEXANDER SHAW has left England in order to take up the post of Film Officer to the Indian Government. India is virgin ground as far as organised film work is concerned, and the possibilities are innumerable. The appointment has the backing of the Ministry of Information. Shaw is an admirable choice for the job. He has already worked on a number of films in the East (including Five Faces of Malaya) and he adds to creative ability a talent for organisation and for hard work. His ener- gies will be sadly missed here while he is away, but everyone can be satisfied that he will fulfil what is bound to be an enormous and exacting responsibility with both vision and common sense. * * * J. D. DAVIDSON has been invited to join the Canadian National Film Board as director-cameraman. Davidson has been associated with the documentary movement from the begin- ning, joining the E.M.B. Film Unit in 1930, shortly after the completion of Drifters. In those days money was short and the staff" was small. Since then he has made for himself a reputation of reliability second to none. In 1938 he went to Iran in charge of a six-reel documentary of the oil industry in that part of the world. He brought back the most detailed and articulate industrial film that has ever been made round a single commercial enterprise. We wish Shaw and Davidson the best of luck. Everyone in documentary will look forward to seeing the result of their labours. Stick in the Mud SOME SECTIONS of the Press recently gave trenchant ex- pression to their views on the injustice of the new Purchase Tax. There appear to be discriminations between one user and another, and between one class of goods and another. Take for example one instance which concerns those interested in educa- tion. Whereas, under class 22 (see notice by the Commissioners of Customs and Excise, No. 78) posters and plaster figures — of which statesmen, unspecified — are specially exempted from taxation, substandard films are liable to be taxed twice over. As the Act stands, raw substandard film stock has to bear a tax before it is made into films, which then become liable to a second heavy tax of six shillings and eightpence in the £. Apparently this was decided without consulting educational and other interests concerned, and probably without con- sideration of the effects of the tax. Although the Sub-Standard Cinematograph Association made approaches to the Customs and sought a treatment for films similar to that for books (exempted by Parliament on educational grounds) its case has never even been considered. Do the civil servants involved take an ordinary civil interest in such issues? Has the Customs ever heard of Education? If they had, they would recognise that the fight of educationists, film and otherwise, is a fight which affects every child and adult in the kingdom. At any rate they have effectively disguised their awareness, and have ignored the administrative obligations to consult those affected by the incidence of new taxation. Urgent representations are being made, and we hope that every teacher in the country will back them up. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 FILMS AND A PEOPLE'S WAR A discussion of the basic principles of propaganda in this war. This article gains added significance from the release of Britain Can Take It, which is discussed elsewhere in this issue. DURING the past fourteen months many have talked glibly about this being a people's war; but few have meant much more than that this war, like all wars, depends absolutely on the will, the good-will, and the capacity for suffering, of the ordinary people. True enough ; but today the phrase "people's war" means something more important, something which is, to so many of our glib gentlemen, positively alarming. For the present war, if it is to be worth fighting at all, is war between two ideas, and not between two groups of nations. It is a war to decide whether the ordinary decent men and worrien of all countries shall have the power to live not only according to their own lights and their own standards, but also more fully and more freely. Within this thesis the national issues of the war are certainly clear cut. Nazis and Fascists are enemies of this idea. But there were plenty in Norway and France and Holland and Belgium who were equal enemies ; and equally certain is it that there are plenty in Britain and the United States today who regard the good life as an acute danger to their security and their securities. Given financial and political power, such persons stick at nothing to preserve their own code — be it eighteenth-century squirearchy, nineteenth-century industrialism, or the monopolist economy of the present day. Both in Press and Parfiament the existence and danger of these real fifth columnists has been to some extent admitted, but the more insidious ideological misfits are too often for- gotten. In this war active malevolence is less dangerous than the shackles of unimaginative routineers and the timidities of "intellectuals" whose ivory towers are rapidly being revealed as being constructed of cocoa-butter. It is necessary to re-state these facts in any broad con- sideration of the function of films in this war — the more so since the Films Division of the M.O.I, is now finding its feet and pursuing a definite and planned policy. For behind the Five Minute films, the special films for the U.S.A., and the big non-theatrical programmes, there still exists a conflict of ideas which is as yet unresolved. At first glance this conflict might appear to be merely that between the short-term and the long-term viewpoints. That is — the question of how to balance the immediate urgencies against the urgent permanencies. It is on short-term grounds that the value of films has already been criticised in several quarters. And although events have proved many of these criticisms to be unfounded, there is this much of truth under- lying them — that the film has a special capability to provide a long-term vision by rendering in visual form the basic ideas [and needs of a generation — be it a generation in arms, a genera- ion in schools, or a generation in the mines and workshops of ommerce. The long-term view, therefore, is of the basic ideals and the ultimate goal. The query is this : — are we in this ountry, or our co-equals in any other countries, too timid to focus boldly on these objects in our use of all types of media involving information, education, and propaganda? As far as films are concerned, the seeds of this timidity (or neglect) can first be studied in some of the short-term films which have so far formed the main output during the war. There is, for instance, an instructive contrast between two recent Five Minute films — Channel Incident and The Front Line. Channel Incident is about the Dunkirk evacuation. The Front Line is about Dover in September, 1940. The former therefore has the initial disadvantage of having been made at the wrong moment. Such a film should have appeared very soon after Dunkirk, or should have been reserved till much later, when an epic event could be honoured in more peaceful re- trospect. But apart from this, Channel Incident represents the negative of our two ideas by its insistence on the outlook of the Edwardian novelette. It is a flaming insult to the men of Dunkirk and to the men and women of the little boats, a flaming insult indeed to the British people, to reduce this great story to the terms of a middle-class female chuntering back and forth across the Channel and rescuing soldiers only incidentally while she searches for her husband. To add insult to injury, one of the crew of her motor-boat is quite grat- uitously depicted as a half-wit.If evera film symboHsed the mental outlook by which Britain could lose this war, Channel Incident did it ; and it was splendid to note the disgust, either frigid or vocal, with which it was received by many in the public cinemas. The Front Line, on the other hand, is both truthful and decent. In a few crowded minutes it lets representative citizens of Dover tell us what they think — from the bowler-hatted Mayor standing on the promenade and saying "Dover's all right" to the housewife with her story of the electric light which turned itself on when a shell burst; from the non- chalent look-out man counting the seconds between the Calais gun-flash and the ruination of a Dover church, to the doric enthusiasm of the successful A. A. gun team. The Front Line is about US, and that's all right and as it should be; Channel Incident is about THEM, and they're a miserable section of the citizenry whose Sunday-night castigation by Priestley partly sum up what we feel about them. It may be thought unnecessary to elaborate in so much de- tail on the contrast between two short-hved films. Yet the con- trast is fundamental, and the resultant criticism must be ap- plied— especiaUy by those at the Films Division — to every film and every programme that is planned or put into production. The Division's non-theatrical series, for instance, goes far to meet one side of the criticisms. The films are, on the whole, con- ceived in decency and delivered in sincerity. In, the aggregate they present an inspiring picture of democracy at war. But note that it is democracy at war rather than democracy through f DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 war. In Welfare of the Workers, for instance, the theme is mainly that the workers have voluntarily given up — for war purposes — the hard-won rights achieved by a century of trade unionism; and in return for this, benevolent Ministries look after their welfare. But note the pay-off — a pep-talk by Bevin on the lines of "Well, lads, we've all got to work together to get this wretched business over as soon as possible, and we're going to do it efficiently and cheerfully". Yes ; quite right; impeccable sentiments. But did someone murmur, "And then what"? Just a returning to the old ways; or the construction of something better? Is this a picture of part of a great people's army or not? We receive no clue. In fact there should be two programmes whereas at present there is only one. For if it is essential to have a clear picture of our present problems and dangers, and to indicate what is being done or what ought to be done to meet them, it is equally essential to give every citizen the chance to realise his own position, and that of his neighbours (and of his million fellows he has never met), so that the people's war can be brought to a proper conclusion by a people's army, whose organisations can only truly come from within. There are two or three objections usually raised against this thesis. One is blatantly anti-democratic and is based on the fear that if the people have a real understanding of, and a real say in, the war, they will at once constitute a menace to invest- ment, property, and what not. Another is that we are already so busy fighting that we have no time to delve into first principles or ultimate issues. Yet another claims that no one knows what its all about anyway — so, why worry? In other words, there is a large number of people who are out of touch not so much with fact as with feehng ; who are frightened of any clear statement of true democratic principles ; who, from their own safe httle paradises, will delegate responsi- bihty upwards but never downwards ; who turn at all costs to a fictional heaven rather than a factual purgatory. With obvious exceptions, this accusation may be made against a number of politicians, Whitehall-ites, public relations officers, local government officials, and Bloomsbury googies. But they do not recognise themselves in these terms because their fears and timidities are sub-conscious. Complacent in their planning for increased efficiency, they are never aware that they are com- pletely out of touch with real people. And, to return to films, nothing has been more striking than the timid, spineless withdrawal of officials from the few films which have been vulgar enough to talk turkey about People. With a hundred-and-one specious excuses they have endeavoured to can them. And sometimes — but by no means always — they have been successful. On the other side of the medal, they have sometimes seen their own ewe-lamb films hooted at — just because they know no better than to attempt to patronise those whose patronage they should rather be seek- ing on their bended knees. It is to be hoped that one of the finest subjects for a film that ever turned up is not to go by default. The taking over of the London Tube stations was the first skirmish of the people's army. When the incompetence and lack of imagination of the authorities had failed to provide adequate air-raid shelters, the people, with great good sense (and almost alarm- ing politeness) made their own arrangements. It was, too, significant that both police and L.T.B. staff co-operated fully with the people. The film story here is the story of the first day's march of the only army — in or out of uniform — which will win the war. Nevertheless, it would be unfair to — for instance — the per- sonnel of the Films Division to suggest that none of them understand ; for behind the chatter and the bombination one may detect the beating of real human hearts. With admirable singlemindedness the Films Division has constructed a work- able machine from a collection of haphazard parts. Many of the films recently completed are not merely good in the ex- positional sense; they also concentrate on people as people (rather than as illustrations to a theme or as window dummies. The democratic feehng is creeping in. The best way to carry on the work is to get in touch with the people direct. There are over forty million of them ; they mean business; and they expect their employees in the Civil Service and elsewhere to provide them with the right provender in the right quantities. And a few official films articulating the people to the people would also have the salutary effect of articulating the people to the Government and the Governmental machine. Films could do an immense amount to bridge the long-criti- cised gap between bureaucracy and democracy. A little moral courage is all that is required. Given courage, action is easy. BROADCAST By SIR KENNETH CLARK, Director of Production of the Ministry of Information and lately Chief of the Films Division. Delivered as a postscript to the News on 4th October, 194'), and reprinted by courtesy of the B.B.C. THE ORIGINAL model of democracy to which all our theories of popular Government go back was the Greek city state, where all the citizens could meet in one place, and could see what the other fellow was doing and could shout their approval or dis- approval. They could feel a first-hand interest in policy because they could see the whole working of their State as well as just the little bit they had to do themselves. Now, it is obvious that when you try to apply popular government to a great complex nation instead of a single city this vital feeling of participation is largely lost. People delegate their powers without even realising that they have done so; they accept services from the state of which they are quite unaware; they DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 go to work day after day without having the least idea how what they are doing fits into a general pattern of the national life. Of course, there are books to tell them how their country is governed ; but that isn't what they want — they want to be made to feel that they are actors in a great, thrilling drama, essential ingredients in a marvellous experiment, and this can only be done through one medium — the film. It is now over ten years since a small band of young film directors, the chief of whom was John Grierson, recognised that the film, by giving the dramatic significance of everyday life and work, could become a great instrument of democratic education. They evolved a new type of film which they called by the rather austere name of the Documentary. Thanks to their outstanding skill the documentary has hkd an influence out of all proportion to its cost or its distribution. It is to their technical approach that we owe great films like The Good Earth or Grapes of Wrath, where the dramatic value of the film depends on its air of absolute truth. But, of course, the pure documentary film cannot often be shown in an ordinary cinema. People in an ordinary cinema have paid their money to be entertained, and entertainment means escape — escape above all from everyday life. But to look at documentary films one must be in quite a different frame of mind : one must want to know the truth, to understand the mysteries of a technical pro- cess, to be made conscious of one's rights and duties as a citizen. And so these films have been chiefly shown in town halls, village halls, institutions, public libraries, and similar centres of the serious minded. Now in the past documentary films have been made and shown by all kinds of bodies — educational, commercial, tech- nical; but to-day the Government, through the Ministry of Information, is undertaking the showing of such films on a scale never attempted before. We are sending round seventy-six mobile film units which can be set up in country districts. We are lending fifty projectors to local organisations, and we are arranging hundreds of shows in cinemas out of normal hours. Altogether we shall be giving at least a thousand shows a week. Some of the films shown wifl come from the film library at the Imperial Institute; but the majority will be made by the best of the younger film directors speciafly to suit the times, and will deal with all those war-time services and activities which the Government is organising; and all the hundreds of ways in which people are working for their country. They will show the worker how his health is being cared for under the new conditions of war, and how he can change from one job to another in order to make the best use ^of his skill. They wiU show a village school where a teacher is coping with all the new problems created by evacuation. Or they will show the making of an aeroplane propeller, where the utmost refinements of measurement produce every day works of art as carefully calculated as a Greek temple. That is something worth remem- being when we read in the newspapers accusations of muddle and inefficiency. I have said that films of this kind don't compete with the ordinary cinema. We shan't show pure entertainment films on our circuit. But we shan't be limited to mere instruction. We shall include films like Men of the Lightship, which record great feats of heroism, or some of our five-minute films Uke Miss Grant Goes to the Door, which help people to remember Government messages by putting them in a dramatic form. And in this way I think we shall do something to meet that most pressing problem — the deadly boredom which threatens a great section of the country during the coming winter. Other organisa- tions will supply amusement : but the trouble about boredom is that it can't be relieved by amusement alone — as anyone with children knows. The mind has to be seriously occupied, to be extended, as it were, for a short time every day. And how can it be better occupied than in getting to understand the vast complicated structure of which we are a part, and for which we are in part responsible. 5-MINUTE FILMS FOR SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER Title Theme Director Production Unit Released YESTERDAY'S OVER YOUR SHOULDER Engineering Training Thorold Dickinson D. & P. Studios 9/9/40 MISS KNOW-ALL Gossip Graham Cutts D. & P. Studios 16/9/40 CHANNEL INCIDENT Dunkirk Anthony Asquith D. & P. Studios 23/9/40 THE FRONT LINE Dover 1 Harry Watt G.P.O. 7/10/40 *ASHLEY GREEN GOES TO SCHOOL School Services in War-time John Eldridge Strand 14/10/40 fBRITAIN CAN TAKE IT Blitzkrieg on London Harry Watt and Humphrey Jennings G.P.O. 21/10/40 Shortened version of tlie non-tlwatrical film Village School, reviewed in our last issue, t Adapted from London Can Take It, reviewed in this issue DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 FILM OF THE MONTH FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT. Producer: Walter Wanger. Director: Alfred Hitchcock. Cast: Joel Macrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Mar- shall, Albert Basserman, George Sanders, Edmund Gvvenn, Eduardo Cianelli, and Robert Benchley. IN HIS LONG career in British Studios all Hitch- cock's best films were thrillers ( The Lodger, Black- mail, Murder, Secret Agent, Sabotage, The Lady Vanishes), while his least successful efforts were films such as Rich and Strange, The Skin Game, Jamaica Inn, and so on. Many critics used to say what a shame it was that Hitchcock's enormous directorial talent never seemed to click with the treatment of serious themes; though they should perhaps have been content to enjoy the afore- mentioned thrillers for what they were — exciting stories treated in an original and stimulating way. For after all, whether you like thrillers or not, Hitchcock has a genius for film making, and the British film industry has never been over- crowded with genius. Then Hitchcock went to Hollywood and it would seem that the wider resources and the more deeply established traditions of Holly- wood have given him new powers. Apart from better script departments and wider studio facilities, however, it is probable that what has really happened is that Hitchcock has at last got what he never had here — a proper producer. In Rebecca (producer: Zanuck) he did bring off a non-thriller subject ; the imaginative quali- ties of several sequences — especially that which opened the film — were something which the pre- vious Hitchcock films had never more than hinted at. In Foreign Correspondent we have Hitchcock working with Walter Wanger; and Wanger is known as Hollywood's most alert and liberal- minded producer. The result is a thriller which, as a thriller, is the best that Hitchcock has ever done and which, for various reasons, is at moments something very much more than a thriller. The main reason, one may guess, is that Wanger saw in the war set-up the possibility of linking the thrill-story — usually an artificial con- coction— to an all-time actual sensation like the European conflict. That is, he saw the chance of placing Hitchcock's superb shocker technique over against something which was not only a shocker but also hideously real. Hitchcock saw the chance and took it. The story tells of a young American journalist (Joel Macrae) who is sent to Europe in 1939 to be in on the crisis. He duly gets entangled in a series of terrific adventures, involving one Fischer (Herbert Marshall), who runs a Peace Society as a cover for Fifth Column activities; his daughter (Laraine Day); and a Dutch statesman named van Meer (Albert Basserman) who is kidnapped, and the search for whom takes up much of the film. Highlights of the film include an assassina- tion in the rain at The Hague, with the murderer's departure marked only by disturbed ripples on a great sea of umbrellas; a superb suspense sequence in a windmill ; Macrae's narrow escape from being pushed off the tower of Westminster Cathedral by a hired assassin (Edmund Gwenn) ; a cleverly observed Peace Lunch at the Savoy ; a torture scene in an upper room in Charlotte Street ; a comedy sequence in a Cambridge Hotel ; and a flying-boat crash in mid-Atlantic. It is great fun to find Herbert Marshall and Edmund Gwenn cast as villains; and they team up well with Cianelli, who has been doing screen scoundrels for years. Robert Benchley is admir- able as a boozing London correspondent off the booze, and there is also a charming sketch by another actor (whose name escapes me) of a madly beaming and bewildered Latvian diplo- mat. And Hitchcock himself contributes a mas- sive and Epstein-like study of "Man Reading Paper on Sidewalk". But the best acting comes from Albert Basserman and George Sanders. Throughout most of the film the close-packed incidents are given added urgency by the immi- nent presence of war, and the last part of the film takes place after war has begun. The trans- atlantic flying boat (complete with hero, heroine, friends and villains) is shot down by a Nazi war- ship. The nose-dive and crash is terrifically exciting — chiefly because it is all shot from within the flying boat, and as a result the audience can take part in the authentic and actual terror of aerial disaster. There remains for consideration the propa- gandist element of the film ; for, quite apart from the atmosphere of real urgency already referred to, there are two points at least where direct statements of idea are made. The first is when Van Meer, under third degree in a Charlotte Street attic, recognises through the aching glare of the lights, his friend Fischer — revealed now as a traitor to the cause of peace. Speaking slowly and under great physical stress (Basser- man is superb here) he identifies this single Fifth Columnist with all traitors to humanity every- where, with those financiers and politicians and autocrats and industrialists who — cynically or stupidly (it doesn't matter which) — engineer death and misery for the peoples of the world. The speech is very strong meat indeed, and Hitchcock, presumably, only gets away with it because of its melodramatic context. The second piece of propaganda is the final sequence, which depicts Macrae broadcasting to the States during an air-raid on London, with the lights fading out as he makes an impassioned plea to Americans to keep their own lights shining and to take action before it is too late. This sequence must certainly have been shot before the aerial blitzkrieg on Britain started, and one notices that it could be detached from the film and still leave a suitable finale. The actual event of the raid, with its falsetto sirens and somewhat unseemly B.B.C. panic can, therefore, be forgiven its inaccuracies of fact and of atmosphere. The importance of the sequence is that it is a message to the States — and not to us — sent out by an American journa- list and, in fact, conceived at script conferences at which Walter Wanger had the last word. It is neither a warlike nor a political piece of propa- ganda; it stimulates thought, and its message should strike home on the other side of the Atlantic; to us o\er here it does at least bring evidence of a goodwill backed by clear thinking. LONDON CAN TAKE IT! Being the commentary of the film of that name reviewed on page 14 of this issue, Commentator: Quentin Reynolds, War Correspondent, Collier's Weekly. Reproduced by permission of the Ministry of Information Films Division and the G.P.O. Film Unit. I AM SPEAKING from London. It is late after- noon and the people of London are preparing for the night. Everyone is anxious to get home before darkness falls — before our nightly visitors arrive. This is the London rush hour. Many of the people at whom you are looking now are members of the greatest civilian army ever to be assembled. These men and women who have worked all day in offices or in markets, are now hurrying home to change into the uni- form of their particular service. The dusk is deepening. Listening crews are posted all the way from the coast to London to pick up the drone of the German planes. Soon the nightly battle of London will be on. This has been a quiet day for us; but it won't be a quiet night. We haven't had a quiet night for more than five weeks. They'll be over to-night and they'll destroy a few buildings and kill a few people. Probably some of the people you are watching now. Now they're going into the public shelters. This is not a pleasant way to spend the night, but the people accept it as their part in the defence of London. These civilians are good soldiers. Now it's eight o'clock. Jerry's a little bit late to-night. The searchlights are in position. The guns are ready. The People's Army of volunteers is ready. They arc the ones who are really fighting th^s war. The firemen, the air-raid wardens, the ambulance drivers. And there's the wail of the banshee . . . The nightly siege of London has begun. The city is dressed for battle. Here they come. Now DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 the searchlights are poking long, white inquisitive fingers into the blackness of the night. These are not Hollywood sound effects. This is the music they play every night in London — the symphony of war. That was a bomb. The very young and the very old, with that deep wisdom given only to the very young and the very old, sleep in the shelters. Do you see any signs of fear on these faces? Now the army of the people swings into action. The bombs have started fires. When a bomber starts a fire he immediately returns, uses it as a target and drops more bombs, hoping to spread the fire. Yet the People's Army ignores the bombs and the spent shrapnel, which rains down consistently. Brokers, clerks, pedlars, merchants by day — they are heroes by night. The night is long. But sooner or later the dawn will come. The German bombers are creatures of the night. They melt away before the dawn and scurry back to the safety of their own aero- dromes. ^Js * ♦ ^ And there's the wail of the banshee again — this time a friendly wail . . . The "All Clear" signal tells us that the bombers have gone. It's just 6 a.m. In this last hour of precious sleep, this strange new world finds peace. London raises her head, shakes the debris of the night from her hair and takes stock of the damage done. London has been hurt during the night. The sign of a great fighter in the ring is : "Can he get up from the floor after being knocked down?" London does this every morning. London doesn't look down upon the ruins of its houses, upon those made homeless during the night, upon the remains of churches, hospitals, workers' flats. London looks upwards towards the dawn and faces the new day with calmness and confidence. The People's Army go to work as they did in that other comfortable world, which came to an end when the invader began to attack the last stronghold of freedom. Not all the services run as they did yesterday, but London manages to get to work on time — one way or another. In the centre of the city the shops are open as usual — in fact many of them are more open than usual. Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels said recently that the nightly air raids have had a terrific effect upon the morale of the people of London. The good doctor is absolutely right. To-day the morale of the people is higher than ever before. They are fused together, not by fear, but by a surging spirit of courage the like of which the world has never known. They know that thousands of them will die. But they would rather stand up and face death than kneel down and face the kind of existence the conqueror would impose on them. And they know, too, and are comforted by the thought that England is not taking its beating lying down. They are guarding the frontiers of freedom. It is hard to see five centuries of labour destroyed in five seconds. But London is fighting back. I am a neutral reporter, I have watched the people of London live and die ever since death in its most ghastly garb began to come here as a nightly visitor five weeks ago. I have watched them stand by their homes. I have seen them made homeless. I have seen them move to new homes. And I can assure you that there is no panic, no fear, no despair in London town ; there is nothing but determination, confidence and high courage among the people of Churchill's island. And they know that every night the R.A.F. bombers fly deep into the heart of Germany, bombing munition works, aeroplane factories, canals ; cutting the arteries which keep the heart of Germany alive. It is true that the Nazis will be over again to- morrow night and the night after that and every night. They will drop thousands of bombs and they'll destroy hundreds of buildings and they'll kill thousands of people. But a bomb has its limitations. It can only destroy buildings and kill people. It cannot kill the unconquerable spirit and courage of the people of London. London can take it! CORRESPONDENCE This is an extract from a letter from a Japanese documentary director sent privately to a docu- mentary director in England. It is delightful to re- ceive such a letter from the other side of the world, and the writer has paid the British documentary movement a great compliment in sending it. We wish him good luck in his endeavours. I am a budding director of a member of the Documentary Film Department of the Tokio Film Co. Now, we must study many things about it, although its grow very speedy in Japan. Re- cently, I see several documentary film of your country, that imported through British Embassy. It's splendid! I envy it. There are very nice editing and fine cutting. England has old history and new angle of it. I think I must studying it fromEngland. Unfortunately, your country is in the midst of the war. But there is no nationality in art. Please lead me to good director of cinema. And I am sorry to trouble you so much, but please introduce me good reference book or new essay about documentary film for earnest student in Japan. SIR : I have just seen the documentary film Ashley Green Goes to School,* and as a school- teacher with seven months' experience of evacua- tion I would like to express my appreciation of the tribute the film pays to the public-spirited and self-sacrificing work of the teachers. I cannot help but feel, however, that the film gives a false impression to the general public of the real state of affairs. For example, it presents the life of the evacuated teacher and scholar as one of un- mitigated pleasure and profit. On the contrary, the reality is far different. My experience, shared by most of my col- leagues, is that our work under conditions of evacuation, far from proving fruitful, leaves us with a sense of frustration and wasted effort. The film showed only the best working conditions and suggested nothing of the difficulties of working in make-shift rooms, church halls, several classes in one room, dreary walks to fill up time, lack of books and other necessary materials. Under the conditions I mention — and conditions which ap- proximate more to the real state of affairs than the film would suggest — it is not possible to give the children that undivided attention necessary to their education. The home life of the children in the evacuated areas also left very much to be desired. It was these factors — unhappy home life and a school life with a very much lower standard of education than is normally given in our schools — which led to the wholesale return to the dangers of city life in war-time. I feel that more emphasis should have been placed in the film, on the difficulties I have mentioned but, nevertheless, desire to express appreciation once again of the film as a whole. MARY G. EPSTEIN London, N.IV.3. * The Five-Minute theatrical version of Village School reviewed in D.N.L. for October. — ed. DOCUMENTARY AND OTHER BOOKINGS FOR NOVEMBER (The following bookings for November are selected from a list covering its Members, supplied by The News and Specialised Theatres Association.) A Failure at Fifty Tatler Ttieatre, Chester News Theatre, Leeds Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle A Midsummer Day's Work (G.P.O.). The News Cinema, Aberdeen After Midnight News Theatre, Leeds Alice in Switzerland Tatler, Manchester Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle Animal Geography The News House, Nottingham Week ending 30th 9th 23rd 2nd 30th 2nd 23rd 9th Bowling Skill The News House, Nottingham Broken Blossoms Tatler'Theatre, Chester Creatures Great and Small News Theatre, Leeds Tatler Theatre, Manchester Black-Out Time News Theatre, Aberdeen Britain's Life Line The News Cinema, Aberdeen Week ending 9th 16th 1 6th 9th 9th 16th DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 1 I Cross Roads of the Orient The News House, Nottingham Detour in America Tatler, Manchester Dismissed Tatler, Manchester The News House, Nottingham Doing a Dick-eyed Walk Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle Fear and Peter Brown Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle Father of the Family The News House, Nottingham Fitness Wins, No. 8 News Theatre, Leeds Tatler Theatre, Manchester Fitness Wins the Game News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne Forty Million People Tatler Theatre, Manchester Four Thousand Years News Theatre, Leeds Freaks of the Deep The News Cinema, Aberdeen From Fur to Hand Tatler Theatre, Manchester Glass Tatler Theatre, Manchester Going Places, No. 75 Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle Going Places, No. 77 Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle Going Places The News House, Nottingham Happy Tots Expedition Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle Week ending 30th 9th 2nd 16th 2nd 2nd 23rd 23rd 23rd 30th 16th 16th 23rd 30th 9th 2nd 16th 30th 23rd 2nd Hawaiian Holiday News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne High Peril News Theatre, Leeds Tatler, Manchester Hills of Smiling Death The News House, Nottingham How to Eat Tatler Theatre, Manchester Insect Oddities The News House, Nottingham Invisible Power The News Cinema, Aberdeen Isles of the East News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne Just Kids Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle Last of the Windjammers News Theatre, Leeds The Tatler Theatre, Manchester March of Time No. 4 (The U.S. Navy) The News Cinema, Aberdeen March of Time No. 5 (Gateway to Panama) The News Cinema, Aberdeen The News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne The News House, Nottingham Mamele Tatler Theatre, Leeds Tatler Theatre, Leeds Me and My Pal Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle Medical Miracles News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne Mediterranean Blues News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne Me Feelin's is Hurt News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne Week ending 9th 30th 30th 30th 23rd 30th 9th 30lh 16th 2nd 23rd 2nd 30th 16th 23rd 23rd 30th 16th 30th 23rd 23rd Week ending Men of Africa News Theatre, Leeds 9th Tatler, Manchester 23rd Michael Flagherty Tatler Theatre, Manchester 30th Moments of Charm The News House, Nottingham 16th My Friend the Dog The News Cinema, Aberdeen 23rd Net Result The News House, Nottingham 16th New Audioscopics The News Theatre, Newcastle on-Tyne 30th Nomad in the North The News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne 23rd Northern Outpost The News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne 9th Nostradamus The News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne 9th Pewter Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle 9th Playtime at the Zoo News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne 16th Pluto's Quinpuplcts News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne 30th Poetry of Nature News Theatre, Newcastle 23rd Practical Pig News Theatre, Newcastle 2nd Q Planes Tatler Theatre, Chester 2nd Radio Hams News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne 30th Riding the Crest The News House, Nottingham 30th Roofs of the World News Theatre, Leeds 30th FH The grai end Oct( GERRARD 2992 DE WOLFE'S 25 years experience in film music at your service LARGEST LIBRARY of well-recorded ORCHESTRAL SOUND-TRACKS not less than 25 performers NO CHARGE FOR THE LOAN OF NEGATIVES GRAMOPHONE RECORDS HUDSON RECORD CO. Cinema House, 80-82 Wardour Street, W.I OPEN LETTER TO ALL FILM INTERESTS WORLD'S PRESS NEWS announces the introduction of a regular fortnightly column devoted to Documentary Films and the use of the Silver Screen as an advertising and publicity medium by the Government and by Big Business. This column is written by an expert ; crisply, authorita- tively, knowledgably. You will be interested in his views and comments. Far-seeing advertising men recognise that in the publicity field, the documentary film has an increasingly important role to play and WORLD'S PRESS NEWS is glad to render this extra service to advertising. Every Thursday — Price 6d. Direct Subscription — 30/- per annum WORLD'S PRESS NEWS 112 Fetter Lane, E.C.4 met laiii and Lect taiy Qai HLM a Fit ■TJ, tore ski DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 FILM SOCIETY NEWS FILM SCHOOL The Workers Film Association is to be con- gratulated on its enterprise in running a week- end film school at St. Albans during a blitz- October. The School was organised in conjunction with the Association of Cine-Technicians, and the announced programme was as follows : — '"The Use and Purpose of the 16 mm. film by democratic bodies'' — its scope among Trade Unions, Labour and Co-operative organisations in child and adult education — the means of enter- tainment and historical record — how to select and arrange a programme of films — preparing a balanced programme — advertising — the selection of hall — police regulations — presentation, in- cluding correct spooling and gramophone accom- paniments. Lecturer : alderman Joseph reeves, Hon. Secre- tary and Manager, W.F.A. Chairman : p. noel baker, m.p. FILM display, Voice of the People and People with a Purpose. "The Film and Technical Education.'' The lec- turer gave particulars of films available and shewed how they can be used in a pre-arranged sequence. Lecturer: Oliver bell, Secretary of the British Film Institute. Chairman: w. h. green, m.p. "'Films and Propaganda." The place of films in the propaganda of the Trade Union, Labour and Co-operative Movements. Should films be used for political propaganda? How the British Board of Film Censors operates. Censorship and the 16 mm. film. Lecturer: george h. elvin. Secretary of the Association of Cine Technicians. Chairman: ellen Wilkinson, m,p. Mr Elvin's speech included the following points : There is a misguided impression amongst large sections of the film trade that the public will not tolerate propaganda on the screen. I don't believe it, any more than that the public would boycott propaganda literature and drama. Today we are finding that propaganda films are box office winners and for the rest of the war, whether we like it or not, we are going to have politics and propaganda on the screen. The Nazis appear to realise the importance of films and have film vans travelling to the remotest villages of the Reich. The Ministry of Information too is struggling hard to realise it, but there is one important difference between showing films in Germany and in this country. Germany can force the population to see them. We have to show such films as will attract the public. That is, however, a sign of strength and not of weakness. It will make for better films. In the same way as the Trade Union, Labour and Co-operative Movements have their own press, and in many countries their own wireless, theatre and drama groups, so they should also have their own cinema. Their purpose should mainly be to work in the sub-standard field where they can operate in and through their own members. But they should not overlook the commercial cinemas. If any section of the popu- lation has a story to tell, it is the working-class movement.. If neither the Government nor the commercial cinema will produce such films, then the Trade Unions should. The British Board of Film Censors, as is in- stanced by its action, has no rational basis and is dictated largely by outworn social class and political conventions. On the sub-standard side, there is no censorship other than the voluntary wartime security censorship. There has until re- cently been a growing agitation for the regulation and control over the exhibition of such films. The report of last year's Home Office inquiry came down heavily on the side of the sub-standard users and was a snub for the British Board of Film Censors, who were strongly in favour of their censorship control being extended to sub- standard films. If the film is to continue to progress, we must do away with the constant restriction imposed by people most concerned with holding to the social, political and moral ideals of their grandparents. The elimination of every controversial subject will deprive the cinema of playing any useful part in the life of the nation. The power, the creative ability and not least, the box-oflRce pull of members of the Labour, Trade Union and Co- operative Movements, can ensure that the cinema is not a drug but a stimulant in the life of the people. Film Show of 16 mm. Films. Included in the films shown were : — (1) Advance Democracy (made for the five London Co-operative Societies). (2) The Builders (made by the Workers Film Association for the Amalgamated Society of Building Trade Workers). (3) Millions of Us (a Trade Union propaganda film made by Hollywood film trade unionists). (4) Behind the Guns (one of the recent Ministry of Information films). (5) Story of a New Oil (a short scientific film). The Function of the Standard and sub- Standard Film." Lecturer: thorold Dickinson (film director of The Arsenal Stadium Mystery and Gaslight, who made films in Spain during the Civil War and is now making films for the Ministry of Information) lectured on some of these experiences and the general function of films in wartime as envisaged by a leading film technician and film trade unionist. Chairman : t. o'brien. Secretary, National Asso- ciation Theatrical and Cine Employees. NEWS FROM THE SOCIETIES Dundee and St. Andrews opened their autumn season on October 13th with a programme which included Joris Ivens' The 400,000,000 Alex Shaw's Men of Africa, and the French feature film Le Roi S' Amuse. The second per- formance of the season had as feature Fredlos. This Society send the gratifying news that their membership for the season is already nearly 600 (a record for the Society) and is still rising. So much for the cultural blackout! It is now reported that Aberdeen plans to give their normal season of at least six performances. Belfast plans to open its season this month in spite of many difficulties, including lack of a cinema, transport delays and increased costs. The subscription has been raised by sixpence. Among films which it is hoped to show are Quai des Brumes, Les Neuf Celibataires, Hotel du Nord, Five Faces of Malaya, Dark Rapture, and Death Day. The Edinburgh Film Guild announces: — "In this second year of war, when the peoples of the world are being increasingly separated from each other, the need for the Guild's per- formances is even more important. It has there- fore been decided to arrange a half season of five shows before Christmas, and if circumstances permit a second half-season will be arranged after Christmas. "Despite the difficulty of getting new publica- tions from the Continent, there are still sufficient foreign films in this country to maintain the international character of the programme. In- deed, it is hoped to go a step further, and arrange several entire programmes each devoted solely to the work of one country." Shows will be held in the Caley Picture House, Lothian Road, on Nov. 3, Nov. 17, Dec. 1, and Dec. 15. They will commence at 2.15, and are planned to finish before dark. The first programme on October 20th had Reniontons les Champs Elysees as feature. On November 3rd a programme of American films is being given, probably with Kanin's A Man to Remember as the main feature. Other films to be shown at later sessions include La Fetmne du Boulanger, La Marseillaise (an especially good Film Society choice). Fall of a Tyrant, and Dood fVasser. The Guild is also arranging a special showing of the prize-winning films of the Scottish Amateur Film Festival. 10 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 mS lETTIR MONTHLY FOURPENCE NUMBER 11 NOVEMBER 1940 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is issued only to private sub- scribers and continues the policy and purpose of World Film News by expressing the documentary idea towards everyday living. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is produced under the auspices of Film Centre, London, in asso- ciation with American Film Center, New York. EDITORIAL BOARD Edgar Anstey Arthur Elton John Grierson Donald Taylor John Taylor Basil Wright EDITOR Ronald Horton Outside contributions will be welcomed but no fees will be paid. We are prepared to deliver from 3 — 50 copies in bulk to Schools, Film Societies and other organi- sations. Owned and published by FILM CENTRE LTD. 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W.l GERRARD 4253 SOCIAL RESEARCH AND THE FILM By TOM HARRISSON, pioneer of Mass Observation in this country. As with other signed articles, publication does not necessarily indicate that it reflects the views of D.N.L. The article was written before the issue of such films as The Front Line and Britain Can Take It, discussed elsewhere in this issue. I IN RECENT numbers of documentary news LETTER there have been numerous references to the apparently ad hoc policy for Ministry of Information films, and several references to the apparent failure of the Films Division to check up on what it is doing. Moreover, recently the Select Committee on National Expenditure stressed the need for the Films Division to consult the Home Intelligence Division of the Ministry on the sort of films and treatment needed, before embarking on the making of propaganda films. It is clear that the short-term function of the Films Division is to affect public opinion. The only test of its value is, therefore, the effect of its films on the people who see them; the only justification of its output, a demonstrable need for every film. The Films Division has the im- mense responsibility of producing films with effects favourable to the continuation of the war and our victory. These films may either have a general effect on temper, temperament, deter- mination, etc., or deal with specific subjects. It is therefore interesting to find that the Films Division of the Ministry appears to have no ade- quate machinery to provide it with much evi- dence, either by observation, interpretation or questionnaire, on the influence its films have had and are having. Apparently the only substantial data available to the Division are reports from cinema managers. It is not worth elaborating for readers of this publication the difficulties which would face any cinema manager who, while carrying on his ordinary jobs, attempted without training to ob- serve the reactions to specific points, including the sequences of short films, sandwiched in full- length programmes. And it is the detailed break- down which is so important in checking on propaganda. A small incident in a film may produce unforeseen effects. For instance. Miss Grant goes to the Door (best liked of M.O.I. shorts), apart from terrifying some rural spinsters and widows, was incidental propaganda for a "people's war". The whole solution of her prob- lem depended on her getting a revolver (from the fortunately placed corpse). The sight of this untrained hand wielding the weapon, however ineffectively, at once played on the secret wish to have some weapon of protection in times like this. Trivial examples of this sort can be multi- plied. And it is really amazing that any informed propaganda unit can have produced for t^eiieral distribution a film like Call to Arms, which was calculated to alienate many sorts of working-class or other feelings. The Films Division with its highly intelligent personnel, in its very high build- ing, tends to be easily out of touch with the rather simpler reactions of industrial Lanca- shire and rural Somerset. One of the reasons why Social Research has come into being is because, under modern economic and administrative conditions, it is difficult for any "high-ups" to keep in close or sympathetic touch with "low- downs". But if the Films Division of the M.O.I, needs social research, the whole film industry needs such machinery at least as badly. For in wartime, war becomes by far the most important item in our lives, and the subject of many feature films. The effect of these films, extensive and expensive as they often are, may often prove greater, if less direct, than short or five-minute documentaries. The Lion Has Wings was, for instance, a powerful contribution towards Chamberlainish com- placency; Let George Do It, a detailed analysis of enemy espionage, has given rise to persistent and sometimes hysterical rumours that broadcasters, ranging from Vic Oliver and Charlie Kunz to Edward Ward and C. B. Cochran, have been arrested (interned, shot, hung) for sending out code messages over the radio. So much for the general considerations. I am suggesting with diffidence that the Films Divi- sion is operating in a vacuum at present. Can it prove that it is not doing more harm than good? I am also suggesting that the commercial film industry and the independent documentary con- cerns must consider and accurately measure the effect of their films, not only in the terms of aesthetics, box office and techni-colour, but also in terms of morale, behaviour and social con- duct. * * * * Having, I hope, broadly stated the case for re- search on film effects, film people will ask what sort of potential machinery exists for checking, and how accurate is it? Here I must ask that my answer be treated with the utmost caution. 1 am heavily biased, because for some three years now part of the energies of Mass Observation have been directed to studying film eftects. And as I can find exceedingly little other definite British research on this subject, except for occasional local questionnaires, and Sydney Bernstein's annual popularity polls, I am forced to start out rather from our own experience. I should mention that we are already adequately cm- played! The only thorough film research ever under- taken was sponsored by the Payne Fund, through the Motion Picture Research Council, in the U.S.A., 1929-.^2. Many of the best socio- logists and social psychologists in America took DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 11 some part in producing the twelve volumes of re- search results. But these were concerned exclu- sively with children, and there is nowhere adult data for comparison. The method used in the survey was almost entirely that of direct ques- tionnaires to children, probing hundreds of problems, such as the most popular film scene, film attendances, the effect on conduct and emotional life, relation of films and crime. It was found that, sometimes, even a single picture had the effect of altering children's attitudes, e.g., Birth of a Nation caused antagonism towards negroes ; All Quiet on llie Western Front, objec- tion to war. A high proportion (66 per cent) of children imitated their favourite film stars in emo- tional and sexual circumstances. Children who went frequently to the cinema were found to be less favourably disposed to school, home and other normal environments than those who went only occasionally. In brief, it was established that the film exerted an immense influence on Ameri- can children. From these investigations it has generally been assumed that the eff'ect on adults is similarly immense. But no scientific evidence on this subject exists. In a small way. Mass Observation has attempted to assess the influence of the film on several occasions. While we would not, under any circumstances, claim a general validity for our results, several diff'erent studies, separate in time, place, subject and method, have given pretty similar results. For instance, in March, 1939, we made a study of one thousand voluntary A.R.P. wardens in a typical borough, and among other things sought to discover what propaganda had influenced them to join A.R.P. In their view, the following was the relative importance of the diff"erent propaganda channels in determining their attitude to A.R.P. :— per cent Press 26 Talk and friends 24 Posters and displays 19 Radio 11 Leaflets, pamphlets and books 10 Meetings 3 Films 1 Miscellaneous 6 Shortly after the declaration of war, we asked our nation-wide panel of voluntary observers {not a typical cross-section of Britain) to ballot on what they considered the main influence in determining their general attitude to the war and their understanding of the events leading up to it, with the following result: — in importance Friends and "own opinion" 1st Press 2nd Radio 3rd Leaflets, pamphlets, etc. 4th Posters and displays 5th Films 6th The numerous subtle indirect impacts of the film probably add up to an important total ; in a fashion survey a couple of years ago we found Joan Crawford was fourth most important factor in determining the headwear of Cockney and Lancashire girls. But the f///cr/ effect of films, specifically presented as propaganda or with the object of producing an immediate eff'ect, would seem to be small when compared with the generalisations often made by interested parties. Further research into this subject is clearly of importance. It is easier to make continuous studies of newsreels than of documentary films, and we have watched what we believe to be a pretty steady decline in the prestige, never high, of newsreels, in the past year. At the end of 1939 just under two-thirds of all persons asked said they liked newsreels, and expressed sentiments distinctly favourable to them; by August, 1940, only just a quarter of those questioned held this point of view. In 1939, 12 per cent spontaneously criticised newsreels for having no news; in 1940, 35 per cent spontaneously made this criticism. These results have no absolute validity, but a comparative value. The investigators, the question, the areas and class proportions were the same each time; and the questioning was spread over several weeks in order to avoid the dominant influence of any one newsreel. A whole wealth of criticism was re- vealed, some of it very unfair to the Newsreel Companies. At the same time, we have found re- peated cases where the newsreels have alienated people by their political bias, by their treatment of emotional topics, by the commentaries (which are often unsympathetic to ordinary people), and have shown by numerous indications that they are sometimes out of touch with the feeling of the moment and even, sometimes, with the permanent feelings of housewives or labourers. A newsreel at the beginning of the present blitz preceded pictures of bombed London (presented in a manner hardly calculated to elevate the provinces) with : Britain's Day of Prayer. More Canadian troops arrive. "Dead" Guards V.C. is prisoner-of-war. New Zealand band plays popular airs for London. U.S. ambulances for Great Britain. Duchess of Kent visits a hospital. The prestige of newsreels seems to have fallen most sharply among middle-class people and among men ; there is some parallel evidence that the prestige of Ministry shorts has not risen lately, and that they are more appreciated among the middle-classes than among the working classes (the greater part of the population). Inci- dentally, people who see favourable reviews of Ministry shorts often find difficulty in locating the cinemas where they are showing, and our own investigators have wasted much time and energy in this way. So far we have been dealing mainly with verbal responses, public opinion. If we are to understand fundamental attitudes, to the film or anything else, we must penetrate below the superficial words. The film, in its environment, the cinema, offers almost ideal material for the student of private opinion. The large numbers of people provide adequate quantities of types, of all classes, ages and sexes. The darkness pro- vides the privacy in which people can react as individuals and even perhaps hiss a Minister they would only dare glare at in the flesh. More- over, films provide an immense range of human situation, and present to the audience a great variety of emotional problems. Watching audience responses in cinemas gives the same sort of information about what is really going on in people's minds as we get from intimate war diaries, or dream studies. For in- stance, while public opinion polls and press letterbags showed a heavy increase in Chamber- lain's popularity after the beginning of the war, and while this popularity was superficially main- tained until within a few days of his resignation, newsreel observation showed a steady and accel- erating decline in favourable audience response whenever he appeared on the screen, though it is the "done thing" to be loyal to your Prime Minister in public, especially in wartime. Simi- larly, direct opinion testing would always show a big hand for the King. But in the early months of the war newsreel (and other) studies showed that his popularity was at a low ebb. Since the bombing of Buckingham Palace the King's popularity has risen, as instanced by one- seventh of appearances applauded at the out- break of war to over one-third of appearances applauded since the blitz. The Duke of Windsor, who is not often seen, has the highest score of all, maintained throughout the war. Before the Dakar incident General de Gaulle had a 100 per cent favourable response and, in more than half of our observations, was clapped for over five seconds; mass-observers await with interest his next newsreel appearance. Clearly, much depends on the methods of measuring audience response. We have devoted a good deal of eff"ort to developing an accurate measure; but as well as being accurate, it must also be practicable under the special conditions for observation, which are far from a laboratory. Observer variation, the rapid sequence of film events, the difficulty of getting scripts as a check on observation, and the darkness in which the observer must write and record, are all difficulties. We have tended, therefore, to observe a few films in detail, rather than many films in brief. Six main types of audience response are ob- served, each response graded into categories according to the approximate extent of response amongst the audience, and the duration is stated in seconds. Testing with different investigators has shown that this method provides information which is reasonably reliable for practical pur- poses. In studying Let George Do It, for instance, with six investigators working separately, record- ing audience response to fifty sequences in the film, the degree of consistency was striking. Moreover, in this as in many other investiga- tions, we found a striking similarity in the re- sponses of widely different audiences. The emotional background for laughter seems, on our detailed studies of films, music hall and pantomime, to be remarkably stable, but the detail of treatment for successful jokes on fami- liar themes is very changeable, especially under contemporary conditions. The living stage come- dian is immediately sensitive to this and can modify his jokes accordingly from evening to evening. The film comedian, or the documentary film producer who wants to make the point 12 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 with a touch of humour, is at a disadvantage here in having less contact with public opinion, and therefore more need for a well based understand- ing of probable trends. To refer once more to Let George Do It, the "topical" jokes in that film were not popular and received little more than half the volume of response given to non-topical jokes in the same sequences. The conditions for their particular topicality had changed while the film was being made and distributed. We have made five separate investigations into joke reactions, in Blackpool, in London music halls, in a last Christmas pantomime, in a Sunday news- paper competition and in Formby films. In every case, much over half of the successful laughter points came from themes of ill-health, deformity, sexual abnormality, or potential death (including war) situations. This was as true of Blackpool in 1937 as of a music hall in 1940. Even in 1937, in Blackpool, war was running only a little behind ill-health as the most successful joke subject. I might fade out this article by mentioning an analysis we made of the replies received by the Swukiy Dispatch (courtesy of film critic Moore Raymond) in a competition where they asked people to name which "fade-out" of a film they liked best. Usually, press information of this sort is of little value, because those who reply are influenced by what they think the paper will or won't like as indicated by its published attitudes on the subject. In this case there was no attitude or indication of opinion to influence the readers ; they simply wrote on postcards their ideas of the perfect ending. The most popular fade-outs were these, in this order of frequency : Three Comrades. Two of the comrades, already dead, beckon the third to join them. Arm in arm the three comrades march through the skies. Dark Victory. The heroine walks slowly up- stairs to die bravely and alone. Goodbye Mr. Chips. Mr Chips in his old age murmurs the names of the boys that he has known, as he dies. VVutheriiig Heights. The hero climbs the hill, faithful to a tryst with a lover who is dead. A Tale of Two Cities. Carton says "It is a far, far better thing", etc. The camera pans as the guillotine knife falls, and shows the clear sky. Then a scripture text. Modern Times. Charlie Chaplin and his girl walk off down the road together. Queen Christina. The exiled Queen stands at the prow of her ship, like a figure-head, looking into the future. Lost Horizon. The hero struggles back over the mountains to the dream city of Shangri La. Here we see down into the heart of stolid, shy, old British emotion. The tragic ending wins every time, provided it looks into the future and brings some message of heroic hope. It is because Winston Churchill feels like the readers of popu- lar Sunday papers that he is able to call out so much in British people that Chamberlain, Hali- fax, or Attlee could never command. On the basis of our own experience, plus the existing techniques available from propaganda testing and market research, and the Payne Fund studies, it would seem to be a relatively simple matter to set up an independent bureau, re- cognised and supported by all the interested parties. This bureau would be concerned en- tirely with research, establishing and using accurate and agreed criteria, observational, verbal, statistical and qualitative, to measure the effects of all sorts of film, and to predict the needs of existing and potential film audiences. Its job would include : — 1. Keeping a regular check on opinion trends about films in general, different types of film and their prestige in particular. 2. Reporting on public reaction to all relevant films, especially shorts, which are not measurable by any box office index. 3. Discovering what symbols and subjects are suitable or require film treatment at any time, (e.g. At the time of writing Indian troops are a particularly popular symbol not being used on the films: acute boredom is caused by shots of arms workers, the history of the crisis before the outbreak of the war, and the Duchess of Glouces- ter inspecting things, subjects repeatedly used.) 4. Providing information on the varying situa- tions which produce "undesirable" effects, the general trend of reaction to war themes, etc. (e.g., from September, 1939, to August, 1940, there was a steady 17 per cent disliking all themes connected with the war unless humorously treated, a higher proportion objecting to horror shots of any sort). 5. Producing general factual criticism, from the public opinion point of view, on all propaganda films ; and providing comments on the elementary social factors which seemed to have escaped the attention of the industry (e.g. films such as Call to .Arms and Mr. Borland Thinks Again have been generally distributed, though their application was particular. Mr. Borland was concerned mainly with silage, a word that was not explained until the last minute of the film). POSTSCRIPT ON 5-MINUTE FILMS FIFTEEN official M.O.I, shorts, and 2 G.P.O. films released through the M.O.I., have been the subject of study. The failure to advertise these official films was found to be a weakness, and lately the failure to show them. For instance, at six out of seven cinemas in Watford, and two out of three in Streatham, recently, the "shorts" could not be seen at all. By the end of August a survey showed that 59 per cent of Londoners had seen and remembered something about Ministry ".shorts", and that of these nearly four liked them for every person who disliked them. This is a much higher degree of popularity than that enjoyed by newsrcels, but it has not been wholly maintained. There has generally been a much higher degree of popularity and response from middle-class people than from working- class people (sex diftcrences are very slight). This seems to derive largely from the essentially upper and middle-class attitude of many of the films. This started with the original Careless Talk films, in each of which the spy was a worker (barman, cafe proprietress, pub-crawler), while in two of them the gossipers were working class, though in only one was the cast, as a whole, working class. The hero of one of these films, a factory scientist with a beautiful large house is killed by the idiocy of a factory worker. The hero of another is a rich young airman ; his fiancee lives in a luxury flat. This tradition has been maintained, though not to the same extent, in the later five-minute "shorts" ; Miss Grant and Miss Know-all are ladies with large houses, while the working-class population of Call to Arms was really a joke, and repeatedly, where working-class characters are represented favourably, they are not represented faithfully. It is interesting to notice that the most remembered and commented on feature of any film was Priestley's commentary to Britain at Bay; he provides a bridge between middle and working classes. Another factor which seems to have led to the decline in intensity of interest is the lack of con- tinuity or apparent theme-sequence in the films from week to week. Several films were criticised for vagueness, e.g.. Sea Fort, which was very puzzling; Call to Arms and Yesterday's Over Your Shoulder, which had direct appeals for service without explaining clearly how or where to offer it. The lack of humour has also been a striking feature of many of the films ; only four have made any real attempt to exploit humour, and in two of these mass taste has been considerably mis- judged. Finally, the stressing of stars in some of the films has detracted from the feeling of reality upon which the success of .such films largely de- pends; Stanley Holloway, Robertson Hare, Emlyn Williams, Dorothy Hyson, and so on, turn "shorts" into rather vague and inco- herent minor-feature films. If we classify the films into "short stories" and "strict documentaries", and compare the observed audience response of the two main types, we find a consistently higher degree of response to the documentary; approximately one-eighth of response to the documentaries is unfavourable, whereas rather under a half of the response to the story films is unfavourable. Roughly, this means that bad sequences in short stories really irritate people, while bad sequences in documentaries are not so likely to annoy. But, on the other hand, a short story, which takes into account the other considera- tions, can be more successful than the docu- mentary in arousing audience interest, and especially personal identification which is associ- ated with probable definite action. The power of a purely documentary film to make people change their habits is doubtful. But here is a sub- ject which vitally requires research. What is the e/fect of an M.O.I, film like Food for Thought in terms of actual increased economic cooking and intelligent dieting? This type of effect could easily be tested, and we hope to undertake such tests in the near future, but really it is the job for a special organisation working directly with film interests. