Men of the Lightship

Last updated

Men of the Lightship
If War Should Come.jpg
Men of the lightship was included in a re-release as part of the If War Should Come DVD
Directed by David MacDonald
Written byDavid Evans
Hugh Gray
Alan Hodge
Produced by Alberto Cavalcanti
CinematographyFrank "Jonah" Jones
Edited by Stewart McAllister
Music by Richard Addinsell
Production
company
Release date
  • 1940 (1940)
Running time
24 min, 4 seconds
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Men of the Lightship is a short propaganda film produced by the Crown Film Unit for the British Ministry of Information in 1940, the year after the beginning of the Second World War. It dramatises the bombing of the East Dudgeon lightship by the Luftwaffe on 29 January 1940 and was designed to portray Germany as a barbaric enemy. An opening narration explains the traditional understanding of lightships (stationary ships used as lighthouses) as neutral vessels during war.

Contents

The filmmakers attempted to recreate the original incident as realistically as possible; the crew of the lightship is composed of real lightship men rather than professional actors. The realism of the film was praised in press reviews upon its release, and it was considered one of the best British propaganda films of the period. Men of the Lightship was also distributed in America in 1941, in an edited version produced under the supervision of Alfred Hitchcock.

Plot

In 1940, the East Dudgeon lightship's seven-man crew are waiting for the arrival of another crew to relieve them of their duties so they can return home. While they are waiting, a momentary danger is encountered and dealt with: a drifting mine comes perilously close to the ship and the crew call for a minesweeper to destroy it.

Later, while the crew are gathered on deck, two Luftwaffe aircraft fly overhead. To the men's surprise, the aircraft begin firing at them with machine guns, wounding the captain in the arm. As the attack intensifies, and the aircraft begin to drop bombs, the entire crew manage to escape the vessel on a lifeboat. The efforts of the German bombers eventually result in the lightship sinking.

The escaped crew row during the night in an attempt to reach the shore. Before they can land the boat, the lifeboat capsizes and overcome by tiredness, the men drown. A new lightship is then stationed in place of the sunken vessel.

Screenshot of the lightship Lightship.jpg
Screenshot of the lightship
Screenshot of the attack on the lightship Lightship attack.jpg
Screenshot of the attack on the lightship

Cast

The filmmakers cast real lightship men rather than professional actors. The only identified actor is Bill Blewitt, a fisherman who appeared, as himself, in four documentary films, notably The Saving of Bill Blewitt (1937), as well as appearing as an actor in four other productions between 1942 and 1945. [1]

Not all the crewmen died as shown in the film. John Sanders of Great Yarmouth was the sole survivor.

Production

Men of the Lightship was based on a real incident that happened to the East Dudgeon lightship on 29 January 1940. The Ministry of Information decided to use this event for propaganda purposes, to portray Germany as a barbaric enemy and thus encourage support of the war effort against them. The film ends with the narrator concluding: "The Nazis must be stopped. We must, we can, we will stop them." Central to this propaganda aim of the film is the idea that the German aircraft are violating the traditional wartime convention that lightships should be protected as neutral, as they are undefended ships that serve all vessels regardless of the nationality of their crew. [2] Another propaganda theme supported by Men of the Lightship is that of sacrifices for the war effort being made by ordinary working class citizens. [2] To support this end, the characters in the film are developed to show their everyday concerns and activities, including the upcoming wedding of one crew member, and the pet tortoise owned by another. [3]

During production, the makers of the film sought to recreate the original event as completely as possible, and the credits note the director David MacDonald "reconstructed" the film (rather than "directed"). [2] As with other documentary films produced by the Crown Film Unit during the war, this desire for realism led to the use of "real people" in place of professional actors. When the film was originally shot, professional actors had been used for the roles of the lightship's crew, but producer Alberto Cavalcanti contacted David MacDonald during the film's production, asking him to re-shoot the sections containing professional actors because he thought they were "totally unconvincing", in contrast with the "splendid" performances of the amateurs. [4] These scenes were then re-filmed with real lightship men. [2]

An alternative ending, not consistent with the course of the original incident, was proposed by RAF officials. The suggestion was that additional propaganda value could be added to the film's narrative if the German aircraft were shot down by RAF aircraft. This idea was rejected by the filmmakers, [2] although the RAF still assisted with the reconstruction of the attack, lending two Bristol Blenheim bombers. [5]

Reception

Men of the Lightship was highly praised by both the trade and general press. A reviewer in the Daily Express stated that it was "the best British documentary film I have yet seen". [6] In the trade magazine Cinema, a reviewer considered that it had cinematic merit outside of its propaganda value, commenting on the "grim realism" of the work and concluding that the film was an "absolutely first-class job of work" and a "credit to everyone concerned in its production". [6] The film's realism was also mentioned in a review in The Times , which stated that "the employment, not of professional actors but of men who might well have had such an experience ... turns out to be inexplicably a better means of attaining reality than any skilled imitation." [5] This reviewer also considered the attack to be "astonishingly vivid". [5] Writing in anticipation of the film's distribution in Australia, Betty Wilson in The Sydney Morning Herald described it as "the best propaganda film England has put out this war", "worth half a dozen films of the calibre of The Lion Has Wings ". [7]

