Which could equally be true of British films of the 1940s and ‘50s. Many were dominated by themes from the Second World War and covered tales of daring, British stiff upper lip in the face of adversity and light humorous pieces. Given the awful seriousness of the war years there is nothing wrong in that.
Most were blatantly made as propaganda or in the years after the war reflected back to a moment when we still felt great just as the Cold War plunged the world into an uncertain place and Britain began to be marginalized as a real power. At the same time as the growing consumer boom of the ‘50s made the decade of rationing, and make and mend a thing of the past.
Some of the films of the war years can be still be watched, partly because they were good films but also because they are often an insight into how film makers incorporated propaganda. So A Canterbury Tale by Powell and Pressburger took the theme of Chaucer’s poem with its collection of odd characters on a pilgrimage to Canterbury to weave a story of three young people swept up by the war. Here against the backdrop of an English village with its unchanging character were the elements of a new time created by the war and pulling together both Americans and Britons in a common cause.
At the same many of the films aimed to convey the destruction of the old class system as people of all walks of life pulled together. Of these my favorites must be Millions Like Us made in 1943 set in a wartime aircraft factory and The Way Ahead following a mixed bag of civilians who having been conscripted into the army are shaped into a fighting unit and go on to fight in North Africa. All the themes are there from the stories of different people from across Britain to the problems of the families left behind as well as romance and death with a touch of humor and plenty of war time grit.
Often these films were made and starred the very best. So The Way Ahead, starred David Niven and Stanley Holloway and a legion of actors who were to make it in the ‘50s and was written by the author Eric Ambler and the young Peter Ustinov and directed by Carol Reed.
Of all these the one I go back to is Waterloo Road. It is part melodrama, and part documentary. The story of a young married couple separated by the war whose relationship undergoes further challenges from a dishonest racketeer who tried seduces the young wife was filmed against the backdrop of war damaged streets in south east London.
There are other candidates for the top five films and these I would suggest should include The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp made by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger in 1943 which contrasted the values of the early 20th century with those needed to fight the war. It follows the career and romantic life of the young officer, Clive Wynn Candy. Set at the end of the 19th century through the two world wars it both celebrates the British notions of honour and sacrifice with more modern attitudes which would win the war.
So, certainly these films were full of propaganda but are very much a way of viewing this country at a moment in its history.
*graffiti recorded in a Chorlton Lavatory
Picture; cinema poster from A Canterbury Tale
Most were blatantly made as propaganda or in the years after the war reflected back to a moment when we still felt great just as the Cold War plunged the world into an uncertain place and Britain began to be marginalized as a real power. At the same time as the growing consumer boom of the ‘50s made the decade of rationing, and make and mend a thing of the past.
Some of the films of the war years can be still be watched, partly because they were good films but also because they are often an insight into how film makers incorporated propaganda. So A Canterbury Tale by Powell and Pressburger took the theme of Chaucer’s poem with its collection of odd characters on a pilgrimage to Canterbury to weave a story of three young people swept up by the war. Here against the backdrop of an English village with its unchanging character were the elements of a new time created by the war and pulling together both Americans and Britons in a common cause.
At the same many of the films aimed to convey the destruction of the old class system as people of all walks of life pulled together. Of these my favorites must be Millions Like Us made in 1943 set in a wartime aircraft factory and The Way Ahead following a mixed bag of civilians who having been conscripted into the army are shaped into a fighting unit and go on to fight in North Africa. All the themes are there from the stories of different people from across Britain to the problems of the families left behind as well as romance and death with a touch of humor and plenty of war time grit.
Often these films were made and starred the very best. So The Way Ahead, starred David Niven and Stanley Holloway and a legion of actors who were to make it in the ‘50s and was written by the author Eric Ambler and the young Peter Ustinov and directed by Carol Reed.
Of all these the one I go back to is Waterloo Road. It is part melodrama, and part documentary. The story of a young married couple separated by the war whose relationship undergoes further challenges from a dishonest racketeer who tried seduces the young wife was filmed against the backdrop of war damaged streets in south east London.
There are other candidates for the top five films and these I would suggest should include The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp made by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger in 1943 which contrasted the values of the early 20th century with those needed to fight the war. It follows the career and romantic life of the young officer, Clive Wynn Candy. Set at the end of the 19th century through the two world wars it both celebrates the British notions of honour and sacrifice with more modern attitudes which would win the war.
So, certainly these films were full of propaganda but are very much a way of viewing this country at a moment in its history.
*graffiti recorded in a Chorlton Lavatory
Picture; cinema poster from A Canterbury Tale
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