Documentary News Letter (1947-1949)

108 DOCUMENTARY FILM NEWS Pharmaceutical Manufacture 16mm. and 35mm. SOUND Sponsored by EVANS MEDICAL SUPPLIES LTD l)islribnti'<l by CENTRAL FILM LIBRARY Descriptive brochut >• from Publicity Manager EVANS MEDICAL SUPPLIES LTD Sprkr. Liverpool 19 2I4-74/H3 right of nations to an international exchange of information and the need for a pooling of knowledge and experience between countries. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Chinese Shadow Play (II minutes). This film gives a charming example of one of the oldest entertainments in the world — the Chinese shadow play — and shows how it is worked. Florida — Wealth or Waste (22 minutes). Behind the beauty spots of Florida the land is going to waste. The film surveys the rich natural resources of Florida, which are slowly being eaten away, and makes a strong plea for a firm policy of conservation. Henry Moore (18 minutes). A comprehensive study of the work of Henry Moore as a sculptor and artist. Louisiana Story (79 minutes). Robert Flaherty"s new film is a beautiful and moving story of life in the Louisiana swamp lands. The hero is a small French-Canadian boy, simple and superstitious, but happy with his animals and his games. Then to the swamp come the oil men, and soon a great derrick goes up in the river, and we watch the impact of this monster of civilization on the primitive mind of the boy. Oil is found but the gusher blows and for a time all is chaos. Eventually it is got under control with the assistance of the magic charms of the boy and the science of the engineers, and the derrick departs, leaving the boy and the land as they were before, except that the boy now has a gun of his own. Strange Victory (68 minutes). Brilliantly edited and with a telling commentary, this film is unfortunately marred by excessive length and repetition. The first part is a compilation of library material which reminds us of what we went through during the war years, and traces the rise of the Nazi party and its race theories. From this it passes to an indictment of the antinegro and anti-semitic tendencies growing in the United States, and stresses their dangers. The Quiet One (70 minutes). This moving film deals with the psychiatric treatment of delinquent children from the slums of New York. For its theme the film reconstructs the life of a small negro boy, poor, backward, starved of love, and hating the home in which he lives alone with his grandmother. Gradually he drifts ainlessly into crime and is taken to a specj il ichool. Here we see how the staff with endless patience slowly coax him back to a more normal attitude to life. The School that Learned to Eat (22 minutes). This film shows how one of the backward schools in the Southern States of America improved its standard of diet and feeding arrangements by means of co-operation between the children and their parents, resulting in better health and happiness both for the children and the community as a whole. Two Chinese Dances (11 minutes) Two examples of Chinese dancing, demonstrated by a Chinese-American. UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS A Day in the Life of the USSR (75 minutes). This is an omnibus compilation shot by fifty cameramen showing scenes and events in the many different parts of the country on a single day in 1947. Springtime in the Mountains ( 1 1 minutes). A picture of the beautiful scenery in Caucasia. The Vain Bear (12 minutes). A delightful cartoon about a bear, who, dissatisfied with his appearance, acquired a peacock's tail. The result is a disaster for him. and he is only rescued from hunters by the joint efforts of his friends. White Gold (11 minutes). An interesting combination of cartoon and actuality to illustrate the uses and importance of cotton in the economy of the USSR. YUGOSLAVIA Children's Welfare (11 minutes). This is an instructional film dealing with the care of children in the nursery schools of Yugoslavia. Slavitza (100 minutes). This is a feature film which tells a story of the fight against Fascism in Yugoslavia during the war. The heroes and heroines are the workers of the village, who rise against their capitalist oppressors. These are assisted first by the Italians and then by the Germans. Eventually the villagers are obliged to take to the hills, where they join the Partisans. After many adventures the war is won under the leadership of Tito, and they return with depleted ranks in triumph to their village. An Exhibition about Documentary Films? (Continued from page 99) asked whether it could be made available for showing. In addition, George Toeplitz of Poland, the secretary of the World Union of Documentary, saw it during a visit here and also wanted a copy for exhibition purposes in his own country. But the exhibition, successful as it was at Edinburgh, has only scratched the surface of the problem. Once again documentary has spoken onl\ to the limited few. But it has proved one thing — that the proposed exhibition about documentary was no unworkable airy-fairy scheme. Part of it has been made to work, and made to work in the span of a few weeks and with practically no money. The need for an exhibition about documentary films for the man and women in the street is as strong as ever. The knowledge is there; the enthusiasm is there; but where is the money? LONDON SCIENTIFIC FILM SOCIETY the London Scientific Film Society has now been in existence for ten years and was the first film societj of its kind to be formed. Its policy has always been to bring, through the medium o( film, the Litest developments in the world of science to the members. The word scientific is interpreted in the widest sense unci the subject matter of the films has ranged from pure research to social science. Once again the society has had to change its meeting place, this year the show will be held at the Royal Empire Society on week-das eves ings. The eleventh season opens on November 1 i when the show will consfft mainly of medical films, including the Canadian Tiding o> Hostility and the new COI film Polio Diagnosis and Management. Inquiries regarding membership should be addressed to the Hon Secretary at ?4 Soho Square. London, YV1 .