When the film was released in Australia in early 1941, it was met with a positive reception. In The Sydney Morning Herald , it was described as a "tensely thrilling and moving document". [8] The Australian Women's Weekly praised the film's realism, stating: "It is difficult to believe you are not watching the real lightship and its crew, so natural is the acting of the cast, so vivid the action scenes." [9]

The high praise received for the film meant that some cinemas in the United Kingdom listed it as the main feature. [10] In a survey of propaganda shorts conducted by Mass-Observation in July 1941, Men of the Lightship was one of the best rated titles, receiving only positive responses. [11]

U.S. release

As with many other British propaganda films, Men of the Lightship was distributed in the United States. It was released in an edited version under the title Men of Lightship 61. Twentieth-Century Fox and RKO had been approached as possible distributors for the film in the U.S., but had both declined, suggesting that the film in its current state was unsuitable for an American audience. Alfred Hitchcock was subsequently approached to explore the possibility of adapting the narration, using an American narrator. [12] As well as supervising the editing process, Hitchcock funded the project at a cost of $4,428. Robert Emmet Sherwood, who co-wrote the screenplay for the 1940 Hitchcock film Rebecca , was chosen to edit the script for the narration, which was spoken by actor Robert Montgomery. [13] The modified version of the film was distributed by Twentieth-Century Fox in 1941. [14] Hitchcock also later oversaw the editing of the film Target for Tonight . On both occasions, he was uncredited. [14]

DVD release

Men of the Lightship is included on Volume 3 of the BFI GPO Film Unit Collection, If War Should Come. The collection of 18 films cover the period 1939–1941.<ref>"BFI Filmstore: If War Should Come: The GPO Film Unit Collection Volume 3." BFI. Retrieved: 9 April 2012.

Related Research Articles

<i>In Which We Serve</i> 1942 film by David Lean, Noël Coward

In Which We Serve is a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by Noël Coward and David Lean, who made his debut as a director. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information.

<i>The Way to the Stars</i> 1945 film by Anthony Asquith

The Way to the Stars is a 1945 Anglo-American black-and-white Second World War drama film made by Two Cities Films. The film was produced by Anatole de Grunwald, directed by Anthony Asquith, and stars Michael Redgrave, John Mills, Rosamund John, and Douglass Montgomery. In the United States it was shortened by 22 minutes, and the shortened version was distributed by United Artists under the title Johnny in the Clouds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Ackland</span> English dramatist (1908–1991)

Rodney Ackland was an English playwright, actor, theatre director and screenwriter.

<i>The Lion Has Wings</i> 1939 British propaganda film

The Lion Has Wings is a 1939 British, black-and-white, documentary-style, propaganda war film that was directed by Adrian Brunel, Brian Desmond Hurst, Alexander Korda and Michael Powell. The film was produced by London Film Productions and Alexander Korda Film Productions and 'was preparing the nation [for war] and shining a light on the power of the RAF'.

An Airman's Letter to His Mother is a 1941 documentary-style British propaganda short film directed by Michael Powell and narrated by John Gielgud and Powell.

<i>Target for Tonight</i> 1941 film by Harry Watt

Target for Tonight is a 1941 British World War II documentary film billed as filmed and acted by the Royal Air Force, all during wartime operations. It was directed by Harry Watt for the Crown Film Unit. The film is about the crew of a Wellington bomber taking part in a bombing mission over Nazi Germany. The film won an honorary Academy Award in 1942 as Best Documentary by the National Board of Review. Despite purporting to be a documentary there are multiple indicators that it is not quite as such: film shots include studio shots taken from the exterior of the aircraft looking into the cockpit whilst "in flight"; several stilted sections of dialogue are clearly scripted; on the ground shots of bombing are done using model trains; and several actors appear, including Gordon Jackson as the young rear gunner. The film does give a unique insight into the confined nature of the Wellington's interior and some of the nuances of day to day operation such as ground crew holding a blanket over the engine while it starts to regulate oxygen intake.

Frederick Penrose "Pen" Tennyson was a British film director whose promising career was cut short when he died in a plane crash. Tennyson gained experience as an assistant director to Alfred Hitchcock in several of his British films during the 1930s. Tennyson directed three films between 1939 and his death in 1941.

Raymond Egerton Harry Watt was a Scottish documentary and feature film director, who began his career working for John Grierson and Robert Flaherty.

Angus Roy MacPhail was an English screenwriter, active from the late 1920s. He is best remembered for his work with Alfred Hitchcock.

