Documentary News Letter (1940)

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 adj/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 exent, 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 propaganda 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, conervatively 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 departments 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 revelation 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 unanimous in praising the film. 83% of Press criticism 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 spontaneously 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 Unicorn 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 throwing 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 armament-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 percentage 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 conclusions reached by Mass-Observation studies, make it clear that a fully-organised study of audience reactions, if sufficiently well-financed, would be immensely valuable to the Film Trade, to documentary 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.