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 13 OVERSEAS NOTES UNITED STATES One-Tenth of Our Nation, a film on Negro education in the United States, received its premiere on August 21 at the Chicago Negro Exposition. A Film Associates, Inc. production, it was made under a grant of the General Educa- tion Board and presented by the American Film Center. The film was shot last spring on locations in the South, and is said by Channing Tobias, chairman of the committee, to be the "first great documentary film on Negro Education". A Roy Harris score built by Negro themes provides the musical background for the Negro commenta- tor, Maurice Ellis. The idea of the film came from the authorities of the Chicago Exposition. "We wanted to tell the people of the United States something about Negro schools and colleges", Claude Barnett said. "We wanted to show everything from the hungry boys and girls in overcrowded one-room schools to the proud graduates of our great universities. One-Tenth of Our Nation tells the story in its economic and social setting and is a success story of Negro and white co-operation even though there still remains plenty to do." The film was made possible by a gift of the General Education Board to the American Film Center. By agreement all net earnings from distribu- tion will be paid into a revolving fimd which will be used to produce more films about Negroes and education. One-Tenth of Our Nation will be available in 16 mm. for educational distribution through the American Film Center at the conclusion of its theatrical run. State Conservation The Missouri State Conservation Commission places films first among educational media. This opinion was voiced by Commissioner Stevens when, accompanied by Townsend Godsey, Chief of the Division of Education, he visited New York City early in Septem- ber to view the rough-cut version of Back to Missouri, the Commission's first regular wild- life production. Youth group work is a feature of the picture. The film was produced by Mack Gorham, in association with the American Film Center. Handicrafts A series of six new 1-reel instructional films dealing with handicraft arts was announced for release effective September 15 by Garrison Film Distributors, Inc. The films were produced in co- operation with the Universal School of Handi- crafts under the supervision of Edward T. Hall, Director of the School. The series is intended for adult and elementary school use. Titles are: (1) Elementary Manual Training. (2) Marionettes, Construction and Manipulation. (3) Elementary Bookbinding. (4) Loom IVeaving. (5) Decorative Metal Work. (6) Leather Work. Manuals pub- lished by the school are available for use with the films. Sculpture Sculpture for Today, a 2-reel motion picture, produced by the Motion Picture Unit of the Photographic Division of the New York W.P.A. Art Project, was announced for release on August 19. The film is described as "a record of the processes by which stone and metal grow under men's hands into works of art, and a com- mentary on sculpture in its functional aspect." Civil Service A film on Civil Service is reported nearing completion for the New York City W.P.A. The picture which will be based on material supplied by Civil Service President Paul Kern. To be released soon to Civil Service groups. Department of Agriculture The following films are reported as having been released by the Department of Agriculture during the fiscal year ending June 30, last. Thev are being distributed by the Agricultural Adjust- ment Committees in the states concerned. Four Thousand Gifts of the Forest. Displays, in the guise of a pageant, the wide variety of forest products that contribute to the present-day stan- dard of living. The Living Land. The land, living or dead, is the heritage of successive generations. This film illustrates the importance of keeping the good land good. Pork on tlie Farm. How to grow hogs for home use ; how to slaughter, cut, and cure. Bears in Alaska. A plea for the preservation of Alaska bears. Striking shots of wild Grizzly, Kadiak, and Black bears. Orchard Mouse Control. Discusses methods of preventing damage caused by meadow and pine mice in orchards. Shows how to control them. Foui Little Mice. Illustrates habits and con- trol of meadow, pine, deer, and house mice. During the same period the following films were produced in co-operation with State Agricultural Adjustment Committees : Savings Under Seal (South Dakota). A. A. A. Wheat Loan enables the farmer to store his wheat under seal until market is good. Wheat on Call (South Dakota). Crop insur- ance protects the wheat crop in South Dakota. Maine (A. A. A. Newsreel). The State of Maine participates in the A. A. A. programme. Woodlot improvement, orchard mulching, soil conserva- tion, liming, the use of proper fertilizers. A.A.A. and Wheat (Hddvaska). Through A. A. A. Wheat Loans, Nebraska farmers are enabled to sell as much wheat as the market requires, and store the surplus in country elevators and in bins on farms until it can be sold at a fair price. Agricultural Wisconsin. Brings out the contri- bution agriculture has made to the State of Wisconsin and how the future economic life of Wisconsin will depend upon, and be affected by, a national policy for agriculture. This Land of Ours (Ohio). Shows some of the serious losses that have resulted from unplanned farming operations of the past, and what farmers are doing under a co-operative programme to rebuild and protect the soil resources of Michigan. JAMAICA There has recently been a good deal of interest in 16 mm. educational films. The Jamaica Welfare Limited, 24 Duke Street, Kingston, is promoting this type of education. It maintains a selection of films which have been approved by the local Department of Education for the use of schools and institutions. The Jamaica Welfare Limited has three trucks at the present time which it uses for this purpose. The trucks are fully equipped with projector, film, and operators who travel throughout the Island showing educational films, but none of the schools or colleges has its own equipment. There are no 16 mm. sound projectors reported to be in Jamaica. NIGERIA Special performances for school children have been screened once a week at the Rex Cinema in Lagos and these have been well attended, the average attendance reaching 400 to 500 per per- formance. The charge for admission is \\d. The proprietors of the cinema have written for a selection of educational films for use at these per- formances. It is hoped that this experiment will develop into a useful service, and will be followed up by similar performances in other towns where cinemas have been installed. Private persons have given a number of exhibi- tions of their own films in schools and colleges. Such films are usually of local scenes. The Propa- ganda Unit of the Medical Department with its touring cinema contines to attract large and enthusiastic audiences on its visits to up-country districts. BRITISH HONDURAS THERE ARE sevcn 16 mm. projectors in British Honduras, all silent and privately owned. Schools do not show educational motion pictures. Both secondary and elementary education are wholly denominational, the elementary schools receiving grants-in-aid from the Government. 14 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS London Can Take It. Production: G.P.O. Film Unit (M.G.L)- Direction: Harry Watt and Humphrey Jennings. Commentary: Quentin Reynolds. Camera: Jonah Jones and Chick Fowle. Distribution: U.S.A. THIS IS a propaganda film. It is also a truthful film. Its major value will be in its showing throughout the American continent, but at the same time it is so accurate in fact and atmosphere that it is bound to have an admirable morale effect on the audiences in this country who see it in its Five-Minute version, Britain Can Take It. The version reviewed here is the full reel as sent to the U.S.A. The film is in the form of a despatch by Quen- tin Reynolds, war-correspondent to the Ameri- can journal Collier's Weekly, and of course a United States citizen himself. It is a simple state- ment about an ordinary London night under the aerial blitzkrieg. It begins in early evening and ends in the morning. The shooting is terse and simple in technique. The photography is of the highest quality, with some really remarkable and highly authentic night scenes, not merely of con- flagrations, but also of London illumined by the fitful flashes of gunfire and bomb explosions. The sound track, other than the commentary, is composed of the real sounds — sirens, gunfire, bombs falling and all. It will be seen that, at the least, London Can Take It would be an admirable reportage of fact. That it is so much more is due to the way Rey- nolds' commentary is welded to the picture, and to the sentiments which the comrnentary ex- presses (the commentary is published in full on page 6). The style is in the highest tradition of good journalism, while the sentiments stress the absolute and final authority of the people of London as the front-line soldiers of the war, and therefore give the film a democratic validity which is the best possible link between our citizens and the citizens of the new world. The wail of the sirens rings out as a challenge rather than an alarm. And when a sequence of night-raiding ends with the whistle and crash of an H.E. missile, Reynolds' level voice saying "That was a bomb" has a terrific dramatic impact. The facile and facetious last-war "patriotism" of the newsrccls is here shown up for the tosh it is. London Can Take It is the first real message from the British people to the American people. And its effect over here will probably be remarkable. To one person at least, previewing the film after a particularly unpleasant night, it had not merely an emotional quality but also the quality of true courage. It must be added that the production qualities are such that the film shows no sign whatever of the extreme haste with which it was made. Home Front. (Canada at War series.) Produc- tion: National Film Board of Canada, Direction: Stanley Hawes. Distribution: M.O.I. Non-T. 10 minutes. Letter from Aldershot, (Canada at War series.) Production: National Film Board and Realist Film Unit. Distribution: M.O.I. Non-T. 10 minutes. THE FIRST thing one notices about both these films is that the Grierson-Legg-Hawes production technique for Canada is concentrating on speed and zingo. Both the films gallop along at a fine pace, and are really beautifully cut — especially Letter from Aldershot. The criticism that they cram too much into a short footage is amply met by the fact that after seeing them one is left with an admirably clear and succinct impression of the information they give. Home Front covers chiefly the role of Canadian women in wartime — including a very impressive female flying instructress. Its technique is roughly that of the March of Time except that it moves much quicker. The women of Canada seem to be taking over practically everything, including many high-grade engineering jobs; and the women of Canada are extremely good looking. Letter from Aldershot was largely shot over here by the Realist Film Unit ; the material was, however, cut in Canada, and a preliminary sequence added showing the departure of the Canadian forces. The commentary of this film is what the title implies — an intimate message to Canada from the boys over in England. There are also a number of direct synchronous sequences, including a series of personal messages spoken straight into the camera by Canadians in England. The film has a very moving human quality, and some of the cutting, particularly that of Canadian Scottish on the march, has qualities which some of us over here would do well to remember. Speed Up and Welfare. Associate Producer: Arthur Elton. Production: Strand. Director: Edgar Anstey. Distribution: M.O.I. Non-T. 10 minutes. THIS IS something real and sensible and vigorous. It is about workers in an aircraft factory, and shows how they organise their defence and their welfare within the framework set up by the various Ministries. The subject is seen clearly and sensibly and is free of the all-too-frequent patronage which creeps in when the operation of Governmental measures for welfare is concerned. The film points out that the hands, the bodies and the lives of the workers are more precious than ever before, and then firmly switches its viewpoint to that of the workers themselves, from whose point of view the story is largely told ("the best judge of industrial fatigue is the worker himself"). There is a fine sequence show- ing how the factory could turn into an armed fortress at a moment's notice (the people's army springs to life), and the whole film is presented with neatness, skill, and a real understanding of the fundamental decencies. Altogether this is is one of the best and the most enjoyable of the Film Division's non-theatricals. It Comes from Coal. Production: Realist Film Unit, for the Gas Industry. Producer: Edgar Anstey. Director: Paul Fletcher. Distribution: M.O.I. Non.T. 10 minutes. A TEN-MINUTE cssay on the applications of coal derivatives does not sound a promising subject for a film. Yet // Comes from Coal is just that — a tight, succinct essay, neatly constructed, easy to look at and easy to recollect. Anstey, more than any other producer, has the ability to take dry and abstract subjects relating to economics, nutrition and the so-called social sciences, and to put them vividly on the screen. His first film of this kind was The Nutrition Film. To his feeling for clear and human exposition displayed in that film, he has been able to add a directness of ex- pression learned when he was British producer for The March of Time. The result has been that Anstey has developed a special style of his own. If one saw // Comes from Coat without the com- mentary, the eflect would be baffling: the com- mentary alone might be flat and dull. Together they blend perfectly and the final result is a logical structure in purely film terms, neither an illustrated commentary, nor a commentary hanging precariously on a series of moving lan- tern-slide film shots. // Comes from Coal leads us gently from facts about coal itself, to the chemical industry which uses it as a raw material from which to extract or synthesise benzol and plastics, dyestufts and drugs. At the end, one feels that one has been through a lesson, but a lesson so neatly put across, so full of easily assimilable facts, so rounded and clear that one is sorry when it is over. Welfare of the Workers. Production: G.P.O. Film Unit (M.O.I.). Director: Humphrey Jen- nings. THIS FILM is primarily designed to encourage industrial workers with news of what the Ministry of Labour is doing to safeguard work- ing conditions in war-time. The film is also calc^ulated, with its enthusiastic account of the provisions made for the comfort of trainees, to aid industrial recruitment. The general emphasis is thrown on welfare outside the factories such as the arrangements made to provide good living and recreation for workers transferred from their homes to new jobs DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 15 among strangers. The commentator tells us that the Government has decided that fac- tory efficiency and output do not ultimately benefit from abnormally long hours, and that pre- war factory acts and welfare regulations are now to be reinforced. We are shown some of the new wartime responsibilities of the factory inspector and some of the measures being taken to ameliorate the effects of work imder war con- ditions— for example, the introduction of im- proved lighting v/hich helps to relieve the strain of night-shift work. (It is a pity that with the pre- sumable intention of achieving a particular aesthetic effect — in any case inappropriate to the subject — the factory interiors are consistently photographed as if they were dungeons.) Welfare of the Workers is somewhat scrappy and shapeless but its principal fault lies in the patronising attitude which it takes towards the workers (simple, child-like folk), and in its representation of the Ministry of Labour, not as a body of public servants, but as a father from whom all blessings flow. The film concludes with familiar newsreel shots of Mr Bevin at a factory concert. Fighters of the Veldt. Production: (South Africa). Distribution: M.O.L Non-T. 30 minutes. THIS rather drab tattoo of South Africa's war effort has a commentary of rare banality ("At the traixiing camp the soldiers detrain" — work it out for yourself). Almost everything is shown that could be shown with the exception (a) of what sort of people the South African forces consist ; (b) negroes, and (c ) General Hertzog. Transfer of Skill. Production: Shell Film Unit. Producer: Arthur Elton. Direction: Geoffrey Bell. Distribution: M.O.L Non-T. 10 minutes. Transfer of Skill combines the lucid exposition of mechanical method, upon which the Shell Unit has built its reputation, with the lighter style and the more personalised subjects of the Unit's Ciueinagazines. The purpose of the film is to show how a variety of British craftsmen have found war-work which utilises their peace-time skill. The watchmaker is ideally qualified to make timing gear for shells, the jeweller's en- graver makes navigation instruments, and the man whose hobby it was in peace-time to make model engines, finds that he too can make a contribution to the war effort. Transfer of Skill selects four or five examples and compares the peace-time job with the war job. There is considerable attention to the detail of the work which is often analysed in beautiful close-ups. If the peace-time job sometimes proves the more interesting and claims longer footage, this is a propaganda fault inherent in the subject and not in its treatment. But not every episode makes us sigh for the return of the pre-war crafts. It is alarming to discover how much human in- genuity used once to be devoted to the produc- tion of expensive jewellery. A more personal treatment of the workers themselves, and some information on how the change-over of jobs came about would have been welcome, but this is a one-reel film and material remains for another. Gateways to Panama. Production: March of Time (No. 5, Sixth Year). Distribution: R.K.O. Radio Pictures. Two reels. A MAJOR issue of American military strategy is to protect the maritime approaches to the Panama Canal. These approaches are be- sprinkled with the islands of the Dutch, French and British West Indies. Gateways to Panama attempts to explain the politico-military situation of these islands and makes it apparent that, in this corner of the globe, European problems are also America's. Apart from political and military considerations the film achieves significance in a particular respect. It devotes a long sequence to a damning expose of the conditions in French Guiana and upon Devil's Island. This sequence is deeply disturbing to witness for it records a human cancer which mocks France and indeed, all civilisation. Within the penal area annual mortality is 20%. When working in the forests a man's chance of survival is evens. This is without the assistance of the guillotine which, if one's eyes see aright, is depicted with its decapitated output stacked like faggots against a wall. Survival itself means year upon year lived under a ghastly tyranny of official graft and vengeance. It can therefore be understood why revolution smoulders and why the humans in the scenes are as camera conscious as wolves. General problems of penal reform might appear to be of secondary importance in war time; but are they? A March of Time not to be missed. Appreciation of our regular feature on Documentary Films appearing in the ^^KINEMATOCSRAPH WEEKLY'^ The Leading Journal of the Film Industry Ministry of Information, Malet Street, London, W.C.I. August §th, 1940. DEAR MR RAYMENT, Thank you for your letter of August 2nd. I found your supple- ment most interesting, and I look forward to your next month's issue. Yours truly, JACK BEDDINGTON. August sth, 1940. DEAR MR RAYMENT, Thank you very much for your letter of August 2nd, and the copy of the special supplement to the Kine- matograph Weekly which you enclose. I have studied it with great interest, and it seems to me to have a news and propaganda value of the highest quality. With many thanks. Believe me. Yours very sincerely, J. H. BEITH, Major-General, Director of Public Relations. From LORD strabolgi, Iddesleigh House, Caxton Street, Westminster, S.W.i. August yd, 1940. DEAR SIR, I am obliged to you for sending me a copy of your new special supplement of Propaganda and Documentary Films. I consider this an excellent idea, and it should prove most valuable. Yours faithfully, STRABOLGI. Published every Thursday idne WEEKLY 85 Long Acre London, WCi 16 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 THE FILM STRIP IN EDUCATION By W. E. TATE, Headmaster of Sneyd School, BURSLEM Thes oBe.^ mshf ran 01 I TAKE it that in accepting the editor's invitation to contribute to the Documentury News Letter a brief note upon the use of film strips in school work, I need hardly begin by defining the film strip. Perhaps it is sufficient here to say that it consists essentially of a series of say 20-70 lan- tern slide pictures with suitable text and captions printed, not like ordinary lantern slides upon glass, but upon a strip of cinema film. For educa- tional use the film strip has in its cheapness and convenience enormous advantages over the old- fashioned lantern slide. I fancy too that, despite its modest cost and the simplicity of its use, it has some considerable advantages (though, of course, with many evident counter-availing disadvant- ages) over the cinema sound or silent film. For the cost of a couple of lantern slides one may purchase a film strip having five or six dozen still pictures. The storage of a reasonable stock of school lantern slides (say four or five thousand glass slides), requires a fair-sized cabinet, while film strips containing twice as many individual pictures (though costing only about a twelfth of the price), will go in a single foolscap filing drawer. Moreover slides have a knack of suff'ering badly both in use and in storage (the useful and interesting ones always seem to be getting broken, or having their cover glasses cracked), while, so far as my experience goes, film strips, if one takes even reasonable care of them, last quite as long as one can fairly ex- pect. And when they do ultimately expire of old age and scratches, the cost of renewal is so modest that even a poor school like my own has no difficulty in replacing them. Probably the one of ours which will need such renewal first is Cin- derella, and if, after giving the youngsters pleasure for five or six years, it costs us half a crown for replacement, we shall feel that we have had very good value for our money. In exhibition, too, the film strip is simplicity itself A ten-year-old youngster may safely be trusted with the lantern and its management. It just cant go wrong; there is no complicated mechanism to puzzle the amateur, and to intro- duce difficulties. As such an amateur, not at all mechanically minded, I have examined the inside working of our lantern. So far as I can see it con- sists simply of a light-tight box, a projection lens with a simple rack-and-pinion focussing adjust- ment, a lamp holder for a 10-watt bulb, with a couple of switches, and an adaptor to fit into the school lighting circuit through a suitable trans- former. Inside the box are a couple of spindles to hold the reels of film strip, and these are worked by means of milled heads projecting through the side of the lantern. I should think that a well- equipped senior school, with a proper work- shop, ought to be able to make a very useful lantern for a pound or thirty shillings. I find I have omitted to mention the greatest advantage of all of the film strip lantern com- pared with the miniature cinema, though, of course, one it shares with the old-fashioned lec- ture lantern. The picture appears upon the screen for just as long as the teacher and class want it there — a single second, or five minutes. If one wishes to refer during the lecturette to a picture already shown, one merely turns the milled heads backwards instead of forwards until the desired picture appears, then reverses the process and continues the display from where one has broken off. The reader who has had experience of asking his lanternist, without any preliminary warning, to go through his slides, and redisplay say one shown five or ten minutes before, will appreciate the convenience of this last-mentioned feature. Still another point, very important to those who are considering the use of optical aids in teaching, rather than of picture display as a sort of cross between teaching and entertain- ment, is that in using the film strip lantern one can make one's own commentary in accord- ance with the needs of the class ; and one is not faced with the alternative either of switching off a sound track (rather to the disappointment of one's audience), or of putting on a commentary which is perhaps largely irrelevant or which, when the same film is used for audiences of widely differing ages and capacities, must necessarily be over the heads of the backward classes, or be- neath the capacities of the more advanced ones. Now for the practical details : Our lantern cost us less than £5 (we are a slum school, with very little money, and with little prospect of obtaining outside aid for the purchase of expensive gadgets). Had we bought it new it would have cost £7. 85. 6d., and other models are obtainable at prices ranging from £4. \Qs. to £16. 16i. Such lanterns are suitable for illustrating lectures to audiences up to but not much more than 200 or so. Since the wattage of the bulb is relatively low (and the lamps are correspondingly cheap), the room in which the lantern is used should be well sere* seatu old-C genei oar rooi I Scrit one I SllCCi of ft from tkef has have SIGHT AND SOUND O thev and face posii easy out type <^ o and hoi loo BOC pro< cine Sim arisi AUTUMN 1940 SIXPENCE DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 17 blacked out, though fairly good pictures for a small audience may be obtained in a half-light. The screen need not necessarily be an expensive one. We obtain excellent results on a wall colour- washed pale yellow, though still better ones on an ordinary school blackboard which has had one or two coats of "flat-white" paint, and a finishing coat of ivory enamel. We are fortunate in having a spare classroom. Here the black- board is now a whiteboard, the teacher's desk is screwed down to the floor at a suitable distance from the screen, and the spare films and other fittings are stored in a cabinet (a very small one is quite large enough) in a corner of the room. The seating accommodation consists of a few of the old-fashioned long desks, given to us by a very generous and helpful L.E.A. which has watched our experiment with benevolent interest. The room is by no means palatial, but it is entirely adequate, and the children's appreciation of the facilities provided for them is very evident. We have experimented with film strip illustra- tion of various lessons. With history and geo- graphy, and to a less extent with nature study and Scripture, the apparatus has been a godsend. In one or two other subjects it has not proved so successful. In literature, we found that display of the pictures tended rather to divert attention from the text than to illuminate it. But with the three ' ' oral" subjects above mentioned the method has proved in practice to be almost ideal. We have found also an admirable series of Scripture strips, perfectly adapted to the use of young children who cannot possibly use a school Bible (almost invariably the worst printed, bound and illustrated book one finds in any school), and who would probably gain very little from it if they could. The babies too have a small but grow- ing collection of strips illustrating nursery rhymes and fairy tales, with a few line pictures, and simple captions in plain black capitals. (The fact that such captions are generally printed from positives done on a typewriter makes it quite easy for infant and sub-normal children to make out the general gist of the wording. In fact the typewriter type is so plain and legible that we are hoping in the next session to try further experiments in the use of such captions in teach- ing reading to young and backward children, the captions being the main object of study, and the pictures being used as jam round the pill). It is a delightful experience to give the youngest chil- dren an occasional unexpected show, and to see and hear their frantic enthusiasm over The Prodigal Son, The Three Bears, or A Visit to the Zoo. At first we fancied that the children might prove hypercritical, and compare adversely our modest eff"orts in picture production with the product of the elaborate apparatus in the local cinemas. We find, however, that since the lantern does not pretend to be a cinema, and is clearly an instrument on its own, not merely a cheap sub- stitute for something else, this difficulty has not arisen. (Not but what we should be very glad to have a film projector too, if we could afford one, though even if we had, its function would be quite different from that of the lantern now being described.) With the older children (though our school is merely "Infants and Juniors", so that we lose our youngsters before they are twelve) we are finding it possible gradually to encourage the children themselves to give simple lecturettes, having looked out the matter beforehand and used the school reference books to clear up points upon which they are rather hazy. Still another advantage of the film strip which we have found in practice in this matter of lecturing is that the captions serve as lecture notes if the film strip is a really well-planned one, so that even the most woolly-headed lecturer finds it possible to keep to the point, without having constantly to inter- rupt his discourse to turn up his lecture notes. As against all these advantages the main dis- advantage of the film strip (apart of course from the fact that the pictures are "stills," not "living"), is that unless one is wealthy enough to have one's strip specially made, one has to take a ready-made series, some of the items in which will probably not be exactly what is wanted. This, however, can be met in a manner indicated below. And, naturally, for addressing really large- audiences, the quality of the picture given by a film strip can never approach that of the large- scale cinematograph machine or that of the lecture lantern. Even so it is much better than that obtainable from most commercial episcopes, though not, of course, comparable with that to be had from a really good diascope. But in any case, even in wartime conditions few classes, we hope, are likely to exceed a couple of hundred in number, so the disadvantage is rather ap- parent than real. So far as we have been able to ascertain there are several German and American concerns manufacturing film strips commercially. We be- lieve there are but three English ones — Messrs. Newton of Wigmore Street, Messrs. Cinescopic Instruments & Services Ltd., of Paternoster Row (whose catalogue seems to be word for word identical with that of Messrs. Newton), and Messrs. the Visual Information Service, of Battersea Bridge Road. Each of these firms issues a catalogue, and with a little ingenuity it is possible to build up from these at a very modest cost a stock of film strips which will suffice to illustrate all the ordinary lessons in a primary school, unless its syllabuses be quite unusual in their range. Schools better circumstanced than ourselves may perhaps care to have their film strips specially made at a cost of threepence a picture! We have found the ready-made films at a penny a picture quite satisfactory. After all, every school in the country which teaches history will somewhere or other in its syllabus include the Norman Conquest, so a ready-made strip of the Bayeux Tapestry cannot fail to be useful : simi- larly every school doing world geography can- not but mention the hot deserts, so will be able to use a strip on the Sahara, and every school having nature study lessons must surely some- where or other have a series of lessons on the wild animals of our own country. Strips — ready made and therefore cheap — on these and a variety of other similar subjects are to be readily obtained. In history especially a tremendous range of strips is available. Messrs. V.I.S. cover in great detail the ordinary range of school history lessons up to say A. D. 1600. They have also an admirable series of social history films, based upon Hartley and Elliot's work, and an exceptionally well- designed series upon the Industrial Revolution, evidently planned by someone who is not only a competent historian, but also a skilled teacher. Messrs. C.I.S. and Newton have several excellent series upon technical and geographical subjects. Messrs. Newton, particularly, have reproduced in film strip form many of the sets of illustrations originally prepared for glass slides, and issue these complete with lecture notes in print. Messrs. V.I.S. on the other hand, have generally followed the plan of including on the strip itself at any rate an outline of the matter to be dealt with by the lecturer. There are evident advantages in either method, and the reader may well be left to take his choice. Both Messrs. Newton and Messrs. V.I.S. will supply at a very modest cost their standard strips with the omission, insertion or substitution of specified pictures in the ready made article. Coloured film strips cost about 2,\d. a picture extra. A number of religious and political organisa- tions have issued film strips for propagandist purposes, usually some years ago before the com- mercial cinema was so highly developed as it is now. Prominent among these are the League of Nations Union, which has two or three excellent strips, and the Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, which has issued a strip entitled A Day in the Life of an M.P. Despite the obvious danger of introducing anything even re- motely savouring of party propaganda into the schools which belong to us all, I think this strip is well worth a place in any school collection. The parties of the Left have made much more use of the film strip. The Co-operative Union has a series of five or six strips, some of which are very good indeed, concerning the social history of the early nineteenth century, and that most energetic body, the National Council of Labour Colleges (N.C.L.C), has had produced for it by Messrs. V.I.S. severalwell-thought-out strips upon foreign policy, colonial issues, social history, etc. These have their value still further increased (or utterly destroyed, according to one's point of view) by a highly Marxian commentary. They are men- tioned here as perhaps the best film strips avail- able from the standpoint of technical quality. The recent issue by N.C.L.C. in its series, of the whole of the illustrations in H. G. Wells's Out- line of History was an excellent piece of work, and it is to be regretted that the other major working-class educational organisation, the W.E.A. has not produced for its students strips equally well done, but without the rather ten- dentious captions which make it quite impossible to use the N.C.L.C. films in general school work. Probably its principal contribution to film-strip work has been in the films made to the order of individual members and friends in the Depart- ments of Adult Education in various Universities and University Colleges. But this article is sup- posed to be concerned with the use of the film strip in the education of children of school age, so I had better reserve for future treatment the equally important question of the use of the film strip in adult education. 