Documentary News Letter (1947-1949)

32 DOCUMENTARY FILM NEWS Nationalism and Internationalism by R. £. Whitehall the first Internationa! Film Workers' Congress, held in Czechoslovakia during 1947. passed a resolution reading: Screen art is the most universal and lively medium of expression and spreads human knowledge and all artistic and social aspirations of the people. It is most democratic by nature, and a most remarkable instrument for bringing nations nearer to one another, and promoting a new feeling of common responsibility which will bring peace to the world. That nation can only speak peace unto nation when the barriers of racial hatred and rabid nationalism have been swept away is only too true ; that the cinema is the most potent medium to do it is obvious ; that the cinema has been, and still is, grossly misused for this purpose is only too evident. The driving force behind most films being made now is still hatred, and hatred is the festering sore in which the microbes of war germinate. That the countries of Europe should make films dealing with national hatreds was only to be expected, but that former allies should now indulge in name-calling through the medium of the cinema while their statesmen chant bitter and uncontrolled psalms of hatred in the world's councils is a disheartening spectacle. It is not without interest that the annual report of the American Civil Liberties Union, issued just before the notorious Committee of UnAmerican Activities investigation opened, recorded that progress in the basic freedoms had been halted during 1947, and that hardening of feeling in the States towards Communism had been reflected in the suspicion with which progressive measures and opinions had been greeted. This feeling, running at times into the high hysteria unparalleled since the Bolshevik scare of 1920, has been crystallized by the Hollywood probe, and the ideas — ranging from innocuous to mildly Socialist — which may get one branded as a Communist, a crypto-Communist, or a fellow-traveller, have been dragged into the open. Fortunately for Hollywood, at almost the same time Mr Dore Schary, vice-president of RKORadio, was writing, with regard to his production of Crossfire, that if the cinema reverts to the 'sedative function' it will stagnate. Crossfire is the first of a series of films in which racial prejudice comes under devastating attack, with its outspoken criticisms of the bigotry characterizing relationships between Gentile and Jew. Unfortunately Hollywood has not yet attempted to combat or abandon the stereotyped characterizations of coloured people in its films — the 'mammy' smiling all over her lovable old face, the 'comic relief terrified of the darkness or the elements — the implied statement that coloured people should be relegated to inferior social positions. These things constitute a restatement of the exploded theory of race as surely as any of the films from Nazi Germany did. Meanwhile, from Moscow, come reports of anti-British or anti-American sentiments in new Soviet productions. The Battle for Stalingrad supports the view that the Western Powers waited until Russia had sufficiently weakened German military might before invading Western Europe. Admiral Nakhimov, a biography of the defender of Sebastopol in 1853, is not notably conciliatory in its picturing of the British, although in this particular instance there would be as little use in suppressing the conflict of Britain and Russia as there would be in suppressing the conflict of Britain and France in the screen version of Henry V. Unfortunately the inopportune time of appearance, and the fact that the ideological content is in line with the official propaganda must place Admiral Nakhimov on the list of those films which are not likely to spread knowledge and understanding of fundamental problems, or create international goodwill. In Britain producers are too busily engaged on other things to worry about the ideological war being conducted through the medium of the screen elsewhere. If Britain has no Iron Curtains or Soviet Spies (subjects announced by American companies) in immediate prospect, she has no constructive ideas either, with the possible exception of Paul Rotha's 40-minute documentary, The World is Rich, which, on being shown to the representatives of forty-eight nations and eighteen international organizations at the Food and Agriculture Conference in Geneva, was called by Sir John Boyd Orr, 'this superb contribution to international understanding'. It has been left to the smaller European countries to make the most valuable contribution to the cause of international amity. Switzerland with The Last Chance, and Italy with a series of beautifully conceived productions, beginning with Open City. This film, in which Roberto Rosselini believed so implicitly that he pawned many of his personal belongings in order to complete, is not an expression of hatred, it is not 'anti' in any factional sense but a drama, rather, of the eternal conflict between the good and evil in men. Perhaps this is because the film is based so very closely on life, with each of its chief protagonists— the priest, the underground leader, the Gestapo chief — being taken from real life. Vivere en Pace goes even further, in that it can look at the immediate past without bitterness. There is no hatred for the Germans, rather a pity for the shambling little man who is left in the Italian mountain village as a symbol of the 'herrenvolk'. There is good and evil in all men and all nations, and the Italians, out of all the film-making nations, seem to be the only ones capable of accepting it. If the promotion of international understanding, with its ghastly alternative, depended on such films as Mrs Miniver or Song of Russia, both frequently cited as examples of films made for the specific purpose of familiarizing one group of people with the problems of another, then the cause would be hopeless, but the Italians have demonstrated that the screen is the finest medium for the propagation of peace and justice in this one world. DFN COMPETITIONS RESULT OF COMPETITION First prize No. I the spirit of Elizabethan days is not very easy to capture, but competitors have worked hard and sent in many excellent entries. One of the cleverest came from France and took the form of quotations — it was an ingenious idea but did not quite keep to the terms of reference. Francis Bacon, Marlow, Hayluyt, Shakespeare and Raleigh were the most popular script-writers. Particularly good was 'The Uses of Shepherdesses: an important contribution to the increase of productivity in Rural Areas: by Nick Breton', and we must also mention 'Players Please by W. Shakespeare: a film to encourage the tobacco trade". It has been difficult to select the winning entries, but first prize finally goes to John Shearman. Basic Films, 18 Soho Square, Wl, partly for his excellent Elizabethan English and partly because he seems best to have translated our Central Office of Information into Elizabeth's Privy Council. A good second is 'Swiss' who is especially to be commended for being short, sharp and to the point. ELIZABETH REGINA PRIVY COUNCIL FYLMS DYVYSION Programme of Fylms Destyned for Production in ye Fynancial Year of Our Blessyd Lord 1588 9. For Ye War Office THUNDER OF YE HARQUEBUS Ye passyinge of ye Longbow e and yts replacement by firearms of divers kinds as weapons for Hyr Majestie's Soldiers and Militiamen. Scrypt: Christopher marlow For Ye Admiralty MEN OF THE FIRESH1P With a synchronized yntroductorie discourse by The Lord Howard of Effingham. Scrypt: RICHARD HAKLUYT For Ye Board of Trade YE SMOAKINGE OF YE POTATO ROOT An account of ye advantages to be gained for the Queen's subjects at hoame from Trade beyond the Seas, especially with ye Neu Discov'rd Virginias. Scrypt: sir W. raleigh