<i>Millions Like Us</i> 1943 film

Millions Like Us is a 1943 British propaganda film, showing life in a wartime aircraft factory in documentary detail. It stars Patricia Roc, Gordon Jackson, Anne Crawford, Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Moore Marriott and Eric Portman.

<i>For Those in Peril</i> (1944 film) 1944 British film

For Those in Peril is a 1944 British war film produced by Ealing Studios that marked the directorial debut of Charles Crichton. The film was developed from a short story by Richard Hillary, an RAF pilot killed in action in January 1943. The basic and relatively slight storyline of For Those in Peril was an end to produce a film with a documentary feel and an element of wartime propaganda. The film stars Ralph Michael and David Farrar.

<i>Mr. Proudfoot Shows a Light</i> 1941 British film

Mr. Proudfoot Shows a Light is a 1941 British World War II public information/propaganda short film, directed by Herbert Mason and produced by Edward Black for 20th Century Fox. The film had a number of well-known actors of the period, featuring British film and stage actors, Sydney Howard and Wylie Watson.

Walter Charles Mycroft was a British journalist, screenwriter, film producer and director. In the 1920s he was film critic of the London Evening Standard, and a founder of the London Film Society, before joining the film industry.

Dallas Bower was a British director and producer active during the early development of mass media communication. Throughout his career Bower's work spanned radio plays, television shows, propaganda shorts, animations and feature films, with his most notable projects consisting of Alfred Hitchcock’s first film in sound Blackmail (1929), the British Broadcasting Company's radio play Julius Caesar (1938), the Dunkirk evacuation propaganda short Channel Incident (1940), the feature film Henry V (1944), and an Anglo-French adaptation of Lewis Carroll's children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland entitled Alice au pays des merveilles (1949). He later produced some of the earliest British television commercials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Air Force Film Production Unit</span>

Royal Air Force Film Production Unit was a unit of the British Royal Air Force that produced propaganda films depicting RAF personnel and aircraft both on the ground and in aerial action during Second World War from 1941 to 1945.

RNLB <i>Foresters Centenary</i> (ON 786) Ship

RNLB Foresters Centenary is a retired Liverpool-class lifeboat of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), stationed in the English coastal town of Sheringham in the county of Norfolk in the United Kingdom. The lifeboat was on station for 25 years between 1936 and 1961 when she was sold. She has been restored to her original condition and is exhibited in Sheringham Museum.

German Concentration Camps Factual Survey is the official British documentary film on the Nazi concentration camps, based on footage shot by the Allied forces in 1945.

<i>Squadron 992</i> 1940 British film

Squadron 992 is a 23-minute 1940 British propaganda film produced by the General Post Office GPO Film Unit of the British Ministry of Information and re-distributed by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as part of their wartime Canada Carries On series. The film was directed by Harry Watt and produced by Alberto Cavalcanti. Squadron 992 describes the training and operations in 1940 of No. 992 Squadron RAF, a Royal Air Force (RAF) barrage balloon unit stationed in the United Kingdom. The film's French version title was Escadrille 992.

<i>The Saving of Bill Blewitt</i> 1936 British film

The Saving of Bill Blewitt is a 1936 documentary film produced by Alberto Cavalcanti of the GPO Film Unit and directed by Harry Watt.

North Sea is a 1938 documentary film produced by Alberto Cavalcanti under the auspices of the GPO Film Unit and directed by Harry Watt. The film makers challenged the conventions of documentary, casting non-professionals, as they had in their previous film The Saving of Bill Blewitt. In the same style, North Sea employed minimal narration and relies on action, dialogue and characterisation to tell its story.

References

Citations
  1. ↑ Bill Blewitt at IMDb Retrieved: 17 April 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Rattigan 2001, pp. 279–283.
  3. ↑ "Men of the Lightship (1940)." Screenonline via British Film Institute. Retrieved: 17 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Swann 1989, p. 163.
  5. 1 2 3 "Gaumont Cinema: 'Men of the Lightship'." The Times, 25 July 1940.
  6. 1 2 Huntley 1972, pp. 107–108.
  7. ↑ Wilson, Betty. " 'Men of the Lightship'." The Sydney Morning Herald, 3 October 1940. Retrieved: 9 April 2012.
  8. ↑ "Men of the Lightship." Sydney Morning Herald, 3 February 1941. Retrieved: 8 April 2012.
  9. ↑ "Men of the Lightship." The Australian Women's Weekly, 8 February 1941. Retrieved: 9 April 2012.
  10. ↑ Richards and Sheridan 1987, p. 360.
  11. ↑ MacKay 2002, p. 179.
  12. ↑ Leitch 2002, p. 209.
  13. ↑ Parkinson, David. "Hitchcock at War." focusfeatures.com, 23 July 2010. Retrieved: 17 April 2012.
  14. 1 2 McGilligan 2004, pp. 280–281.
Bibliography
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.