Documentary News Letter (1947-1949)

DOCUMENTARY FILM NEWS 31 five Towns to see practically the whole process. As the clay spins and is deftly moulded, the audience can sense the generations of craftsmen behind the potter's eager, firm and restless fingers. Here is pride in work — and work to be proud of. This atmosphere of pride, this sense of craftsmanship, pervades the whole film: an impression encouraged by the personalized treatment of the story and the warm handling of the characters in it, whether they be members of the family whose existence in the film knits together the various pottery processes, or chance workers in the factories. This relating of a general theme to a personal story, which, judging by the films to be seen that essay it, is an extremely difficult thing to do, in Five Towns is almost entirely successful. The people appear real and ordinary, their surroundings genuine, and the story simple (it centres round the arris al of a bride-to-be from London, to whom the Potteries were as much of a mystery as to the reviewer). Terry Bishop keeps both the family story, and the larger canvas of the Potteries, human and clear, while revealing the processes themselves with an adroitly fluid camera in a manner which maintains their fascination to the layman and builds up to the exciting climax of the potter and his vase. These factory processes have been admirably photographed in a lustre-full "high-key" style, which makes the most of china's three dimensions and cheerfully airs the more modern works. The dialogue is understandable, for it avoids the 'pitfall of heavy dialect — so often mistakenly wallowed in by documentary in superficial search of character: although audience-interest in local speech is recognized by* glimpse of rich 'Potterytalk'. Altogether, the film is a polished piece of work which it is a pleasure to see for its own sake as well as for the information it contains. If the curtain be lifted occasionally to reveal some products of the Potteries that are both hideous and useless — notably some terrifying china baskets of flowers— that is a very proper revelation for a film to make. Some will be disappointed that Five Tbwni in not a more penetrating social studs. We learn nothing of occupational diseases, rates of pa) . (Continued on page 35, col. 3) NEW FILMS Your Children's Meals. Made by Realist Film Unit for the Ministry of Health through COL Producer: John Taylor. Director\Camera: Alex Strasser. Music: Horace Somerville. Camera operator: Fred Moore. Editor: Cliff Boote. Distribution: non-T; 16 and 35. 15 minutes. One of the now famous "Your Children's' series in which the Realist Film Unit and the Ministry of Health have collaborated so successfully, this is not, as you might imagine, a factual survey of child dietetics, but a lively and imaginative attempt to make parents understand the rhyme and reason of good feeding habits. In a series of incidents the film makes points about such things as fussy or 'difficult' feeders, the need for attractive food, children's liking for company, the need for regular meal times, etc. Children are such individual animals that it is difficult to generalize about them; inevitably one is left with doubts about some of the advice given — for example that parents should conceal their own food likes and dislikes. But the idea of the film is not, presumably, to provide ready made solutions to every situation but to make parents think about the problems of feeding from the child's point of view as well as their own, and in this it should be successful. Well directed, the iilm is notable for an ingenious use of sound and v isual effects. KRO Germany 1947. COI Monthly Release made by Crown Film Unit. Director: Graham Wallace. Camera: Arndt von Rautenlcld. I a film which tells the story of the work of a Kreis Resident Olficcr--a Kreis being one of the sections into which the British /one of Germany is divided for administrative purposes. Quietly, as we follow the KRO through a i> pic.il day. the film shows the difficulties; the ruins. the iefugces, lack of houses and food, shortages ol every kind, the hoarders and the smugglers. Somehow these have to be coped with — and to the best of his ability the KRO copes. To make a film about Gei nany with a joint team of British and German technicians and to make it a COI monthly relea e must have been a brave decision; for there are lew subjects that arouse such conflicting emotions lis the treatment of Germimv today. German) is destitute but the Germans brought misciv to millions and might do so again if the) had the chance; can we on that account remain indifferent to their present suffering? KRO presents the facts, it offers no comment. To have made a film which steers its way between the Scvlla and t harybdis of pity and hatred, and which holds the attention throughout, is a considerable achievement. Some o( the difficulties ot miernation.il collaboration which were overcome in the production of KRO are described in an article elsewhere in this issue; it only remains to add that no one seeing the film would have suspected them. Unanimously the Reviewing Board had only one grouse; what happened when the KRO went out after the smugglers, and what happened in his court next day? Many documentaries are too long. This one is too short. Report on Industrial Scotland. Crown for COL Directed, written and edited by A. S. Graham. Distribution: T. to Non-T. 10 minutes. This is the third in a series (Report on Coal, Report on Electricity) which has a similar aim to radio's Progress Report. Incidentally, for the record, Crown were two months ahead of the BBC. The issue under review deals with industrial development in the central belt of Scotland, stretching from Glasgow to Edinburgh. Sixty thousand people have emigrated from the area since VE day, and, in an endeavour to halt this drain on manpower, new factories are being built, with an emphasis on light engineering and on jobs which can be done by women. The difficulty of compressing this story into ten minutes has not been entirely overcome. Consequently, the treatment seems hurried and rather confused : we are left with an impression of great activity, but with little understanding of the problems, and. therefore, of how far this activity is likely to solve them. Partlv. this is the fault of the commentary: delivery is fresh and interesting, but somehow the voice just lacks sureness and authority. But. whatever its teething troubles on questions of presentation, this series is to be warmly welcomed. It is tackling an urgent and important job. and a few more films like it would enable us to feel that Government information was beginning to live up to the needs of the country's situation. Overseas Trade. World Wide foi Banking Information Services in association with Film Centre Producer: Ralph Bond. />. I ales de Lautour. Camera Geoifrev Miliums Commentary: Robert MacDermott. DistribtWi Non-T. 20 minutes An attempt to explain to the uninitiated the mysteries of international current v exchange \ purely undramati/ed film which tells how something works or anything is done cm always have its uses I his him does not strike on<: as .. saiistactorv in this reipecl its handling is clumsv and its whole conception muddled. 1 1 feels that the subject, potentiallv tascmating. deserves a more inspired treatment. I his film will fill a gap until a better one