Churchill's Island | |
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Opening title
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Directed by | Stuart Legg |
Produced by | Stuart Legg |
Narrated by | Lorne Greene |
Music by | Lucio Agostini |
Edited by | Stuart Legg |
Production
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Distributed by | National Film Board of Canada Columbia Pictures of Canada |
Release date
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Running time
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21 minutes, 27 seconds |
Country | Canada |
Language | English / German |
Budget | $4,900.15 |
Churchill's Island (French title: La Forteresse de Churchill) is a 1941 propaganda film chronicling the defence of Great Britain during the Second World War. The film was directed by Stuart Legg and produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) for the Director of Information, Government of Canada.
Churchill's Island describes the military and civilian elements that were involved in the Battle of Britain. The Royal Air Force in an epic battle with the Luftwaffe, was able to wrest control of the skies, while the Royal Navy controlled the sea lanes around the embattled island. Other aspects of the struggle that are depicted included the British coastal defenses, the establishment of a mechanized cavalry, the role of merchant seamen and, after the Dunkirk evacuation, the re-building of a decimated British Army.
Originally produced for the NFB's Canada Carries On series of documentary short films, it was released internationally in The World in Action series. Typical of the NFB's series, Churchill's Island relied heavily on newsreel footage. The British sequences were from the British Ministry of Information. The deep baritone voice of stage actor Lorne Greene (nicknamed "the Voice of Doom") was featured in the narration.
Churchill's Island was produced in 35 mm for the theatrical market. Each film in the series was shown over a six-month period as part of the shorts or newsreel segments in approximately 800 theatres across Canada. The NFB had an arrangement with Famous Players theatres to ensure that Canadians from coast to coast could see them, with further distribution by Columbia Pictures.