British World War Two Films 1945-65: Catharsis Or National Regeneration?
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BRITISH WORLD WAR TWO FILMS 1945-65: CATHARSIS OR NATIONAL REGENERATION? by Esther Margaret O'Neill A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Central Lancashire Date: October, 2006 a uclan Student Declaration Concurrent registration for two or more academic awards X I declare that while registered as a candidate for the research degree, I have not been a registered candidate or enrolled student for another award of the University or other academic or professional institution Material submitted for another award x I declare that no material contained in the thesis has been used in any other submission for an academic award and is solely my own work. Collaboration Where a candidate's research programme is part of a collaborative project, the thesis must indicate in addition clearly the candidate's individual contribution and the extent of the collaboration. Please state below: No collaboration. Signature of Candidate Type of Award DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (PhD) Department HISTORY Abstract Major differences in British Second World War films produced in wartime 1939-45 (idealising the 'People's War') and post-war versions produced between 1945-65 (promoting the return of elite masculinity) suggest a degree of cultural re-conditioning concerning the memory of war, by Britain's middle-class film-makers attuned to national and international concerns. Therefore, the focus and main aim of this thesis is to identify and examine previously ignored or inadequately scrutinized themes within the post-war genre to explain how, and why, film-makers redefined the Second World War and its myths, tapping deeply into the national psyche, stimulating and satisfying a voracious, continuing, British appetite. In examining the genre, and as established by historians such as John O'Connor, Pierre Sorlin and Jeffrey Richards, this thesis employs contextual analysis, using feature film as a primary historical documentary source. This involves close reading of the films in their historical and political context and the social situation which produced them - backed-up by empirical data, analysing what film-makers were saying at textual and sub-textual levels, and exploring structure, meaning and iconography as conveyed by script, image, acting and direction. The production, content and reception of these films have been evaluated and attention directed towards dialogue and language. In support of this, a wide variety of sources have been scrutinized: articles; fan magazines; novels; biographies; autobiographies; memoirs, film histories and wider historical and political works. The BFI Library and Special Collections Archive have been extensively mined with particular emphasis on press and campaign books and cinema ephemera. Newspapers and journals such as the Times, the New Statesman, the Daily Mirror and the Daily Worker have provided a range of perspectives. A sense of British ownership of this war pervades the genre. Accordingly, this thesis identifies four over-arching themes through which to explore it: the fusion of class, masculinity and national identity; women and femininity; reconciliation with the enemy; and the process of personal and national redemption and regeneration through the war experience. The study's fundamental originality rests in its approach. In offering a "political" (in its widest sense) reading of the films and an untried level of detailed analysis, it presents the genre's first full conceptualisation, challenging criticisms and assumptions that the genre was either a nostalgic replay of the Second World War, a recruitment vehicle or a catharsis. Several key findings have emerged from this thesis: Elite masculinity was used, not to devalue the 'People's War', but as exemplar of national identity, regeneration and British leadership. Recognizable through his metamorphosis from literature's well-loved pre-1914 imperialist hero, the officer hero was now a democratised master of the technology provided by Britain's brilliant, unthreatening scientists. Through them, Britain's unrivalled experience as a world leader was promoted at a time of international tensions and challenges to national supremacy. This study offers the first in-depth analysis of the prisoner-of-war sub-genre, and recognizes film-makers' efforts to ensure that serving homosexuals were also credited with fighting the Second World War. Crucially, far from being airbrushed from the genre, women were very definitely present and active in war films post-1945. Previously unsuspected balances, continuities and cross-overs between the 193945 films and of those of 1945-65 have been identified. Received wisdom that, with Cold War political pragmatism, the genie offered only revisionist depictions of Germany is also challenged. Evidence of film-makers' Janus-faced ambivalence towards German brutality and collective guilt has emerged and, whilst the Italians were redeemed, Japanese barbarism was vehemently expressed. Through its exploration of war's dysfunctional residue, this thesis has shown that combat dysfunction acted as 'heroic reinforcement', yet another way to praise, whilst allowing modest fallibility. Further insights into reactions to war were provided by depictions of malingers, revellers and those redeemed by war. British cinema offered a rare level of social comment with the homecoming legacy, as dysfunction embraced disaffected officers, crime and the failure of the 'New Jerusalem'— although it offered little on failed repatriation. