Night Mail ***** (1936, documentary) – Classic Movie Review 9445

Directors Harry Watt and Basil Wright 1936 Night Mail is the stirring and beautiful classic 1930s British documentary short, turning into poetry the apparently mundane subject of the special overnight mail train journey from London to Edinburgh, and the sorting, dropping, collection and delivery of the post to Scotland.

W H Auden’s poem and Benjamin Britten’s music score give it real class, but they are icing on the cake that is already very rich.

The old steam trains, photographed by Jonah Jones and H E Fowle in startlingly luminous black and white bring shivers down the spine of anyone who has ever owned a train set.

This magical film, made for the General Post Office Film Unit, perfectly conjures up a vanished world with all its arcane details, and elevates the documentary to a work of art. It is a triumphant key film in the work of the British documentary movement.

The commentary is by John Grierson and Stuart Legg.

Night Mail is directed by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, runs 25 minutes, is made by GPO Film Unit, released by Associated British Film Distributors (A.B.F.D.) (1936) (UK), is written by W H Auden and Kenneth Westman, is shot in black and white by Jonah Jones and H E Fowle, is produced by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, is scored by Benjamin Britten, with the voices of John Grierson and Stuart Legg.

It is released by BFI Video on DVD in 2009 in the UK.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9445

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