BRITISH AND AMERICAN FILMS.

New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 335, 23 November 1945, Page 5

BRITISH AND AMERICAN FILMS.

Sir-I was amazed at the onslaught on R. Evans for his opinion on G:M.’s criticisms. I, too, am a 4th generation New Zealander and I heartily agree with -R. Evans. G.M. used to give a_ reliable criticism, but the war has warped his views somewhat. His outlook is so proBritish he can’t see beyond British films. I found The Way Ahead bearable; This Happy Breed commonplace; Western Approaches boring to tears. The colouring in the latter was excellent, but I noticed Natalie Kalmus supervised it. On Approval, which G.M. lauds this week, was the last dying gasp of Clive Brook as a romantic star, The photography was poor, and the waspish Beatrice Lillie was not entertaining. I struggled to keep awake, but went home wishing I’d stayed there. I don’t like many American films, and wouldn’t see Betty Grable and Company on even a free pass. But the best British stars are in Hollywood, where. the best pictures are made, even if the worst also come from there. As for the correspondent who claims to be a 5th generation New Zealander, I think he’s too young to know what he’s talking about.

"FAIRPLAY"

(Upper Hutt).

Sir-From the letter: by Dorothy Black championing British films, it would appear that although the British "took it" throughout the War, some, anyhow, simply cannot "gake it" as far as criticism is concerned-in fact, they cannot even bear anyone to _ prefer American films to British without losing their equanimity! To threaten that I would not be able to express my opinion had not Britatn held the fort seems almost to suggest that because of Britain’s stand during the war she (nor any of her products) must never in future be subject to criticism of any kind-ex-ternal or internal! I notice many people adopt this Gestapo ‘method which, although bullying enough, is not really frightening or even convincing as far as the present subject is concerned. After all, England was receiving American armament aid while holding the foft and had it not been for Russian and American intervention England may not now have been holding the fort at all,

and, although all this is really quite irrelevant, in order to reply adequately to Dorothy Black one could mention that had it not been for the Americans in the Pacific she herself would not now be freely expressing her opinions! As to the suggestion that the Americans aided themselves as well as us-this is true of every country-ourselves no less. England knew she would be the next to be attacked by Germany when she entered the War-had we been fighting purely for the freedom of aggressed peoples we would have entered the War when China was attacked instead of supplying Japan with scrap-iron which was used in bombing China! However, now that "freedom" has been gained by an Allied effort, surely one can express an opinion or utter a criticism within one’s own walls without such a torrent of abuse, which does not help one jot to convert me to the idea that English films are superior. And although it seems inconsistent to "Parnassus" I have noticed that self-conscious natures do try to offset their shyness by overdone melodrama-I have noticed. in it real life, too. I have met many folk who Poe ee SS

=_--™""""""wTwrwwewewaewaeweswaewas declare they prefer British films, and by way of giving an example, quote Mrs. Miniver or Goodbye Mr. Chips and other American films merely in an. English setting! After all it is to Hollywood’s credit that they have made films "set" in nearly almost every country. And when E. Ridley asks what about Greer Garson, Ronald Colman, Charles Laughton, Robert Donat, and Walter Pidgeon, I consider this is the best possible argument he could have given me in favour of the American film-for are not these actors Hollywood stars who act in Ameri-can-directed pictures? After all, the direction counts for a lot, and evidently these stars realised the superiority of American films over British or else why did they migrate to America?

R.

EVANS

CAuckland),