Ivor Montagu
A look at the parallel lives of Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler and how they crossed with the creation of the film “The Great Dictator,” released in 1940.
Avant-garde appeal on behalf of and made by the adventurous leftist London cinema, The Other Cinema, using the facilities provided by the BBC community programme unit.
Newsreels from the '30s constitute the bulk of this fascinating documentary, clearly illustrating that the public was fed an extremely biased view of events: straight propaganda, the stricture to provide entertainment, and the attempt to be objective all contributing to this. Lewis and producer Elizabeth Taylor-Mead have constructed their argument well, but it is Jonathan Dimbleby's brief comments towards the end that contain the crucial lesson: forty years on, the same forces work to distort our view of Northern Ireland. The film only indicates this to be the case, but it is precise and coherent enough to make the point with considerable force.
The true story of the British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his ill-fated expedition to try to be the first man to discover the South Pole - only to find that the murderously cold weather and a rival team of Norwegian explorers conspire against him
An exposure of the fallacy of race myths; Nazi and Japanese theories about pure blood and master races are contrasted with scientific facts of mixed origins to prove that no nation or race can be considered inferior or superior.
A short film on Republican efforts to improve education standards during the Spanish Civil War.
After three British agents are assigned to assassinate a mysterious German spy during World War I, two of them become ambivalent when their duty to the mission conflicts with their consciences.
This cinematic travelogue consists of three parts. In the first part, texts and small maps are our guides through Madrid in 1936. We see pictures of daily life against the background of the fascist shillings. A sad portrait of destroyed houses, the search for survivors under the rubble, and children's corpses in small wooden coffins. Central to the second part is the defence of liberty. Images from the front alternate with fragments of the besieged city. The last part deals with the aid given to and still needed by the town; an appeal is made to give money for medicines. This film breathes an unfaltering belief in a favourable close: unconditional victory. At the time, the film was a great success and yielded a lot of money for medical aid to Spain.
Richard Hannay stumbles upon a conspiracy that thrusts him into a hectic chase across the Scottish moors—a chase in which he is both the pursuer and the pursued—as well as into an unexpected romance with the cool Pamela.
The tenants of an old London boarding house spend their time in petty bickering and sniping until a mysterious stranger arrives at their door.
While working at a top hotel, the head porter falls in love with a wealthy female guest.
A farcical war between the forces of Commercial Cinema and Independent Cinema.
An impression of the state of the world in 1929, contrasting similarities and differences in religion, customs, art and entertainment from all over the world. The film is constructed like a symphony.
Larita Filton is named as correspondent in a scandalous divorce case. She escapes to France to rebuild her life where she meets John Whittaker. They are later married, but John's well-to-do family finds out Larita's secret.
As criminals assemble for a convention, a policeman investigates and is abducted. A young woman finds his whistle and blows it. The full forces of the law assemble. The confrontation between order and disorder ensues, with our heroine caught up in it.
Roddy, first son of the rich Berwick family, is expelled from school when he takes the blame for his friend Tim's charge. His family sends him away and all of his friends leave him alone. Roddy decides to go to Paris where he spends what little money he has and starts working as a dancer. He soon becomes a victim of alcoholism. Roddy manages to move to England's colonies but some sailors send him back to his rich family hoping for a reward.
London. A mysterious serial killer brutally murders young blond women by stalking them in the night fog. One foggy, sinister night, a young man who claims his name is Jonathan Drew arrives at the guest house run by the Bunting family and rents a room.
Musical comedy. An opera singer falls for a stowaway on the way to Monte Carlo
