Documentary News Letter (1942-1943)

DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER MAY 1942 NEWS LITTER MONTHLY SIXPENCE VOL. 3 NUMBER 5 MAY 1942 DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER stands for the use of film as a medium of propaganda and instruction in the interests of the people of Great Britain and the Empire and in the interests of common people all over the world. DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER is produced under the auspices of Film Centre, London, in association with American Film Center, New York. EDITORIAL BOARD Edgar Anstey Alexander Shaw Donald Taylor John Taylor Basil Wright Outside contributions will be welcomed but no fees will be paid. We are prepared to deliver from 3—50 copies in bulk to Schools, Film Societies and other organisations. Owned and published by FILM CENTRE LTD. 34 SOHO SQUARE LONDON W.l GERRARD 4253 THE WORLD IN ACTION An estimate of some of the productions of Canada's National Film Board, which it is hoped will shortly be available for showing in this country 3. or so par the British public has had no opportunity of seeing the series of vigorous films on world strategy in war put out at two monthly intervals by the National Film Board of Canada. Although these films have a wide circulation in the U.S.A. as well as in Canada itself, they are prevented from being shown here owing to a clause in the Films Act (1938), under which they are classified as ""alien" and are not eligible for quota. At the time of writing there would appear to be some hope of action being taken to get rid of this ridiculously anomalous situation, and it will therefore be of interest to analyse the purpose and technique of the films in question. Known in Canada under the general title of Canada Carries On and in the U.S.A. as The World in Action series, the films represent a definite policy decision taken by the Canadian Government early in World War 11. This decision arose from the realisation that the widest possible knowledge of world strategy and of the significance of each incident of the war in relation to the confict as a whole, was likely to be one of the most valuable means of informational and morale propaganda, and was incidentally the best way of connecting the work of the Canadian home front with the world-horizons which it serves. The Canada Carries On series was accordingly evolved, and every other month the issue was devoted to a world survey of some aspect of the war. The series was furthermore designed for theatrical use and had to stand or fall on its box-office appeal. The question of style was therefore of some importance, and after due consideration the National Films Commissioner (John Grierson) and the Producer in charge (Stuart Legg) decided that the series should be made in the same style as the March of Time. This decision has been kept to in each item so far seen in this country. Each film consists largely of visuals illustrating a commentary and accompanied by music and effects; occasional dialogue scenes are introduced, and titles are used to punch home points and to introduce a new angle in the story. The style is well chosen for the purpose in hand, and frequently knocks spots off the March of Time at its own game. But the style is not so important as the content and the policy and thought which lie behind. The basic policy has already been mentioned, and the titles of the items are in themselves fairly illustrative o\~ the policy— The Battle for Oil, The Strategy of Metals, I'ood WCapon of Conquest, This is Blitz, etc. Behind each of these items one can detect not merely the brain of the experienced propagandist but also certain attributes without which any widely-based film cannot be more than superficially convincing. These attributes are:— in Constant, intensive and imaginative research work ; mi Close attention to history, to immediate strategic considerations, and to the various possibilities as regards the future; mil I limination of makeshift \isuals, and con centration on welding picture and commentary into an integral whole; (iv) A strong sense of screen journalism; (v) Fearlessness and forthrightness— both of which are impossible unless based on the preceding attributes. The makers of these films would probably make no claim to have achieved perfection ; nor does this article make that claim. But the value of the films as a stimulant both to thought and to action is such that they are worth detailed analysis. It may be interesting to begin with a subject which has a definite parochial basis, and show how the producers deliberately related the parochial story to a vivid picture of its relation to the whole world. The Strategy of Metals begins with a vigorous, semi-poetic sequence taking us northward through Canada, past tht cities and lakes and farms to a barren waste— the great Laurentian Shield — "'a primaeval monster, brooded over by an Arctic winter, with a summer three months long". This, says the commentator, as the camera moves grimly across a desolation of rock, snow, stunted trees, and frozen lakes, is one of democracy's greatest arsenals, for beneath its surface in abundance lie nearly all the metals on which our modern civilisation depends, and without which modern war could not be waged. Note here that the attention of the audience is captured by the elements of suspense and surprise— not merely a technical trick, however, for it is valid whether you are already in possession of the facts or not. The development of the Great Shield is then described, with emphasis laid on the fact that the mining centres depended and depend on air communications more than anything else. So far we have had an impressive picture of this huge storehouse of essential metals being tapped — a picture which in itself gives us a heartening survey of United Nation resources as regards the supply of essential metals. But now, suddenly, we are in British Guiana, with the ships loading up with a reddish earth called bauxite, without which aluminium cannot be made. In a few seconds the whole structure of the world markets for metals springs to life, and the Nazi position in this regard is vividly analysed. — Schacht buying in every market the metals without which Germany could not rearm . . . the pan/er divisions, the stukas, the submarines and pocket battleships all coming into existence from metals supplied from every quarter of the globe. Note that we have now passed to a complete international picture, excellently illustrated by material from all quarters, including Germany. The menacing years o\' the Thirties gain a kind o\' perspective, and the stage is set. But herecomes a point of great technical interest. No attempt is made to build up anything out of the outbreak of the war. No time is wasted on the smashing of Poland. No dramatics. This line is right ; the film is being shown to us, who know we are at war and have lived through