1947-03-10 — Page 2

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At 2.30, 5.10. The Factual Film

5.10.|. 7.15 & 9.15 p.m.

Greer GARSON

WALTER PIDGEON

MR. & MRS. MINIVER TOGETHER AGAIN IN

"BLOSSOMS IN THE DUST'

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Commencing To-Morrow : “BEDELIA

BRITAIN'S GIFT

TO

HE documentary is Bri-

THE

tain's outstanding con- tribution to the film." Thus the opening sentence of "The Facturi Film," a survey by the Arts Enquiry (Oxford Univer- sity Press, 12s. 6d.), and it has the simple confidence that be- longs

fact to a statement of rather than opinion.

The Scottish herring fleet is out

nt sen, the deck slants up at an

acute angle, the nets are alive with a allver slither of fish,, and a burly form in n sou'wester cuts for a moment a dark pattern against a sky of cloud and wind.

It was 1929. Mr John Grierson had made "Drifters," and a cinema which had stormed with natonishing violence and vitality through mantic wastes of silence and now the found elf confronted with

ro-

By

CINEMA

The Film Critic

Of The Times

Facts and figures abound. und. 'white figures have a way of con-

The activities of the British Film Institute

the

It la specially necessary these days to guard against the desthotle argu- ment. It is plausible and apt to get under the defence of any maker in any medium. But, of course, it is the dene bright-eyed old enemy and by this time we know it very well. Documentary was from begin- ning an "anti-aesthelle" movement,

Mnn, in other words, who is

enough of "m- already conscious ដ described аго fusing, they accasionally clarity satisfactory," and its failure, as the material factors in the world round throw into relief, made startlingly survey sees it, "has been largely due him, of the services he is expected clear the little ' comprehended. F to weaknesses its constitution, to render the State and the respons! instance, from August 31, 1944, to organisation, and method of finance, bilities the State bears towards him. September 1, 1945, 65,210ft, of Blm, though these cunnot be held wholly is not to be allowed to forget, and belonged to what is known in the responsible for the lack of initiative films will une all the tricks trade as "general non-theatrical dis and drive characteristic of much of shifts of which they are capable to tribution," while there were in

neo that he does not. We live, says operation 144 mobile units giving in

the Grierson school in effect, in a the course of the year 50.412 shows

technological society--the jargon to no fewer than 8,050,709 people.

cannot be escaped-and a technolo- gical society Is necessarily an inter- dependent one.

Mány Uses

11s work."

Again the newsreels in peace pre 100 concerned with the trivial and nre apt to think they have dono good day's work if they show a few moments of a football match and the

problem and challenge of sound diet becomes clear, then, that do- Inying of a foundation-stone.

cumentary has two homes, one

an the one-and- sixpennies understand it, the other in the schools, the village halls. the institutes, the factories, the pubile libraries wherever, Indeed. people gather together not to be entertained

not altogether recognise the im- In the cinema

celluloid portance of the strip of which sought its inspiration not in the studied resture of the actor but in the sight of men going soberly about their daily work.

It In strange how quickly the early cinema forgot its origins and the purpose for which the Brst daguer reotype was invented, which was;to record for posterity the faces and forma of actual people, and not to set up as a competitor of fiction or the stage.

a

"Pure" cinema may be as much of delusion as that "pure" poetry sought so earnestly by George Moore, but the cinema divorced from the necessity of telling an artificial story and free to lake natural material, not merely to reproduce its image, but to select, to shape, to infuse, to use camera. screen and natural life as an artist uses paints, canvas, and the scene before him, was at least on the track of it.

Two Films

but to learn.

The book glances back to the past and recounts the work done by the Empire Marketing Board and the

G.PO, unit, and considers rationally and at length the various limbs that up the documentary go to make body.

There to the purely educational film, for use both in the elementary schools and in the universitles. There are films which teach training in the various branches of the Services, in industry, in agriculture, aims which never find their way into the while, for instance, theatres, for such a film as the "Crown of the Year," impression of

ori

farmla directed with an eye for the vivid phrase, WOR pictorial

generally shown there are whole classes of fim, more fuctual, detalled and in-

which structive,

are mode for specialised groups and

are, to all intenta and purposes, illustrated lectures,

There was for long in England no parallel to the American "March of Time" or the Canadian "World in Action." which seek out controver- slal subjects, exhibit them dramat cally, and comment on. them some- thing in the manner of a newspaper editorial.

The value of the survey is re-.

flected in the fact that three of its

four

main recommendations hove already been carried out in principle at least the continuance of officially sponsored film production and dis- tribution through the Films Division of the Central Office of Information," the planning and Implementing of a visual education policy by the Mini- stry of Education, and the establish ment of a Flims Department by Unesco.

