Documentary News Letter (1944-1945)

DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER 61 formed. The non-theatrical system of distribution was adopted by the commercial sponsors, who used the road-show system and also operated their own free libraries in the same manner as the Government unit. The annual audience figure was rising towards the 10 million mark. To the general public these documentary films often came to mean a chance of democratic discussion which had not, in any imaginative terms, been available to them before. It is to be noted that this new audience was the same audience as saw the feature pictures in the public cinemas. But they were in a different mood — a mood not of relaxation, but a mood of active participation. They wanted to know more, to discuss more, and to take part in the action arising from discussion — which is the basis of democracy. The contribution of documentary to the international scene was considerable at this time. Groups appeared in other countries, not least in the U.S.A., and there was a growing exchange of ideas and personnel. Of special significance was the invitation issued to John Grierson and Basil Wright by the ILO in 1938 to draw up a report on the international exchange of films of public enlightenment. Although the war curtailed action on this report, it remains important as having enumerated the essential factors on which today UNO and UNESCO are basing their operations. Hitherto the British Government had shown few signs of understanding the possibilities of a wider system of public information than that represented by the GPO Film Unit. The BBC and the Ministry of Labour had made use of the GPO Film Unit on one occasion each, the former to sponsor a feature-length film on its activities (this was a box-office success), and the latter to sponsor a short film on the work of its Labour Exchanges. Other than this, however, it was the commercial and industrial sponsors, and to a lesser degree the GPO Film Unit, which made the major contribution to the progressive use of documentary techniques in the public service. Nevertheless, by 1938, it became clear to the Chamberlain Government that something was needed to counter the brilliantly organised and highly successful propaganda machine developed by Hitler and Goebbels, and also that in the event of war a co-ordinated information service would be essential. Accordingly, the BBC began to develop its overseas broadcasts, and prepara■ tions were made for the establishment of a Ministry of Information. Here, unfortunately, a grave mistake was made. War with Germany was inevitable, and yet the Government was reluctant to involve itself in a Ministry of Information as a going concern. It was obvious to anyone in the information field that a great deal of spade work was needed to set up such a Ministry, and that time was running out; but the Cabinet decision was to form only a skeleton organisation, whose task was to do a little vague thinking and to draw up plans for the formation of a real Ministry "in the event of war". For this mistake Britain paid dearly in the first year of World War II. In September, 1939, a period of chaos, the Ministry of Information was formed, in a flurry of directives and counterdirectives and a flood of staff appointments which, by and large, served only to overload the Ministry with desk-holders and chair-squatters. The BBC, according to plan, scattered itself over i Britain, and did in fact get going on a wartime i basis with a success which was not paralleled elsewhere. But in the MOI itself such confusion prevailed that all other branches of information VISUAL EDUCATION BRITISH INDUSTRY 100 YEARS AGO By G. D. H. COLE A series of twenty-six filmstrips each dealing with a different aspect of British Industry as it was in the 19th Century. The illustrations are taken from contemporary sources and the whole series gives a comprehensive picture of how our industries were carried on a hundred years ago. 1 The Land 2 Building and Woodwork 3 Pottery and Glass 4 Cotton 5 Wool 6 Lesser Textiles 7 Clothing and Leather 8 Paper and Printing 9 Fishing Industry 10 Food Trades I I Drink and Tobacco 12 Chemicals and Public Services 13 Coal Mining 14 Iron Trades 15 Steel Trades 16 Mechanical Engineering 17 Lesser Metal Trades 18 Roads and Road Vehicles 19 Bridges and Canals 20 Ports and Docks 21 Shipping 22 Shipbuilding 23 Railways. Part I 24 Railways. Part II 25 Streets and Shopping 26 Posts. Banking. Money Every filmstrip is accompanied by full teaching notes, with sources and bibliography. Prices: Filmstrips, 9s. 6d. each. Teaching Notes, 3s. each Filmstrips and filmstrip projectors are now free of tax. OUR CATALOGUE Gives full details of filmstrips and specifications of the Mark I filmstrip projector. Demonstrations of projector and filmstrips can be arranged. COMMON GROUND LTD SYDNEY PLACE, LONDON, S.W.7 i BLACKHEATH FILM UNIT LIMITED announce the inauguration of their INDUSTRIAL FILM SERVICE designed to meet all demands for every kind of Industrial film-work PRODUCTION OF TRAINING, INSTRUCTIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL and PUBLICITY FILMS, TIME and MOTION STUDY, MICRO-CINEMATOGRAPHY. SCRIPTS, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, Sound Recording, Editing and Completion of Clients' own films SOUND OR SILENT mm COLOUR OR MONOCHROME 16 jjm i iu Consult The Industrial and Instructional Film Specialists BLACKHEATH FILM UNIT LIMITED 9 NORTH STREET, LEATHERHEAD, SURREY Telephone: Leatherhead 3377