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, film-makers also showed that middle-class hegemony, always pragmatic, was elastic enough to offer critiques of officer elite heroics with the decline of deference, and to be more open in its depictions of women. These findings demonstrate that as a collection of primary documents, the genre's films reveal much about contemporaneous issues. Significantly, although its target audience was British youth, it reached global audiences. Esther M. O'Neill 11 Contents Faze Nos. Abstract Acknowledgements vii Introduction: Introduction Definition 10 Statistics LI Audiences 12 Changing Context 16 Themes 26 Methodology 30 Sources 33 Chapter Content 34 Chapter One: LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction 47 Major Criticisms 49 Historiography 51 Conclusions 63 Chapter Two: SELLING BRITAIN TO THE WORLD - The Dam Busters : Myths, Masculinity and Manipulation Introduction 67 The Raid— 1943 71 The Film - The Dam Busters (1955) 75 Heroes & Boffins 77 Marketing and/or Reception of The Dam Busters 86 'Less and less like the rules' 93 Conclusions 101 Chapter Three: THE OFFICER IN CAPTIVITY - 'Emerging from the Twilight' Reality 107 'The gang's all here' Ill Prisoners of the Germans 112 The Colditz Story (1954) 118 111 Pa2e Nos. Marketing andtor Reception of The Colditz Story 124 Leadership and Escape 125 Masculinity and Sexuality 130 Colditz in the Sun: Prisoners in Italy 134 Danger Within (1959) 135 Hell on Earth : Prisoners in the Far East 138 The Camp on Blood Island (1958) 141 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1958): A Bridge Too Far? 144 Outside the Wire 148 Conclusions 152 Chapter Four: THE BEAUTY CHORUS - From Guts to Sluts Introduction 159 The Cruel Sea (1953) 170 Marketing and/or Reception of The Cruel Sea 173 Sexuality 175 Uniformed Woman 187 Sabotage & Survival 193 Conclusions 203 Chapter Five: ROMMEL WAS A GENTLEMAN - Yesterday's Enemy? Introduction 207 The Germans 209 The Italians 231 The Japanese 235 Conclusions 241 Chapter Six: PERSONALISING WAR - War's Dysfunctional Residue Introduction 247 Perceptions of Combat Experience 250 The Veteran Experience 251 Combat Dysftinction - Ice Cold in Alex (1958) 255 Marketing and/or Reception of Ice Cold in Alex 258 Heroic Reinforcement in Other Films 259 Malingerers, Revellers & Redemption 264 Repatriation 273 Crime 282 Homecoming Legacy - The League of Gentlemen (1960) 284 Marketing and/or Reception of The League of Gentlemen 289 Conclusions 295 Iv PaEe Nos. Conclusions: Introduction 302 Findings Chapters 2-6 306 Postscript 317 Appendices: Categories of British Films by Decades 1940-1970 323 2 Film and Television 325 3 Government/Military Assistance to Post-war Film-makers 326 4 Divorce 328 Film ography 329 Bibliography 332 Dedicated to my Father Harry Woodward - A decent, honest, hardworking and courageous man and a great believer in the cinema. vi Acknowledgements I have reason to thank many individuals, and institutions, who have been generous with their time and expertise, materials, advice and support: Special and sincere thanks are due to my Supervisory Team comprising of Director of Studies Prof. Mike Paris, and Prof. Dave Russell, who both fully deserve my gratitude. They also supervised my undergraduate and MA theses. As individuals, and as a team, they are responsible for setting - and keeping - me on the road to completion. For the different aspects they have brought to this, I am grateful to them in similar and differing ways. I have enjoyed their wit and humour - not to mention their patience. I would like to thank Mike who, having initially asked if I would like to do "something" on British World War Two films post-1945 has, in his capacity as my Director of Studies, generously shared his vast expertise and interest in the subject. I would like to thank Dave for his valuable advice in his capacity as Post-graduate Tutor and for going 'the extra mile' recently; and I would also like to thank him, and the Funding Committee, for finance towards research trips to London. Prof. Robert Murphy (de Montfort University) is deserving of my thanks for his encouragement, for sending some difficult to obtain films, and for being so generous with chapters of his book British Cinema of the Second World War before publication. Prof. John Ramsden (Queen Mary, London University) provided helpful advice on viva preparation. I am grateful to the Film and Media staff who allowed me to sit in on their courses, and made me feel welcome: Ewa Mazierska, Mick Gornall, Liz Hart and Susan Sydney-Smith. Prof. Wendy Webster also deserves my thanks for encouraging me to sit in on her Post-War Women course.