The Idea

and

our

We are in a very real, even a bitter, SCIBC of the words brother'e keeper, but in spite of the superlelal proximity in which he is brought by wireless, newsprint, and the speed of modern travel we really know tile about him and the way

he lives,

Long Struggle DOCUMENTARY for many people

still means a gentle illustration, a development of the old-fashioned travel film given to musing by the and following the village church wooded curves of the river.

The British Council once produced a number of films of this kind which prettyfled the countryside and inter- preted England in the manner of a precious urban wrlier letting himself go on the subject of bis week-end cottage. Look at the landscape, urge the more austere, and see not the static images of fields and trees but the dynamic images of roll conver- sion and co-operative marketing. Turn but a stone and start not 鐘 wing but a demonstration of the manner in which the human ants live under it.

There is so

for

F more importance for the future, 0

however. than material con- siderations of sponsorship. distel bution, exhibition economics and all the complex rest of it is the Idea Then there are the uses of film for behind the British documentary, be- colonial peoples-the Department of hind films like "The Way We Live" HE war showed how precisely Social and Industrial Research of which force themselves, or are forced THE

much we take adapted to our national tem- the International Missionary Council by critical opinion, into the cinemas granted, The hot-water tap, for perament was the task of informing was responsible for the production and the consciousness of people instance, and the documentary of the reallam with Imagination. "Tar

"Target of some 35 Alms--by the focal normally absorbed by the grandiose

future may be concerned to show not for To-night" and "Western Approa- authorities, by scientific societies, by formula of the Hollywood epic. how the popes work but the kind ches," to mention only two of the religious and political organisations;

of man the plumber is. Where does many memorable fims made while there Is the International use

Our distinguishing characteristic he live, what is his buckground, has the enemy was in arms against us, factual flim and there are the news is a grave concern with the problems he enough money, sufficient leisure, derived their strength from the reel.

of our time; our films are conscious is plumbing a trade with a future, fidelity with which they recorded

their responsibility. They are how does his life compare with that the working day, the prosaic routine,

not afraid of dingrams and statistics: of plumbers in Klev, in Stockholin, the steadfast background, to feats of

they move to the ponderous tread at in Buenos Aires? individual courage and endurance.

a blue-book. The continental

of

Recommendations

Such set pieces represent, how- THE report allows itself comments, criticisms, and recommenda- ever, only a fraction of the work of tions at the same time as it gives the "documentary" and "The Factual facts. Thus more use could be made Film" has a long and complex story of the film in education. There are to tell. It is a full, closely printed shortages of projectors and of films; boolt of some 250 pages, and the many teachers show little real Inter- Index affords evidence of the far- est in the film as a medium and too reaching and multifarious activities often the films that are made justify It considers.

their distrust.

of

Mr

As a result of the war and our tions may decorate their documents with galety and fantasy; such de- capacity for tracing on the screen lights are not for us and the aesthelle Its course and its challenge without pleasures of "Drifters" are long ago. the falsification of sentimentality.

Grierson himself, who is a our feature films have achieved force behind polley, would not make status and

reputation they could a film of that type to-day, and in, hardly have dreamed of in 1039. indeed, an uncompromising opponent These feature films owed their of much that it stond for, in our inspiration to the high standards of world" he wrote:-

realism set by the British documen- tary. They were not reached, how- ever, without a long and arduous. struggle carried on in circumstances of extreme difficulty and without help from the big battalions of the industry. It Is by no meany over to-day and public support is needed as much as over. But documentary ERTAIN publicists are grow is not being used for a race track, guzzi was singing Marguerite. has proved its Importance and must

ing afraid that the public an airfeld,

an experimental the stage box Agricola K. Hunch-beware only of preaching its socio- station, and tear down may be forgetting all about the buildings, Hyde Park and Regent's The conductor, Dischwasser, fidgeted, limited a text.

all the meyer jun. leaned forward anxiously. logical message from too narrow and Super-Mammoth-Exhibition to be held in London in 1951.

Apparently the question of a site is causing trouble. Why?. All you' have to do is to find an area which

BY THE WAY by Beachcomber

POCKET CARTOON

Ajay-

sit-down

OT

Park are out of the question, as by that time the one will be a film

the other colony and

a television stadium.

