- Smith (film)
Infobox Film
name = Smith
image_size =
caption =
director = Michael Powell
producer = Major R.M. Lloyd
writer = Major R.M. Lloyd
starring =Ralph Richardson Flora Robson
music =
cinematography = Bernard Browne
editing =
distributor =
released =28 June fy|1939 "(première)"15 October fy|2004 "(first public screening)"
runtime = 10 minutes
country = United Kingdom
language = English
budget =
gross =
imdb_id = 0147512"Smith" is a short film made in fy|1939 by Michael Powell to promote a charity that helped ex-servicemen who had fallen on hard times, starring
Ralph Richardson andFlora Robson . Because the British authorites in 1939 wanted as many people as possible to enlist forWorld War II , it was not a good time to be talking about ex-servicemen having problems, so although the film had a première at the Houses of Parliament before an invited audience of MPs and charity workers, it was never shown to the public. A monetary disagreement between the charity and the agent who was booking it caused it to be pulled from distribution. [Butler, Craig [http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:285833~T0 Overview (Allmovie)] ]"Smith" wasn't just thought to be lost, most people didn't even know that it even existed. It wasn't included in any filmography of Michael Powell, and Powell only refers to it briefly and obscurely in his autobiography.Cite book | author = Michael Powell | authorlink = Michael Powell (director) | title = A Life in Movies | year = 1986 | publisher = Heinemann | id = ISBN 0-434-59945-X ] The film was discovered in fy|2003 through the detective work of Mark Fuller of
Bristol [http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/39_Smith/SmithStory.html A Film called Smith] ] and a safety print was made by the BFI. This was shown at film festivals inVienna andBologna in fy|2004 but it didn't have its first public screening in the U.K. until15 October fy|2004 when it was shown inCanterbury , 65 years after it was completed. [ [http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Trips/Canterbury/20041009/Steve7.html Michael Powell Festival, Canterbury 9th-16th October, 2004 ] ]Plot
John Smith (
Ralph Richardson ) fought for his country inWorld War I . But during the depression of the1930 s he found it hard to find work. Finally the bailiffs appear and take everything of value. His loyal wife, Mary Smith (Flora Robson ), tells John about a charity for ex-servicemen. John appeals to the charity, and they help him: They give him a loan to get him back on his feet and they train him in skills that are more useful than the ones he had before.A large part of the short film is taken up with a long speech by Major Lloyd from the charity as the camera shows us around. There are examples of ex-servicemen doing wickerwork and other small handicrafts.
The Charity
The film was made for and was about a charity called "The Embankment Fellowship Centre". Part of the detective work to locate it was necessitated because in the intervening 60-plus years since the film was made, the Embankment Centre had merged with and been absorbed into other similar charities to form "The Ex-Service Fellowship Centres". [ [http://www.exsfc.org.uk/ The Ex-Service Fellowship Centres] ]
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Powell, Michael. "A Life in Movies: An Autobiography". , 1986. ISBN 0-434-59945-X.
External links
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* [http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/39_Smith/index.html "Smith"] reviews and articles at the [http://www.powell-pressburger.org Powell & Pressburger Pages]
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