Crown Film Unit

A depiction of life in wartime England during the Second World War. Director Humphrey Jennings visits many aspects of civilian life and of the turmoil and privation caused by the war, all without narration.

British film written and directed by Humphrey Jennings, filmed in documentary style showing the lives of firefighters through the Blitz in World War II.

A narrator recounts the state of Great Britain near the end of WWII via a visual diary for the titular baby boy born in September 1944.

This is the authentic story of a bombing raid on Germany... how it is planned and how it is executed. Every person seen in the picture is a member of the Royal Air Force from Commander-in-Chief to aircraft hand, re-enacting his own daily life on the job. They are the men and women who actually direct, plan and execute the raids.

The true story of the massacre of a small Czech village by the Nazis is retold as if it happened in Wales.

An African tribe in the Eastern Nigerian village of Umana work to build a maternity hospital, with the aid of government officials, and against the opposition of some tribal members.

Poetry by Rudyard Kipling, John Milton, and William Blake, and excerpts from speeches by Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill, all read by Laurence Olivier, illuminate documentary footage of England during its defense against the Nazi blitz in World War II. This short film serves as both propaganda and as a rallying cry to the British people.

The occupation of the Channel Islands.

Documentary by Humphrey Jennings

The flower fairies help a little girl named Mary to thwart germs.

A woman blames herself for her husband's death. To overcome her grief and her guilt she becomes a nurse but then a patient dies while under her care.

How Britain coped with a Christmas during the war.

An account of the first expedition to the Queen Maud Land region of Antarctica.

Edward R. Murrow narrates Humphrey Jennings' short documentary about life in England during wartime.

Part of BFI collection "Police and Thieves."

Focuses on the work of the Air Transport Auxiliary or ATA. By 1941, literally hundreds of RAF fighters and bombers needed to be flown each day between aircraft factories, maintenance depots and RAF aerodromes. This vital task was carried out by the men and women of the ATA, a civilian air force operating from their own pools and stations all over Britain. Essentially a dramatised account of typical ATA deliveries, the film features coverage of the ATA's own fleet of Ansons, as well as being notable for some excellent Spitfire film and very rare footage of the Whitley bomber, including take off and in-cockpit sequences.

Short WW II documentary

An Englishman and Frenchman sharing a hotel room discover their children are fighting on the same side, French Resistance and R.A.F.

Perhaps the characters in this film are stupid or even laughable. Before YOU laugh at them remember that people behaving like them often cause accidents on the roads - and country roads are no exception.

Documentary short about how Britain is improving after WWII and what the populace can do to help.