18 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 FILM LIBRARIES Borrowers of films are asked to apply as much in advance as possible, to give alternate booking dates, and to return the films immediately after use. H. A hire charge is made. F. Free distribution. Sd. Sound. St. Silent. Association of Scientific Workers, 30 Bedford Row, W.C.I. Scientific Film Committee. Graded List of Films. A list of scientific films from many sources, classified and graded for various types of audience. On request, Committee will give ad- vice on programme make-up and choice of films. Austin Film Library. 24 films of motoring in- terest, industrial, technical and travel. Available only from the Educational Films Bureau, Tring, Herts. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. P. Australian Trade Publicity Film Library. 18 films of Australian life and scenery. Available from the Empire Film Library. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. 3, sound films on 9.5 mm. available from Pa the scope. British Commercial Gas Association, Gas Indus- try House, 1 Grosvenor Place, S.W.I. Films on social subjects, domestic science, manufacture of gas. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & a few St. F. British Council Film Department, 25 Saville Row, W.l. Films of Britain, 1940. Catalogue for overseas use only but provides useful synopses of 100 sound and silent documentary films. British Film Institute, 4 Great Russell Street, W.C. 1 . (a) National Film Library. An important collection of documentary and other films. Avail- able only to full members of B.F.I. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. {b) Some British and Foreign Documentary and other Short Films. A general list of films and sources, (c) Early Films. Films 1896-1934 still available in Britain. British Instructional Films, 111 Wardour Street, W.l. Feature films; Pathe Gazettes and Pathe- tones ; a good collection of nature films. A new catalogue is in preparation. 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Canadian Pacific Film Library. 15 films of Cana- dian life and scenery. Available from the Empire Film Library. 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Canadian Government Exhibitions and Publicity. A wide variety of films listed in the Empire Film Library. Central Film Library, Imperial Institute, S.W.7. Has absorbed the Empire Film Library and the G.P.O. Film Library. Also contains all new M.O.I, non-theatrical films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Coal Utilisation Joint Council, General Buildings, Aldwych, London, W.C. 2. Films on production of British coal and miners' welfare. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. F. Crookes' Laboratories, Gorst Road, Park Royal, N.W.IO. Colloids in Medicine. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. F. Dartington Hall Film Unit, Totnes, South Devon. Classroom films on regional and eco- nomic geography. 16 mm. St. H. Dominion of New 2^aland Film Library. 415 Strand, W.C.2. 22 films of industry, scenery and sport. Includes several films about the Maoris. 16 mm. St. F. Educational Films Bureau, Tring, Herts. A selection of all types of film. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Educational General Services, 37 Golden Square, W.l. A wide selection of films, particularly of overseas interest. Some prints for sale. 16 mm. & St. H. Electrical Development Association, 2 Savoy Hill, Strand, W.C. 2. Four films of electrical interest. Further films of direct advertising appeal are available to members of the Association only. 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Empire Film Library. Films primarily of Empire interest, with a useful subject index. Now merged with the Central Film Library. 16 mm. and a few 35 mm. Sd. & St. F. Ensign Film Library, 88-89 High Holborn, London, W.C.I. Wide selection of all types of films including fiction, comedies, documentaries, films of geography, animal life, industry. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. St. & a few Sd. H. Film Centre, 34 Soho Square, W.l. Mouvements Vibratoires. A film on simple harmonic motion. French captions. 35 mm. & 16 mm. St. H. Ford Film Library, Dagenham, Essex. Some 50 films of travel, engineering, scientific and comedy interest. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Gaumont-British Equipments, Film House, War- dour Street, W.l. Many films on scientific sub- jects, geography, hygiene, history, language, natural history, sport. Also feature films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. &St. H. G.P.O. Film Library. Over 100 films, mostly centred round communications. Now merged with the Central Film Library. 35 mm., 16mm. Sd. & St. F. Kodak, Ltd., Kingsway, W.C.2. (a) Kodascope Library. Instructional, documentary, feature, western, comedy. Strong on early American comedies. 16 mm. & 8 mm. St. H. (A separate List of Educational Films, extracted from the above, is also published. A number of films have teaching notes.) (6) Medical Film Library. Circu- lation restricted to members of medical profes- sion. Some colour films. Some prints for outright sale. 16 mm. St. H. March of Time, Dean House, 4 Dean Street, W.l. Selected March of Time items, including Inside Nazi Germany, New Schools for Old, America Thinks it Over. 16 mm. Sd. H. Mathematical Films. Available from B. G. D. Salt, 5 Carlingford Road, Hampstead, N.W.3. Five mathematical films suitable for senior classes. 16 mm. & 9.5 mm. St. H. Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co., Ltd., Traf- ford Park, Manchester 17. Planned Electrifica- tion, a film on the electrification of the winding and surface gear in a coal mine. Available for showing to technical and educational groups. 16 mm. Sd. F. Ministry of Food Film Library, Neville House, Page Street, S.W,1, or from District Oflicers. 23 films mostly on cooking, nutrition and kindred subjects. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Pathescope, North Circular Road, Cricklewood, N.W.2. Wide selection of silent films, including cartoons, comedies, drama, documentary, travel, sport. Also good selection of early American and German films. 9.5 mm. Sd. & St. H. Petroleum Films Bureau, 15 Hay Hill, Berkeley Square, W. 1 . Some 25 technical and documentary films. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. F. Religious Film Library, 104 High Holborn, W.C.I. Films of religious and temperance appeal, also list of supporting films from other sources. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Scottish Central Film Library, 2 Newton Place, Charing Cross, Glasgow, C.3. A wide selection of teaching films from many sources. Contains some silent Scots films not listed elsewhere. Library available to groups in Scotland only. 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. Sound-Film Services, 27 Charles Street, Cardiff. Library of selected films including Massingham's And So to [Vork. Rome and Sahara have French commentaries. 16 mm. Sd. H. South African Railways Publicity and Travel Bureau, South Africa House, Trafalgar Square, W.C. 2. 10 films of travel and general interest. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & 4 St. versions. F. Southern Railway, General Manager's Office, Waterloo Station, S.E.I. Seven films (one in colour) including Building an Electric Coach, South African Fruit (Southampton Docks to Covent Garden), and films on seaside towns. 16 mm. St. F. Strand Film Company, 5a Upper St. Martin's Lane, W.C.2. Eleven films available for non- theatrical distribution including Aerial Mile- stones, Chapter and Verse, Give the Kids a Break, and a number of others of Empire and general interest, including 3 silent Airways films. Mostly 35 mm. Sd. A few 16 mm. St. F. Wallace Heaton, Ltd., 127 New Bond Street, W.l. Three catalogues. Sound 16 mm., silent 16 mm., silent 9.5 mm. Sound catalogue contains number of American feature films, including Thunder Over Mexico, and some shorts. Silent 16 mm. catalogue contains first-class list of early American, German and Russian features and shorts, 9.5 catalogue has number of early Ger- man films and wide selection of early American and English slapstick comedies. 16 mm. & 9.5 mni. Sd. & St. H. Workers' Film Association, 145 Wardour Street, Wl. Films of democratic and co-operative in- terest. Notes and suggestions for complete pro- grammes. Some prints for sale. 35 mm. & 16 mm. Sd. & St. H. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1940 19 G.-B. INSTRUCTIONAL LTD. LIME GROVE • SHEPHERD'S BUSH • W.I2 TELEPHONE • SHEPHERD'S BUSH 1210 Makers of high-class documentaries and "Secrets of Life" VERITY • In its first six months has produced 16 short films, the majority of them documentaries or instructional pictures for Government departments. VERITY FILMS ltd DIRECTORS: G. £. TURNER, J. GARDNER LEWIS, SYDNEY BOX Offices: Studios: Gloucester House, Riverside Studios, 19 Charing Cross Road, Crisp Road, W.C.I. Hammersmith, W.6. ABBey 7421 RIVerside 3012 THREE NEW STRAND FILMS FOR IMMEDIA TE RELEASE Produced by Alexander Shaw COLUMBIA ARE DISTRIBUTING "NEW BRITAIN" DIRECTED BY RALPH KEENE PARAMOUNT ARE DISTRIBUTING "THE BIG CITY'' DIRECTED BY RALPH BOND R.K.O. RADIO ARE DISTRIBUTING "BRITAIN'S YOUTH" DIRECTED BY JACK ELLITT THE STRAND FILM COMPANY L™ DONALD TAYLOR, MANAGING DIRECTOR. 5a UPPER ST. MARTIN'S LANE, W.C.2. Merton Park Studios: 269 KINGSTON ROAD, S.W.9 Owned and published by Film Centre Ltd., 34 Soho Square, London, W. 1 , and printed by Simson Shand Ltd., The Shenval Press, London and Hertford NEIS LETTtll ! DOCUMENTARY— THE CREATIVE INTERPRETATION OF REALITY VOL 1 No 12 PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY FILM CENTRE 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W1 FOURPENCE 1 NOTES OF THE MONTH 3 YOU can't be smart about newts By Vox Populi 4 PEOPLE in glass HOUSES The Film Institute Drops a Brick 5 BRITISH NEWS The old, old story 7 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS 10 THE SHAPE OF ADS. TO COME By W. Buchanan-Taylor 13 FILM SOCIETY NEWS 13 CENTRAL FILM LIBRARY 14 FILM OF THE MONTH Edison, the Man 14 THE RAMPARTS WE WATCH 15 THE CITY Two reviews 17 THE CARE OF FILMS By Rupert Lee 19 CORRESPONDENCE 20 DOCUMENTARY BOOKINGS FOR DECEMBER 21 ORGANISING A SCIENTIFIC FILM CLUB By Nan L. Clow 21 DR. EHRLICH'S MAGIC BULLET A scientific review 22 INDICES D.N.L. No. 12 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER — launched three months after the outbreak of war — has reached the end of its first volume, and we should like to thank our subscribers for their steady and generous support. No matter what may come, we shall attempt to publish D.N.L. in 1941, and to preserve our inde- pendent and critical standards. Our circulation has risen steadily through the blitz, and to-day we have subscribers in almost every English-speaking country in the world. Govern- ment departments at home and overseas read D.N.L. Pubhc Libraries in Britain, the U.S.A. and Canada file D.N.L. on their reference shelves. But more important than these, our readers are drawn from among those who are keeping alive a detached focus on propaganda and education at a time when such things are only too easy to lose. Training the Army OF ALL ORGANISATIONS making instructional films in peace- time, the army had the poorest reputation: its films were thoroughly bad in every way. Though the war has brought about sweeping changes in army organisation, the section dealing with the production of technical and instructional films seems to have have been overlooked. Responsible for the ordering of production is a Colonel, recently promoted from Major, who, as far as we know, has no experience of film production, though he has decorated his office with the more lurid posters of American feature films. Working to the Colonel is a Major, recently promoted from Captain, who was associated with British comedy feature productions. Working to the Major, is a Captain, recently promoted from Lieutenant, an actor and commentator listed in The Spotlight as a DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 "Feature Comedian." Judging by the scripts which have been hawked about Wardour Street, an enquiry into the methods and experience of the technical film section of the army is overdue. At the least, the army authorities might consult the technical film section of the R.A.F. which has sponsored some of the finest technical films yet made in Britain. Training Army Film Officers THE MARCH OF TIME is training men of the U.S. armed services in cinematography, and three marines and two coast- guards have been seconded to the New York studio. Have the British armed forces, and especially the army, considered solving their own film difficulties by attaching likely men to the newsreel and documentary companies to be trained? This might go far to remove the incompetence which is so marked a feature of army films. Military Service a"^ TRIBUNAL, drawn from the Film Industry, has been set up to consider the claims of film workers for deferment from military service, and to make recommendations to the Minister of Labour. The members of the tribunal are Major R. P. Baker (Features), Captain Crickett (Secretary of the Film Artists^ Association), Arthur Elton (documentary and short films), George Elvin (Secretary of the Association of Cine- Technicians), T. O'Brien (Secretary of the National Association of Theatrical and Kinematograph Employees), Maurice Ostrer, Chairman (Features), F. Watts (Newsreels) and Miss Woods, Secretary drawn from the permanent staff of the Ministry of Labour. Such a tribunal has become urgently necessary. The film industry — at any rate, the sound-film industry, and documentary in particular, is a young industry. Many key documentary directors and a few documentary cameramen are under thirty — the age of reservation. It is to be hoped that, in the national interest, the essential technicians will be allowed to carry on their work. Brassieres FOR THE PAST few years the advertising industry has been faced with the need to readjust itself to new social conditions. For the most part it has obstinately entrenched itself behind a technique of chorus girls and chocolate-box pictures — what we may call the brassiere school of advertising. Documentary film directors have long recognised this technique of advertising as out of date, and have allied themselves to that school of thought which supports what is called "Public Relations". It is not often that the backwardness of advertising is recognised by practitioners of that "art" and for that reason Mr. Buchanan- Taylor's speech, printed in another part of this issue, is of great importance. His point of view reflects a constructive outlook which can go far to putting the advertising industry on a sound, not to say a decent and honest, footing. 49th ParaUel THE PRESS lately has been full of The 49th Parallel, a feature film on Canada, partly financed by the Films Division of the M.O.I. This film has gone wrong, largely because the star, Austrian-born Elizabeth Bergner, refuses to return to London from Hollywood to complete the studio scenes. Among the general sensation-mongering, two points have been over- looked ; the idea of the original script was and remains a good one; in spite of Miss Bergner's absence, there is, as yet, no reason to suppose, either that the film will not be finished, or that it will not be a success. The Imperial Theme FOR ALL WE sce of the Empire on the public screens of Great Britain, it might be as important to this country as a village in Manchuria. We neither see the imperial scene nor hear the imperial voice. The newsreels confine themselves to the stamping feet of the Dominion soldiers, but their person- alities, their lives, their culture remain as remote as those of the Chinese. Are we never to bring alive the horizon of Empire? We in Britain want to be on familiar nodding terms with the sheep farmers of Australia, the timber men and wheat farmers of Canada, the miners of South Africa, and the livestock breeders of New Zealand. Canada is the only Dominion so far to take itself seriously on the screen, and four or five films made in Canada are already in this country; but even these concentrate on the fighting services and not on the mode of living which Canada is fighting to protect. Australia, New Zealand and South Africa (with the exception of a thoroughly bad film from the latter country) seem to have made no attempt to reach our screens. From what we can hear, our own attempts to reach the screens of the Dominions are equally ineffective. If we are unable to express the solidarity of the English speaking peoples within the Empire then there must be some- thing seriously wrong with our communications. Central Film Library A FIRST DUPLICATED list of ncw films in the Central Film Library has been circulated and may be obtained from any of the M.O.I, regional offices, or from the Imperial Institute, S.W.7. The list contains no less than 66 films, nearly all of them produced since the outbreak of war, and represents perhaps the most important collection of documentary films ever to be released at one time under one authority. The Films Division deserve the thanks of everyone interested in the film as propaganda and as a method of widening cultural life. The films themselves are of a high technical level and represent a genuine liberal outlook. Corrections WE SALUTE the vigilance of the many readers who have pointed out two errors in our Film of the Month article in the November issue of D.N.L. The producer of Rebecca was, of course, Selznick, not Zanuck; and McCrea is the correct spelling of the name of the star in Foreign Correspondent. ^ DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 YOU CAN'T BE SMART ABOUT NEWTS The spoken word in films and broadcasting, by VOX POPULI CRITICS of the M.O.I, short film, Britain Can Take It, have remarked upon the perfect Haison achieved between the film itself and the commentary spoken by Mr. Quentin Reynolds, an American journalist, and the fact that it should have called forth such unanimous comment suggests that such perfect liaison is very rarely achieved. In Britain Can Take It no attempt is made to dramatise the tremendous situation of a great city standing up to a full-scale bombardment from the air — just the bare facts in pictures and in words, and these words spoken in a very simple straight- forward way, as one would speak to a receptive child, no false pity, no patronage and no patriotics. The eff"ect of this discretion is, of course, to increase the hitting power of the film, since the very moderation of the treatment helps to set free in the minds of the audience the anger and resolve which a more violent technique would only have cancelled out. This use of understatement is not new. It is at least as old as Shakespeare, who advises his actors to "acquire and beget a temperance" in their work, and not to "tear a passion to tatters." Nor is it very remarkable — its chief quality as a technical device is that if you were not on the lookout for it it might escape you altogether. But it is very rarely seen in such perfect visual and aural combination as in Britain Can Take It, and when this film is seen in the same programme as other documentaries it sets one thinking very hard about the exact function of the commentary in a short film. Perhaps my own experience was particularly unfortunate, for I happened to see a coloured short called Water Babies immediately after Britain Can Take It. Water Babies must be one of the best things Mary Field has ever done. It is simply a life history of newts. First the mating, then the laying of the egg and its successful camouflage against the terrifying water beetles hunting for food, then the tadpole gradually taking shape inside the swelling case and, at last, the birth itself and the uncertain eff"orts of the baby newt to conquer its new element. Last of all, the shedding of the gills and the first journey as an amphibian. The whole thing is done with astonishing patience and economy and is tremendously ex- citing, as only the elemental processes of Nature know how to be when they are tenderly and delicately explored. But it would be difiicult to imagine anything more out of place than the commentary which accompanies this little masterpiece. This is spoken by Emmett, who makes the mis- take of attempting to add something of his own to what is already absolutely complete — what we call, in the country, "pumping on a full bucket". Some words of explanation are perhaps necessary here and there, but only of the very simplest kind. Emmett is essentially a performer, a virtuoso of the microphone — moreover, a virtuoso with a streak of the comedian about him. He will play for laughs. And being a single act, he naturally wants to put across that act, because he believes that the public are waiting for it, because he is a very excellent showman, and because comedy is in his blood. Why should he step aside for newts? Well, he gives his own act (a very skilled act) in front of the mike, and this act naturally comes into coUision with the film. Not just a scrape and a bent mudguard. Head on. For the aim of the film is obviously to delight and instruct, while Emmett's is just as obviously to entertain and amuse, more often than not at the expense of the chief actors in the picture. In fact, Emmett makes the mistake of trying to compere the newts as if they were human performers and he cracks gags about them as a good compere will crack gags about the actors in a show. In the theatre, of course, the smarter the gag the better. But you can't be smart about newts. They beat you to it every time. And in any case no one wants you to be smart about newts. Newts can take care of themselves. So much for the manner of the commentary. With regard to the matter. Miss Field herself must take a share of the blame — ^or did Emmett's reputation as a commentator carry the Field? In any case, the application of human social values — ^mainly trivial, like "giving him the once-over," "making a date" and "new spring suitings" (I quote from memory, but this gives a fair indication), is extremely insulting to audience and to newts, and in exceedingly bad taste, the inference being that newts cannot hold our attention unaided and that a sort of condiment of facetious human social parallel will help to put them across. Maeterlinck's Life of the Bee is a classic example of this mistake, in which the human erotic hfe is used as the measuring stick for bees. But there is this to be said for Maeterlinck. He doesn't try to be smart. It is obviously a mistake to employ a professional virtuoso commentator on such a job. He is naturally more interested in his own performance than he is in newts. He may, of course, quite like newts, but he will still be unable to hide his pro- fessional style and his individual technique. What you want is someone who loves and understands newts and who has no set microphone manner. Why not Miss Field herself? Or one of the naturaUsts who worked with her? Someone without tricks. I remember seeing a film about gannets commentated by Julian Huxley. Simple, unassuming, convincing, and relying on the subject itself to hold all the necessary interest, i.e., accepting the premise that documentary is firstly a graphic and not a literary form and, therefore, that the aural element should always be subordinated to the visual. It always is subordinate in point of fact, because no spoken words, how- ever delivered, can compete with a moving picture, but they can, and often do, intentionally or unintentionally, try to DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 compete, and thereby have an irritation value which throws everything out of gear. For, when you come to think it over, the whole business of microphone announcement is fast deteriorating into one big verbal legerdemain. What are the conventional "essentials" of the good "announcer voice"? 1 suppose it should have "pleasant quality", that it should be "well placed", and that it should be "cultured". Let us examine first the necessity for correct "placing". This is largely a matter of frontal or dental pro- duction, without which no voice will carry. But from our point of view this amounts to exactly nothing at all, since in micro- phone work the voice does not need to carry beyond the micro- phone itself. Once there, a distance of two feet, you're home. "Pleasant quality" doesn't mean very much either, because when you have asked yourself "pleasant to whom?", the only answer is "pleasant to the people who choose the announcers". And as it is probably the dearest ambition of the people who choose the announcers to be able to talk just like announcers, and as they probably do talk just like announcers, where are we? The real snag, as in so many other departments of modern life, is of course the word "cultured". What is culture and with whom is it chiefly reposited? Day-to-day events are compelling us to reconsider all the old answers to this question. The other day a friend made me a present of a set of dialect records published by Columbia — a dozen 12-inch discs cover- ing most of the British Isles and all spoken by natives. They present an astonishing variety of pronunciation and an ex- hilarating exhibition of vitality and variation of rhythm. Whole octaves of the voice are used, and not three or four notes, as in so-called standard speech. Spoken English suddenly comes to life, and it would be impossible to imagine a better pick-me-up after a dose of Nine O'Clock News Blues. Why, I ask myself, do I never get this tonic impression from E. V. H. Emmett, R. E. Jefferies or from Stuart Hibberd, Alvar Liddell, Joseph Macleod, Bruce Belfrage and the Grisewood Brothers? Why, with such a varied and subtle and resourceful language at hand, should the announcement side of it be for the most part confined to these punch-drunk mahogany sounds, this weary, stale, flat, unprofitable and purely bastard speech which is current nowhere except at the more expensive Public Schools, at the two senior Universities, in the Church, and in one or two other odd and exclusive corners of the land? And what relation does this purely bastard speecJh, this cautious, correct mode of expression, with its single, senseless set rhythm for every kind of sense content, its maddening vocal efficiency and its deadly air of patronage, bear to life as it is lived on Tyneside, on Clydebank, in Clerkenwell, in the Chilterns, in the Cotswolds, in Cumberland, in Cornwall or in Kent, or anywhere else? And what percentage of the popula- tion of these islands, the last bulwark of Militant Democracy, would wish to identify themselves with this fountain of gentility and sterility? Why should all the announcers be chosen according to this wearisome pattern, and why should they all use the manner of the glorified shop-walker who calls the customer "Sir", but who has no doubts about his own superiority. I can find only one answer, that somehow this kind of speech is thought to be exclusively connected with Culture and Enlightenment. Despite the fact that a broadcast by Greenwood or Priestley or a few rare words by a Gloucester- shire shepherd shows the whole thing up as a vast sham, and blows the whole brigade of trained announcers into the big drum, it seems that we are to be condemned for ever to an official vocal snobbery which can have as its basis nothing but a fundamental distrust of common people and common things. I can only adapt the words of one of our greatest foes, and say "If this is culture do let us reach for our guns". It is not a question of bringing to the microphone people with thick country accents. It is a question of using again, after years of neglect, some of the great bone and sinew which is part and parcel of the common English tongue. For we have come to a great cross-road in our history, a point at which sooner or later an appeal will have to be made to the vitality of the People instead of to the divine right of the Public School, and nowhere in our everyday life is this problem shown more clearly than in the matter of microphone announcing. PEOPLE IN GLASS HOUSES The Film Institute drops a brick THE FILM INSTITUTE has done good work in the academic field, but when it takes a hand in policy formation, at best it dirties the pitch, at worst it makes itself, and the educational film it seeks to support, an Aunt Sally for every influence hostile to the proper development of the film in national and cultural life. The latest issue of its journal, Sight and Sound (financed, be it noted, along with the Institute, out of public funds by a grant from the Privy Council), devotes a number of editorials to telling the British Council and, in particular, the Films Division oi the M.O.I, where they make their mistakes. The Institute is certainly the last body to attempt a public reconciliation between the British Council and the Films Division if, as an editorial suggests, there is friction between them. The reputation of the Institute as a moulder of DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 policy remains a poor one, and it commands little respect outside its specialised field of promoting the use of the film in education. Heaven knows, the film in education needs every resource that the Institute can command to defend it, yet it is rare for the Institute to come out publicly and fearlessly on such vital issues as the damaging tax on sub-standard films, administered by the Commissioners of Customs and Excise. For the Institute to call officers of the Films Division "fledghng Civil Servants whose little spell of brief authority seems to have gone to their heads" is a case of a pretty dirty pot calling a fairly clean kettle black. The reason for the out- burst is that the Institute claims that the Films Division has paid too little attention to the report of the Select Committee, discussed in the October issue of D.N.L. One of the main recommendations of this report was, incidentally, the heavy curtailment of the public use of non-theatrical films, a system which the Institute has made it its business in the past to foster. Though the various suggestions made by the Institute since the outbreak of war for improving the film situation have been largely ignored, this is no excuse for bad temper. The spectacle of one publicly financed body attacking another which, by Civil Service etiquette, is debarred from reply is disagreeable. If the Institute, through Sight and Sound, is to dip into inter-Civil Service politics, it might direct its critical vigilance towards the Board of Education. Fair gams, since the Board is deeply concerned with the Institute's well being. BRITISH NEWS The old, old story THOSE DEPARTMENTS who have been in charge of our film propaganda have long advocated, and have concentrated on, newsreels as the spear-head of our overseas propaganda. It is true that for speed and for recording of day-to-day happen- ings, there is an excellent case to be made for them. Unfor- tunately, there has been a reticence in official quarters concerning their distribution and their composition. British newsreels have never been noted for their pro- gressive thinking nor for their progressive film technique. There are some who have said that British newsreel com- pilation and technique still has its roots in "silent" days. Compared with the imagination of the French and German newsreels, and the showmanship of the American newsreel, the British newsreel compares unfavourably. An opportunity has been taken of seeing six of the more recent reels of British News issued by the British Council. This newsreel is made up of items culled from all the news- reels. The work is done in rotation by each of the newsreel companies working under the supervision of a films committee of the British Council. It is apparent that all the faults associated with the indi- vidual British newsreel are even more exaggerated in the composite reel. From the film point of view, its technical quali- ties are poor. The sound recording, the cutting from one item to the next and methods of presentation are crude, and in sending a newsreel to countries dominated by the American newsreel, this fault is unforgivable. The standard opening is dull and pompous. A musical recording has been attempted, similar to the opening of feature films. It has the pomposity of feature film opening music without any other merit. This musical opening covers shots of six trumpeters blowing a fanfare, which dissolve to a picture of Windsor Castle which, in turn, dissolves to a picture of the Houses of Parliament and then back into the trumpeters. We are given the full benefit of the very dull shots, which are badly photographed and much too long. The reels we saw then opened with the doings of royalties or with the bomb damage of London or the two together. The handling of all the items is extremely superficial. There is still the same patronising attitude towards ordinary people — a common factor in all British newsreel treatment ; and because the individual items are at least twice as long as those normally shown in this country, one has time to ponder on the appallingly bad photography, direction and treatment. It has been said that Americans have expressed high praise for the editions of the reel shown in the World's Fair. It is to be wondered whether this praise was due more to kindness than conviction, because British News does not in any way reach the standards of the American newsreel. One can imagine the praise is that of a tolerant parent. As the Select Committee* suggested that British News should be the only newsreel issued, and that the Ministry of Information should withdraw its own reel, one can only assume that the Ministry's newsreel is a shade worse. That is, provided that there was no wire pulling, and that the Selection Committee had an opportunity of seeing both versions, and was composed of people- capable of achieving a reasonable standard of criticism. For if British News is the best we can do, it would be better to have no newsreel propaganda at all, and to sacrifice speed for the more considered or specialised film such as London Can Take It. *See D.N.L. for October. