''Churchill's Island'' (''La Forteresse de Churchill''"Notre collection: La Forteresse de Churchill" (in French).
''

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

''. Retrieved: September 28, 2014.) is a 1941 propaganda film chronicling the defence of Britain during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The film was written and directed by Stuart Legg and produced by the

(NFB) for the Director of Information, Government of Canada.

Synopsis

''Churchill's Island'' describes the military and civilian elements that were involved in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

. The

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

in an epic battle with the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

, was able to wrest control of the skies, while the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

controlled the sea lanes around the embattled island. Other aspects of the struggle that are depicted included the British coastal defenses, the establishment of a mechanized cavalry, the role of merchant seamen and, after the Dunkirk evacuation, the re-building of a decimated British Army.

Production

Originally produced for the NFB's '' Canada Carries On'' series of documentary short films, it was released internationally in '' The World in Action'' series. Typical of the NFB's series, ''Churchill's Island'' relied heavily on newsreel footage. The British sequences were from the British Ministry of Information. The deep baritone voice of stage actor Lorne Greene (nicknamed "the Voice of Doom") was featured in the narration.

Reception

''Churchill's Island'' was produced in 35 mm for the theatrical market. Each film in the series was shown over a six-month period as part of the shorts or newsreel segments in approximately 800 theatres across Canada. The NFB had an arrangement with Famous Players theatres to ensure that Canadians from coast to coast could see them, with further distribution by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

.Ellis and McLane 2005, p. 122. After the six-month theatrical tour ended, individual films were made available on 16 mm to schools, libraries, churches and factories, extending the life of these films for another year or two. They were also made available to film libraries operated by university and provincial authorities. A total of 199 films were produced before the series was canceled in 1959.

Honors

''Churchill's Island'' received the first Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject, awarded at the 14th Academy Awards ceremony in 1942. It also represents the first Oscar for the NFB, which had been created just two years earlier in 1939.

Preservation

The Academy Film Archive preserved ''Churchill's Island'' in 2005.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Ellis, Jack C. ''John Grierson: Life, Contributions, Influence''. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 2000. . * Ellis, Jack C. and Betsy A. McLane. ''New History of Documentary Film''. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. . * Khouri, Malek. ''Filming Politics: Communism and the Portrayal of the Working Class at the National Film Board of Canada, 1939-46.'' Calgary, Alberta, Canada: University of Calgary Press, 2007. .

External links

* *
Canadian Film Encyclopedia
{{Authority control 1941 films 1941 short documentary films Canadian aviation films Battle of Britain films Best Documentary Short Subject Academy Award winners Canadian black-and-white films Films directed by Stuart Legg National Film Board of Canada documentaries Canadian short documentary films Films produced by Stuart Legg Black-and-white documentary films Films scored by Lucio Agostini Canada Carries On The World in Action Quebec films Columbia Pictures short films 1940s English-language films 1940s Canadian films English-language short documentary films English-language war films