Ealing's Best-Kept Secret

There was so much more to Ealing Studios than its famous comedies. But there's one category of Ealing films that's really obscure. The 30-odd documentaries and propaganda shorts released by the studio between 1939 and 1946 are barely known. Several have lain unseen for decades, and many others are missing altogether.

But in the war years, these films were key to Ealing's development. The studio's 'shorts unit' explored different ways of representing Britain's war at home and abroad, and served as a training ground for Ealing directors and technicians. Documentary began to colour the studio's feature films, bringing greater realism and leading Ealing in a new direction.

Ealing Propaganda Shorts