The March of Time 1st Year

Dates

1935 - 1951

Category

Cinemagazine - News Related

History

The March of Time was an American news magazine that was released in Britain and had an associated British film unit. It was founded in 1935 by Louis de Rochemont, as an adjunct to Time magazine, though The March of Time had existed as a CBS radio series since 1931. The radio programme specialised in using actors to give voice to statements made by leading figures of the day, and this combination of dramatisation and documentary was incorporated in the film version. Critics praised its dynamic nature, and its engagement with controversies of the day, frequently contrasting its approach with that of the conventional newsreels. The March of Time was first released in Britain in 1935, with a slightly different numbering sequence (British releases were given as Year/Number whereas the American releases were Vol./Number). Some stories were shown only in Britain, such as SCOTLAND: HIGHLAND PROBLEMS, British series Third Year no. 2, whilst others were controversially considered inappropriate for British audiences, such as LEAGUE OF NATIONS UNION, American series vol. 2 no. 5, May 1936. Those working on the British edition included Harry Watt, Arthur Elton and Len Lye, while John Grierson was hired as a consultant. Originally each twenty-minute issue consisted of three or four stories but by the end 1938, it had changed to a single story for each monthly release, starting with the renowned INSIDE NAZI GERMANY. The series continued in this form until its demise in 1951 (Sixteenth Year).

Provenance

NoS data comes chiefly from a set of press information for The March of Time held by the BFI National Archive, supplemented by reviews in Documentary News Letter and Monthly Bulletin, and background information from Raymond Fielding’s history of the series.

Films in this series can be obtained from:

Film Archive

Name

British Film Institute (BFI)

Email

For BFI National Archive enquiries: nonfictioncurators@bfi.org.uk For commercial/footage reuse enquiries: footage.films@bfi.org.uk

Web

http://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web

Phone

020 7255 1444

Fax

020 7580 7503

Address

21 Stephen Street
London W1T 1LN

Notes

The BFI National Archive also preserves the original nitrate film copies of British Movietone News, British Paramount News, Empire News Bulletin, Gaumont British News, Gaumont Graphic, Gaumont Sound News and Universal News (the World War II years are covered by the Imperial War Museum).

Series held

View all series held by British Film Institute (BFI)