Documentary News Letter (1947-1949)

DOCUMENTARY FILM NEWS 41 THIS MODERN AGE No. 16 The British -Are They Artistic? Theme. A discussion on the cultural life of the people of this country, and their reactions to drama and the arts. Comment. This is surely a subject offering vast scope for the imaginative documentary producer, but, regretfully, we feel that he has ended up a little breathlessly, just after the boat has left. It is a very good attempt. The great strides made in all forms of culture during the war are dealt with well, and considerable effort has been taken to give us a fair cross-section of contemporary opera, ballet, and so on. Are we as a nation artistic? The question is scarcely answered. But there is an uptilted-nose atmosphere about the film which gives a slightly uncomfortable impression of snobbery. One can miss Albert Herring at Glyndebourne or Checkmate at Covent Garden without being a complete intellectual moron, while according to the film the alternative is the pornographic peepshow. This, of course, is absurd. But the middle course of the ordinary entertainment of the people is not there. That vast happy medium which provides the relaxation for the millions seems to fall into a valley not penetrated by the Modern Age cameras. While for some obscure reason the legitimate theatre as most of us know it is virtually ignored. We hear some good sense from Norman Collins on the problems of the present-day book publisher and from Robert Donat on the future of the cinema. There is also an interview with C. B. Cochran, the substance of which has completely escaped us, but which left no particular impact on first hearing other than a disturbing inconsistency on the part of the recording which positively gave to C.B. a dual personality. But there is a point of criticism about which we feel strongly. And this is common to the whole series of This Modem Age. The narration is undeniably bad. Not only has the commentator a voice lacking in all vigour and a delivery which is monotonous. But there is the impression that it has been recorded in a telephone box. This is a point of criticism which deserves the attention of the producers. The series is an important one. The subjects are usually absorbing and the messages behind them forthright and refreshing. If it is to be a British March of Time — and the comparison is meant to be a compliment — then those behind it must realize that the commentary is just as important as, and probably a whole lot more important than, the visuals. The narrator must mean what he is saying, and say it as though he means it. Just now he sounds as though he might be reading the prices in a seed catalogue. No. 14 Jamaica Problem the development of self-government in the Colonial areas was speeded up considerably during the war years. In the case of Jamaica a Land Short of People new constitution was granted in 1944 on the English parliamentary pattern with universal adult suffrage, although local politicians make capital out of the fact that ultimate power still rests with the Governor. But the crucial problem remains an economic one. There is still little or no industry and the prosperity of the country is geared almost entirely to the uncertain prospects of one or two crops, principally bananas. Any failure in the harvest or the market means poverty for the island. Economic development is therefore the overriding concern of the Jamaicans. This Modern Age has presented the picture honestly and well. One thing only it fails to make clear enough — the equivocal nature of the local leader, Bustamente, whose campaign for full sovereign rights has more in keeping with the antics of South American dictatorships. Power rather than the economic and social development of the island appears to be the principal motive of this demagogue who dominates the local scene. Visually, the film is effective. The unsettling orgiastic undercurrents in Jamaican life are well illustrated by the jivings of a local priest and his servitors as they initiate a new member of the flock. The same uncontrolled emotional fervour goes of course into the frenzied support of Bustamente. The commentary, however, generally lacks punch. One could imagine The March of Time making more of the visual material by a better choice of words or more subtle inflection. Nevertheless the film is a valuable addition to the picture which This Modern Age is building up of the pattern of development within the Commonwealth and Colonial Empire. No. 15 Land Short of People Theme: Round a continent in twenty minutes. Comment: To have told our ancestors that one day people sitting more or less comfortably in arm-chairs could have the experience of getting to know a continent in less than half an hour would have evoked a forthright 'Impossible!' This film does little to confound such an opinion, for in covering so much ground already familiar to many people it misses the chance of probing more deeply into Australia's problems and opportunities. A young and vital country like Australia deserves a less superficial survey than this. And why must the commentator shout? They Travel by Air (contd.) This film emphasizes what has for some time been something of a puzzle. Dicky Massingham can put ordinary people doing ordinary things in front of the camera so thai thej .ire really amusing and entertaining as ordinary people can be. How is it that he has not been snatched up by the feature boys? Good fun is so missing in British feature films that one would think there would be room there for someone whose vv it and sense of cinema are obviously so beautifully balanced. Still, why should we grumble? But Massingham has been long enough at the stall training film game, with its limited opportunities and relatively minor exhibition. It is high time he took a header into a much more ambitious field.