British government film unit
The Crown Film Unit was an organisation within the British Government's Ministry of Information during the Second World War; until 1940, it was the GPO Film Unit . Its remit was to make films for the general public in Britain and abroad. Its output included short information and documentary films, as well as longer drama-documentaries, as well as a few straight drama productions.
Music was an important element. The conductor Muir Mathieson was the director of music for many productions, and notable composers commissioned to write original scores included Walter Leigh , Benjamin Britten , Ernst Meyer , Richard Addinsell , Benjamin Frankel , Christian Darnton , Guy Warrack and Arthur Benjamin .[ 1]
The Crown Film Unit continued to produce films, as part of the Central Office of Information (COI), until it was disbanded in 1952.
Notable productions
The True Story of Lili Marlene Humphrey Jennings
Title
Year
Notes
Royal Scotland 1952
Oscar-nominated documentary
Mary's Birthday 1951
Animation by Lotte Reiniger
Out of True 1951
Directed by Philip Leacock
Daybreak in Udi 1949
Directed by Terry Bishop , Oscar-winning documentary
School in Cologne 1948
Directed by Graham Wallace, short film in the British Zone of Germany
Worth the Risk? 1948
British road safety public information film
Instruments of the Orchestra 1946
Scored by Benjamin Britten , later published as The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
A Defeated People 1946
Directed by Humphrey Jennings , filmed in Occupied Germany
A Diary for Timothy 1945
Directed by Humphrey Jennings, written by E. M. Forster , featuring Michael Redgrave , Dame Myra Hess and John Gielgud
Two Fathers 1944
Directed by Anthony Asquith , written by V. S. Pritchett , starring Bernard Miles and Paul Bonifas
Western Approaches 1944
Docufiction directed by Pat Jackson , Crown Film Unit's first Technicolor production
The Silent Village 1943
Directed by Humphrey Jennings
Before the Raid 1943
Directed by Jirí Weiss , written by Laurie Lee
Fires Were Started 1943
Directed by Humphrey Jennings
The True Story of Lili Marlene 1944
Directed by Humphrey Jennings, featuring Marius Goring and Lucie Mannheim
Coastal Command 1942
Directed by J.B. Holmes
A Letter From Ulster 1942
Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst
Listen to Britain 1942
Directed by Humphrey Jennings, featuring Dame Myra Hess and Flanagan and Allen
Malta G.C. 1942
Directed by Eugeniusz Cekalski and Derrick De Marney, narrated by Laurence Olivier
Target for Tonight 1941
Directed by Harry Watt, winner of Special Award Certificate from AMPAS
The Heart of Britain (also known as This Is England )1941
Directed by Humphrey Jennings, narrated by Edward R. Murrow
Men of the Lightship 1940
Directed by David MacDonald
Musical Poster Number One 1940
Written and directed by Len Lye
References
External links