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 I ;! IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT K*>^-.*s*-Q CONCERNING CHANGE OF ADDRESS OF THE GEBESCOPE FILM LIBRARY In order to maintain an efficient service throughout the country to meet the widespread demand for 16 mm. Sound Films, the GeBescope Film Library has removed to: — TOWER HOUSE, WOODCHESTER Nr. STROUD Telephone No.: AMBERLEY, GLOS. 194. GLOS* Telegrams : GeBescope, Woodchester, Glos. In order that our Library Hire Service may continue v/ithout Interruption during the removal period, v/e shall be grateful if you v^ill kindly note the follov/ing: — Orders for films which are required for use on the 7th December and after should be forwarded to the above address Films should be returned to the address stated on the return labels included with the films. Orders may be telephoned at any time, day or night. G.-B. INSTRUCTIONAL LTD. THE STUDIOS • LIME GROVE • SHEPHERD'S BUSH • W.I2 Telephone: Shepherd's Bush 1210 Telegrams: Gebestruct, Chisk. London G.B.I. 's latest productions are being distributed by the following: "SHIPBUILDERS" General Film Distributors Ltd "INTO THE BLUE" Warner Bros. "FROM THE SEVEN SEAS" 20th Century-Fox DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS Neighbours Under Fire. Production: Strand for M.O.I. Direction: Ralph Bond. Distribution: Theatrical. 5 minutes. MANY AIR-RAID .problems only begin when the bombs have stopped falling. Britain Can Take It told the story of the civilian army which goes into action when the siren sounds the Alert. Neighbours Under Fire portrays the less spectacu- lar heroisms which come later, when the dust has settled and the homeless no longer look back on last night's horror but forward to prob- lems which courage alone will not solve. For a while it is enough to have escaped from the bomb that demolished your home, but when the immediate danger is passed there is food to be found for the family and new shelter from the bombs which will fall again tonight. "Last night my house was hit by a bomb", says a woman in the film and then talks quietly on, her voice hushed by such an unbelievable calamity— "and all the things have gone. What shall I do?" The film presents an answer for her and for other air-raid victims who are shown telling their story with the same simplicity. Patiently, without complaint, they all reveal a touching faith that something will be done for them. The film answers their problem by showing the work of the voluntary services in organising rest-centres and communal meals, in furnishing advice on evacuation and in organising enter- tainment in the shelters. It is not a complete answer and the film does not pretend it is. But it is clear that the faith of the victims in the power of the authorities to succour them was at first better justified by the voluntary services than by official schemes. The men and women of these services stepped, in the nick of time, into a no less vital breach than did the firemen and the first-aid parties. "As always", says the commentator, "it is the poor who help the poor". Neighbours Under Fire is a five-minute film, but five minutes is not long enough to do justice to this story. Yet the problem is stated, the people are real, their reactions are authentic; and the urgent need for thorough provision to be made for the welfare of air-raid victims who have escaped only with their lives is admirably con- veyed by the final shots of homeless shelterers huddled together in fitful sleep underground, while overhead the bombs and guns are begin- ning again. Ministry of Food Cookery Hints. Oatmeal Por- ridge; Potatoes: Casserole Cooking; Steaming; Herrings. Production: Verity Films. Direction: Jay Gardner Lewis. Photography: S. D. Onions. Distribution: M.O.I. Non-T. 6 minutes each. WHEN EVERY short production company is working to capacity, and films are delayed for lack of directors, it is good to welcome a new company which can immediately take its place in technical competence alongside other and older established units. The films listed above are the first batch of productions from Verity Films, foimded as recently as last May, though its members are old hands at film making. The aim of Ministry of Food Cookery Hints, to be circulated through the M.O.I, non-theatrical system, is to persuade people to make the best of wartime provisions. Each film in the series is in the form of a demonstration, well directed and photographed and clearly explained. By showing one small group of recipes only and showing them in detail, and by keeping each film short, the complexities which spoil most cookery films have been avoided. And in one case — the boning of a herring — the action is firmly shown a second time, in case one has missed some of the detail in the first viewing. This is a great success, but we suspect that the director lost his nerve after this one repetition, for we should have liked to have seen other repetitions. When something is clearly photo- graphed, clearly directed and worth learning, it is worth seeing twice, or even three times. Such films are important, particularly at the present time, yet they are so humble in intention that they are rarely well made. Verity Films have been sensible in bestowing such care on the present batch, and we hope that the M.O.I, will influence other government departments to follow the Ministry of Food. We should like to see, not only more films on cookery and nutrition, but films on agriculture (in the style of Silage, reviewed in D.N.L. October), hygiene and public health, laundering and dress making, and infant welfare, to mention only a few subjects. An Unrecorded Victory. Production: G.P.O. for the M.O.I. Producer: Cavalcanti. Direction: Humphrey Jennings. Photography: Chick Fowle and Jonah Jones. Music by Liszt. Distribution: T. and Non-T. 2 reels. THERE ARE two Unrecorded victories here; one is the subject of the film, and the other is the fact that the film has at last, after many months of delay, been allowed to reach the public screens (it was originally entitled Spring Offensive). It covers the first year of agricultural England's war, and its story is of the reclaiming of derelict land and the gathering of a harvest therefrom. It is therefore a story equally suitable for times of peace, and this is firmly pointed out by the commentary, at the end of the film, which reminds us not to neglect the people of the land after this war as we did after the war of 1914- 1918. Air Communique. Production: G.P.O. for the M.O.I. Distribution: Theatrical. 5 minutes. THIS IS a neat addition to the Five Minute series, showing how careful the R.A.F. intelligence service is in computing accurate figures of destroyed enemy machines. It is very slickly edited, and the points it makes stick firmly in the mind. Perhaps it is a pity that the day chosen is that on which 185 Germans were shot down; to-day, the computation of a more average bag might be more effective. Still, it will do no harm to remind audiences of the smashing up of the German plan for mass daylight raids, and the film will certainly increase confidence in our informational services and in the types of men who fly our fighters. Britain's R.A.F. Production: March of Time (No. 6, Sixth Year). Distribution: R.K.O., Radio Pictures. Two reels. Britain^s R.A.F. is much better March of Time than some of the recent ones. They have had first class facilities from the Air Ministry and their cameramen have taken advantage of them to turn in some of the best aerial photography for a long time. But even so, and allowing for the fact that the film is intended primarily for the States, it is not really a satisfactory job. It opens with an air battle over Dover, includ- ing some sensational shots of barrage balloons being shot down and the A. A. shells bursting round the machines, and then goes on to a review of the Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands, passing en route a meeting of the Air Council and the Canadian training scheme. The idea is to give a clear picture of the con- struction and working of the R.A.F. as well as a bit of excitement and a propaganda boost, but unfortunately the March of Time technique is unequal to the strain. As the hypnotising voice of the commentator booms on, we suddenly find that we have passed from one Command to the next without noticing it, a shot of each Command's badge hardly being sufficient transi- tion. And it is high time they learned that you can't establish facts and figures over shots of youths filing through doorways and such like fiU-ups ; March of Time ought to be above such laziness and sloppy scripting. But where they get down to showing an actual job being done, as in the work of the Coastal Command, the film comes alive, though the emphasis on the Lockheed Hudsons being American seems over- strained. Perhaps American war jitters and their feeling of helpless frustration preclude them from balanced comment on the war. Otherwise they could never have committed the dreadful bloomer of finishing the film with trainees singing, in no very enthusiastic fashion, that mournful dirge "There'll always be an England". {continued on page 9) DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 VERITY FILMS Just completed, five non-theatrical films produced and directed by J. Gardner Lewis, for the Ministry of In- formation— Ministry of Food Cookery Hints I to 5 Oatmeal Porridge, Herrings, Potatoes, Casserole Cooking, Steaming. VERITY FILMS ltd DIRECTORS: G. £. TURNER, J. GARDNER LEWIS, SYDNEY BOX Offices: Studios: Gloucester House, Riverside Studios, 19 Charing Cross Road, Crisp Road, W.C.2. Hammersmith, W.6. ABBey742l RIVerside 3012 FILMS & EQUIPMENTS LTD. 138 WARDOUR STREET • LONDON • W.I TELEPHONE • GERRARD 6711/2 CABLEGRAMS • KATJA LONDON MOTION PICTURE ENGINEERS DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS (continued) Young Veterans. Production: Ealing Studios. Producer: Cavalcanti. Editing: Charles Crighton. Commentary: Spoken and written by Michael Frank. Distribution: Theatrical. 25 minutes. Young Veterans is one of the first batch of Cavalcanti's new productions at Ealing. If this is a typical example, Cavalcanti's unit is assured of a distinguished future. Young Veterans is a history of the War till to-day, told not in terms of dates and figures, but in terms of sentiment. Cavalcanti has done what is perhaps the most difficult job of all, the recreation of feeling. We feel the suspense of August, 1939, and the emotion caused by the outbreak of war. Our spirits rise with the attack on Norway and sink when the troops are recalled. The first optimism engendered by the B.E.F. in France gives way to depression as we come to Dunkirk. The film ends with the creation of Britain's citizen army. Most films which attempt a history of our own times, and particularly a history of the present war, are stale and flat. Cavalcanti's film has avoided this staleness; its vividness, its skill in recreating a mood, its obvious sincerity are so moving. The technical virtuosity of Young Veterans (which never obtrudes) is admirable. The film is made largely from library material skilfully woven with new shooting. The collection and selection of this library material must have been an enormous task, and no one without Caval- canti's detailed knowledge of this field could have done it. Moreover, he has managed to avoid all the stock library shots which crop up monotonously in every war film. The material is new and fresh. The editing is expert and imaginative. There is an admirable sequence in which the drawings of "Young Bert" are brought to life. The sound track is the more telling since it is of the simplest. The commentary is as good of its kind as we have heard. No one save Cavalcanti could have made this film. Wings of Youth. Production: The National Film Board of Canada. Producers: Stuart Legg and Raymond Spottiswoode. Associate Director: Roger Barlow. Distribution: Theatrical, and M.O.I. Non-T. 13 minutes. Wings of Youth is another of the Canadian Government's one-reelers. They are usually on topical subjects and issued once a month. This one describes the Empire Air Training Scheme. Starting with Canadians in the last war, it comes quickly to the point, and we see some very nice material of the training scheme. One trainee is picked, and we follow him through until the final sequence — his first solo. The trainee sequences are spaced with the build- ing of trainer planes and the training of crews, but because the film moves at such an incredible speed, and the commentator never pauses, the eff"ect is one of confusion. The commentary is so full of facts and figures, names and information, that at the end of the film you are dazed. Give us one fact instead of twenty. One idea instead of five. One word instead of a hundred. One shot instead of three. Give us a little punctuation — a quieter spoken commentary. These films are made primarily for the Ameri- can and Canadian markets, but I cannot believe that the new world speaks and thinks so much faster than we do. Scotland's War Effort. Production: Strand. Pro- ducer: Alex Shaw. Direction: Jack Ellitt. Commen- tary; George Blake. Distribution: T and Non-T. APART FROM its Special wartime message, this film is one of the best and most articulate of all the documentaries on Scotland. It stresses the great'diversity of human types and characters and accents which are Scotland's great fascina- tion, and it places in proper perspective the abruptly changing face of the land which will never cease to astonish both the casual traveller and the faithful native. It is Jack Ellitt's first film, and is wisely shaped in the simplest of forms, a series of episodes and sequences tally- ing with the main Scottish activities — the indus- trial workers of the Clyde, the Highland sheep farmers, the fishermen, and so on — not, of course, forgetting the inevitable army shots. It is not the ideal shape, but it has given Ellitt the chance to try his paces over the furlong of se- quence rather than the full course of a reel, and within sequence limits he has achieved much that is pleasing and a certain amount that is impressive. The cutting is very good throughout, and so is the commentary. Fruits from the Garden (1 reel). Odd Jobs in the Garden (1 reel). Winter Storage (1 reel). A Garden Goes to War (3 reels). Production: Plant Pro- tection Ltd. Distribution: Non-T. 16 mm. colour. Silent. THESE films contain a great deal of valuable information and advice. They are very simply made, without any production pretensions (and indeed at times without correct camera exposure for colour). Fruits from the Garden rather belies its title by dealing almost exclusively with the necessity for banding and spraying. The method of grease-banding is clearly shown, also tar-oil spraying in winter and lime-sulphur spraying at pink-bud stage in spring; the pests attacked by the sprays are also shown. It is a pity, perhaps, that no pruning hints are given and that no refer- ence is made to the necessity for a good pressure to be maintained in spraying, particularly as regards tar-oil. Odd Jobs in the Garden deals with weed- killing, and fertilisers for cuttings (with special details on currants). Here one becomes a little too aware of the proprietary articles which are (though not really unjustifiably) used as illus- trations throughout the film. Surely a reel dealing so largely with fertilisers should pay at least a passing tribute to the no doubt bulky, old- fashioned, but none the less efficient organic manures? However, amends are made to some extent in A Garden Goes to War, which contains a very good sequence showing how to make a compost heap. In three reels the whole cycle of garden operations is touched on. The sequences on double digging, ridging, and the control of com- mon, pests such as flea-beetle and cabbage white are admirable. The scenes dealing with the preparation of seed beds, and with sowing, might however be improved by a reference to the diff"erent types of soil. Some of the instruc- tions might lead astray any begirmer whose soil was a heavy clay. Winter Storage deals with the storing of roots in sand or ash, with the saving of seed, and with the method of salting runner beans, which is admirably illustrated. The general criticism of these films is that they often give too little information for the beginner, but do not indulge on the other hand in techni- calities which would appeal to the more experi- enced gardener. But this criticism does not invalidate the series, which contains much of interest and importance to both. Health in War. Production: G.P.O. for the M.O.I. Direction: Pat Jackson. Distribution: M.O.I. Non-T. 10 minutes. Health in War, a M.O.I, non-theatrical one- reeler, is mainly concerned with the wartime running of London hospitals, showing how most of their beds have been evacuated to the outskirts in order to leave their central wards free for air-raid casualties. And while the film concentrates on this line it is excellent, with nice shooting of ambulances, accidents, blood- transfusion and convalescence in the country. The children, particularly, in mobile close-ups are specially well done. But unfortunately the film attempts more than this — it aims at a lyrical note on life in the country, and the way Britain was going beforer the war, with a note on war-aims and the future generation. And here the film falls down pretty badly. There is a much too long opening pointing, out the pleasures of peace time, which seem to have consisted of village-green cricket (which still goes on anyway — the only difference in our village being that the sides are posted as "We and They" instead of the villages by name), bathing and countryside views. The slums, we are told, were fast disappearing, and being replaced by something far better (blocks of flats), and a beneficent rule was just establishing an earthly paradise. This view is flatly contradicted later in the film by ecstatic praise of schools and big mansions being taken over for sick and convalescent, country nurseries for kiddies and general guff about how good it is for children to be in the country. If all this is so admirable, it is surprising that there was no more in this direction in the piping times of peace (which were so swiftly bringing the millennium) and that it has taken the war to bring about this happy state. No, indeed. The war may be pretty awful, but at least in some respects it is better than what we had to stick before; there'll be no return to those days, let's hope. 10 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 DOCVNEPiTARY mm UTTER MONTHLY FOURPENCE NUMBER 12 DECEMBER 1940 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is issued only to private sub- scribers and continues the policy and purpose of World Film News by expressing the documentary idea towards everyday living. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is produced under the auspices of Film Centre, London, in asso- ciation with American Film Center, New York. EDITORIAL BOARD Edgar Anstey Arthur Elton John Grierson Donald Taylor John Taylor Basil Wright EDITOR Ronald Horton Outside contributions will be welcomed but no fees will be paid. We are prepared to deliver from 3 — 50 copies in bulk to Schools, Film Societies and other organi- sations. Owned and published by FILM CENTRE LTD. 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W.l GERRARD 4253 THE SHAPE OF ADS. TO COME By W. BUCHANAN-TAYLOR, Honorary Publicity Adviser to the National Savings Committee and President of the Incorporated Society of Advertisement Consultants. An address delivered at the Publicity Club of Leeds on October 17th, 1940 (abridged). Often I wonder if, when this war draws to a conclusion, the people in advertising will expect to start again where they left off. I am sure that in the minds of most of those concerned, the present situation is nothing more than a hiatus. I make no bones about boldly prophesying that if such a belief exists a great many people are in for a shock. Advertising will not pick up where it left off. That is certain. I make this statement in face of the smug satisfaction which rests serenely on the minds of the people who have appointed themselves as official caretakers of advertising interests. This coterie, which bears the headpiece of a so-called ruling body, has done absolutely nothing for the benefit of advertising as a busi- ness nor for those employed in it, since that memorable day, the 3rd of September, 1939. While they have twaddled conventionalities, some evidences of progress have emerged in other places. For instance, for the first time in the history of advertising, the rank and file workers have founded a union. The causes of this foundation are not far to seek. They can be found in the incontrovertible fact that when the Big Funk happened, in the wake of war, the rank and file were scattered adrift like cremated bones strewn to the four winds of heaven. Many of those advertisers and advertising agents who were so fond of proclaiming at con- ventions that no less than £100,000,000 was spent yearly on advertising in Great Britain, cut down their staffs ruthlessly. Many of the heads fled instantly to remote parts of the country, keeping a mere skeleton staff to carry on. The few who did not panic kept their ground and treated their staffs reasonably. For the most part, however, they moved out frantically to the tune of "Run, Rabbit, Run." At the outbreak of war there were far too many agents, even though recognised agents had been cut down in number from over 800 to some- thing like over 300. Naturally, what with news- papers reduced from 16 and 20 pages in extent to 8 and then 6 pages, and rationed space, it was not possible to maintain all the agencies which had previously eked out an existence. Some of them had to go. It took a war to bring about overdue elimination. Many of them had lived precarious lives even in the days of comparative plenty. Will they come back in the post-war era? I doubt it. By the time that period comes round much more elimination will have happened. And with that elimination will come many changes and reforms. By the time this war is over we shall be much wider awake to the realities of life, more at grips with the essential fundamentals, and infinitely wiser about production, consumption, quality and actual necessaries. And, incidentally, we shall be less slavish in our habits, less casual in our outlook, less liable to take things for granted and certainly more practical in our choice of goods and consumables. If you ask me if the post-war buying public is going to be satisfied with, or attracted by, the pre-war advertising blandishments and principles, I am tempted to say no. Has it ever occurred to you to re-examine the pre-war claims made for certain much advertised commodities? Do you recall the extraordinary number of things without which life and happi- ness were incomplete? Let us look at what I call the "can'ts". You'll remember that a new kind of starvation was invented and that without a regular dosage of the commodity with which starvation was associated, you couldn't hope to get to sleep of a night. Then, you couldn't have a white sheet, a white nightdress ora white camisoleunlessyou used one of those soap powders which seemed to abound. Boys and girls were going around hiding their shirts and things, lest they should be compared with their whiter neighbours" "what-nots". Think of the number of advertised products without which life was well-nigh unlivable. Your catarrh could be crashed in 24 hours for one shilling ; yet medical and other scientists have been searching for years for a cure of this dread ailment, which is so prevalent throughout the country. They have not yet succeeded. One can only conclude they don't know anything about the subject. They needn't have wasted all those years on research. For one shilling they could have bought the freely advertised solution and could then have devoted their spare time to something really useful. There was a series of adverts headed "Mr. Can and Mr. Can't". They proclaimed the benefits to be derived from the use of an old- established aperient. Nothing sacred: not even common decency. What has become of B.O.? And what was B.O. anyway? All the soap in the world could not diminish B.O. if the condition was constitutional or acquired from dirty innards. A schoolgirl complexion was promised by another soap purveyor. I'll warrant that more schoolgirl DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 11 complexions have been created by downright exercise and simple living in the A.T.S., W.R.E.N.S., and W.A.A.F.'s than by all the soap ever sold to a punch-drunk and gullible public. No need to go on with the long string of advertising fables and abuses. You don't need to be reminded of the toffee which was so energising that it enabled the lifeboatmen to battle with the wildest of storms and rescue the crew of a dis- tressed vessel, or of the famous cigarette which you were asked to smoke "for your throat's sake." Now, in the brave new world, towards which our thoughts and hopes are bent, shall we be again bull-dosed by such arrant nonsense or such dis- honest quackery? I hope not. This war has already produced an awakening. We now know that things were not as they seemed. The lifting of the veil will not merely disclose chicanery in public life, party jobbery, unequal social grad- ings and business manipulations. It will give us a clearer view of personal rights and public duty. And advertising will not escape the process of disclosure. Unless this is a completely hopeless world — which I do not believe it to be — the organiza- tion of human affairs will surely bring a state more honest and straightforward than the last. I am not among those who expect to see a re- sumption of the old order when hostilities cease. The millions of intelligent young people who have been jerked out of a lethargic existence of futility and the hopelessness of forced in- equality are going to emerge with their eyes skinned, determined to correct the myriad social corruptions imposed on humanity. They are going to ask a lot of pertinent questions and de- mand a squarer deal from life. There have been times in the last few years when I had begun to think that a square deal must be either an obtuse angle, an isosceles triangle or a double cross. Whenever a square deal ceases to be what its words imply, you may depend that it takes on the shape of a wedge, to be driven into the body politic. And it is prob- ably superfluous to inform you that when any wedge is driven into any body it hurts the body more than it hurts the wedge. The complaisance, inefficiency and incompet- ence which have, in many cases, characterised the approach to and the conduct of this war on our side is proof enough that a National shake-up was due. The odd thing about it all is that the' country is full of practical brains, packed with un- tried efficiency and inventiveness. They are shrieking to be used. And why, you may ask, are brains and effici- ency debarred from functioning to the full in this, the greatest trial in our history? There are several reasons. The chief resistance comes from the existence of a system which has got completely out of hand. That system is bureaucracy. Its flower and fruit never flourished so abundantly than today. It has no relationship with the natural order of things. It is a negation of progress and a monumental barrier to performance. I refer to the system which has created a Civil Service which, in its higher reaches, denies the claim of the citizen to his inalienable rights. It has made its own tempo and its movement is adagio. It is for the most part tortuous in its divertings, and dicta- torial under its thick skin. It is all too powerful and all too aloof from realities. With some notable exceptions, the hierarchy of the Civil Service has two ends in view — a pen- sion and an honour. With those two things it can retire to its suburban cabbage patch and browse, free of the trammels of buff forms, circumlocu- tion and its overgrowth of smoke-screen phraseo- logy. It feeds on a steady diet of ad hoc, ancillary, de novo, adumbrate, per se, abrogate and seconded. As a vehicle, its wheels have reached the post- creaking era. But, and here's the rub, it has been running this country for years, baffiing the ordinarily intelligent citizen with a labyrinth of jargon, woven into meaningless patterns — like warp without a weft. The Civil Service is cluttered up with men and women who believe they possess, among many other things, literary ability. They not only know how to write better than the professional writer, but scores of them try to cut into the literary game to add to their incomes, but always under the guise of a nom-de-gitene. They all have their personal — but autocratic — ideas about adver- tising and they blandly take publicity in their stride. They know how to make better films than the professional director, and their positive con- ceptions of commercial art as an aid to publicity make them better judges than the experienced artists themselves. In fact, there is no form of publicity and propaganda in which they are not experts. Do not be surprised if you hear of one of them re-writing Shakespeare and another re- constructing the Differential Calculus. It is because executive Civil Servants are so abundantly equipped with a knowledge of how little the professional or business man knows about his profession or business that they resent in their midst the presence of specialists who have spent their lives learning their jobs. They know better what is best for any occasion than all the specialists. In times of stress they and their political friends get the executive positions, and then use the advice of the experts to hold them down. I have said that Civil Servants have two ambi- tions— a pension and an honour. I have this to add : They must be careful not to make mis- takes. Mistakes, quite rightly, are set against pos- sible promotion. The easiest way not to make mistakes is to be non-committal. In other words do nothing. Someone once called the heads of the Civil Ser- vice "The Better-Notters". It is better not to do something than to be found out as having done something which it would have been better not to have done. If the risk of a mistake is taken, in a very ebullient moment, you must be certain, in the Civil Service, to make the mistake in such a way that it will be difficult to trace. If you don't take that precaution you may be put on the car- pet three years later — when the subject matter has passed into the limbo of the forgotten. You will recall that it took several years of toil- some parliamentary pressure to assure for the workers of this country the concession of holi- days with pay. During that struggle and, indeed, in the normal course of events, officers with £350 a year salary and more were automatically in re- ceipt of 18 days holidays per year on pay and an additional compulsory sick-leave, on pay, of seven days per year. Thus most officials got a minimum of 25 days total leave on full pay. The sick leave was automatic and not on the strength of a doctor's certificate. You may wonder why I have devoted so much of my address to the Civil Service. I have two reasons. My twelve months' experience as Hon- orary Publicity Adviser to the National Savings Movement has given me an insight into a new world, as divorced from practical and progressive business methods as a bastion is from a baby's rattle. I have been told, and I am prepared to be- lieve it, that we in the National Savings Move- ment have the most go-ahead, highly geared coterie of all the Government Departments. Re- sults seem to bear out this contention. Nearly £400,000,000 from the two restricted issues- Savings Certificates and Defence Bonds and P.O. Savings and Trustee Savings Bank Deposits — has been subscribed to date by the small investor. That figure of £400,000,000 was what Professor Keynes set as the necessary amount to be got from the small investor by compulsory savings. We shall beat £400,000,000 easily. There must be something in planned advertising and organisa- tion after all. Our newspaper and journal adver- tising has cost less than one per cent of the money subscribed. Any expert will tell you that never in the history of advertising have such re- sults been attained. The actual percentage is .0827. Now what about "the Shape of Ads. to Come"? I have tried to indicate that great changes will come in the years which immediately follow the cessation of present hostilities. I think those changes will come chiefly from public attitude of mind, sane legislation, a re-organisation of pro- duction and consumption, the re-shaping of wholesale and retail distribution, and the elimin- ation of those marketing schemes which do not provide for the full protection of the consumer. The pseudo-governing body of advertising will have to suffer complete reform, for the abundant reason that, in future, advertising organisations will be accountable not merely to the advertiser but to the customer as well. And when the new Advertising Parliament, or what- ever it may be called, comes through its searching examination, it will have to be the representative mouthpiece of the whole selling and buying ele- ments of the country and not merely a metro- politan coterie of interested parties, protect- ing vested interests, as at present. The Civil Service type of hide and seek protective blab-blab which has permeated the councils and printed productions of the chief Advertis- ing Organisation must go. Advertising, if it is to survive the coming test of public opinion, must submit willingly and helpfully to the operation. If it doesn't it will croak. 