London Can Take It! **** (1940, voice of Quentin Reynolds) – Classic Movie Review 9176

London Can Take It! (1940)  is a classic 10-minute documentary from ace British documentarians Humphrey Jennings and Harry Watt on the theme of a tribute to the bravery and resourcefulness of Londoners in the Blitz. It was Oscar nominated as Best Short Subject, One-reel in 1941.

The commentator is Quentin Reynolds, War Correspondent of Collier’s Weekly, who narrates and comments on the plight and the courage of the people of London during the German bombing in World War Two, as documentary footage shows a vivid picture of air-raid shelters, firemen at work and broken buildings. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother appear with bombed Londoners.

London Can Take It! (1940) is directed by Humphrey Jennings, runs 10 minutes, is made by the GPO Film Unit and Ministry of Information, is written by Quentin Reynolds, is shot in black and white by H E Fowle and Jonah Jones, and is produced by Alfred Duff-Cooper and Basil Wright (associate producer).

London Can Take It! (1940) is available on the BFI’s The Complete Humphrey Jennings Volume One: The First Days DVD and Blu-ray [1939]. Volume 1 includes the following films: Post Haste (1934), Locomotives (1934), The Story of the Wheel (1934), Farewell Topsails (1937), Penny Journey (1938), Speaking from America (1938), The Farm (1938), Making Fashion (1938), Spare Time (1939), SS Ionian (1939), The First Days (1939), Spring Offensive (1940), Welfare of the Workers (1940) and London Can Take It! (1940).

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 9176

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