Documentary News Letter (1944-1945)

DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER No. 4 1944 45 NEW DOCUMENTARY FILMS Le Journal de la Resistance. this is the full-length, 40 minute version of the liberation of Paris by the F.F.I., short extracts from which have already appeared in the newsreels. Those who saw the newsreel shots will know what to expect : here is none of the romantic heroism, the pep-talk propaganda, which the film makers have tried to kid us that war consists of. Here is the real thing, hate and brutality. blood and death, all overclouded with that dreamlike air of unreality that always accompanies scenes of excitement, violence and danger. The whole atmosphere is one of savage hatred ; Germans going up in flames like human torches as a gTenade sets their petrol lorry alight, the wounded young German soldier lying on the ground with bullets spattering round him, and the woman running out to roll his corpse over like a sack of potatoes and get his rifle, the Frenchman lying on the pavement in a bath of his own blood, just beginning to congeal, the women for the umpteenth time in the history of Paris building barricades out of paving stones, or running with stretchers and improvised RedCross flags through the flying bullets to pick up the wounded ; the prisoners coming in ; Germans scared, sullen or just plain oafish ; collaborators in a jitter of panic and somehow surprised and hurt that they should be in a situation where they can't change sides again, in the sudden realisation of the mean and cynical that there actually are people who put a cause before their personal comfort. And finally the entry of Leclerc (with his tank-crews of Spanish Republicans) and de Gaulle, and the people going wild with that special fierce joy and patriotism that is part of the French people. Technically, it is a marvel that this stuff was ever shot — where they got their cameras and film stock from 1 can't imagine — and the cameraman seems seldom out of danger. Some of the hand-held tracking shots are terrific, and add tremendously to the air of tension and excitement of the whole film. In a way, Le Journal de la Resistance is a special tribute to the people of Paris, a people which has always kept its nose firmly in the middle of politics and seized the least opportunity to proclaim its views forcibly. Every Parisian, working or middle class, reserves to himself the right when he doesn't fancy something that's happening, to descendre dans les rues. Where the German unemployed flung themselves into rivers, out of windows, or into the S.A., the French went down into the streets and beat up the police. Why, they'd even riot about a film — against Kameradschaft, for instance, on the Champs Elysees and for it in the working-class quarters. It's that fierce, active, political spirit that comes out in this film: that spirit has its weaknesses no doubt, but it does at least make sure that Paris frees itself and can decide its own future, without the kind and dampening attentions of allied politicians. That is what makes jthis a film which everyone must see. MARCH OF TIME. Racial Problems. No. 2. 10th Year. 17 minutes. This issue of the March of Time deals with the racial and religious differences existing in the U.S.A., and although one welcomes its distribution over here, it would be interesting to know what sort of reception it has had in America, particularly in the South. Bearing in mind the state of feeling among the advocates of "white supremacy" in many of the States, the film seems a pretty courageous effort to state firmly the principle of racial and religious equality. The actual shooting is not particularly exciting, relying very largely on speeches from various people prominent in civic life — newspaper editors, priests, educationalists and politicians — condemning racial or religious intolerance as contrary to the principles of the American Constitution. It is interesting to find that these advocates are not confined to the Northern States but carry through their propaganda in the areas where hatred and discrimination against the coloured peoples has been most persistent. A strong point is made that there are half a million coloured men and women in the armed services and that it is a grave injustice to deny them the full rights of citizenship while expecting them to shoulder the ultimate responsibility of defending their country with their lives. Within these terms the film does a good job, but it would have been good to see a wider vista of the colour problem in the American scene. Only a fleeting mention is made, for instance, of the fact that the C.I.O. Unions recognise no colour bar. Even in Detroit there are scores of coloured Trade Union officials, and white and coloured workers work amicably side by side on the same machines. Racial riots are provoked by outside sources. An analysis