Men of the Lightship

Synopsis: 'Year in, year out, all round our coasts, the beam of the lightship shines through the night and its siren pierces the fog banks. Light and fog signals reach vessels of all nations equally, and for three centuries lightships and lighthouses were considered international - until the 29th January 1940’. This reconstruction of the events surrounding the Nazi bombing of the East Dudgeon lightship and the fate of those who manned it, made more money in the cinemas in its first few years than any other GPO/Crown production with the sole exception of Harry Watt’s TARGET FOR TONIGHT. The director David MacDonald came from the commercial industry and had worked with Cecil B De Mille, but it was Cavalcanti who told him to throw out his entire cast of actors and use ‘real people’, and it was Stewart McAllister (later Humphrey Jennings’ close collaborator) who edited the material to such effect. Music by Richard Addinsell.
Series: Britain at War: Under Fire
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Video; Videocassette. VHS. col. 25 min.
Year of production: 1940
Availability: Sale
Notes: See: BRITAIN AT WAR: UNDER FIRE for availability on compilation videocassette.
Subjects: History
Keywords: Home Front; World War II

Name: Post Office Film & Video Library
Email: poes@edist.co.uk
Phone: 01795 426465
Fax: 01795 474871
Address: c/o Post Office Education Services
PO Box 145
Sittingbourne
Kent
ME10 1NH
Notes: Contact: Barry Wiles

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British Universities Film & Video Council