''Now – The Peace'' is a film produced and directed in 1945 by

Stuart Legg Stuart Legg (31 August 1910 – 23 July 1988) was a pioneering English documentary filmmaker. At the 14th Academy Awards in 1941, Legg's National Film Board of Canada film '' Churchill's Island'' became the first-ever documentary to win an Oscar ...

for the

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 ...

series ''

The World in Action ''The World in Action'' (aka ''World in Action'') was a monthly series of propaganda films from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), created to boost morale and show the Allied war effort during the Second World War. The series was inspired ...

'', with unaccredited narration by

Lorne Greene Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; February 12, 1915 – September 11, 1987) was a Canadian actor, singer, and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Adama in ...

. Over its nearly 21-minute running time, circumstances during the immediate postwar period following 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 ...

, leading to the formation of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

are discussed.

Synopsis

After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

was created, but despite the efforts of leaders such as

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

, the organization failed to ensure world peace. The concept of collective security against attack was thought to be the means to stop wars. The constant conflicts of the 1930s with Japanese aggression in China, Italian invasion of Ethiopia and the beginning of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

showed how ineffective the League had become. During the

, in an attempt to reinvigorate efforts directed to prevent future wars, the "five great powers" met in August and September 1944, at the

Dumbarton Oaks Conference The Dumbarton Oaks Conference, or, more formally, the Washington Conversations on International Peace and Security Organization, was an international conference at which proposals for the establishment of a "general international organization", w ...

Dumbarton Oaks Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and gardens of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

The deliberations led to the creation of a new international organization devoted to world peace, the United Nations. One of the aspects of the blueprint that is proposed is for nations to share their abundance of resources for mutual benefit. The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) is created as an international relief agency to help nations in need during the immediate postwar era.

Cast

* Julio Alvarez del Vayo, Spanish Foreign Minister

Production

Typical of the NFB's wartime and immediate postwar series of documentary short films, ''Now – The Peace'' relied heavily on stock footage, including "enemy footage". The film was similar to ''

Global Air Routes ''Global Air Routes'' is a 14-minute 1944 Canadian documentary film produced by the National Film Board of Canada, directed and edited by Stuart Legg. The film is part of ''The World in Action'' series. Legg directed a number of documentaries for ...

'', as both films were described as "editorials" on screen. Part of the NFB's ''The World In Action'' series of documentary short films, ''Now – The Peace'' was intended to prepare Canadians for a postwar and was produced by the NFB at the suggestion of

Archibald MacLeish Archibald MacLeish (May 7, 1892 – April 20, 1982) was an American poet and writer, who was associated with the modernist school of poetry. MacLeish studied English at Yale University and law at Harvard University. He enlisted in and saw action ...

, then-

Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Assistant may refer to: * Assistant (by Speaktoit), a virtual assistant app for smartphones * Assistant (software), a software tool to assist in computer configuration * Google Assistant, a virtual assistant by Google * ''The Assistant'' (TV ser ...

for the U.S. government, focusing especially on the formation of the United Nations, the international organization devoted to world peace. The narrator in ''Now – The Peace'' was

, known for his work on both radio broadcasts as a news announcer at ''

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

'' as well as narrating many of the earlier ''Canada Carries On'' series. His sonorous recitation led to his nickname, "The Voice of Canada", and when reading grim battle statistics, "The Voice of Doom".

Reception

''Now – The Peace'' was also produced as ''Voici la paix'', dubbed into French. As part of the NFB's ''

'' newsreel series, ''Now – The Peace'' was produced for both the military and the theatrical market. Each film was shown over a six-month period as part of the shorts or newsreel segments in approximately 800 theatres across Canada. The NFB also had an arrangement with

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

to ensure that newsreels would get a wider release in North America.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. Available from the National Film Board either online or as a DVD.Ohayon, Albert
"Propaganda cinema at the NFB".
''National Film Board of Canada'', July 13, 2009. Retrieved: January 23, 2016. Historian Malek Khouri analyzed the role of the NFB wartime documentaries with ''Now – The Peace'' characterized as a

propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...

. "During the early years of the NFB, its creative output was largely informed by the turbulent political and social climate the world was facing. World War II, Communism, unemployment, the role of labour unions, and working conditions were all subjects featured by the NFB during the period from 1939 to 1946".Khouri 2007
back cover

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Bennett, Linda Greene. ''My Father's Voice: The Biography of Lorne Greene''. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse, Inc., 2004. . * Chapnick, Adam. ''The Middle Power Project: Canada and the Founding of the United Nations''. Vancouver, British Columbia: UBC Press, 2005. . * Ellis, Jack C. and Betsy A. McLane. ''New History of Documentary Film''. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. . * Gemie, Sharif, Laure Humbert and Fiona Reid. ''Outcast Europe: Refugees and Relief Workers in an Era of Total War 1936–48''. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2012. . * 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

1945 NFB documentary on Dumbarton Oaks, ''Now – The Peace''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Now - The Peace Black-and-white documentary films 1945 short documentary films English-language Canadian films National Film Board of Canada documentaries Canadian short documentary films 1945 films Films about the United Nations The World in Action Canada and the United Nations Canadian black-and-white films 1940s Canadian films