12 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 THE GAS INDUSTRY'S FILMS AND THEIR AUDIENCES The educational films produced by the Gas Industry in the year prior to the war have been seen by audiences totalling hundreds of thousands of adults and children and have v^on high praise. IVow, with its new war-time films, the Gas Industry is reaching new audiences and increasing the usefulness of its work. The Industry's three food films— GREEN FOOD FOR HEALTH, WHAT'S FOR DINNER? and CHOOSE CHEESE— presented to the Ministry of Food in support of the National Food Campaign, have been used extensively in Food Weeks in all parts of the country. Together with another new gas film, IT COMES FROM COAL, these shorts have been added to The Central Film Library of the Ministry of Information. Audiences who have seen and enjoyed Gas industry Films include: — SCHOOLS BOYS' AND GIRLS' CLUBS INSTITUTES HIS MAJESTY'S FORCES ADULT EDUCATION GROUPS MILITARY AND OTHER HOSPITALS A.R.P. CENTRES EDUCATION AND OTHER ORGANISATIONS The Gas Industry, conscious of the importance of this service to the community, plans to continue its policy of maintaining public relations by the use of films. Applications for the loan of films should be made to the Ministry of Information or the Ministry of Food or direct to the BKITISII C03IMEKCIAL OAS ASSOCIATION 1 GROSVENOR PLACE LOXDOX, S.W.I DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 13 FILM SOCIETY NEWS The National Film Library has put in hand the construction of a further block of twelve vaults specially designed for long-term film preservation in Buckinghamshire. These will be required in part for the storage of the library's own rapidly growing collection of films and in part for the storage of Government films, mainly records of the 1914—18 war. Most notable among recent acquisitions to the National Film Library's Preservation Section is the whole of the film record of Captain Scott's Antarctic Expedition comprising master prints of the two films made from it, The Great White Silence and Ninety Degrees South : this material has been presented on loan by the trustees. The Library continues to add to its collection of current entertainment features, and its newsreel section is to be augmented by a copy of each issue of British News, the composite newsreel edited by the British Council, the donors. An interest- ing early acquisition has been a copy of Yvette, one of the feature films made on the Continent by Cavalcanti. The repairs to the Institute's premises, damaged by enemy action, are now well ad- vanced and it is hoped they will again become habitable early in December. The viewing theatre has already been restored to use. The Governors of the Institute have addressed a memorandum to the Court of the Goldsmiths' Company suggesting the expenditure of up to £400 on the making of a short series of experi- mental films for use by craft teachers in demon- strating the manipulation of silversmiths' tools. A fourth supplement has been published to the list of films suitable for children. (Price 3d.). The Tyneside Film Society is carrying on, although suitable films are not now so easy to get and many members are absent owing to evacua- tion and active service, because it is felt that the aims of the Society are just as important now as they were in peacetime. Everyone regrets the ab- sence of Mr. M. C. Pottinger, who has been such an able secretary for many years, and this year became chairman of the Tyneside Film Associa- tion Ltd. ; he resigned this office lately when he left to take up a commission in the R.N.V.R. The new chairman is Mr. B. S. Page, who has served on the committee for some years, and was at one time secretary of the Birmingham Film Society. The first annual meeting took place recently of the Tyneside Film Association Ltd., the com- pany limited by guarantee which was formed dur- ing last season to control the aff'airs of the Society. The company is in a very sound position and it was decided for 1940-41 to hold, at any rate, a first half-season of four private exhibitions on Sunday afternoons, to take place in the Hay- market Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne, on Novem- ber 17, December 8, January 12 and January 26. For the first of these exhibitions the feature film was Le Dernier Tournant, and for other dates it is hoped that some of the following will be available: Remontons les Champs-Elysees, La Marseillaise, lis Etaient Neuf Celibataires, Accord Final. The programmes will also include some of the best available documentary and experimental films and cartoons, etc., and it is intended to continue having discussions on the films shown. It is very much hoped that conditions will allow of the season being extended further into the spring, as in previous years. The Edinburgh Film Guild has shown remark- able initiative in its recent programmes. One was "timed to coincide with the Presidential elections' and aimed to present a cross section of American life." The films shown included New World Metropolis (March of Time on New York), Life in Sometown, U.S.A. (an M.G.M. short directed by Buster Keaton), The River, and Young Mr. Lincoln. The second programme was dedicated to Holland, and included Joris Ivens' early film Rain, Netherlands Old and New, and Rutten's Dood Wasser. A Polish programme is being planned. The enterprise shown by this Society should be a help to others, who might well plan to run similar — or even identical — programmes. The Stirlingshire Film Society and the Lochaber Film Society are starting up again. The former's first show was on November 24th. Ayrshire reports a successful season in progress. This Society still operates from two centres, thus catering for the major population areas of the county. On the initiative of the Glasgow Branch of the Association of Scientific Workers a meeting was recently called of people interested in scientific films, as a result of which it was proposed to form a Scientific Film Society in Glasgow. The programmes will be designed to show scientific films of popular appeal and an occasional high grade technical film. Membership is open to all who are interested, and the applications have been so heavy that the lists have had to be tem- porarily closed. The Society is holding six meetings during the winter at which 16 mm. films will be shown (the majority being sound films), and the sub- scription for the season is 5s. Members will be en- titled to bring a limited number of visitors at a charge of 1.?. for each performance, the account being rendered to members at the end of the season. If the membership is sufficiently large, a greater number of meetings may be held, and possibly one performance in a cinema. The formation of an experimental group is also under discussion. The first meeting of the season was held in Room 24, the Royal Technical College, George Street, on Wednesday, 23rd October, at 7.30 p.m. The programme was as follows : — (1) P.F.B. Cine-Magazine (General). (2) Transfer of Power (Engineering). (3) Grey Seals (Natural History). (4) Smoke Menace (Public Health). (5) Distillation (Oil Refining). (6) King Penguins (Natural History). Dundee and St. Andrews showed City of Ships, Early One Morning, and Der Zerbrochene Krug at the beginning of November, and Peter the Great at the end of the month. We are much indebted to the Secretary of this Society for sending us a cutting from a Scots paper which refers approvingly to the directorial work of Remonton's "Les Champs Elysees". Societies will no doubt look forward to seeing further examples of this new director's work. The Manchester and Salford Film Society is still hoping to run a spring session, and in the meantime notes with approval the activity of the Manchester and District Film Institute Society, which has started a series of continental film shows at the Tatler Cinema, including Pieges, Innocence, lis Etaient Neuf Celibataires and Rois du Sport. CENTRAL FILM LIBRARY The Ministry of Information has published its first list of 66 films available on 16 mm. A num- ber are also printed on 35 mm. Application for the list should be made to the Regional Offices. All films were listed in the October issue of D.N.L. with the exception of a few titles added subsequently and listed below. The following five-minute films are now available for non-theatrical use: — The Front Line, Britain Can Take It, Yester- day's Over Your Shoulder and Salvage with a Smile. A new series of cookery films is also available, under the general heading: Ministry of Food Cookery Hints. The subjects are: — Oatmeal Porridge, Herrings, Potatoes, Steam- ing, and Casserole Cooking. A silent version of Miss T has been added. The titles of certain films appearing under "Films Commissioned by the M.O.I." on page 15 of the October issue of D.N.L. have been altered. A Day in a Factory, The People's Health and School Services in Wartime have been retitled Speed Up and Welfare, Health in War and Tomorrow is Theirs respectively. 14 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 FILM OF THE MONTH EDISON, THE MAN. Production: M.G.M. Producer: John W. Considine, Jr. Director: Clarence Brown. With Spencer Tracy as Edison. JUST NOW, some millions of people in this country and a good many millions more in Germany and other parts of the continent are very closely affected by two pieces of scientific work ; the researches of Nobel, on high explosives, and the experiments of the Wright brothers with gliders. The one gave us the H.E. bomb, the other the aeroplane. It may seem that Nobel and the Wright brothers are responsible for the bombs that rain on Europe. But these men did not intend that their discoveries should be used in this way. Until we know better how the world about us really works, it is likely that we shall often let it get out of order — there will again be noises in the night, no onions to eat, people beaten because they happen to be called Jews, and others killed because they happen to be in the path of a bomb. Therefore films which tell the story of applied science are vitally important con- tributions to society. Edison, the Man shows how some scientific discoveries were made, particularly electric light, and how they first came to be used. Spencer Tracy is good star appeal as Edison who, penniless but ambitious, works as a cleaner in a New York financier's office. When a ticker tape machine goes wrong his experience as a telegraphist, and his mechanical ability, enables him to mend it. The mending of the machine is well done. Tracy obviously is a telegraphist to this extent : he simply sits intently at the machine, and hardly moving his hands, starts it again. Edison gets facilities to work on the improve- ment of the ticker tape machine. Yet his first concern in the film appears to be to help a girl whose umbrella blows inside out. She later becomes his wife. Edison improves the ticker tape machine and is paid 40,000 dollars for his work. One felt rather baulked at not being told what Edison really did with the machine, other than that he made lots of drawings. The second half of the film deals mainly with the invention of the electric lamp. Edison, about to lose his laboratory at Menlo Park, goes to the financier for money. The man offers twice as much as Edison needs but wants to have a say in what is invented. Edison refuses to have his work, as a creative inventor, tram- melled in this way. His invention of the phono- graph— pleasantly treated— tides things over only for a while. He then goes back to an earlier idea, the possibility of electric light. The film treatment of this sequence is convincing and exciting. A lamp is fitted and the switch pressed. The carbon filament glows brightly in its vacuum. The group of workers stand round Edison to watch this new thing. Will it go on burning? The gas-light is turned out. Nobody misses it. The men just stare at the lamp, achieved at last after trying 9,000 filaments. Until now they have just seen the filament glow brightly for a second or two — and then burn out. The lamp shines on for forty hours, while Edison and some of the lab. workers sleep round it. One of the men taps his watch and holds out his hand to another; the wager is silently passed. When Edison wants to light New York, he asks for a concession to wire part of the city within a year — at his own expense. Here the film has something to say about the way discoveries in science are frustrated. For the man who first financed Edison has also a financial interest in a Gas Company, and uses all his influence to have Edison and his competing invention stopped. He succeeds at least in getting the con- cession limited to six months. Five hours before the concession expires a trial run of the generators is made. Apparently somebody has put fireworks in the dynamos and arranged for a small earth tremor to visit New York at this moment. The dynamos discharge weird sparks and smoke, while the whole building rocks. What actually happened is not explained, so one can only go by what is seen on the screen. Clearly it is something very unusual because all the engineers — who have been with Edison throughout the film, and should know how their machines are likely to behave — scatter like rabbits and hide in corners. But Spencer Edison rises to the occasion, heroically pulls levers and turns wheels, and the fireworks subside. (Even if this incident is historically accurate it could have been made technically more convincing. It can only mislead and frighten the lay public. When things go wrong, competent workmen do not run away from their machines with every appearance of incompetence.) The damage can be made good only by fitting a new shaft. This is finished one minute before the zero hour. New York has its lights, and the financier has his hat knocked over his eyes. In spite of melodramatics and travesties of workshop practice, the broad impression of Edison, the Man is honest. There should be more films putting science into social perspective as effectively as this. MONOLOGUE FROM ^^EDISON, THE MAN 99 Reprinted by permission of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Ltd. My, my, my, I just had the funniest dream. I was dreaming about winter, and it was so cold that the trees couldn't shake, and daybreak froze fast just as it was trying to dawn. Yes, Ma'am, all creation was freezing. The question was whether I was going to stay snug in bed, or get up and see what had happened. Well, I got up — and the earth had frozen fast on its axis. Couldn't turn around. Everything was pitch dark, too. The sun had got jammed in between two cakes of ice, and was working so hard to get loose that it froze in its own sweat. Well, sir, I started off across country to see what could be done and I met a bear. I told him what had happened and he just naturally bounced up and down on the ice so hard that the hot oil welled out all over him. Then I picked Mr. Bear up and 1 held him over the earth's axis, and I let the hot oil drip down. Then I gave the earth's cog-wheel a little kick backwards, till I got the sun loose. The earth gave a grunt and began to move, and the sun waked up beautiful. I lit my pipe by the light of his top-knot, and broke off a piece for myself. Yes, Ma'am, I walked home with the sunrise in my pocket. THE RAMPARTS WE WATCH A criticism of the March of Time feature film at present run- ning in U.S.A. cinemas, but not yet released in this country THIS IS a bold attempt to present in film form the reactions of public opinion to world events over a period of very crowded history. By far the greater part of The Ramparts We Watch deals with the years 1914 to 1919, wisely leaving unattempted the delineation of the Twenties' smug chaos and the Thirties' panic-stricken rush into another war. The March of Time pro- ducers, faced with no mean problem of filmic construction, decided not to fly too high. They had at their disposal — or at any rate available — a vast amount of newsreel material, much of it of unique value. With this, the events of an epoch could be authentically picturised — the battles and disasters, the great ones with their plumed helmets or gleaming toppers ; the anony- mous victims of twentieth century life, col- lapsing casually in a Flanders landscape amid smoke and gas, or running in blank amazement from the flaming horror of a sabotaged munition works; and, more important still for the pur- poses of the film, there were the crowds, jubilant, celebrant, or simply puzzled and waiting; the crowds — collections of black dots one minute, flashes of faces, smiling or sullen, the next; the crowds, erratic and impressive, being the DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 15 outward and visible sign of that mysterious and to politicians menacing object — Public Opinion. Out of these crowds the producers saw that they could make a satisfactory link between the general and the particular, between the clashing armies or the pronouncements of premiers and the puzzled or placid or suffering but always curiously self-contained individual, who in his circumscribed local life is also an aspect — philosophically if not politically just as disturbing — of Public Opinion. The Ramparts We Watch therefore starts with a generalised statement about the U.S.A. of 1914, and then, to mirror attitudes and ideas in a more coherent form, takes us to an American small-town community, which remains through- out the film as the example of individual lives and opinions. This balances against the more generalised statements of the commentator. The small town is not the small town of the Hardys or the Bumsteads, nor could it with much accuracy be pinned to this State or that. Nor, on the other hand, is it a symbolic small town; but rather something betwixt and be- tween, a kind of actuality microcosm of American citizenship. We meet a lot of the inhabitants of this town, from the Congressman and the Editor of the local paper to various ordinary families, some wealthy and influential, some poor; some of English descent, some of German, some still immigrant, such as the Austrian factory hand with his wife and daughter. But the most striking thing is the way we meet them and get to know them. They are not pushed in our faces, estab- lished and labelled, at the beginning of the film. Their first appearances are anonymous. From newsreel shots we are led imperceptibly to staged small-town scenes in the same mood ; and among the crowds, or in the shops, or in the small houses, the characters make their first appear- ance. We do not at first know which of them we shall see again. Thus we get to know them through time, just as we learn of their hopes and fears, which means their opinion, through time. And this makes them very much our neighbours rather than Hollywoodian simulacra. A large and anonymous cast, behaving rather than acting true to life, successfully wins our interest and our sympathy, rightly looms as large in the screen space as the figures of Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, Hoover, King George V, and even little old Hitler, who inevitably pops up in the later reels, directing the blitz on Poland from an Olympian railway carriage, Goering obsequious in attendance, and the tight-lipped generals awaiting orders and hoping that the Fuhrer is still right. American critics will no doubt be able to say if The Ramparts We Watch is an accurate picture of U.S.A. opinion during the World War. To the average Englishman the most striking point which emerges is the reluctance with which the people of the States came round to the idea of entering the last war. So many British people think of that event as being an automatic explosion after the Lusitania episode, and the March of Time version, by its emphasis on the period after the Lusitania sinking, appears to give the true version, a version indeed which is not merely more sympathetic but also very instructive in relation to present happenings. The detailed study of public opinion ends on New Year's day, 1919. The film then switches us direct to 1940, with, among other things, a reel from the Nazi film Baptism of Fire, com- plete with the original English commentary as recorded in Germany for propaganda purposes. (From this reel, by the way, one can understand how useful a film this must have been to the Fifth Columnists of Scandinavia and the Low Countries.) Completed before the Presidential elections. The Ramparts We Watch is bound to have a somewhat cautious conclusion, but a final return to the New Year's party of our small town in 1919 gives a kick to the finale which is all the more effective in that it depends on implication, not statement. It is to be hoped that The Ramparts We Watch will be shown over here in its entirety. Whatever renters or exhibitors may think about it, it is highly probable that the public (of our larger cities at any rate) would enjoy the whole ninety minutes worth; for the film is about something which very closely affects us ; and it also reminds us that it might have been about ourselves. THE CITY Production: American Documentary Films under the auspices of the American Institute of Planners. Direction and photography; Rudolph Steiner and Willard Van Dyke. Commentary: Lewis Mumford. Music: Aaron Copland. This film was the subject of controversy in the U.S.A. A copy has belatedly reached this country. Two D.N.L. reviews follow. IT IS NOT easy, when deeply moved, to sit in sober judgment. Yet this is necessary if criticism is to be of value. Now the only certain statement the present reviewer can make is that this film will challenge you from one angle or another and in whatever way you fee! yourself implicated. Its terms of reference could fairly be defined as "the significance of humanity in contemporary industrialised society." When you see the film you may feel that it brings the stubborn mockery and the beauty of life unbearably close, or that sometimes it is laboured. You may feel one of a dozen unpredictable things about it. Whilst admitting certain faults, it is one of the greatest documentaries ever made. A thesis rather than a review is demanded and this has already been done in Lewis Mumford's The Culture of Cities. The City is based on Lewis Mumford's famous book The Culture of Cities which analyses the historical phases and modern social consequences of metropolitan life. Like many social documen- taries from the United States, it addresses its appeal to the heart rather than the head. Ameri- can film-makers dealing with social and economic problems are generally reluctant to leave the unembellished facts to tell their own story and beget their own emotional reaction. They believe that the facts must be aided by elaborate artifice of camera, cutting bench and recording studio and sometimes by conventional emotive imagery. To some of us the method seems to reveal a lack of confidence in the ability of the audience to see, understand and feel for itself. It is as if the director's emotions were an essential part of the story and that these must be revealed before the audience can draw conclusions of its own. Mumford's book is written with feeling, but he does not indulge his hatred for the modern consequences of industrialisation at the expense of the scientific analysis of cause and cure. The City does less than justice to his practical approach to the problem. The facts to which it limits itself could have been adequately ex- pressed in five minutes screen time, yet the attempt to convey the director's feelings about them occupies five reels. The theme of the film is that life was comfort- able, healthy and safe in the New England town- ship of the pre-industrial age, that industry and commerce have made life in the modern metro- polis, uncomfortable, unhealthy and unsafe, and that if people choose they could even to-day, by proper town planning, live in comfort, health and safety again. Since the case against the social organisation of the big city is now com- mon knowledge the key section of the film clearly is the final section which deals with the cure. But it is here that the film altogether ceases to be factual. We are shown scenes of model towns which may be located in Mars for all the information the film gives about them. There are recurrent scenes of boys riding bicycles or delivering newspapers which are apparently symbolic of the new order, yet we are given no hints of what sort of people are able to live in it, what their work is, what they earn and pay in rent, or of how this earthly paradise was built. If what we are shown is ideal rather than real, surely we need some better indication of how it may be realised than is provided by the repeated exhortation to choose between the good life and the bad? We choose the good. Then what? The best section of the film is the New England sequence on life before the coming of the indus- trial age. The film is beautifully photographed throughout and in this historical sequence the unquestioned ability of the production team to create atmosphere and mood finds full and legitimate scope. In the modern metropolis the essential characteristics of everyday life are well observed. Yet the citizens on the sidewalks whose unstudied gestures and mannerisms have been brilliantly caught by concealed cameras are not left to themselves to make their city come alive on the screen. They must be assisted by automata built up on the cutting bench in f!ash-cut "montage" sequences which borrow their inspiration from the film archives. The scenes of industrial slums are the best that have ever been made. The whole film pro- vides a sad example of how the theme and material for a potentially great picture have been spoiled by laying on the colour too thick with a worn-out brush. 16 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 PETROLEUM FILMS BUREAU A new sound film AIRSCREW (35 mm. & 16 mm. 2 reels) has been added to the existing library of 25 films showing: — How Oil is FrodQced and Refined How People Use Oil How Motor Cars Work Four new films are expected to be ready in the New Year: — i Hydraulics Ginemagazine No. 6 Turn of the Furrow Malaria Control Petroleum Films Bureau, 15 Hay Hill, London, W.l, Regent 6308 Nf tO( re; IHl ev IDs wa Appreciation of our regular feature on Documentary Films appearing in the ^^KINEMATOGRAPH WEEKLY'' The Leading Journal of the Film Industry Ministry of Information, Malet Street, London, W.C.I. DEAR MR RAYMENT, Thank you for your letter of August 2nd. I found your supple- ment most interesting, and I look forward to your next month's issue. Yours truly, JACK BEDDINGTON. DEAR MR RAYMENT, Thank you very much for your letter of August 2nd, and the copy of the special supplement to the Kine- tuatograph Weekly which you enclose. I have studied it with great interest, and it seems to me to have a news and propaganda value of the highest quality. With many thanks, Believe me. Yours very sincerely, J. H. BEITH, Major-General, Director of Public Relations. From LORD strabolgi, Iddesleigh House, Caxton Street, Westminster, S.W.i. DEAR SIR, I am obliged to you for sending me a copy of your new special supplement of Propaganda and Documentary Films. I consider this an excellent idea, and it should prove most valuable. Yours faithfully, STRABOLGI Published every Thursday ¥lm matcgraph WEEKLY 85 Long Acre London, WC2 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 17 THE CARE OF FILMS By RUPERT LEE, of Recono Ltd. (Denham Laboratories) "AGAINST A DISTANT backgTound of junglc the rains fall, heavy, dull and vertical. The white man is shouldering his burden. In the palm-thatched huts it is raining. One knew this palm thatching was not water-tight." "The white man is returning to London to marry the leading lady who hasn't changed in fifteen years. Not even her clothes. It is raining in London. The white Georgian doorway of Aunt Agatha's house is half obscured by heavy rain — but no : not in the drawing room — ^but yes! in Aunt Agatha's drawing room, dark, heavy, vertical rain. . . ." The principal trouble with films is scratches and emulsion scratches are, as a rule, the first which appear. After a time, celluloid scratches will appear, and at any time perforations may tear and films may even break. Before making any suggestions as to how films may be fortified against damage, or cured when damaged, it is necessary to impress on film users the importance of projection. The projectionist should make his job an art. A large number of scratches would be saved by a more frequent cleaning of the gate. All films are not the same thickness. Where the tension is adjustable it should be used. Only sufficient tension is required to keep the film steady, and any more is dangerous. Films can be dusted oftener with advantage. Hand re-winding through a silk velvet is a safeguard against dust and dirt. If you find you are getting a persistent scratch always in one place, don't blame the laboratories for supplying films that scratch in one place. The fault may be in the take-up box or there may be a burr on the gate. FORTIFYEVG NEW PRINTS Nevertheless, however careful one is, accidents do happen and a considerable amount of thought has been given to the fortifying of films against too early damage. The idea which occurred reasonably to photographic people was to harden the emulsion. Formalin, alum, formalde- hyde, and other substances, have been used, mostly combined with the fixing bath. Some of these are definitely helpful to the emulsion though they incline to aff'ect the celluloid— especially in the case of an acetate base. Another idea was to put a protecting coat over the emulsion. The objection to this was that it formed a sandwich of soft emulsion between the celluloid and the protective coating. There was a tendency — far too frequent — for the coat- ing to come off", and bring the emulsion with it. Waxing does to some extent protect a film against slight surface scratches which often, owing to the wax, become worse as there is a tendency for the emulsion surface to turn over and become ploughed in. Lubrication has been tried. Used in sufficient quantities to make the film very dirty, it is said to be eff'ective. Lubrica- tion is probably not the solution. That a surface is slippery does not necessarily mean that it resists scratches. Skates will cut into ice although they slip very adroitly. The solution lies rather in toughening the emulsion to resist the scratch. My own experi- ments have been towards using a toughening, on the lines of a coating, but which could be sunk deeply into the emulsion with which it became completely homogeneous. It has been found possible to achieve by this means an improved adhesion to the celluloid base, and by adding to this "impregnating" solution certain softening agents advantageous to the preservation of the flexibility of the celluloid, a double purpose is served. It is possible by proper impregnation of a film from the emulsion side, not only to fortify the picture against scratches, but also to pro- long the life of the celluloid. There is one type of film which cannot be treated in this way. Dufaycolour, owing to the colour reseau and the varnish which protects it, is vulnerable to most solutions should they penetrate these. The answer so far is to treat the celluloid from the back. This treatment has been found to improve the flexibility of new films and to improve the adhesion of the emulsion to the base. RESTORING SCRATCHED AND OLD COPIES The cure of emulsion scratches has largely bene- fited from a proper study of the possibilities of impregnation. Scratches on a film appear on the screen either as black — or less usually, as white. When the scratch shows as white it is because the emulsion has been completely gouged away. When the scratch shows black it is generally assumed to be due to a furrow in either the emulsion or the celluloid which has become filled with dirt, dust, or oil. This is not entirely true. A careful cleaning of the film will not elimi- nate the black scratch, the persistance of which is owing to the refraction of light on the walls of the trench. Now the nearest solution would be to fill the scratch with something — but something having the nearest refractive index to the emul- sion or celluloid. There is a further consideration. The filling would have to be homogeneous with the gelatine layer and celluloid, otherwise, as I have already said in reference to coating and impregnation, there is a danger of detachment. Globe polish has been tried, with a certain mild success on slight emulsion scratches. I cannot find the refractive index of Globe polish, it is not in Molesworth, but it has been a minor success — or so I am given to understand. Coating will eliminate scratches on the emulsion, but this is open to the same objections as I have already mentioned. The solution of the problem is to soften the emulsion sufficiently to allow the colloids used to enter into contract (sic. not contact) with the emulsion in such a way that the whole becomes homogeneous. The scratches disappear and the emulsion is fortified against further damage. The treatment of celluloid has hardly received the proper attention it deserves. To dissolve the surface and press it against a glass roller certainly removes some scratches, but the result is not very astonishing, and takes no account of the quality of the material. Celluloid, like the human body, is composed of certain concomitants and water. (It is perhaps for this reason that some people suppose that a damp pad enclosed in a film canister prevents a celluloid film from becoming brittle.) But it is not the loss of water which deteriorates a celluloid film. Many other substances are lost with age, and as scratched celluloid is generally a slightly elderly celluloid, it is necessary to treat it for scratches and age as well. The question becomes, almost entirely, one of solvents : to dissolve, to soften and to leave a sufficiency of the softening agents so as to achieve a rebirth and to regenerate and recreate the celluloid base as new. Now it is well known that when metals are mixed to form alloys, the results are not an averaging out of the qualities of the elements in the mixture. A mixture of bismuth, lead, tin, and cadmium, all of which alone have a melting point of many degrees, will form a humour-giving alloy, known as Rose's metal, which melts at the temperature of a nice cup of tea. Solvents will show similar freak properties. Certain solvents mixed in certain proportions will give results that can hardly be forecast by a study of the individual character- istics of the various concomitants. It has been found possible to work out graded formulae to suit the age and amount of damage to the celluloid. The process of restoring a celluloid film and removing the scratches is, then, to soften the film to a sufficient depth, to produce sufficient surface tension to restore the gloss, and finally to leave, unevaporated, a proportion of softening agents to assure the original elasticity and plasticity of the film. Today it is possible to fortify a copy before it has been put into service, and often, successfully to restore it again when it has become scratched and old. The cost of either process is very small when compared with the cost of a new copy. With proper care and handling, and correct treatment when any trouble occurs, a film can be made, not only to last longer, but to give, while in service, the clear, steady picture which enables the audience to forget the technicians. 