Churchills Island

Plot

Churchills 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.

Production

Originally produced for the NFBs Canada Carries On series of documentary short films, it was released internationally in The World in Action series. Typical of the NFBs series, Churchills 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.

Reception

Churchills 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.

After the six-month theatrical tour ended, individual films were made available on 16 mm to schools, libraries, churches and factories, extending the life of these films for another year or two. They were also made available to film libraries operated by university and provincial authorities. A total of 199 films were produced before the series was canceled in 1959.

Honors

Churchills Island received the very first Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject, awarded at the 14th Academy Awards ceremony in 1942. It also represents the first Oscar for the NFB, which had been created just two years earlier in 1939.