In

poking his baton ints his car. The diva took the first notes with case, grace, and I know not what. The audience chattered happily. And then finfandum renovere jubea, etc.) Rustiguzz! stepped to the footlights and bawled:

Seaside Louise,

The Americans are wiser in these matters. They call this sort of thing Fair, which suggests fun. We call It an Exhibition, which

suggests Oh, how she longs for a squeeze, Wembley, and miles and miles of She's such a daisy,

dreary machinery, with an occasional group of giraffo-necked girls front Burma sheltering from the wind in sham grottoes.. I told you, boy, to show Mr Woule out

Call this a first-class hotel?

HEAR that q passenger in the Queen Elizabeth on a recent run to New York made a fearful row with the 40,000 pursers. He said, "My cabin must be changed. "What's wrong with it, sir?" "I can see the sea from it."

Another unfortunate

incident

She drives us all crazy

By the bring breeze.

Down came the curtain. Hear the Grable in

Now

"Pagliacci"

TOW that such clever tricks can be played with sound on the films, so that a man who has never held an oboc may seem to be playing it with skül and verve, why not have an entire opera without the bother of engaging great

Gramo-

Singers?

phone records would do the trick, while Rita Hayworth and Dorothy Lamour sang Mimi and Muselta. For the fur bohemions I would ENSE was the word. The Jewel choose Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra,

Song was about to begin. Rusti. Rudy Vallee, and Fred Astaire.

NANCY Anyway, It's Just His Size

THERE'S THE DUMBEST

BOY IN MY CLASS AT SCHOOL

LOOK--- HE EVEN WEARS HIS DUNCE CAP ON THE

STREET

FERNIE

Rupert and Ninkj—55

Next morning Rupert tara odi with the lotter to Santa Gaon and worrying Ninky. Before he can_PORT 'ne leiter he hears the whirr of the ne plane. "It's that Toy Scout," *ne crea. "He has come back, after site to mog if I will go to Santa Claus again. He can take this letter us stead. it will save time.” The Scout lands and hears Rupert explain what has happened. "Well, it's a Pity there will never be another Jankey like Ninky,” he says, "* dur

* been croat fun (**)

ALL NIGHTS, RESERVED.

By Ernie Bushmiller

DUMB BELLS

THIS IS AN NO, BUT ASTROLOGY | JUNIOR CHART = DO DOES YOU UNDERSTAND) HE THE GYMBOLS

?

PLAYS THEM IN A BAND

According To Culbertson

(Copyright, 1847, by Ely Culberson)

Both partners, North and South, lost splendid opportunities in to day's deal-North in the bidding and South in the play.

South, dealer.

Both sides vulnerable.

WEST

• J 100 AJ 10

• KAB Q10 04

NUBAH 4Q878

• AJ 10

EAST +942

S

SOUTI *ARS

87641

+4 *A79.8

The bidding:

3 sondes

vibe

Wood

Double

Double

4thai Vidi

North

Pa

3 wo trump Pave

North's hand was good enough for no trump over a jump to three South's two spodes. Actually, how- bidding ever, North's method of should have had a better result, be- cause it conxed West into a double of three no trump that North should have redoubled.

4

Against four hearts West opened the club four and declarer put in

dummy. He led the jack from spade to the king and returned a heart. West played the ten, dummy the queen and East the king. East returned his last club. The

king won and now declarer made fatal error of lending the third club from dummy, intending to ruff his own last club. East, however, rul- ed in with the five of trumps, and that was that.

the

The third lead of clubs by declarer before drawing another round of trumps was very bad Aguring. This was not the point at which to worry about losing a club trick-the sult might break or the fourth club could be thrown off on dummy's fourth spade it that suit broke. The vital thing was to get out the trumps and prevent an adverse club ruff,

CROSSWORD

19

10

# F

20 12/

23

Across.

1. Bounds . though ine triva, un- successfully, "to" shoot someony, 2. Object of worship. (4) 10, Coal district — not Rukola S

Royalty. (4)

11. Dat is his dret nante. (9) 12 1 you WIDE-A Prouch river,

change the bird. (5)

14. Currency with wooden end. Jat Reposed ist the wook-end #1. Shut up, and whore. 14)

17. Not this but the othri, 141 21. Meal. 13

32 in Prance obese part of

Brst course.

23. A bin king. (3)

24. This phobla la * dizend

Govelty. (3)

13. Reach-Lead projectilợ7 (5) 20. Try Coram for the base. (8)

Duwa

1. Very nasty neckware

(u),

11. They were dangerous in Maren.

3. The boys at a concert, appa:-

ently, (di

Studing people, toi

5. Diblical character. · (0),

6. Burled a bit we hear, to the

cash. (0) 7. Whom we shoula tover 1-51

Fordyer with bird and friend, isi. 13. Another note? No, wish it out.

10. Colour P (0)

19, that for shree, (4) 20. Begiu tho week. (3)

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