of some of these factors would have been welcome, but so far as it goes the film will, let us hope, contribute something towards eradicating an evil that all good friends of America abhor. Left of the Line Produced by the British and Canadian Army Film Units. M.O.f. 27 mins. The film story of D-Day, eagerly awaited by the public, is a satisfactory, if unimaginatively constructed photographic record of the advance of the British and Canadian armies through France and Belgium. The preparations for the invasion and the landings on the Normandy beaches provide exciting material, but the rest seems to be a re-hash of newsreel footage already seen in the cinemas. Either because there wasn't time, or because the producers were too close to it all, the total effect is a little disappointing when compared with the magnitude and excitement of the event itself. It is to be hoped that a more considered and longer document is in preparation, if only for the enlightenment of future generations. New Builders. Paul Rotha Productions, 1944. Direction: Kay Mander. Photography: W. Suschitsky. M.O.I. 22 mins. Subject: The training of boys for the building industry. Treatment: Boys learning at technical institutes the various jobs connected with building. Plastering, plumbing, carpentry, brick laying, then on an actual job — the building of two farm workers' cottages. On a meadow two men are working with a theodolite, marking out the site and fascinatingly the cottages begin to take shape. This is one of the most perfect sequences that has been in a commentated film for many a day. Foundations, walls, rafters, tiles, plumbing, doors, windows — until at last you want to get up and have a go at it yourself. Finally instructions for boys on how to get into schools or to be apprenticed. The film's job is to influence boys to take up building as a job and it is completely successful. It shows the craftsmanship of building as important and satisfying work, and will give any boy an honest and practical start. Propaganda Value: Excellent. A Farm is Reclaimed. Production: CampbellHarper. Direction: Alan Harper. Made for the Scottish Department of Agriculture. Non-T. M.O.I. 15 mins. Subject: Ploughing up of a derelict Scottish farm. Treatment This is a simply made film with a pleasantly naive quality about it. A farmer takes on a tough assignment in the shape of a 200odd acre farm where no work seems to have been done for years. The buildings are falling to pieces, the house is uninhabitable, the fences are down, and the land has been let go for rough grazing. However, with the help and advice of the War Agricultural Executive Committee and the use of a lot of complicated and expensive machinery, the land is all ploughed up — the valley fields for cereals, the hill fields re-seeded for sheep and cattle. It all costs a lot of money, but what with Government grants, subsidised prices, etc., the farmer finally can see a nice profit in it. The film shows most of what you want to see in the way of the work done, the commentary is nicely calculated and there's a good human feeling about the farmer and W.E.A.C. members. It's only when it's all over that you realise that you have seen nothing of the people who have done all the work, that the farmer, since the farmhouse was uninhabitable, must have lived in town and travelled out by car, and that the necessity to present farming as a sound business proposition shows very clearly what a fundamental revolution is necessary in country life. Propaganda Value: Very good for Scottish farmers. Some Like it Rough. Public Relationship Films. Production: Lewis Grant Wallace. Direction: Dr. Massingham. M.O.I. 16 mins. Humorous treatment is not a strong point with most M.O.I, films, and whoever thought up this one had a bright idea which Massingham has put over very neatly. An American soldier meets up with an English soldier and tells him that American football is "murder". The Englishman advances the view that it is no tougher than the English game and is promptly challenged to have a try at it. with disastrous results to his own person. To get his own back he lures the American into a game of Rugger. After being chucked all over the field by a bunch of hearty toughs, the Yank decides that maybe the Englishman is right. The story, simple enough, depends entirely on its treatment for effect. The whole thing is played in a sort of early Rene Clair style, including a black-coated undertaker solemnly handing out his cards to the stretcher cases as they are carried off the field. John Sweet (of Canterbury Tale) plays the Yank in his artless, engaging manner, the sound track shows much originality, the football games are shot with terrific gusto and although the propaganda message, if any. is obscure, the whole thing adds up to a friendly, jolly film which can't possibly offend anybody. {continued overleaf)