''A Welcome To Britain'' (retitled ''How to Behave in Britain'') is a 1943 training film for the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

which was narrated (and co-written and co-directed) by

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...

and

Anthony Asquith Anthony William Landon Asquith (; 9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was an English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on ''The Winslow Boy'' (1948) and '' The Browning Version'' (1951), among oth ...

. The film explains to United States troops being deployed to Europe for the invasion of Normandy how they should act and behave in the United Kingdom. It demonstrates appropriate behaviour and depicts what is expected in given social situations. Though produced for American viewing, the film was produced by the UK's Ministry of Information through the Strand Film Company, which specialized in making documentaries in the 1930s and '40s.

Plot

The film focuses on the importance of respecting, or at least acknowledging, cultural differences between American personnel and the British people in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. Notable settings and situations in the film include British pubs, how to behave when invited to dinner, and the friendly relationship between the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and the

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. The film provides examples of how to interact with several varied groups of people: children, strangers, prostitutes and military officers. American generals

Jacob L. Devers Jacob Loucks Devers (; 8 September 1887 – 15 October 1979) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the 6th Army Group in the European Theater during World War II. He was involved in the development and adoption of numerous w ...

, John C. H. Lee and

Ira C. Eaker General (Honorary) Ira Clarence Eaker (April 13, 1896 – August 6, 1987) was a general of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Eaker, as second-in-command of the prospective Eighth Air Force, was sent to England to form and ...

, actress Beatrice Lillie and comedian

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

also appear in the film. The film also portrays attitudes towards race in the United Kingdom, which were generally more progressive than those in the United States at the time. Referring to Black soldiers as "coloureds", the film depicts a British woman inviting "coloured" soldiers for

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

. To alleviate potential concerns of impropriety, an elderly woman was chosen to portray the hostess in the tea scene rather than a young woman. This segment was intended primarily for white American service personnel, to encourage them to adopt a "veneer of ethnic tolerance" while in Great Britain.

Reception

The film was very well-received by British critics. A number of British newspapers called for its general release, though it was not released for viewing by the British public during the war. The ''Daily Mail'' said that it "should do more than any other stroke to create a genuine Anglo-American understanding". Polling of GI audiences also revealed very positive attitudes.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welcome to Britain, A 1943 films Army education and training 1940s war films 1943 documentary films American World War II propaganda films British World War II propaganda films American documentary films American black-and-white films