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Fires Were Started

Fires Were Started

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Summary

Drama-documentary from acclaimed director Humphrey Jennings, examining a typical day's work for a London auxiliary fire brigade during the Blitz. Jennings' cast consists of a team of real firefighters, allowing the film to capture their genuine camaraderie and abilities. To make the film's blaze sequences, Jennings simply set fire to buildings that had already been bombed, and shot his cast doing what they would normally do in that situation. Starring Philip Dickson, George Gravett, Fred Griffiths, Johnny Houghton and Loris Rey

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IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

David Parkinson

Humphrey Jennings was the poet of the British Documentary Movement. Yet, he reined in his imaginative impulses to record the grim reality of the Blitz in what ranks among the finest Home Front films of the Second World War. As in all good propaganda, it's simplicity that makes the most impact. In depicting the members of the Auxiliary Fire Service as a dedicated team, whose camaraderie is evident both at work and play, Jennings is able to inspire audience confidence in their quiet heroism, while also extolling the essential humanity in their single-minded determination to conquer their enemy - fire.

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6.4/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameSub-officer DykesCommanding Officer George GravettFireman WaltersLeading Fireman Philip DicksonJohnny DanielsLeading Fireman Fred GriffithsJ RumboldLeading Fireman Loris ReyS H JacksonFireman Johnny HoughtonB A BrownFireman T P SmithJ VallanceFireman John BarkerBarrettFireman William SansomBettyFirewoman Betty MartinEileenFirewoman Eileen White

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Crew

rolenameDirectorHumphrey Jennings

Details

Released on

1943-04-12

Languages

English

Available on

DVD

Formats

Black and white

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