Items For Theatre-Goers "THIS MODERN AGE" HEADS SHORT FILMS FOR POPULARITY IN POLL TAKEN IN ENGLAND

Wanganui Chronicle, 26 June 1948, Page 8

Items For Theatre-Goers "THIS MODERN AGE" HEADS SHORT FILMS FOR POPULARITY IN POLL TAKEN IN ENGLAND

The war brought to rich development in British cinema a journalistic type of film. The camera takes a subject of general or national interest and, with the aid of well-chosen commentary, “discusses” it with impartiality and accuracy.

These films are an offshoot of the longer documentary. The best known series comes from the studios of the Rank Organisation under the general title “Tnis Modern Age.” The series was launched in September, 1946 and one a month has been appearing since then.

A noil taken in Britain put “This Modern Age” at the head of the popularity list for short films. It has superseded the American series of similar type—“ The March of Time.” Its popularity is not due to general superiority over its American counterpart. but to the fact that it presents the subject more from the British viewpoint.

Typical examples of “This Modern Age” are “Coal Crisis” and “Development Areas” —two vital problems of the British Isles- Despite their national treatment their subject matter is common to all industrial countries, especially the highly-industrial-ised countries of Europe. Both have been shown in New Zealand. “Coal Crisis” surveys the industry in Britain. It shows the efforts of the Government and private companies to modernise coal mines and coal mining and the improvement of conditions for miners and their families, including education.

“Development Areas” pictures the great industrial belts of the British isles and the impact of the slump upon them. It tells the human tragedy of unemployment in towns in “depressed” areas where any man who had a job was a “king.” And it touches, too, on the effect of the great depression on other countries, including Germany, where it led to the rise of Hitlerism. The camera goes far afield for “This Modern Age,” searching the British Commonwealth and the rest of the world for its subject matterThere has been an impartial account of the Jewish-Arab conflict in “Palestine.” “Sudan Dispute” inquiries into the disagreement between Britain and Egypt oyer the independence of the country controlling the upper reaches of the Nile. The achievement of full sovereignty by a British colony is recorded in “Ceylon—the New Dominion.” A glimpse of the vast empty continent of Australia is given in “Land Short of People.” Other subjects dealt with are soil erosion, migration and world food needs. As a means of acquainting a man with his neighbours this type of film is excellent.