Public Information Films

Alan J. Harding is a former Programme Director at the University of Southampton and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

• Introduction1 A shaky start – the British Government and film, 1900–302 The Empire Marketing Board Film Unit: Tallents, Grierson, documentaries and the revival of government interest, 1930–333 The General Post Office Film Unit in peacetime, 1933–374 Rumours of War and the creation of the Crown Film Unit, 1938–405 The Crown Film Unit’s wartime productions, 1940–456 The Crown Film Unit’s post-war productions, 1946–527 Non-theatrical exhibition and audiences8 Commercial and theatrical exhibition9 The end of Government film making, 1951–5210 LegacyIndex

'There is something about these films that keeps drawing people back every generation or so. Here is a fine addition to the literature on them, both as entry-level summary for novices and required reading for devotees: synthesising previous accounts, surfacing new information and adding insights.'— Patrick Russell, Journal of British Cinema and Television