COMMENT ON N.Z. FILM

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 127, 14 March 1950, Page 3

COMMENT ON N.Z. FILM

.“JOURNEY FOR THREE” IN BRITAIN LONDON, March 13. “It is propaganda of a refreshingly different type,” says the “Scotsman,” commenting on “Journey for Thre,’ the first feature film of the New Zealand National Film Unit to be shown in Britain. “Thanks to some unusual ideas of the producer and of Michael Forlong, the director, there is no attempt to whitewash conditions in the Dominion. Indeed, some may be deterred* by the uncompromising manner in which the film is made. There are some scenes which are scenically beautiful and—in one instance, where a landslide is captured by the camera —thrilling.” The film will be shown in Scotland in April. Mr Forlong came to England last August on a British Council scholarship, after working in Australia with a company which is making “Bitter Springs.” He arrived in time for the Edinburgh Festival, and saw 200 films in three weeks.

Mr Forlong “stood in” on the production of “Prelude to Fame” at the Pinewood Studios, and also spent a period at Ealing Studios. He has been examining methods of economical film production in New Zealand, and also distribution problems in Britain. “There is undoubtedly a big commercial field for New Zealand films here,” said Mr Forlong. It would be advisable to produce them as cheaply as possible. I have been assured that distributors would welcome . further films like ‘Journey for Three,’ with perhaps a greater story'and less documentary interest.”