Britain Can Take It: The British Cinema in the Second World War - Softcover

Aldgate, Professor Anthony; Richards, Professor Jeffrey

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0748605088 ISBN 13: 9780748605088

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 1994

Synopsis

This work charts Britain's reaction to World War II by examining 13 key films produced between 1939 and 1945, including the work of Noel Coward, George Formby, Leslie Howard and Carol Reed. The book is illustrated with stills from each film, and considers script, reviews and box office returns to place each in its social and political context. It also draws from official documentation - Home Intelligence reports, Mass-Observation files, Ministry of Information papers and British Board of Film Censors archives - to illuminate the relationship between the official propagandists and the film-makers at this time. This revised edition features two new chapters and a filmography.

About this title

About the Author

Anthony Aldgate is Professor of Film and History, The Open University.  His many publications include the TCM British Film Guide to 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' (forthcoming Tauris 2007). Jeffrey Richards is Professor of Cultural History, Lancaster University.  Among his books are 'The Unknown 1930s' and the TCM British Film Guide to 'A Night to Remember' (both Tauris).  Together they are joint authors of 'Best of British: Cinema and Society 1930-1970 (Tauris).

From Publishers Weekly

Aldgate and Richards, university lecturers in history in England, have written an instructive study of how documentary filmmakers, most notably Humphrey Jennings, Paul Rotha, Pat Jackson and Harry Watt, gave British film its true identity during World War II. Though regarded as inferior by the Ministry of Information, which directly influenced wartime British film content, these filmmakers made an impact on the course of even the most commercial movies. The authors discuss 11 key films by such filmmakers as Leslie Howard, Noel Coward, David Lean and Carol Reed that most aptly captured the sentiments and meaning of the war. Not only did the MoI accept the ideas of the documentarians, but mainstream filmmakers also incorporated the realism of documentaries in their work. A scholarly book, it is an excellent narrative as well, and although incomplete given its length, this is a highly recommended study. Photos. (March
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0748605088
• ISBN 13: 9780748605088
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 362