North Sea is a 1938 documentary film produced by

Alberto Cavalcanti Alberto de Almeida Cavalcanti (February 6, 1897 – August 23, 1982) was a Brazilian-born film director and film producer, producer. He was often credited under the single name "Cavalcanti". Early life Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, ...

under the auspices of the

GPO Film Unit The GPO Film Unit was a subdivision of the UK General Post Office. The unit was established in 1933, taking on responsibilities of the Empire Marketing Board Film Unit. Headed by John Grierson, it was set up to produce sponsored documentary films ...

and directed by

Harry Watt Harry Watt (18 October 19062 April 1987) was a Scottish documentary and feature film director, who began his career working for John Grierson and Robert Flaherty. His 1959 film ''The Siege of Pinchgut'' was entered into the 9th Berlin Inter ...

. The film makers challenged the conventions of documentary, casting non-professionals, as they had in their previous film ''

The Saving of Bill Blewitt ''The Saving of Bill Blewitt'' is a 1936 documentary film produced by Alberto Cavalcanti of the GPO Film Unit and directed by Harry Watt. Synopsis Intended as a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the National Savings and Investments, Post Off ...

''. In the same style, ''North Sea'' employed minimal narration and relies on action, dialogue and characterisation to tell its story.

Synopsis

The ''John Gillman'', a deep-sea

castle-class trawler The Castle-class minesweeper was a highly seaworthy naval trawler adapted for patrol, anti-submarine warfare and minesweeping duties and built to Admiralty specifications. Altogether 197 were built in the United Kingdom between 1916 and 1919, ...

is damaged during a storm in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

and seeks help from the

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

coastguard. Eventually, after a struggle against the elements, the dangers are overcome, and the ship returns safely to harbour. The film was based on an incident in 1937 when an

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

trawler got into distress and was saved through their radio distress calls.

Critique

The portrayal of real fishermen and their lifestyle is the film's strength. The men are able to speak out and act themselves, rather than have their lives interpreted by professional middle-class actors. Nevertheless, the 'cast' did use some scripted dialogue devised by Watt, who, like many from the

Documentary Film Movement The Documentary Film Movement is the group of British filmmakers, led by John Grierson, who were influential in British film culture in the 1930s and 1940s. Principles The founding principles of the movement were based on Grierson's views of docu ...

, came from a middle-class background. As a consequence, dialogue and characterisation often appears inauthentic and unconvincing.

Influence

''North Sea'' was the GPO Unit's second dramatised documentary, following from ''

''. It provided a second role for the real-life

Bill Blewitt Bill Blewitt was a Cornish postman 'discovered' by film-maker Harry Watt and cast in his 1936 film '' The Saving of Bill Blewitt''. The documentary was about the Post Office Savings Bank and featured Blewitt and the villagers of Mousehole in C ...

, the Cornish postman who had proved a star turn in the first film. ''North Sea'' proved popular and was to lead to a number of feature-length dramatised documentaries during the 1940s, including ''Target for Tonight'', ''Coastal Command'', ''Fires Were Started'', and ''Western Approaches''. Cavalcanti and Watt went on to work within the feature film industry.Ealing's salt-of-the-earth film star, ''The Guardian'' 13 March 2009
/ref>

Cast

References

External links

*
''North Sea at the BFI''
Documentary films about fishing 1938 documentary films 1938 films Films about maritime incidents GPO Film Unit films British documentary films British black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films {{UK-documentary-film-stub