18 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 INTRODUCING FILMS OF OBEAT BKITAIN LIMITED whose policy is faithfully to project the achievements of Great Britain which have contributed towards the welfare and progress of humanity Managing Director : ANDREW BUCHANAN REGD. OFFICE Bush House Aldwych WC2 RESEARCH DEFT. Longbury Hill Storrington, Sus Storrington 380 EMERGENCY PRODUCTION OFFICES 347a Upper Richmond Road London SJVIS Putney 6274 Br. pri rel am lio as INTRODUCING ANDREW BUCIANAN PRODUCTIONS Specialising in : COMEDIES MUSICAL PRODUCTIONS SCREEN PUBLICITY Now in Production : "VERY BROAD CASTING "- by Andrew Buchanan —a comedy EMERGENCY PRODUCTION OFFICES 347a Upper Richmond Road London SW15 Putney 6274 h DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 19 CORRESPONDENCE DEAR sirs: In your September issue there is an admirable article, The Other Side of the Atlantic, "by a correspondent in America." With the general criticism in the article I am in entire agreement; but there are some statements of fact which make it obvious that the writer knows intimately about films in Canada and not so completely about films in the United States. The Lion Has Wings, with the commentary by Lowell Thomas, has received about 1,000 bookings and is continuing at the rate of about 25 per week — mainly one or two days each. It never made a "huge impression" here, but I be- lieve it is doing a good job still. I have seen it three times lately and have been surprised to see how little of it has dated. The film has been withdrawn in half a dozen situations where the local German influence threatened trouble for the theatre showing it. For Freedom has not been released here, so far as I know, and I doubt if it has much of a market now. Pastor Hall has received ecstatic press notices for its New York release. It is now in its third week at a small house on Broadway. Its releases in other big cities have been fairly successful, depending apparently on the advance publicity build-up. Neither Convoy nor Contraband have been released. The Stars Look Down is still held by M.G.M.: it is said that the difficult accent of one of the leading characters is causing worry. Mein Kampf^My Crimes, released here as After Mein Kampf, has had a short run on Broadway with severe criticisms from most of the press. Madmen of Europe has, as your corres- ponder writes, a vogue as a second feature. R.K.O. has recently released Queen of Destiny (60 Glorious Years) as a second feature for extensive showing. Other British features now released include The Outsider, 21 Days Together, and The Fugitive (known in England as On the Night of the Fire). All the early Korda produc- tions have been re-issued lately, and such films as The Lady Vanishes, the Bergner films, Man of Aran, Edge of the IVorld and the early Hitchcock films are often to be seen in revival theatres. The story of British shorts is pretty sad. Columbia still holds Squadron 992, which is likely to be released as Floating Elephants. Men of the Lightship is receiving a new sound track at the time of writing. I have not seen a single British wartime short that would be acceptable as a commercial proposition in the American film market without some alterations.* The "war psychology" of the British film audience appears to have widened the gulf between American and British film tastes, and the British find it hard to realise this trend or the reason for it. We read the opinion of a senior London critic that Men of the Lightship should be shown in America immediately. Such an attempt (were it feasible or acceptable com- mercially) would have had the reverse influence from what was intended. In conclusion I must express a personal dis- agreement with your contributor about Foreign Correspondent. Not only to me, but to many others who have complained bitterly, it is in- credible that Wanger and Hitchcock should have devised a noble and heroic death for their fifth-column politician, followed by a justifi- cation of his way of life from his daughter. Is this what we are to expect when "Hollywood tries hard"? Yours truly. New York. October 1th, 1940. AMERICAN CORRESPONDENT * Since this letter was written London Can Take It has been given the widest theatrical release ever accorded to a short in the U.S.A. — ed. DEAR sirs: Maybe I'm speaking for a minority among the British documentary film people, but nevertheless I ask D.N.L. to place on record my deep resentment at its support of the closing speech in Hitchcock's film Foreign Correspondent. "America!" booms Joel McCrea, "Hang on to your lights, they are the only lights left in the world!" D.N.L. is pleased to describe this olT-the-cuff piece of melodramatics, based on Lord Grey's famous 1914 utterance, spoken in the film by an irresponsible American news-hound in London to a transatlantic audience, as : "It is neither a warlike nor a political piece of propaganda; it stimulates thought, and its message should strike home on the other side of the Atlantic; to us over here it does at least bring evidence of a goodwill backed by clear thinking". I describe it as an insult to the "only army which", claims D.N.L. itself in an editorial in the same issue, "will win the war" ; an army of civilians, I maintain, in whom the lights have never burned more brightly and more proudly than they do now. The tale has gone the rounds that the words spoken by McCrea were either written or in- spired by Mr. John Grierson when he was in Hollywood. If this is true (though to me they sound more like Mr. Kennedy that Mr. Grierson) they reveal a grave lack of knowledge of public opinion in Britain, a lack one does not usually associate with a propagandist so sensitive to the public pulse as Mr. Grierson. If the Editors of D.N.L. subscribe to this message, which implies that the British people no longer have faith in democracy in their own country, and call it "evidence of goodwill backed by clear thinking", do they not place themselves, to use their own words, among "the large number of people who are out of touch not so much with fact as with feeling; who are frightened of any clear statement of true demo- cratic principles; who, from their own safe little paradises, will delegate authority upwards but never downwards; who turn at all costs to a fictional heaven rather than a factual purgatory"? I can assure these leaders of the British docu- mentary film that the people who are really suffering as well as fighting this war do not share this view that the lights are even dimmed in Britain. If they did, the Fascist propagandists might well claim to have already won the war. My own belief is that if the Editors of D.N.L. had not been under the impression that the words in question had been written or inspired by Mr. John Grierson, they might not have been so quick to agree that their own, as well as other people's beliefs in democratic Britain had vanished. Assuming he is responsible, Mr. Grierson's 4,000 odd miles remove from Britain may explain his rare misjudgment of public opinion, but Film Centre Ltd. is, after all, quite close to the Front Line. In their editorial the Editors of D.N.L. neatly divide the British nation into two camps of US and THEM ; I invite these leaders of the documentary group to remember that democracy in practice needs only one camp — WE. In order that readers of D.N.L. may not think I am alone in holding this opinion, the following wish to associate their names with this letter: Michael Balcon, Ealing Studios; Ritchie Calder, Daily Herald and New Statesman; Cavalcanti, Ealing Studios; A. J. Cummings, NewsClvonicle; Aubrey Flanagan, Motion Picture Herald; Michael Foot, Evening Standard; Dilys Powell, Sunday Times, Alexander Werth, Manchester Guardian. Yours, etc.. PAUL ROTHA The final speech in Foreign Correspondent, an imaginary broadcast to the U.S.A., from London, runs: — "/ cant read the rest of the speech I had had because all the lights have gone out — so I'll have just to talk off the cuff. All that noise you hear isnt static. It's death coming to London. Yes, they're coming here now. You can hear the bombs falling on the streets and the homes. Don't tune me out. Hang on a while. This is a big story — and you're part of it. It's too late to do anything here now ex- cept stand in the dark and let them come. It's as if the lights are out everywhere — except in America. Keep those lights burning there. Cover them with steel; ring them with guns. Build a canopy of battleships and bombing 'planes around them — - Hello, America! Hang on to your lights. They're the only lights left in the world!" 20 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECE!mBER 1940 DOCUMENTARY AND OTHER BOOKINGS FOR DECEMBER {The following bookings for December are selected from a list covering its Members, supplied by The News and Specialised Theatres Association.) After Midnight The Tatler Theatre, Manchester A Letter from Aldershot The News Theatre, Leeds Andy Panda Goes Fishing The Tatler News Reel, Newcastle Art Gallery The Tatler News Reel, Newcastle Atlantic Patrol News Theatre, Birmingham News Theatre, Leeds News Theatre, Manchester News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne Big Idea The News House, Bristol News Theatre, Manchester Bridge Across the Skies The Tatler Theatre, Chester Carry on Children News Cinema, Aberdeen News Theatre, Newcastle The Tatler Theatre, Manchester Cartoons News Theatre, Birmingham News Theatre, Birmingham Tatler News Theatre, Birmingham Tatler News Theatre, Birmingham News House, Bristol News House, Bristol News Theatre, Manchester News Theatre, Manchester Charge of the Light Brigade Tatler News Theatre, Leeds Tatler News Theatre, Leeds Claws and Effect News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne Cradle of Champions News Theatre, Birmingham Crazy Show The News House, Bristol Danger Coast of Britain News Theatre, Leeds News Theatre, Newcastle Dark Magic (Benchley) The Tatler Theatre, Chester The Tatler News Reel, Newcastle Defying Death News Theatre, Manchester Devils of the Ocean The News Cinema, Aberdeen Donald's Golf Game The Tatler News Reel, Newcastle Egypt Eternal News Theatre, Leeds News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne First Past the Post Tatler News Theatre, Birmingham Flying to Australia with Ivan Scott The News Cinema, Aberdeen The News Theatre, Leeds The Tatler Theatre, Manchester Week ending 7th 21st 14th 21st 7th 28th 7th 14th 14th 7th 21st 21st 28th 7th 21st 28th 2Ist 28th 2Ist 28th 21st 28th 7th 14th 21st I4th 7th 14th 28th 21st 28th 14th 21st 14th 21st 7th 7th 21st 14th 7th Four Daughters Tatler Theatre, Chester Four Thousand Years The Tatler Theatre, Manchester From Fin to Hand News Theatre, Birmingham News Theatre, Leeds From Minuet to Foxtrot New Theatre, Newcastle Furnished Apartments The Tatler News Reel, Newcastle Glimpses of New Brunswick Tatler News Reel, Newcastle Golden Boy Tatler News Theatre, Leeds Happy Families The News Cinema, Aberdeen Hollywood Hobbies News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne Human Fish News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne Hurdle Hoppers News Theatre, Leeds I am the Law Tatler Theatre, Chester Isle of Winds The Tatler News Theatre, Newcastle Java Journey News Theatre, Newcastle Lonesome Ghosts News Theatre, Newcastle Lovely Wales The Tatler Theatre, Manchester March of Time No. 5 (Gateway to Panama) The News Cinema, Aberdeen The Tatler Theatre, Manchester March of Time No. 6 (6th Year) News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne Tatler Theatre, Manchester Mastery of the Sea Tatler News Reel Theatre, Newcastle News Theatre, Leeds Tatler Theatre, Manchester Medical Miracles News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne Mendelssohn's Wedding March News House, Bristol News Theatre, Leeds News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne Moments of Charm The Tatler News Reel, Newcastle Mr. Duck Steps Out The News Theatre, Leeds Tatler News Theatre, Newcastle One Mother's Family News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne Picturesque Udaipur Tatler News Theatre, Birmingham Week ending 14th Point of View No. 7 (What is Federation?) News Cinema, Aberdeen Tatler Theatre, Chester Week ending 7th 7th 28th Presto Changed The Tatler News Reel, Newcastle 28lh 7th 7th Rocky Mountain Grandeur The Tatler News Reel, Newcastle 21st 21st Rural Hungary News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne 21st 28th See Your Doctor News Theatre, Leeds News Theatre, Newcastle 28th 21st 7th Silent Wings News Theatre, Newcastle 21st 21st Sink or Swim News Theatre, Manchester 14th 28th Ski-ing Technique News Cinema, Aberdeen 28th 14th 21st Stage by Stage News Theatre, Leeds Tatler Theatre, Manchester 21st 28th 21st Stranger than Fiction No. 78 The Tatler News Reel, Newcastle 21st 7th The Answer The Tatler Theatre, Manchester 21st 7th The Autograph Hound News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne 14tb 28th The Blue Streak News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne 7th 21st The Bookworm News Theatre, Newcastle 28th 14th The Brave Little Tailor The Tatler News Reel, Newcastle 21st 28th The Enchanted Trail News Theatre, Newcastle-on-Tyne 14th 14th The Romance of Radium The Tatler News Reel, Newcastle 14th 7th 14th The Roof of the World The Tatler Theatre, Manchester 21st 7th The Sleeping Princess Tatler News Reel, Newcastle 28th I4th 7th The Thirteenth Instant The Tatler News Reel, Newcastle 14th 7th The Terror Tatler Theatre, Chester 21st 14th This Island Called Britain Tatler News Reel, Newcastle 14th 7th 14th Threads of a Nation News Cinema, Aberdeen 7th 28 th Washington Parade No. 6 The News Cinema, Aberdeen 14th 7th 7th Wild Boar Hunt The Tatler News Reel, Newcastle 7th Workmates The News Cinema, Aberdeen 14th 7th Young Animals News Cinema, Aberdeen Tatler Theatre, Manchester 7th 14th A DECADE IN THE SERVICE OF DOCUMENTARY AND— AS EVER— ALWAYS READY TO CARRY OUT COMPETENTLY, EXPEDITIOUSLY AND OBLIGINGLY EVERY REQUIREMENT THAT CAN BE USEFULLY PROVIDED BY A MODERN LABORATORY PREVIEW THEATRE (R.C.A.) and PRIVATE CUTTING ROOMS TELEPHONE: 1366 GERRARD STUDIO FILM LABORATORIES L™ 80-82 WARDOUR STREET & 71 DEAN STREET, LONDON, W.l DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 21 ORGANISING A SCIENTIFIC FILM CLUB By NAN L. CLOW, B.Sc, M.A. Reprinted by courtesy of The Scientific Worker Twelve months ago the Aberdeen Branch of the A.S.W. decided to try a film show as an item ofits winter activites and ended by having a vigorous film club with 130 members, which, in addition to its instructional and entertainment value, has formed a valuable liaison between the A.S.W. and other local organisations. As a guide to other branches which might desire to establish such film clubs and have already been making enquiries, the following is a brief account of the evolution of the Aberdeen Scientific Film Club. The desirability for the formation of a club, as opposed to the holding of random film shows, is closely connected with the fact that a club which exists for the display of educational and scientific films is not subject to entertainment tax, even though the Customs and Excise have to be notified of each show and the programme sub- mitted before exemption is given. Having decided to form a club, the next question is where to meet. This will depend entirely on local condi- tons, but it should not be difficult to find, where there is a University or Technical College, a Physics or other department equipped with 16mm. talkie projector, etc. The cost of the hall and the use of the equipment will vary from a nominal charge to cover wear and tear and a gratuity to the operator, to a definite payment for hire. To bring the activities of the Club before the public, contact was made with the local W.E.A., who undertook to make a part of their syllabus available to the S.F.C., in addition to posting 500 of the Club's own leaflets along with their syllabus of lectures. A further batch of leaflets went to the local Film Society and a Press notice capped the advertising campaign. The oflTers held out by the S.F.C. leaflets were membership of the club at 4s. 6d. for five shows, which were to be held about the time of the full moon — a fact which made quite a number of members venture forth in the black-out. The season's programme was so designed that more than one aspect of a subject was explored from show to show by diff"erent films. Thus a physiological series considered in turn, nutrition, vitamins, functions of the body, and this emerged into a sociological series which considered hous- ing problems, vermin, smoke abatement, etc. In connection with some of the more highly special- ised films, demonstrations were given, as when a demonstration of chemical analysis on the macro scale preceded a film on micro-chemical tech- nique, thus enabling non-chemists to anticipate and appreciate the points illustrated. Further, in order to give something more than can be expected in the ordinary cinema, the makers of some of the films shown were invited to come and supplement the material given in their films. DR. EHRLICH'S MAGIC BULLET A composite review by two scientific observers, reprinted by courtesy of The Scientific Worker (abridged) The basis of this film is the life of the bacteri- ologist, Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915). The following is a factual criticism only, not one of technique or acting, of which it can simply be said that nothing seems inappropriate or ungenuine. One admires the restraint shown by the use of ortho- dox apparatus in the normal manner. The film covers the whole of Ehrlich's scientific career, commencing with his clinical post in Berlin, in a manner which is broadly true but in many ways inaccurate. There is a great connect- ing theme running through Ehrlich's work — that of the combination of substances with dift'erent parts of living organisms — and this is illustrated in the film, beginning with the specific combina- tion of dyestuff's with micro-organisms in order to render them visible under the microscope. But this idea was not entirely Ehrlich's, and it seems unnecessary that Ehrlich should be made to explain such staining to Koch on the occasion of Koch's announcement of the discovery of the tubercule bacillus (1882), when Koch had used the method at least five years earlier for the anthrax bacillus. Again, at other points, the main errors occur in attributing too much to Ehrlich and in over-dramatising incidents of his life, e.g. in the use of diphtheria antitoxin, and in the '606 trial.' Even with such criticism of details, it is excel- lent that a popular film should be made which shows so much of the genuine difficulties and triumphs of scientific work. It shows that much of Ehrlich's research was on problems of im- mediate practical importance — the standardisa- tion of diptheria antitoxin, the development of salvarsan for cure of syphilis — and that others, apparently abstract, contributed to practical as well as theoretical advances. The difficulties of getting adequate financial backing for research are shown many times. Though science had in Germany at this time attained an official recog- nition which was achieved only later in England, this involved restrictions with which Ehrlich and Koch are shown in conflict. Many points are raised of a general nature which are only too topical to-day; fortunately the audience is led to side against such futile obstructions as racial prejudice, inadequate financing, prevention of scientific workers from attending important lectures, etc. Conventional taboos are satirised in an amusing sequence where the mention of syphilis at a dinner table causes violent reaction. The points about Ehrlich's personality which have been noted by his biographers are also well interpreted by Edward G. Robinson: his tendency to advance a theory on little evidence, and then to defend it impetuously, and the impression which the film gives of rapid and great discovery in bacteriology during Ehrlich's life is true and can hardly be over emphasised. A few excellent microscope slides in colour were incorporated in the film; the exemplary views of the tubercle bacilli, spirochaetes, and particularly the living trypanosomes would in themselves make a viewing worth while. DE WOLFE'S 25 years experience in film music at your service LARGEST LIBRARY of v/ell-recorded ORCHESTRAL SOUND-TRACKS ' not less than 25 performers NO CHARGE FOR THE LOAN OF NEGATIVES GERRARD 2992 GRAMOPHONE RECORDS HUDSON RECORD CO. Cinema House, 80-82 Wardour Street, W.I 22 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 D.N.L. VOL. I. INDICES Roman numerals refer to the issue, arable numerals to the page number, throughout (1) ARTICLES AND REVIEWS Reviews of books and catalogues are indicated by an asterisk- Notes of the Month are in italics. Accuracy IX, 2 •America at the Movies (Margaret Thorp) IV, 17 America Sponsors British Documentary I, 3 Anti-Gossip Films Reviewed V, 17 Anthropology 111, 2 •Assessment of Educational Films, The X, 12 Association of Scientific Workers VIII, 17 B.B.C., The I, 21 "Be Careful, Girls!" VII, 2 Belated Showmanship V, 2 Biter Bit, The IX, 2 Books about Films, Some V, 18 Brassieres XII, 2 Break for the Newsreels VI, 2 Brtiisli Council, The I, 4 British Film Institute in Wartime, The IV, 4 British News XII, 5 Broadcast (Sir Kenneth Clark) XI, 4 Broadcast to Canada (John Grierson) IV, 3 Broadcasting II, 2 Cameraman's Angle, A (Bernard Knowles) VIII, 10 Canadian Front, The III. 4 Canadian Government Films in Production, January, 1940 IV, 16 Care of Films. The (Rupert Lee) XII, 17 Central Film Library XII, 2; XII, 13 Children as Film Critics VII, 9; VIII, 9 Children's Film of the Month I, 1 5 ; II, 4 ; III, 9 ; IV, 9 •Choosing School Projectors X, 12 •Cinema and Information Services, The (Thomas Baird) I, 20 •Cinema and Television (Stuart Legg & Robert Fairthorne) I, 14 •Cinema Todav. The (D. A. Spencer & H. D. Waley) IV, 17 City, The XII. 15 Cobwebs and Bluster VII, 1 Comings and Goings III, 2; VII, 2 Confusion of Vision V, 2 Corrections XII, 2 Correspondence 111, 8; IV, 14; V, 18 ; VI, 17; X, 5, XII, 19 Damage to Film VIII, 17 Divided IV, 1 D.N.L. No. 12 XII. I Documentaries in the Making, Some British I, 17 Documentary Activities, British III, 13 Documentary Activity, British II, 7; VI, 17 Documentary Biography VI, 2 Documentary Bookings. Some V, 17; VI, 1$; VII, 17; IX, 16:X, 6;XI, 7;XII, 20 Documentary in the United States (Mary Losey) V, 9 Documentary in the United States II, 7; 111, 13; VII, 13 Documentary Newsletter II, 2 Documentary Redefined IX. 7 Documentary Bou<'s X, 2 Dr. Krhlich's Magic Bullet XII, 21 Dutch Documentary II, 13 •Early Films (Catalogue) I, 18 Economics on the Screen VI, 5 Economics on the .Screen (Professor M. Polanyi) VIII, 5 •Empire Film Library, The (Catalogue) II, II Empire Film Week VI, 2 •Ensign Film Library (Catalogue) VIII, 18 European Struggles I, 21 Evacuation? VII, 2 Exercise in Formal Logic IV, 2 Experiment in Leicester, An W, 1 3 Fact and Opinion III, 18 Facts of the Case, The VI, 13 Few Questions, A V, 1 •Film Answers Back, The (E. W. & M. M. Robson) III, 16 Film Associates, Inc. VII, 14 Film Council for Wales V, 2 ♦Film Forum IV, 13 Film Makers and War Services VI, 1 Film Music (Muir Mathieson) IX, 7 Film of the Month (Feature) I, 12; II, 4; III, 7; IV, 9; V. 12; VI. 9; VII. 9; VIII. 9 ; IX, 9 ; XI 9 ; XII, 14 Film .Societies, News of I, 20 Film Societies Carry On X, 16 Film Society Movement, The III, 1 Film Society News II, 14; III. 15; IV, 15; VI, 14; VII, 16; XI, 9; XII. 13 Film Strip in Education, The (W. E. Tate) XI. 16 •Filming for Amateurs (Paul Burnford) IV, 7 Filming in Scotland IX, 9 Films About Oil (Catalogue) V, 16 Films Across Canada, I 9 Films and a People's War XI, 3 Films at the New York World's Fair (Richard Griffith) II, 3 Films Commissioned by the M.O.I. (List of) X, 15 Films for Primitive People III, 10 Films in the Field I, 13 •Films of Britain, 1940 (Catalogue) III, 17 Five-Minute Films (List of) X, 15; XI, 5 Five Minutes VIII, 4 Five Minutes IX, 2 49//1 Parallel XII, 2 Franco-British Alliance IV, 13 •G-B.I. Films (Catalogue) IV, 18 German Cultural and Propaganda Films 1923-40, The IV, 10 Gift Horse Technique XI, 2 Go To It! VII, 3 Government Cinematograph Adviser X, 1 Grapes Again VII, 2 Grierson, Ruby X, 2 Handing ft to Hollywood VIII, 2 ♦Hollywood is the Place (Charles Landery) IV, 17 Home of Travel Films (Arthur Leslie) VII, 10 Honours for Newsreel Coverage I, 4 Horwv Keep Your Tail Up VIII, 2 •How Motor Cars Run (Arthur Elton) I, 14 •How War Came (Raymond Gram Swing) III, 16 Imperial Institute, The III, 2 Imperial Theme, The III, 1 ; XII, 2 Importance of Road Shows, The VII, 2 In Australia (John Grierson) VIII, 3 India in the War VI. 10 •Indian Film. The (Y. A. Fazalbhoy) I, 21 International Convention, An III, 2 International Documentary Distribution I, 1 1 Kine Weekly IX, 2 Late .Again VI, 1 Less Propaganda. More Pep ("Sevorg") IX, 14 Lines Behind the Lines X, 1 London Can Take It (Commentary) XI, 6 Looking Ahead IX, 1 March of Time II, 2 Man on the Screen, The V, 3 Mass Observation XI, 1 Maurice Jaubert XI, 2 Military Service XII. 2 Minister of Broadcasting? A X, 10 Ministry of Information II, 1 ; 'V, 1 Ministry of Information under Fire X, 3 Museum of Modern Art I, 5 •National Film Library (Catalogue) IX, 18 National Publicity III. 3 Need for Action, The VII. 1 New Documentary Films I, 6; H. 12; III. 6; IV, 6; V. 6; VI, 7; VII, 6; VIII, 12; IX, 12; X, 8; XI, 14; XII, 7 New Plan for Distribution VI, 2 News from Canada III, 2; VII, 14; X, 7 News from Staffordshire IV, 16 News from U.S.A. X, 7 News Letter IV, 2 News Theatres and Specialised Cinemas, The (Miss D. M. Vaughan) V. 10 News Theatres in Wartime (Corry W. Fennell) VI, 16 ♦Nobody Ordered Wolves (Jeffrey Dell) II, 14 Non-Theatrical X, 5 Non-Theatrical Distribution in Great Britain II, 9 Non-Theatrical Production by the Ministry of Information X. 8 Notes and News IX. 15 Notes from Overseas VIII. 16; XI, 13 One Step Back VII, 2 Organising a Scientific Film Club XII, 21 Other Cinema, The (R. S, Miles) X, 13 Other Side of the Atlantic. The IX. 3 •Pathcscope Film Library (Catalogue) VII. 18 People and Plans IV. 17 People in Glass Houses XII. 4 P.F.B. (Petroleum Films Bureau). Launching of I. 16 Pin-Table Politics (A Damon Runyon Ian) IX, 15 Pioneering with a Projector V, 4 Progress Marches On 11, 2 Public Reaction II, 5 Ramparts We Watch, The XII. 19 Rear-Guard Filming (Douglas Sloconibc) VII, 15 Reciprocity Achieved VI. 2 Reciprocity Wanted IV, 2 Reels Without .Wcws II. 1 •Religious Film Library (Catalogue) X. 18 Repertory Cinema Today. The (E. C. Atkinson) VII. 17 •Report by the Advisory Committee ol the Scottish Film Council X, 17 Replying to Haw-Haw V, 2 Return of Zorro. The VII, 14 •Roads to Citizenship VI, 17 Roster of Short Propaganda Films X, 14 Russian Celebration IV, 2 Scientific Films V, 4 Scoop VIII, 2 •Searchlight on Democracy (John Grierson) I, 20 Sell British IV, 2 Shape of Ads. to Come. The (W. Buchanan-Taylor) XII, 10 Short Films in Production VIII, 15 ♦Shooting Without Stars (Clifford Hornby) VI, 17 Should Documentaries go Theatrical V, 13 Sir Kenneth Clark's .Appointment 1, 4 Social Research and the Film (Tom Harrisson) XI, 10 Sour Grapes? Ill, 5 Speed XI, 1 Stick in the Mud XI, 2 Stop Press VII, 2 Story Films for Children I, 15 •Story of the Documentary Film, The (John Grierson) I, 20 Stuart Legg in Canada I, 5 Subterranean Movements in Hollywood I, 5 12 Months — A Survey of the Ministry of Information IX, 5 Three Steps Forward VIII, 1 Time X, 1 Today and Tomorrow VII, 2 To Hell with Culture! V, 2 Training Army Film Officers XII, 2 Training the Army XII, 1 Twenty Years of Soviet Film (Ivor Montagu) IX, 10 Two Important Jobs XI, 2 Union Now VIII. 2 Unusual Film Movement. The VI, 13 •Using School Projectors X, 17 U.S. Film Service V. 1 1 Verbatim VIII, 17 Versatility XI, 2 Visual Notation VII. 17 ♦Wallace Heaton (Catalogue) VI, 18 War Aims for Documentary I, 1 •War Begins at Home (Tom Harrisson and Charles Madge) III, 16 War by News Reel VIII. 7 Work Well Begun IX, 2 World Film Centre I, 3 "World Window" Expeditionary Films (Hans Nieter) VIII, 15 You Can't be Smart about Newts ("Vox Populi") XII, 3 (2) FILM TITLES Filtn titles under entries in the lists of catalogues, in the lists of 'documentary booking' or in the rosters of films printed in X, A: and XJ, 5; are not included below. Titles in italics indicate a film of a length greater than four reels. M.O.T.: March of Time. P.O. V.; Point of View. An asterisk indi* cates a review. A.A.A. and Wheat XI, 1 3 A.B.C. of Oil III. 16 Accord Final XII. 13 Advance Democracy XI, 9 Adventures of Peter, The V, 4 Aero Engine, IX, 12 African Skyway II, 12^ Africa Speaks VII. 10 Air Communique XII, T Airscrew IX, 12* Agricultural Wisconsin XI, 13 Alexander Nevski, V, 14 All Hands V, 17^ All Quiet on the Western Front, XI. 1 1 America's Youth (M.O.T.) VIII, I2^ Amphitryon II, 14 Amok X. 16« And So Thev Live V, 9; VII, 13 Ann Bolcyn VI, 13 •Aria Mo, Hitler VL 8; IX, 6 Argentina V, 4 A.R.P. VI. 14 Around the Village Green 111, 17 Around the World in Eighty Days VII, 14 Arsenal II, 7 Arsenal Stadium Mystery, The XI, 9 Atalante VI, 14 Ashley Green Goes to School (see also Village School) XI, 1 ; XI. 7 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 23 Atlantic Patrol VII, 14 A.V.R.O. II, 13 Babes in the Wood II, 7 Baffin Land X, 18 Back to Missouri XI, 13 Backyard Front. The I, 17; IV. 7*; V, 18 Ballade van Hoogen Hoed, De II. 13 Balloon Barrage. (See Squadron 992) Bandera, La III, 15 Baplism of Fire VII. 7; IX, 2; XII. 15 Bathing the Infant III, 15 Battle Fleets of Britain (M.O.T.) II, 2 Barries of Coronel and rhe Falkland Islands, The V, 6; VIII, 18 Bailie of rhe Somme, The VIII, 18 Battleship Polemkin (See Polemkin) Bears in Alaska XI, 13 Beavers V, 4 Bed and Sofa IX, 10 Behind the Guns VIII, 12* ; IX, 4; XI, 9 Behind the Scenes V, 14 Berlin IV, 1 ! ; IV, 15; VI, 13 I Beside the Seaside III, 17 Bere Humaine, La IV, 16 Bezhin Meadow' IX, 1 1 Big City, The VIII, 12 Big Money III, 18; IV, 16 Birds of Prev V, 4 Birth of a Baby, The V7* ; VI, 8» ; III, 13 Birih of a Nation, The XI, 1 1 Black Furv III, 3 Black Lesion, The Ul, 5 Black Pirate, The VII, 14 Black Vomit VI, 14 Blackmail XI, 6 Blue Express. The IX, 10 Blue Light. The \l\l. 18 Bombing of Namsos VII, 18 Borinage III. 13 Bov's ToU'n II. 2 Bring' Em Back Alive II, 13 ; VII, 1 1 BritalnatBay VIII, 2;IX,4;XI, 1 ; XI. 12 Britain Can Take It (see also London Can Take It) XI, 1 ; XI, 10; XI, 14; XII. 7; XII, 13 Britain Shoulders Arms II, 7; III, 6* British Navy V, 13 Britain's R.A.F. (M.O.T.) XII. 7» Britain's Youth IX, 13» Britannia is a Woman VII, 6' British Empire Round the Atlantic. (See Empire Round the Atlantic) British Made III, 18 British News XII, 5; XII, 13 Brorhers Karamazov, The VI, 8 ; X, 16 Builders, The VI, 8*; XI, 9 Buried Treasure IV, 16 Burgrhearer IV, 15 Calendar of the Year in. 18 California Straight Ahead VI, 18 Caligari II. 14; III, 16; VI, 13 Call to Arms. A VIII, 2; IX, 12; XI, 10; XI, 12 Catnels Are Coming. The III. 15 Canada at War (M.O.T.) V, 7* Canada Carries On X, 17 Cape to Cairo VII, 10 Cargo for Ardrossan I, 16; II, 12* Carmen (Gipsy Blood) III, 16 Castle in Switzerland VIII. 17 Cat and the Canary, The III, 18 Cause Commune, La V, 1 Champion, The IV, 18 Channel Incident XI, 2; XI, 3; XI, 15 Chang III, 2rVII, 10 Chapayef IX, 1 1 Chess Player. The VII, 18 Child Criminality III, 13 Children at School I, 19. Children Must Learn, The VII, 13 Choose Cheese IX, 12* Circus, The II, 7 Ciradel, The VI, 4 City, The (U.S.A.) VII, 14; XII, 15* City, The (G.P.O.) I. 7'; III. 15; III, 18; IV, 15 City of Ships 1, 17; XH, 13 Civilian Front VII, 17 Climbing Mount Everest VII, 10 Coal Face II, 3 Coal Mining in the Soviet Union III, 13 Coastal Defence X, 9* Colloids in Medicine IV, 7* ; IV, 15 Colour Vision III, 13 Colour Flight IV, 15 Cong6 i I'Ecole d'Arosa VIII, 17 Confessions of a Nazi Spy V, 13 Construction and Manipulation XI, 13 Contraband XU, 19 Cofuoy VIU, 9*;IX,4;XII, 19 Copenhagen VI, 14 Counterplan IX, 1 1 Cover to Cover VI, 4 Covered Wagon, The IV, 16 Creative Hands IV, 10 Crisis in the Pacific (M.O.T.) Ill, 6* Crofting in Skye V, 4 Czecho-Slovakia Today (M.O.T.) V, 10 Dame de Pigne X, 16 Danger Coasts of Britain VIII, 15 Dangerous Comment V, 1 ; V, 3 ; V, 17* Oojiton VI. 1 3 Dark Rapture III, 2; III, 13; V, 2; V, 14; VII, 2; VII, 13; VIII, 10; XI, 9 Dark Victory IV, 16; XI, 12 Dassan VII, 10 Datelines VII, 13 Death Rav XI, 9 Decorative Metal Work XI, 1 3 Dernier Tournant. Lc- VI, 15*; XII, 13 Deserter, The I, 18 Design for Education VII, 14 Desriny VI, 13; III, 16 Deux Timides, Les VI, 13 Deuxiime Bureau V, 14 Development and Behaviour of the White Rat III, 13 Dr. Erlich's Magic Buller. See Story of Dr. Erlich's Afagic Buller. The Disparus de Sr. Agil. Les III, 15 Distillation (First Principles of Refining) 111, 13; Vll, 6*; XII, 13 Dixie 1940 (M.O.T.) VI, 8* Don Q VII, 14 Dood Warer XI, 9; XII, 13 Drame de Shanghai II, 14; II, 15; IV, 15; V, 14 Drillers XI, 2 Drifting in Danger (P.O.V.) IV, 6* Drums of the Desert IX, 6 Duharrv (Passion) III, 16 Duck Soup V, 14 Dundee V, 6* Dusseldorf IV, 11 Dusr be my Desriny III, 3 ; III, 5 Early One Morning XII, 13 Earrh III, 18; IV, 2; VI, 13; IX, 10 Earrhis Song, Hie III, 13 Easter Island III, 13 Eastern Odyssev, An VII. 10 Eccc Homo (Behold the Man) II, 7; V, 9; VII, 13 Edge of rhe World X\l. 19 Edison. The Man .XII, 14* Educarion de Prince III, 15 Education in a Democracy III, 13 Elementary Bookbinding XI, 13 Elementary Manual Training XI, 13 Elephant Boy VII, 10 Empire Round the Atlantic I, 17; II, 7; VI, 17; VIII, 15 En Rade VI, 1 3 End of St. Petersburg. The IX, 10 Enough to Eat? (The Nutrition Film) III,3;IV, 15; V,9;IX, 18;XI, 14 Enthusiasm IX, 1 1 Euclid I: 32 IX, 18 Experimental Psychology of Vision III, 13 Face of Britain IV, 15* Fall of a Tvranl. The X, 16; XI, 9 Fall of the House of Usher, The VI, 13 Faust VI. 13 Fear and Peter Brown VIII, 13* Feeding the Infant III, 13 Felix the Cat IX. 12 Fcmine de Boulanger, La IV, 15; V, 14; XI, 9 Fight for Life VII, 13 Fighters of the Veldt XI, 15* Filter, The III, 13 Fire 1, 17 Fire over England 1, 18 Finis Terrae VI, 13 First Days, The I, 6*; IV, 15 ; V, 14; IX, 4; IX, 6 Fishing Fleet VI, 14 Fishing in Wartime I, 17 Fitness for Health VI, 17 Five Faces of Malaya III, 1 3 ; XI, 2 ; XI, 9 Flip the Frog V, 4 Flying to Australia with Ivan Scott IX, 13* Food Convoy X. 9* Food for Thought VllI, 2; XI, 12 Food from the Empire X, 9* Foolish Wives \l, 13 For All Eternity X, 18 For Freedom V, 3 ; V, 6* ; IX, 3 ; XII, 19 Foreign Correspondent IX, 4; XI, 6*; XII, 2; XII, 19 Forty Million People X, 16 49//; Parallel XII, 2 Four Little Mice XI, 13 Four New Apple Dishes X, 7 400 Million, The III, 6*; III, 13; III, 15; IV, 16; XI, 9 Four Thousand Gifts of the Forest XI, 13 Fourth Estate, The 1, 17; II, 7; III, 13; VI. 7*; VI. 17 Fredlos. XI 9 Fruits from the Garden XII, 7* Fugirive. The \U, 17 SIGHT AND SOUND O ^ <^ o AUTUMN 1940 SIXPENCE OPEN LETTER TO ALL FILM INTERESTS WORLD'S PRESS NEWS announces the introduction of a regular fortnightly column devoted to Documentary Films and the use of the Silver Screen as an advertising and publicity medium by the Government and by Big Business. This column is written by an expert ; crisply, authorita- tively, knowledgably. You will be interested in his views and comments. Far-seeing advertising men recognise that in the publicity field, the documentary film has an increasingly important role to play and WORLD'S PRESS NEWS is glad to render this extra service to advertising. Every Thursday — Price 6d. Direct Subscription — 30/- per annum WORLD'S PRESS NEWS 112 Fetter Lane, E.C.4 24 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 Front Lino, The XI, 1 ; XI, 2; XI, 3 ; XI, 10; XII, 13 Future's in the Air, The VI, 4 Gabriel Over the White House III, 5 Gap, The II, 5 Garden Goes to War, A XII, 7* Gaslight. Vll 9*; VIII, 10; XI, 9 Gate of China, The II, 2 Gateways of Panama (M.O.T.) XI, 15* General Line. The VI, 18; IX, 10 Getting Your Money's Worth III, 13 Gift of Health, The 11, 7; IV, 7* Golem, The VI, 1 3 Gone With the Wiiut IV, 1 3 Good Earth, The XI, 5 Goodbye Mr. Chips XI, 12 Goofy and Wilbur V, 14 Goose Woman. The VI, 18 Gosta Berlins VI, 1 3 Grande Maison. La IV, 16 Granton Trawler I, 18 Grapes of Wrath. The I, 5; III, 5; V, 12*; V, 13; VII, 2; Vlll, 16; VIII, 17; XI, 5 Grass I. 18; III, 2 ; V, 2 ; V, 5 Great Recovery, The IX, 18 Great White Silence. The XII, 13 Greed V\, 13 Green Food for Health IX, 12* Green Pastures II, 14 Grey Seals XII, 13 Gulliver's Travels II, 4* Gypsy Blood (See Carmen) Handba' at Kirkwall VI, 14 Handicraft Happiness IV, 6* Health in a Democracy III, 13 Health in War XII, 9*; XII, 13 Heart Disease (M.O.T.) Ill, 13 Heritage IV, 16 He's in the Air I, 17 He's Somewhere at Sea I, 17 He's Somewhere in France I. 17 He Who Gets Slapped IV, 13 Here is the Land III, 13 Highlights and Shadows III, 13 History of the Movies (M.O.T.) Ill, 15 Hitler, the Beast of Berlin IV, 2 Home Front (Hawes) XI, 14* Home Front (Weiss) IV, 6* mteldu NordV, 14; XI, 9 Houses of Misery III, 13 Housing 111. 