Documentary News Letter (1941)

DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 1941 FILM SOCIETY NEWS BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE The Institute has acquired many of the copies of foreign films hitherto distributed by Unity Films Ltd. These are now at the disposal of Film Societies should they wish to go in for a series of revivals of the better French films of the last few years. Secondly, the National Film Library, which has recently published a new Catalogue, has embarked on a new and important line in making available single reel extracts from well-known feature films. These have been prepared for purposes of illustration and analysis and in each case the extract has been chosen so that it should have some completeness in itself and at the same time give a fair representation of the characteristic technical qualities of the whole film and, so far as is possible, of its theme. These are only available on 16 mm. The new composite film on The Use of Realist Material in the Cinema is now at the recording stage and will be available for hire to Film Societies very shortly. The third year of war finds the Edinburgh Film Guild continuing to serve the cause of international understanding by showing the best available Continental, British and American tilms. Despite war-time restriction of production and import, films are still available to maintain the standard and variety of previous seasons. Intelligent film-goers have long been grateful to the Edinburgh Film Guild for its private Sunday performances, and it is hoped they will bring them to the notice of the many new residents in the City. Ihc season will be divided into two parts. 1 i\e performances will be given in the first part before Christmas and five in the second part in the new year. During December it is hoped to arrange a special (additional) performance of films dealing with subjects connected with postwar planning. Notable among the films to be included in this programme is the American Institute of Planning production entitled The C iiv. This documentary on town-planning anal> ses the problem of urban development by direct comparison and devastating satire, and finally illustrates the type of model city which is possible anywhere if we choose. The first show had as feature Benoit Levy's Nous Les Jeunes. Among other French films under consideration are Drame de Shanghai by G. W. Pabst (Kameradschaft)— a grim and exciting melodrama against a background of the Chinese struggle for freedom ; and Accord Final, a story of the Geneva Conservatoire of Music. I Russian films include The Last Night, an im j pression of the last night in Moscow before the I Bolshevik dawn; Peter the Great, an ambitious historical film describing Peter's westernisation of Russia; and Eisenstein's Teuton and Slav. A Czechoslovakian programme will include Pred Maturitou, a film of student life in Prague and its environs. As with last season's programme, a special arrangement will be made for the translation of the dialogue. For many years the Film Guild has devoted its programme to showing the life and art of other nations. In direct contrast the programme on November 2nd gave some idea how Scotland is shown on the screen to the rest of the world. The shorts included a group of new Scottish films produced by the British Council for wide distribution abroad, and the feature was Michael Powell's Edge of the World which has been shown with outstanding success in more countries than any other film dealing with Scotland. The Cambridge University Film Society, which was started in February of this year, is now entering upon its second season. Three shows are to be held this term and next in the Arts Theatre, which is given by courtesy of the Trustees. The series of talks given last season on subjects connected with the film has been suspended for the moment, but may be resumed if there is sufficient demand from members. As before, the shows are supplemented by programme notes contributed, wherever possible, by the directors or others closely connected with the films being shown. The three shows scheduled between now and the beginning of December are : Nov. 2nd: Ptushko's The New Gulliver, with Georg Pal's Big Broadcast, Lotte Reiniger's Papageno, and Len Lye's Rainbow Dance. Nov. 16th : Jaques Feyder's Les Gens du Voyage, with Alexander Shaw's Cover to Cover. Nov. 23rd : Michael Powell's The Edge of the World, with Harry Watt's North Sea. Manchester and District Film Institute Society has arranged in collaboration with the Manchester and Salford Film Society a further series of six film displays to be shown this year. The three full-length feature films to be screened at the Rivoli are La Grande Illusion, Lenin in October and The Postman Always Rings Twice. These will be supported by the usual specialised shorts including Massingham's Tell Me if It Hurts and Island People. In addition three substandard shows have been arranged, the first of which is entitled Scrapbook of Film Comedy 1896-1933. The second and third shows will be Films of Freedom and Films of Science. In each instance a special speaker will introduce each film. In conjunction with the Ministry of Information the Film Institute Society are giving three free shows daily in the City Art Gallery for the next eleven weeks. The six weekly shows of the M.O.I, include Len Lye's When the Pie was Opened, The White Eagle and Five Faces. For the weeks between the M.O.I, film shows the Society has arranged a series of five weekly programmes to illustrate aspects of film art. These will be entitled From Georges Melies to Walt Disney, British Documentaries, How Story-telling by Film Developed, American Documentaries, and Early Chapters of Screen Comedy. The Belfast Film Society reports: — Although long delayed by our elTorts to secure a cinema, which have finally proved fruitless, though for a time we were in high hopes, we are opening our season of repertory shows in the hall which we have used for the last two seasons. We are making one innovation by meeting on Saturday afternoons instead of holding evening shows, in the hope of overcoming difficulties created by the black-out, travel problems for country members, and the possibility of interruption by airraid alerts. The first show was booked for Saturday, October 25th. The programme was Renoir's La Marseillaise, supported by Free France, the documentary about the de Gaulle movement's first year, a cartoon by Pinschewer, De Lichtwacht, and an early Disney. For the second show on November 22nd we have booked Chapayev, and hope to show a selection of shorts appropriate to a Russian feature film. The third show is to be on December 1 3th and for this we have booked Zero de Conduite. It is tentatively proposed to accompany this by an early Marx Brothers film. The Scottish Churches Film Guild reports : — A gratifying attendance was present at the first review of the new session held in Greyfriars Church Session Room, on Tuesday, October 14th. The Common Round was the first picture reviewed. Just an average picture, most useful for foreign mission work. A short reel was shown entitled Symphonies in Stone — Canterbury. This proved a most excellent picture. The photography was splendid and showed views mostly in and around the old Cathedral. Owing to its high standard this film was considered too short although there was no story attached to it. There was a feeling that more organ music, when the interior views were shown, would be a big improvement. The next meeting of the Guild takes place in the same premises on Tuesday, November 11th, when any interested are invited to attend. Dundee and St. Andrews reports a substantial increase in membership which now stands at 743, an addition of almost 100 over last year's record figure; and there are still a considerable number of members to come in. This encouraging start has enabled full plans to be made for a season of ten performances. The subscription is to remain at 105. On October 19th the programme consisted oi King of Spades (in substitution for The Viking Trail), a Disney cartoon, and Retour a L'Aiibe. This programme was much appreciated by very large audiences at both the afternoon and evening performances, the latter being almost a full house. There is no doubt that this Society is now very firmly established and that its activities are of much value to a large and growing circle of members. It would be interesting to know if its claim to be the largest Society in the country can again be substantiated for this season.