Documentary News Letter (1944-1945)

16 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER No. 2 1944 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS Naples is a Battlefield. Production: R.A.F. and Army Film Units. M.O.I. 15 mins. Subject: Getting Naples under way again after its evacuation by the Germans. Treatment: This film is surprisingly honest and outspoken for the Ministry of Information. I have a feeling that they must have missed the point of it. Out of an assorted collection of newsreel-type material, some of which we have already seen in the weekly reels, emerges a picture which gives you a clearer idea of what the war is all about than you usually get from an official documentary. Yes, Desert Victory and the like are certainly not excepted. First they give you, very nicely, the old Naples — the beautiful sun-swept bay, the romantic tenor bawling. as only an Italian can, all the decorative husk inside which you easily picture the festering kernel of Fascism, the filth and poverty, the Ovra and the rubber truncheon, the easily bought official and the workman peasant debauched by years of defeatism. Then the German demolitions, and the Allied liberators move in, to find a city with no power, no water, no public services and a frantic population. As the time-bombs begin to go off, leaving mangled bodies and the blood-covered injured sprawling on the pavements, the Italian police dash through the crowd, lashing out wildly in all directions, and a half frenzied queue of women crush against the wall two pathetic, helpless American M.P.s who have come 4,000 miles all the way to Europe to give the natives freedom and democracy. Meanwhile, whilst the docks are got going again and the stuff piles up, food or shells, bombs or civilian goods, a confused heap that no bomb could miss, the population has gone to the sewers for water and typhus and typhoid is raging. Finally power and water are restored, the peasants bring their produce in again and Naples gradually staggers back to its feet. Against the background of this confusion, you think of the decision to peg the lira at 400 to £1, which, according to the Economist, has stripped Southern Italy worse than ever she was by Germany. The great virtue of this film is that it shows up the empty shell of our civilian "principles" against the background of hard fact. It ends on the note that this is Naples, one city only among thousands that will have to be brought alive again, and the thought it leaves, though this is not explicit, is that in such an inexorable grind of human courage, violence and misery, our principles will have to be a good deal stronger and more honest. Propaganda Value: First rate. Naval Log of Victory. No. 7. 9th year. March of Time. 20 mins. Subject Matter: The changing balance of naval power. Treatment: March of Time is right back at the top of its form in this review of naval history since Pearl Harbour. The material is exciting and well selected, including some footage from Japanese newsreels that we have not seen before. It is extremely well cut, the editing showing a keen appreciation of logical progression and dramatic tempo — something that has been lacking in recent issues. The balance of naval power as between the Axis and the Allied Nations was seriously affected by the loss of nineteen ships at Pearl Harbour, and the story shows how that balance has now been re-adjusted, despite the loss of Wake Island, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and with supply routes across the Atlantic and to the Northern Russian ports open to constant attack from Axis submarines and planes. This new strength is attributed to the enormous capacity of the Allies for new ship construction, which more than compensates for the losses. Charts are used from time to time to show the relative strength of the naval powers at different stages of the war, but their effectiveness is marred by the rapidity with which they are presented. The audience has no time to assimilate the essential figures. Propaganda Value: Students of the subtle art of partisan propaganda in what purports to be objective reporting will not fail to note the implied suggestion that it is America that has contributed most towards achieving the present healthy state of affairs. It may be considered ungenerous even to mention the point (no doubt it is purely unintentional) but it is amusing to watch how it is done. Winter Work in the Garden. Production: Realist Film Unit. Direction: Bert Pearl. Camera: Cyril Phillips. M.O.I. 10 mins. Non. T. Even to those philistines who cultivate not even a window box, these Gardening Films show the fascination of turning a few square yards of earth into something alive and useful. Winter is shown as a time for preparationtime which must be used well if the season that follows is to be productive. The ground must be dug — not just anyhow, but scientifically; by banking it up into long rows, the greatest possible surface is exposed to the beneficial disrupting action of frost. According to the type of soil, it may need treatment by compost or lime. Root crops, left in the ground till now, are taken up as they are wanted. Allotment products, such as seed potatoes, in store for later use, need periodical attention. The gardener's wife and children come and help him, warming the film with a light but effective human interest. The gardener's neighbour also has a plot of land ; it serves to bring out a point not covered in the "featured" allotment. The treatment of the story thus runs smoothly, discursive though the subject tends to be. The photography captures well the gentle light appropriate to the season. Propaganda Value: A quietly persuasive film, which can instil enthusiasm for allotment work even among the uninitiated. It should keep the allotment workers keen at a time when enthusiasm may be expected to drop. The Ministry of Health have presumably given up the idea of persuading people to cook unpeeled potatoes, judging from the shot of snowwhite spuds at the end. Unfinished Journey. Concannen Productions: for Polish Film Unit. 10 mins. Subject: Biography of General Sikorsky. Treatment: Scenes of rural England, in peace and quiet, show us a country village, strangely untouched by war. But overhead, fighter planes roar, discordantly. Out of key though they may seem, it is because of them that this English village has its peace. Moreover the film shows a (continued on page 21) WORLD WIDE PICTURES LTD Producers of Documentary Films for: THE WAR OFFICE BRITISH COUNCIL MINISTRY OF INFORMATION Etc. Etc. JAMES < AICII Managing Director RALPH IIOMI Producer 52 Ml A I USUI IS Y AVENUE, W.l GERHARD 17367