13 Housing Problems II, 3 ; III. 1 3 ; V. 3 ; X, 2 How the Telephone Works III, 18 / Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang IX, 7 If I Had a Million III, 15 Igloo V, 4 lis Etaient NeufCilibataires VI, 1 5 • ; X, 16; XI, 9; XII, 13 India X, 18 Industrial Britain I. 18; II. 3 ; V, 13; VI, 4 Innocence XII. 13 Inside Goods, No. I VI, 8 Inside Nazi Germany (M.O.T.) II, 7; IX, 2 In the Air IX. 4 In the Treetops Vll. 10 is Craftsmanship better than Mass Produc- tion? (P.O.V.) II, 7 Is Efficiency a Vice? (P.O.V.) II, 7 Islanders, The 111, 18 Island People IV, 6» It Comes from Coal XI, 14* Italian Straw Hat. The II, 7; VI, 13 Italy Beware VII. 7*; IX, 2 Joan of Arc VI, 14 Jamaica Inn XI, 6 Job in a Million III. 18 ,Iob to be Done, A X, 8* John and Mari.mne VI. 2 .lournal dc Guerre VI, 16 Juarez I, 12*; I, 16 Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin I, 8 ; IV, 2 Kameradschaft III, 7; IV, 16 Kamet Conauered VII, 10 Karoo II, 12* Karl Marx IV, 2 Kean VI, 13; VII, 18 Kensal House II, 3 King Penguins XII, 13 King's Own, The IX, 6 King's People, The IX, 4 Kino-Pravda 11.7 Knickerbocker Buckeroo VII, 14 Krimheid's Revenge VII, 18 Ladv Vanishes. The XI, 6; XII. 19 Lamb. TheMU. 14 Lambeth Walk. (See Swinging the Lambeth Walk) Last Days of St. Petershura, The III, 16 Last Uiugh, The III, 16; VI. 13 Last Performance. The I. 18 Lcatherwork XI, 13 Lc Roi S'Amuse XI, 9 Let George Do It XI, 10; XI, 1 1 ; XI, 12 Letter from Aldershot (Private Lives) VII, 14; XI, 14* Life in Somctown, U.S.A. XII, 13 Life of Louis Pasteur, The V, 13; VI, 3 ; IX, 7 Light Woman, A VI, 18 Lights Out in Europe (Not Peace but a Sword) I, 21; V. 9; VIII, 16; X, 7 Line to Tschierva Hut VIII, 17 Lion Has Wings, The I, 6 ; I, 8* ; II, 4 ; II, 5 ; IV, 2; IV, 3; X, 7; XI, 10; XII, 19 Living Corpse. The III, 16; IV, 2; V, 6; IX, 3; IX, 4; IX, 6; IX, 17; X, 16 Living Land, The XI, 13 Lodger. The XI, 6 London V, 4 London Can Take It (See also Britain Can Take It) XI, 1; XI, 3; XI. 4; XI, 5; XI, 6; XI, 14*; XII, 5; XII, 19 London River I, 17; II, 7; IV, 7 Londoners, The III, 3; IH, 14; III, 15; VI, 15; X, 2 Lone White Sail. The IV, 2 Long Live Poland, IX, 13* Long Voyage Home IX, 4 Loom Weaving XI, 1 3 Lost Horizon XI, 12 Love on the Dole III, 3 Love on the Wing II, 12*; IV, 15 Loves of Jeanne Ney. The VI. 13 Lubrication of the Petrol Engine X, Lusts of the Flesh, The VI, 13 Machi Gaba III, 10 Miidchen in Uniform U, 7 Miidchen Joanna VI, 14 Madmen of Europe IX, 4; XII, 19 Magic Bullet of Dr. Erlich, The. (See Story of Dr. Erlich' s Magic Bullet, The) Magician. The III, 16 Maginot Line (M.O.T.) II, 7 Maine XI, 13 Man of Aran VII. 10; XII. 19 Man or Machine ? (P.O.V.) VI, 17 Man to Remind, A XI. 9 Manhattan Madness VII, 14 Mark of Zorro VII, 14 Manon Lestaul VI, 13 Marionettes XI, 13 Marriage Cheat. The VI, 18 Marriage of the Bear, The VI, I 3 Marseillaise, La\l, 15*; XI, 9; XII, 13 Maskerade VI, 14 Master of the World VII, 18 Maternelle. La VI, 14; VII. 18 Maverling III. 15 Mein Kampf—My Crimes IX, 4; XII, 19 Men Against Monsters II, 7 Men in Danger II, 14; III, 15: III, 17; III, 18; IV, 15 Men in White VII, 13 Men Make Steel III, 13 Men of Africa II, 3; III, 17; V, 13 ; V, 14; VI, 7*; IX, 2; X, 5; XI, 9 Men of the Alps III, 13 Men of the Lightship IX, 4; IX, 7; IX, 12*; IX, 17; XI, 5; XII, 19 Merry-Go-Round, The I, 18 Metropolis VI, 13 Midhowe Broch VI, 14 Mivhtv Stream, A IV, 2 Millions of Us XI, 9 Mine. The HI. 7 Ministrv of Food Cookery Hints XII, 7* XII, 13 Miss Grant Goes to the Door IX, 2; IX, 12; XI. 5; XI, 10 Miss T. XII. 13 Moana III, 12; III, 13 Modern Musketeer. The VII, 14 Modern Times XI, 12 Mollycoddle, The VII, 14 ■Money VII, 18 Monkey into Man III. 13 Mortal Storm IX, 4 MortduCvngem, 15: IV, 15 Mother \l. 18; IX. 10 Mother and Child X. 9* Mount Everest Expedition V. 4 Mouvemcnt Vibratoires II, 12 Mr. Borland Thinks Again XI. 12 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 11.4 Mr. Robinson Crusoe Vll. 14 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 11,4* ; III, 3 Murder XI. 6 Musical Poster IX. 2 Mutinh de I'Elseiieur, Les V. 1 5 * Nanook of the North I, 5; I, 19; III. 2; III, 13; V, 2; VII, II Nartisha of the North V, 14 Nation Springs to Arms, A IX, 6 Negro, The III. 13 Neighbours Under Fire XII, 7* Netherlands, Old and New XII, 13 New liabvlon IX, 10 New Britain. The VIII, 13* New World Metropolis (M.O.T.) XII, 13 New Worlds lor Old I, 19; IV, 16 Ncwsfronts of War^l940 (M.O.T.) 11, 2 Never Weaken VIII, 18 Night Mail I. 19; III, 13; III, 15; III, 18; IV, 16; V, 13; VI, 4 Ninety Degrees South XII, 13 Nonquassi IX, 2 North Sea I, 5; III, 13; III, 18; IV, 13; V, 3; V. 14; V, 18; VI, 2; VI, 4; IX, 7; IX, 12 Now You're Talking V, 17* Nurse! X, 8* Nutrition Film, The (Sec Enough to Eat?) Obedient Flame, The I, 8* Oclolier IX, 10 Odd Jobs in the Garden XII, 9* Odds and Ends (P.O.V.) I, 17 Of Mice and Men V, 12* Old and New (See General Line) Olympyad IV, 1 1 On Guard for Thee X. 7 On Guard in the Air II, 7 On the Night of the Fire XII, 19 One Tenth of a Nation XI, 13 Only Angels have Wing-. IV, 2 Orchard Mouse Control XI. 13 Olages, Les (Hostages) III, 15; V, 13; IV, 15 Our Daily Bread VI, 14 Our Navy VII, 10 Outsider, The XII, 19 Overland to California V, 4 Party Card. The IX, 1 1 Passing of the Third Floor Back, The V, 1 2 ; X. 18 Pasteur (See Life of Louis Pasteur, The) Pastor Hall VI, 9* ; IX, 3 ; IX, 4; XII, 19 Peasants IX, 1 1 Pearh and Savages VII, 10; VII, 11 Pecheurs d'Oiseaux V, 14 People of Canada, The IV, 16 People of the Cumberland III, 13 Peter the Great II, 14; V, 14; XII, 13 Peru V, 4 P.F.B. (Petroleum Films Bureau) Cine- magazines III. 7*; 111, 13; V, 13; VII, 6*: XII. 13 Phillippines, The (M.O.T.) VH, 7* Phillios Radio 111. 13 Pirgcs III, 15*; XII, 13 Pierement II, 13 Pinocchio IV, 9*; IX. 12 Planned Electrification IV, 7*; V, Plan for Living IV, 16 Plow that Broke the Plain, The III, 13; V, 9; VIII. 13 Pork on the Farm XI, 1 3 Port of Glasgow V, 4 Ports VIII, 15 Postmaster, The VI, 1 3 Poicmkin I, 18; II, 7; III, 16; VI, 18; IX, 10; IX, 11 Power in the Land II, 7; VII, 13; V, 9 Prison Reform (M.O.T.) II, 7 Private Life of the Gannets, The III, 13; IV. 16 Problem Solving in Monkeys III, 13 Professor Mamlock II. 14; IV. 2 Protection of Fruit II, 12* Proud Valley V, 2 ; V, 3 Psychology Today IV, 15 Quai des Brumes XI. 9 Queen Christine XI, 12 Quilting IV, 6* Racial Persecution and Social Injustice III, 13 Rain XII, 13 Raising of .Soldiers, The IX, 6 Ramparts We Watch, The (M.O.T.) IX, 2; XII, 14* Rango Vll. 10 Rape of Czecho-Slovakia. The IV. 15 ; V, 7 Rebecca XI. 6; XII, 2 Red Tape Farm IX, 18 Refugees (M.O.T.) II, 7 Religion and the People X. 8* Rcmomons Les Champs Elysees l\\, 15*; Reporter in Soho IV, 7 Republic of Finland (M.O.T.) IV, 6* Rctourde i'Aube IV, 15 Return to Life HI, 13 Revelry Vll, 18 Rich and Strange XI, 6 Rich Bride. The HI. IS ; IV. 15 ; V, 14 Rich Young Ruler. The X. 18 Rien que les iieures VI, 13 Rijks Museum II, I 3 Ring of Steel VI, 8*; IX, 6 Ripe Earth X, 18 River, The II, 3; II, 7; III, 13; V, IS; VII, 13; XII, 13 Road to Life, The VII*, 9 ; VIII, 9* ; IX, 1 1 Roads Across Britain II, 14 Rois du Sport, Les HI. 15*; XII, 13 Role of Women. The HI. 13 Rose of Paris, The VI, 18 Royal Review II, 7 Royal Visit. The IV, 16 Rugmaking IV, 6* Rulers of the Sea I, 16* Sabbath II, 13 Sabotage XI. 6 Sacred and Profane V 1 1 1 . 1 5 • Safetv at Home III. 13 Safety at Plav HI. 13 Safety Last VI, 18; Vlll, 18 Salvage with a Smile Xll, 13 Saving of Bill BIcwill, The II, 3 Savings Under Seal \l, 13 5.71' Younv Fellow VII, 14 Scotland's War Effort XII, 9* Screen Character of Douglas Fairbanks, The Vll, 14 Sculpture for Today XI, 13 Sea Fort IX, 12; XI, 12 Sea Hawk, The IX, 9* Sea Horse III, 13 Secret Agent, The XI, 6 Secrets of Life I, 17; II, 3; H, 13* II, 17; II, 19; VI, 4; VII, 15; X, 18 Shadow of the Swastika IX, 4 Shadow on the Mountain V, 2 Shaumyan IV, 2 Shell Cinemagazines (See P.F.B. Cine- magazines) Shipbuilders Vlll. 15 Shipvard II, 3; HI, 13; IV, 16 Siegfried VI, 13; VII, 18 Silage X, 8;* XII, 7 Six Foods for Fitness X, 8* Sixty Glorious Years XII, 19 Skin Game, The XI, 6 Skinner's Dress Suit VI, 18 Smilin Thru HI, 16 Smoke Menace, The III, 13; XH, 13 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs II, 4; HI, 9; IV, 9 Soldiers with Wings (M.O.T.) II, 2 Song of Ceylon II, 3; HI, 2; III, 13 So This is London III, 17 S.O.S. VIII. 12* South Riding HI, 7 Spare Time II, 14; HI, 18; V, 13 Speaking from America HI, 18 Speed the Plough III, 13 Speed-up and Welfare XI, 14*; Xll, 13 Spirit of England, The X, 18 Spirit of the People IV, 9* ; VI, 9 Sport at the Local II, 7* ; IV, 7 Sport of Princes VIII, 15 Spring Offensive (see also Unrecorded Vic- tory, An) VI, 1 7 Springs II, 3 Spv, The VI, 13; VII, 18 Spv in Black, The (U-Boat 29) IV, 2 Squadron 992 II, 7; III, 13; V, 1; V, 2; V, 6* ; VI, 1 ; VI, 2 ; VI, 7 ; VI, 1 7 ; IX, 4 ; IX, 7; IX, 12; IX, 17; X, 7; XII, 19 Square Deal Sanderson VI, 18 Stage Coach HI, 5 Stanley and Livingstone I, 1 5 * S.S. Ionian II, 7 Stars Look Down, The HI, 3; III, 5; III, 7*; III, 8; IV, 13; V, 3; XII, 19 Steel IV, 10 SteppingStones between America and Europe VI, 14 Stettin IV, 1 1 Storm in a Teacup IV, 15 Storm over Asia (The Heir to Jenghiz Khan) IX. 10 Story of a New Oil XI, 9 Storv of Dr. Ehrlich's' Magic Bullet. The HI, 3; VI, 4; VI, 9*; Vll, 13; XII, 21* Story of Michael Flaherty, The VIII, 12* Story of Smoke. The VI. 14 Story of Wool. The VII, 7* Street, The VI, \i Strike IX, 10 Student of Prague, The VI, 13 Stump of an Empire, The IX, 10 Stuttgart IV, 1 1 Suvorov IV, 2 Sweenev Todd Vlll. 18 Swinging the Lambeth Walk III, 6* ; IV, 1 5 ; V, 14 Symphonies in Stone X, 18 Tabu VII, 10 Tale of Two Cities. A XI. 12 Taming of the Shrew, The VII, 14 Tartuffe VI, 13 Tawny Owl, The V, 4 Temples of India Vlll, 15 Ten Days that Shook the World (See October) Tendre Ennmi. La IV, 15; V, 14 Testing Animal Intelligence HI, 13 Texas Streak. The VI. 18 There Ain't .Yd Justice V, 3 ThMse Raqidn V, 113 These Children Are Safe II, 7; 11, 12; HI, 3; 111, 6* They Also Serve VIII, 2 ; X, 2 Thev Gave Him a Gun III, 3 They Won't Forget HI, 3; III, 5 Thibet X, 18 Thief of Bagdad, The VII, 14 Thirteen. The III, 15 This is America III, 13 This Land of Ours XL 13 This Man in Paris IV, 2; V, 4; VI. 2 This .Man is News IV, 2; V, 4; VI, 2 Thoroughbred II, 7; III, 6* Three Musketeers. The VII, 14 Three Songs of Lenin IX, 1 1 Thrift IV, 6* Thunder .afloat IV, 2 Thunderer, The (See Fourth Estate, The) Three Comrades XI, 12 Times Film, The (See Fourth Estate, The) Today We Live V, 2 ; X, 2 Tomorrow is Theirs XII, 13 Tom IV, 16* Towards the Stars VIII, 15 Trade Tattoo HI, 18 Irader Horn VII, II \^' DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 25 Tragddie Imperiak\ LaV, 15* Transfer of Power I, 16; II, 3; II, 12*; III, 17: VII, 14; X, 6; XII, 13 Transfer of Skill XI, 15* Transport on Trial (P.O.V.) IX, 13 * Travelling the Middle Way in Sweden VII, 13 Triumph of lite Will IV, 1 1 Trois Vahes IV, 1 5 Turbulent Timber IV, 10 TurksibW. 13; IX, 10 Turn of the Tide X, 18 Tusalava I, 18 21 Davs Together XII, 19 Tko Brothers VI, 1 3 Two Hours to Wait VI, 14 Two Little Red Devils, The IX, 10 Uncle Sam — Farmer (M.O.T.) II, 2 Undefended Frontiers IV, 16 Underqround Farmers (MO.T.) III. 13 Unemployment and Money VI, 15; VIII, 2 Unrecorded Victory, An (Spring OfTensive) XII, 7* U.S. Navy, The (M.O.T.) IX, 13* Valley Town VII, 13 Vacation Safety III, 13 Valley of the Sun II, 7 Valleys of Romance VIII, 17 Vast Sudan, The VII, 10 Vatican of Pius XII (M.O.T.) V, 7 Village School X, 8*; XI, 7 Vaudeville III, 16; VI, 13; VII, 18 Violons dTngres V, 15 Virgin Soil Upturned IV, 2 Vital Service VII, 6* Vitamin B.l III. 13 Voice of the Guns VII, 7* ; IX, 2 Voice of the People, The I. 6* ; IV, 15 Vortex. The VI, 18 Voyage au Congo III, 2 ; V, 2 War and Propaganda (M.O.T.) Ill, 13 War Comes to London II, 7; III, 6* IVar is Hell I, 6 War Songs of China III, 6* Warning, The I 10; IV, 3; IV, 16; IX, 3; IX, 4 Warning Shadows III, 16; VI, 13; VI, 18 Water Babies XII, 3 Wave, The III, 13 lVa.\norks III, 16; VI, 18 Way Back When a Horse Was a Nag VIII, 2 Way Back When a Nag Was a Horse VIII, 2 Ways to Health and Beauty IV, 10 We from Kronsladt IV, 2 ; IX, 11 We Live in Two Worlds V, 13 ; XI, 2 Weather Forecast IV, 16 Wedding of Palo III, 1 3 Welfare of the Workers XI, 4 ; XI, 14* Western Highlands III, 17 What Are These Orientals III, 13 What Happened to Jones VIII, 18 What is Federation (P.O.V.) VI, 17; VIII, 13* What is the Value of Co-operatives. Ill, 1 3 What .Men Live By X, 18 What's for Dinner IX, 12* What's on Today III, 18 What the Government Docs witli Our Money III, 13 Wheat on Call XI, 13 When the Clouds Roll By VII, 14 Where Love is God is X, 18 White Battle Front X, 8* White Flood VII, 13 White Hell of PilzPalu, TheWl. 14; VI, 18; VIII, 18 Wild and Woolly VII, 14 Wings of Youth X, 17; XII, 9* Wings over Empire I, 7* ; V, 15 Winter V, 4 Winter Storage XII, 9* With Captain Scott in the Antarctic VII, 10 Wizard of Oz, The III, 9; 'VI, 18 Woman of Paris, A VI, 13 Women in the War II. 7; VII, 14 Wonderland of Big Game VII, 10 Wood Ants V, 4 Workers and Jobs III, 17; V, 3 Why Consumer Education? Ill, 13 Why Organise? Ill, 13 Why Work Anyway? (P.O.V.) VI, 17 Why W.P.A.? Ill, 13 Yellow Ticket, The X, 16 Yesterday's Over Your Shoulder XI, 12: XII, 13 Young and Innocent III, 15 Young Mr. Lincoln XII, 13 Young Veterans XII, 9* Ze'ro de Conduite VI, 14 Zola IV, 16; V, 13; VI, 3: VI, 4 Zercbrocheme Krug, Der XII, 13 Zoo and You III, 15 (3) NAMES OF PEOPLE Addinsell, R., IX, 17 Ager, Cecilia, V, 8 Aggrey, Dr., VI, 7 Aherne, B., I, 12 Alexander, D., II, 7; V, 6; X, 8 ; X, 15 Allen, C, I, 4 Allwood. F. W., VI, 17 Alwyn, W., II, 12; VIII, 12; IX, 17 Andreiev, A., VII, 16 Anstey, E., I, 18; II, 7; III, 2; III, 13; VI, 17; X, 15; XI, 9 Arbuckle, Fatty, III, 15 Arnheim, R., V, 18 Arthur, Jean, II, 4 Asquith, A., V, 3; XI. 5 Atkinson, E. C, VII, 17 Attlee, C. R., XI, 12 Badgley, Capt. F. C, I, 10 Baird, T., I, 20; III, 2 Baker, P. N., XI, 9 Baker, Major R. P., XII, 2 Balcon, M., V, 3; V, 17; VI, 2; VllI 2- VIII, 9; XII, 19 Ball, Sir J., 1. 4; IX, 6 Bara, Theda, 111, 15 Barlow, R., VII, 14 ; X. 7 ; XII, 9 Barrett, C, XI, 13 Barrington, J., Ill, 18 Barry Iris, VI, 13 Barrymore, J., IV, 9 Bartlett, V., IX, 15 Basco, W., VI, 17 Basil Elaine, VII, 13 Basse, W., IV, II Basserman, A., XI, 6 Baur, H., V, 15 Baylis, P., HI, 7; VII, 6 Beadle, S., II, 12; IX, 12 Beddington, J. L., V, 1 ; VII, 2 : IX, 6 Belfrage, B., XII, 4 Bell, G., I, 16; II, 14; VI, 17; X, 15; XI, 10 Bell, O., Ill, 15; VI, 14; XI, 9 Benchley, R., XI, 6 Benjamin, A., IX. 17 Berger, L.. Ill, 15 Bergeron, R., V, 15 Bergner, Eli^abeth, XII, 2; XII, 19 Berien, W., I, 1 1 Berley, A. V., 15 Berstein, S., V, 18; VII, 2; XI, 10 Berry, M., VI, 8 Betjeman, J., V, 18 Bevin, E., VIII, 1 ; XI, 4 ; XL 15 Biddle, Mme, IX, 12 Blake, G., XII, 9 Blease, Prof. L., IV, 15 Bliss, A., IX, 17 Blitzstein, M., VII, 13 Bocca. G. C, III, 18 Boehner, H., IV, 1 1 Bolger, R., Ill, 9 Bond, L., II, 2 Bond, R., II, 7; IV, 15; VI, 17; VIII, 12- XII, 7 Borland, A R., Ill, 15 Bow, Clara, III, 15 Bowen, Elizabeth, V, 18 Bower, D., XI, 2 Bowyer, J., VI, 14 Boyd, W., VI, 18 Brasillach, V, 8 Bressey, Sir C, I, 7 Britten, B., IX, 17 Bromhead, R., VI, 13 Brook, C, VllI, 9; XII, 14 Browne, B., X, 8 Browne, M., I, 18 Brunei, A., I, 8; X, 15 Brunius, J. B., IV, 15; IV, 17 Bryan, J., V, 9 Buchan, J. (See Twecdsmuir, Lord) Buchanan, A., I, 17; IV, 7; V, 18: VI 14- X, 8;X, 15 Buchanan-Taylor, W.. Xlf. 2: XII, 10 Bunuel. L., V, 9 Burger, H.. Ill, 13; V, 9 Burnford, P., VI, 17 Burns, J.. VIII, 4 Calder, R., IX, 1; XII. 19 Calder Marshall, A., X, 8 Callaghan, M., IX, 4; X, 7 Capone, A., IX, 15 Capra, F., II, 4 Car, E. H., X. 15 Cardiff, J.. VIII, 15 Carol, Sue, VI, 8 Carr, J., II, 7; IV, 7 Carradine, J., V. 12 Carroll, Madeleine. VI, 17 Carruthers, R., I. 18 Carstairs, J. P., V, 17 Carter, D., 1, 17: III, 13 Cartier, H, III, 13; IX, 2 Cartwright, DA, VII, 6 Cayalcanti, A.. I, 6; I, 7; II, 7; II, 14 III, 13; III, 17; III, 18; IV, 15; V, 6 V, 13; V, 18, VI, 6; VI, 17; VllI, 16 IX, 12; XI, 2; XII, 7; XII, 9; XII, 13 XI, 19 Cavanagh, T., V, 14 Chamberlain, N., Ill, 6; V, 6; IX, 4; XI, 11 ; XI, 12 Chambers, A., II, 12 Chantal, M.. V, 1 5 ; X, 16 Chaplin, C, I, 18; IV, 15; IV, 16; V, 4; V. 14; VI, 2; VI, 18; VllI. 18; IX, 10; IX, 14; IX, 18; XI, 12 Chaudhuri, N. C. VI. 10 Chenal, P., VI. 15 Chettiar, A. K., VI, 2 Chevalier, M., Ill, 15 Chiang Kai-Chek, III, 15 Christi, G., VII, II Churchill, W.. V, 6; XI, 12 Cianelli. E., XI, 6 Clair, R., VI, 17 Clark, Sir K., I, 4; II, I ; V, I; VII, 1; IX, 6; XI, 4 Clow, Nan L., XII, 21 Cochran, C. B., VI, 13; XI, 10 Cohen, Elsie, VI, 13 Colombier, III, 15 Considine, J. W. (Jr.), XII, 14 Cooke, A., IV, 17; V, 18; VII, 14 Cooper, F., X, 1 Cooper. M. F.. IV, 7 Copland, A., V, 12; XII, 15 Cordwell, R,, V, 14; VII, 9 Corheld, J., VII, 9; VIII, 2 Courant, C, X, 16 Coward, N., II, 7 Crawford, Joan, XI, 1 1 Crawley, R., X, 7 Creighton, W., VIII, 3 Crickett, Capt., XII, 2 Crighton, M., XU, 9 Cronin, Dr., HI, 7; IV, 13 Cuerlis, Dr. H.. IV, 11 Cummings, G. T., Ill, £ ; VII, 6; XII. 19 Curtice, M., Ill, 6 Curtis, M., VIII, 12; X, 8 Cutts, G., XI, 5 Dale, E., II, 7 Dalrymple, I., I, 8 ; X, 15 Dampier, C, I, 17; IV, 7; V, 18 Darwell, J., V, 12 Davidson, J. D., I, 17; III, 13; VI, 17; XI, 2 Davis, Bette, I, 12 Davis, H., VII, 13 Davis, S., VI, 13 Davy, C, V, 18 Day, Laraine, XI, 6 Dea. Mane, III, 15 Dean, B.. V, 18 De Gaulle, General, XI, 11 DeHaas, II, 13 De Kruif, P., II, 7; VII, 13 De Putti. Liza, III, 15 Dell. J., II, 14 Delzucca, III. 13 Denis, Armand, III, 13; VII. 13 Denny, R., VI, 18; VIII, 18 De Rochemont, L., IX, 2 Deslav, E., VI, 13 Deutsch, O., X, 7 De Vor, Dorothy, VI, 18 Dickinson. T., VII, 9 : X, 1 5 ; XI, 5 ; XI, 9 Dieterle, W., I, 12; VI, 9 Dietrich, Marlene, III, 16 Dinsdale, R., X, 9 Disney, W., IV, 9; V, 14; VII, 16; IX, 17 "Documentary", X, 6 Donat, R., V, 18 Doring, H., IV, 11 Dostoievski, F., VIII, 3 Dove, Capt., V, 6 Dovzhenko, IV, 2; VI, 13 Dreyer, K., VI, 14 Drinkwater, J., IX, 4 Duff-Cooper, A., VI, 1 ; VII, 1 ; VIII, 3 ; IX, 2 Dufferin, Lord, III, 18 Durbin, Deanna, III, 16; VII, 17 Dupont, A. E., Ill, 15 Durden, R., II, 13; III, 13 Duvivier, J., Ill, 15 Dyer, E., V, 14; VII, 16 Dzigan, IX, 1 1 Eisenstein, IV, 2; IX, 10; IX, 11 Eisler, H., Ill, 6 Ekk, N., VII, 9; IX, II Eldridge, J., VIII, 12; X, 8; X, 15; XI, 5 Ellis, M., XI, 13 Ellitt,J., I, 17;ll, 12; VI. 17 ; IX, 12; XII, 9 Elton, A., I, 14; I, 16; II, 3; II, 7; II, 12 HI, 7; III, 13; V. 14; VI, 17; VII, 6 IX, 12; X, 8; X, 13; XI, 14; XI, 15 XII, 2 Elton, R., I, 7; V, 14 Elvey, M., V, 6 Elvin, G. H., XI, 9; XII, 2 Emmett, E. V. H., I, 8; II, 5; II, 12; II, 13; V,6;XII, 3; XII, 4 Epstein, J., VI, 13 Epstein, Mary, XI, 7 Ermler, F., IX, 10; IX, II Euler, W. D., I, 9 Evans, Dr. J., VI, 14 Evans, I., V, 2 Fairbanks, D., VII, 14 Fairthorne, R., I, 14; V, 18; VII, 5 Fanck, H., V, 14 Farr, W., IV, 17; VII, 2 Farrow, J., X, 7 Fazalbhoy, Y. A., I, 21 Fejos, P., I, 18 Fennell, C. W., VI, 16 Ferguson, O., V, 8 Fernandel, HI, 15 Ferno, J., Ill, 6; III, 13; IV, 17; V, 9; VII, 13 Feyder, J., VI, 13 Field, Mary, I, 17; II, 3; II, 7; II, 13; III, 13; IV, 6; IV, 16; VI, 5; VI, 17; X, 5; XII, 3 Field, W. O., VII, 13 Fields, Gracie, II, 1 ; II, 2 Fields, W. C, IV, 9 Fitzpatrick, J., IX, 12 Flaherty, R., I, 5; I, 18; II, 7; HI, 13; V, 4; V, 9; VII, 11; VII, 13 Flaherty, Mrs. R., VII, 16 Flanagan, A., XII, 19 Flanagan, B., I, 4 Flanagan, Fr., II, 2 Fleming, V., HI, 9 Fleicher, D. & M., II, 4 Fletcher, P., II, 7; XI, 9 Flynn, E., IX, 9 Fonda, H., I, 5; IV, 9; V, 12 Foot, M., XII, 19 Ford, J., Ill, 5; V, 12 Ford, R., X, 7 Forde, W.. VII, 18; VIII. 18 Formby, G., IX, 4; XI, 12 Forsyth, R., V, 8, Fosdick. R. B., VI, 3 Fowie, C, XI, 14; XII, 7 Fowie, H., I, 17 Franco, General, HI, 15 Frank, M.. XII, 9 Frossard, M., V, 1 Fry, C. B., VI, 17; IX, 12 Fyffe, W., I, 16; V, 6; IX, 3 Gallup, Dr., I, 1 ; HI, 16 Gamage, A., II, 12 Gandhi. Mahatma, VI, 2 Garbo, Greta, III, 15 Gardiner, C, VIII, 2 Garland, Judy, HI, 6; III, 9 Gaudio, T., I, 12 Gee, R., II, 7 George V, King, XII, 15 Gibson. H., VI, 18 Guraudoux, J., IV, 4; IV, 13 Gloucester, Duchess of, XI, 12 Glyn, Elinor, HI, 15 Godsey, T.. XI, 13 Goebels. Dr., I, 4; II. 4; III, 3; III, 15; IV, II ; VII, 3; XI. 7 Goodliffe, F., I, 8; VIII, 15 Gordon, Ruth, VI, 9 Gorham, M., XI, 13 Green, W. H., -XI, 9 Greene, F., VII, 14 Greene, G., V, 18; VIII, 13 Greenwood, IX, 17; XII. 4 Grierson, J., I, 5 ; I, 9 ; I, 1 1 ; L 20 ; IH, I ; 111,4; HI, 13; IV, 3; V, 7; V, 9 ; V, 18; VllI, 3; VIII, 16; XI, 5; XI, 9; XII, 19 Grierson, Marion, X, 18 Grierson, Ruby, I, 16; II, 7; II, 12; III, 15; VI, 17; VIH, 5;IX, 12; X, 2; X, 7; X, 8; X, 15 Grieving, Dr., IV, 10 Griffith, D. W., VII, 14; IX, 10 Griffith, R., I, 5; II, 3; II, 7; IX, 14 Gritfiths, E., VI, 13 Grisewood, The Brothers, XII, 4 Gruenberg, L., VH, 13 Grune, K., HI, 7; VI, 13 Guitry, S., Ill, 7; HI, 15; VI, 15; X, 16 Gulick, L., I, II Guter, Dr., J, IV, 11 Gwenn, E., XI, 6 Haas, H., X, 16 Hackenschmied, A., V, 9 Hagard, S., VIII, 13 Haines, R., I, 17 Hakim, E., VI, 13 Haley, J., HI, 9 Halifax, Lord. XI, 12 Hall, E. T., XI. 13 Hamilton, L., VI, 18; VIH, 18 Hamilton, P., VII, 9 Hanan, J., VllI, 15 Handy, J., Ill, 13 Hankinson, M., X, 15 Hannen, N., VIII, 13 Hardy, H. F., HI, 15; V, 18; VI, 14 Hardy, O., V, 12; VI, 18 Hardwicke, Sir C, I, 15 Hare, R., XI, 12 Harlan, O., VIH, 18 Harper, Admiral, V, 6 Harris, R.. XI, 13 Harrisson, T., II, 5 ; HI, 16; XI, 10 Hart, W., VI, 18 Hartley & Elliott, XI, 17 Hawes, S., I, !7; H, 7; III, 13; VII, 14; XI, 9 Hays, Laura, VII, 13 Heard. G.. VII, 14 Heiligen, Dr. B., IV, 13 Heller, O., X, 16 Herbert. A. P., II, 7; IV, 7 Herbert, P., IV, 6 26 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 Herbier, M. L', V, 1 5 Herold, D.. V, 8 Herring, R., V, 18 Hibbert, S., XII, 4 Hillier, E., II, 12 Hilton, J., II, 12 Hitchcock, A., HI, 15; V, 3; V, 18; VI, 14; X, 16; XI, 6; XII, 19 Hitler, A., 11, 5; IV, 11; VII, 3; VIII, 9; IX, 3; IX, 4; IX, 15 Hodge, H., I, 7; II, 14; III, 15 Holloway, S., XI, 12 Holmes, J. B., III. 7: VI, 13; VI, 17; X, 15 Hoover, H., XII, 15 Hornby, C, VI, 17 Hubbard, Fr. B., VII, 11 Hubert, R., VII, 16 Hugenberg, Dr., IV, 1 1 Hughes Roberts, J. G., X, 1 Hulbert, J., Ill, 15 Hulme, A., V, 6 Hurley, F., VII, 11 Huston, J., I, 12 Hurst, B. D., I, 8; VIII, 5; X, 15 Huxley, A., VII, 14 Huxley, J., XII. 4 Hyson, Dorothy, XI, 12 Inkijinoff, V., X, 16 Ironside, General, IX, 15 Ivens, J., II, 13; III, 6; III, 13; III, 15; IV, 17; V, 9; Vll, 13; XI, 9; XII, 13 Jackson, Sir B., V, 10 Jackson, P., X, 15; XII, 9 Jacobs, L., V, 8 Jacoby, I., V, 9; VIII, 16; X, 7 Jago, J., II, 12 James, Mrs., X, 8 Jaubert, M., V, 18; XI, 2 Jays, III, 13 Jeakins, A. E., I, 6; II, 12; VI, 7; IX, 12; X,9 Jefteries, R. E., VI, 5 ; XII, 4 Jeffrey, W., Ill, 15; VI, 14 Jennings, H., II, 7; VI, 17; X, 15; XI, 5; XII, 7 Jewkes, Prof., VI, 5 Jolliffe, H. C, V, 13 Jones, J., II, 12; V, 6; XI, 14; XII, 7 Jordan, B., V, 12 Jouvet, L., VI, 15 Joy, Leatrice, VI, 18 Junge, A., VII, 16 Junghaus, K., IV, 11 Kanin, XI, 9 Kann, M., V, 18 Kapek, K., X, 16 Kaufmann, Dr. N., IV, 10; IV, 11 Kearton, C, VII, 11; VII, 18 Keaton, B., VI, 18; XII, 13 Keen, G., II, 12 Keene, R., VIII, 13 Keliher, Alice V., II, 7 Kennedy, J., XII, 19 Kent, Duchess of, II, 3; XI, II Kern, E., Ill, 13 Kern, P., XI, 13 King, H., I, 15 Kipling, R., VIII, 3 Kline, H., I, 21; III, 13; V, 9; VI, 17; VIII, 15; VlII, 16; X, 7 Knight, C, V, 6; V, 6; VII, II Knowles, B., VII, 9 ; VIII, 10 Knowles, Dorothy, V, 18 Korda, A., I, 8; V, 18; XII, 19 Korda, V., VII, 16 Kouleshov, IX, 10 Kozintsev, IX, 10 Krumgold, J., VII, 14 Kundal. Ill, 13 Kunz, C, XI, 10 Lacombe, G., II, 13 Lahr, Bert. Ill, 9 Lake, A., VlII, 18 Lambert, C, II, 7; IX, 17 Lambert, R. S., V, 18 Lang, F., Ill, 15 Landcry, C, IV, 17 Langdon, H., VIII, 18 LangsdorIT, Capt., V, 6 La Plantc, Laura, VI, 18; VIII, 18 Latham, G. C, V, 18 Laurel, S., V, 12; VI, 18 Lawrence, T., VII, 14 Leach, H., I, 11 Leacock, P., II, 7; VII, 7 Leacock, S., VI, 17 Lee, R., XII, 17 Lcgg, S., I, 5; I, 7; I, 14; III, 13; IV, 16; V, 7; V,8; V,9; XI, 9; XII, 9 Leigh, \V., II, 7; VI, 7; IX, 17 Lejeune, C. A., VI, 13 Lenaucr, J., VII, 13 Lenin, V. I.. IX, 11 Lcrner, I, Vll, 13 Leslie, A., VI, 13; Vll, 10 Levin, M.. V, 8 Levy, B., VI, 14 Lewis, J., II, 7; X, 9 Lewis, J. G., XII, 7 Leyda, J., II. 7 Liddcll, A., XII, 4 Lindsay, Sir H., Ill, 2 Lindsay, K., VI, 4 Lloyd, P., I, 16 Lloyd, H., VI, 18; VIII, 18 Locke, E., VII, 13 Locket, Margery, VI, 13 Lockwood, Marjorie, III, 7 London, K., II, 7 Lorentz, P., II, 3; II, 7; III, 13; V, 9; VII, 13 Losey, Mary, V, 9 Lowenslein, H., IV, 7 Lubitsch, E., IX, 10 Luchaire, Corrinne, VI, 15 Luff, W., VIII, 13 Lye, L., I, 17; I, 18; II, 7; II, 14; III, 6; HI, 15; IV, 15; V, 1; V, 14 Mabylitsky, III, 13 McCann, C, VIII. 15 McConnell, P., II, 3 Macdonald, D., IV, 2; V, 3; VI, 2; VI, 17; IX, 12 Mackenzie, A., I, 12 Kackenzie King, I, 9; III, 4 McClaren. N., I, 8; II, 12 McClean, J., VUl, 3 Macleod. J., XII, 4 McNaughton, R. Q., I, 6 ; V, 6 McCree. J., XI, 6; XII, 2; Xll, 19 Madge, C, II, 5; III, 16 Maeterlinck, M.. XII. 4 Mankiwiez, H., VI, 18 Mann, H., Villi, 18 Mann, T., VIII, 3 March, F., Ill, 6 Marion. G., VI, 18 Marks, J., V, 8 Marriott, M., VIII, 18 Marshall, H., XI, 6 Marx Brothers, VI, 14 Massey, R., IV, 9 Massingham, R., VIII, 13 Mathieson, M., IX, 17 May, J., IV, 13 Mayer, K., Ill, 15 Mayer, P. A., I, 21 Maxwell, J., IX, 4 Meerson, L., X, 16 Menjou. A., VI, 18 Metzner, E., Ill, 7; VII, 16 Middleton, G., V, 6 Middleton, Mr., I, 17; II. 5; IV, 7; V, 18 Miles, R. S., X, 13 Milestone, L., V, 12 Mitford, Unity, II, 1 ; II, 2; III, 18 Mill, Dr. J. C., II, 13 Montagu, I.. IX. 10 Morrison, H.. VlII, 1 Moyna, P., VI, 7 Mumford. L.. Xll, 17 Muni, P., I, 12; VI, 9 Murat, J.. V. 15 Murnau. F. W., Ill, 15; IX, 10 Musk, C. II, 7; IV, 7; X, 15 Mycroft, W., V, 13; VIII, 2 Nash. P., V. 18 Nathan, L., VI, 14 Negri, Pola, III, 15 Nicholl, A., V, 18 Nichols, D., Ill, 6 Nicholson, H., VII, 1 ; VII, 3 Neiter, H., VlII, 15; VIII, 18; X, 8; X, 9; X, 15 Nixon, Marion, VIII, 18 Noel, J. B., VII, 11 Northcliffe, Lord, VII, 3 Notcutt, L. A., V, 18 Oakley, C. A., Ill, 15; VI, 14 Oberon, Merle, I, 8; IX, 3 O'Brien, T., XI, 9; XII, 2 Oliver, V., XI, 10 Onions, S. D., XII, 7 Ostrer, M., XII, 2 Ozep, F., Ill, 15; X, 16 Pabst, G. W.. IV, 15; V, 14; VI, 13 Paderewski, IX, 12 Page, B. S., XII, 13 Pagnol, M., IV, 16 Painleve, J., Ill, 13 Parall, H., X, 15 Pepper, Senator, X, 1 1 Philbim, Mary, VI, 18 Pick. L., Ill, 15 Pickford, Mary. Ill, 15; IX, 10 Piel, H., VII, 18 Pike, O., II, 13; III, 13 Pitts, Zazu, VlII, 18 Pius XII, Pope, V, 7 Plicka, K., Ill, 13 Plugge, Capt.. X, 10 Polanvi. Prof. M.. VI, 5; VIM, 5 Pollard. 11.. Vll. 18 Polland, S., Vll, 13 Ponting, H„ VII, II Popesco, E., VI, 15 Pottinger, M. C, V, 14; XII, 13 Powell, Dilys, XII, 19 Powell, M., I, 8; V. 3; IX, 4 Priestley. J. B.. II, 3; Vll, 1; VlII, 5; VIII, 13; IX, 7; X, 15; XI, 12; XII. 4 Prince, A., & Jim, IX, 18 Procter, D., VIII, 3 Pudovkin, V. I.. III. 15; V, 18; VI, 14; IX, 10 Pushkin, X, 16 Quezon, M., VII, 6 Quigley, M., Ill, 5 Raimu. Ill, 15 Rasmussen, K., Ill, 13 Ray, M., VI, 13 Rayment, S. G., IX, 2 Raymond, M., XI, 12 Redgrave, M., III. 7 Reed, C, III, 7; IV, 13; V, 3 Reeves, J., XI, 9 Reinhart, W., I, 12 Reis, I., VII. 14 Renoir, C. IV, 16 Renoir, J., IV, 15; IV, 16; VI, 15 Renoir, P., Ill, 15; VI, 15 Renz, Dr.. IV, 13 Reynolds. Q., XI, 6; XI, 14; XH, 3 Richardson, R., I. 8 Riefenstahl, Leni, IV, II Rignold, H., VI, 7 Rikkli, Dr. M.. IV, 11 Robinson, E. G., VI, 9; XII, 19 Robison, Dr., Ill, 15 Robson, E. W.. Ill, 15 Robson, Flora, IX, 9 Robson, M. M., III. 15 Radokiewicz, H., VII, 14 Rodker. F., II, 12; VII, 6; IX, 12 Rodwell, S., VII, 6; X, 8 Roe, F. G., VI, 13 Roffman, J., V, 9; VII, 13 Rogers, J., VI, 7 Rogers, N., I, 9 Ronald, Sir L., VI, 13 Room, A., IX, 10 Roosevelt, Leila, VII, 13 Roosevelt, President, V, 7; XII, 15 Rotha, P., I, 5;l, 17; II, 7; HI, 13; IV, 17; V, 8; V, 18; VI, 7; VI, 13; VI, 17; VII, 2; X, 15; XII, 19 Rothman, III, 13 Rowson, S.. VIII. 11 Ruskin, J., VIII, II Rutten, XII, 13 Ruttman, W., IV, 10; IV, 15 Sainsbury. F., X, 9 ; X, 15 Salt, B., VII, 5 Sanders, G.. XI, 6 Sanger, G., Ill, 6 Saville, v., VI, 14 Schauder, L., II, 12; VI, 17; IX, 2 Schonger, H., IV, 11 Scott, Capt., XII, 13 Scott, I., IV, 6; VI, 17; VIII, 13; IX, 12 Scott, J. B.. I, II Searle, F., X, 15 Seeman, S., VII, 17 Sellers, W.. Ill, 10 Seltzer, L., VII, 13 Seldes, G.. V, 8 Selznick, D., XII, 2 Semon, L., VI, 18 "Sevorg", XI, 14 Sibelius, J., IV, 6 Simon, M., VI, 15 Sinclair, R., I, 6 Shaw, A., II, 7; II. 12; II, 13: III, 13; III, 17; VI. 7; Vlli. 12; VIII. 13; IX, 12; X, 8; XI, 2; XI, 9; XII, 9 Shaw, B., IX, 14 Shach. M.. III. 7 Shackelton, Sir E.. VII, 11 Sherwood, R. E., IV, 9 Shoedsack, I. 18 Shotwell, J., I, 1 1 Sigorski, General, IX, 12 Siodmak, III, 15 Siriex, P. H., IV, 17 Slesinger, D., I, 1 1 Slocombe, G., VI, 17; VII, 15 Smith, P., II, 3; II, 13; 111, 13; VIII, 2 Smythe, F. F.. VII, 1 1 Snagge, J., X, 9 Spencer, D. A., IV, 17; V, 18 Spice, E.. I, 5; I, 11 Spottiswoode, R., I, 5; X, 7; XII, 9 Stalin, J., IX, 15 Steinbeck, J., I, 5; 111, 5 ; V, 12; Vll, 2 Steiner, R., V, 9; Xll, 15 Stengel, C, V, 15 Stern, E.. VII, 16 Stevenson, F. J., V, 14 Stockfield, Betty, VI, 15 Stone, C, V. 2 Storck, H., Ill, 13 Strand, P., HI, 13; V, 9; VII, 13 Sun Yat Sen. Madame. Ill, 6 Swanson, Gloria, III, 16 Swing, R. G., Ill, 16 Talmadge, Constance, III, 15 Talmadge, Norma, III, 15 Tate, W. E., XI, 16 Taylor, A. R., X, 9 Taylor, D.. II, 1 2 ; VI. 2 ; VII, 2 ; X, 9 Taylor, J., II, 7; II, 14; III, 13; IV, 15; VI, 17; VII, 2; IX, 12 Tennyson, P., V, 3 ; VIII, 9 ; IX, 4 . Teunissen, J., II, 13 Tharp, G., Ill, 13; IX, 12 Thomas, L., VI, 2; XII, 17 Thomson, G., V, 6 Thorp Margaret, IV, 17; V, 18 Thumwood, T. R., IV, 7; X, 9 Tobias. C. XI, 13 Toch, E., Ill, 18 Tolam, J. H., VIII, 16 Tolstoi, A., X, 18 Toye, G., IX, 17 Tracy, S., I, 15 Trauberg, I., IX, 10 Trauberg, L., IX, 10 Tully, M., II, 7; VIH, 12 Turin, V., IX, 10 Tweedsmuir, Lord, HI, 4; III, 5 Vandenberg, Senator, VI, 7 Van Dongen, Helen, III, 6; V, 9; VII, 13 Van Dyke, W.. II. 7 ; V, 9 ; VIII, 1 3 ; XII, 1 5 Vasiliev, The Brothers, IX, 1 1 Vaughan, D. M., V, 10 Vaughan, Olwyn, III, 15 Veidt, C, V, 15 Vernon, R., VI, 18 Vertov, D., IX, 10; IX, II Vesselo, A., I, 18; V, 18; VI, 14 Vigo, J., VI, 14 Von Barsy, A., II, 13 Von Neyenhoff, O., II, 13 Von Stroheim, E., I, 18; III, 15; VlII, 9 Volkoff, VI, 13 "Vox Populi", XII, 3 Waldon, Freda, V., 18 Waley, H. D., IV, 17; V, 18; X, 6 Wallace, G., VlII, 13 Walsh, R. J., I, II Walton, W., IX, 17 Wanger, W., Ill, 4; IV, 3; IX, 4; XI, 6; XII, 17 Ward, E., II, 2; XI, 10 Warden, C. J., Ill, 13 Watt, H., I, 1 7 ; II, 7 ; III, 1 3 ; V, 1 ; V, 8 ; VI, I; X, 15; XI, 5 Watts, F., XII, 2 Waxman, H., X, 9 Weddell, Wendy, VIII, 3 Weid, M., IV, 11 Weiss, J., IV, 7; IV, 15 Welles, W., VII, 13 Wells, H. G., XI, 17 Werth, A., XII, 17 West, F. W., VII, 1 1 West, Mae, III, 16 Wilkinson, Ellen, XI, 9 Willm, P. R., V, 15 Williams, E., Ill, 7; XI, 12 Wilson, N., IV, 13; VI, 14 Wilson, President, XII, 15 Winfred, Winna, V, 15 Winkler, D., IV, 11 Withers, Jane, III, 16 Whyte, Sir F., IV, 2 Woodard, H.. Ill, 13 Woodard, S., Ill, 13 Woods, Miss, XII, 2 Wolf, N. H., II, 13 Wolff, D., Vll, 13 Wolff", L., VII, 13 Woolfe, B., II, 7; VL 17; X, 15 Worms, J., V, 15 Wright, B., II, 7; III, 13; V, 14; V, 18; VI, 7; X, 8; X, 9; X, 15 Wynyard, Diana, VII, 9 Yonnel, J., X, 16 Younghusband, Sir F., VII, 11 Yutke, v., IX, 11 Zanuck, D., I, 5 ; I, 15 ; III, 5 ; XI, 6 ; Xll, 2 Zook, G. F., I, 11 Zweig, S., X, 16 ADVERTISERS Andrew Buchan Productions Xll, 18 Anglo-American Film Corporation II, 10; III, 8; VII, 8: VIII, 14; IX, 8 British Commercial Gas Association I (back cover); II, 14; III, 12; IV, 12; V, 8; X, 19; XII, 12 Films V, 15; VI, 6 Films and Equipments XII, 18 Films of Great Britain Xll, 18 G-B Instructional I (inside back cover); III, 14; IX, 16; XI. 19; XII. 6 Gebescopc Film Library; XII, 6 Hudson Record Co., XI, 8; XII, 21 Kinemuiovraph Wccklv XI, 15; XII, 16 Kodak VI, 19 London Scientific Film Society II. 5 Merton Park Studios II, 15: III. 19; IV, 19; V, 19; VI, 12; VII, 19; VlII, 19; IX, 19 New American Film Publications II, 9; in, II Petroleum Films Bureau I (inside front cover); IV, 14; Vll, 12; Xll. 16 Realist Film Unit II, 6; IV, 8; VIII, 8; X, 12; Xll, 27 ScieniijH Horkcr. The IV, 17; V, 11 ; VI, 15; Vll, 11 ; VlII, 13 Sighl ami Sound II, 11; III, 18; IV, 16; V, 2; VI, 15; Vll, 11; VlII, 13; IX, 15; X, 9; XI, 16; XII, 23 Strand Film Company II, 16; III, 20; IV, 20; V, 20; VI, 20; VII, 20; VlII, 20; IX, 20; X, 20; XI, 20; XII, 28 Studio Film Laboratories V, 7; VI, 17; X, 6; Xll, 18 Verity Films XI, 19; XII, 8 Horld Film Ne»s IV, 17; V, 17; VII, 16; VIII, 17 World's Press News X, 9 ; XI, 8 ; XII, 23 i I DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER DECEMBER 1940 27 12 Films completed in the last i2 months for- THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION THE BRITISH COUNCIL 8 FILMS IN PRODUCTION REALIST FILM UNIT LTD. Ill CHARING CROSS ROAD, W.C.2 TELEPHONE . GERRARD igjS TWO NEW STRAND "FIVE MINUTE" FILMS "NEIGHBOURS UNDER FIRE" DIRECTION: RALPH BOND RELEASED DECEMBER 2nd (.(.' WE'VE GOT TO GET RID OF THE RATS DIRECTION: JAMES CARR RELEASED DECEMBER 9th v> THE STRAND FILM COMPANY L^ DONALD TAYLOR, MANAGING DIRECTOR. 5a UPPER ST. MARTIN'S LANE, W.C.2. Merton Park Studios: 269 KINGSTON ROAD, S.W.9 Owned and published by Film Centre Ltd., 34 Soho Square, London, W.l, and printed by Sim.ion Shand Ltd., the Shenval Press, London and Hertford The Museum ot Modern Art 300107230