Crown Film Unit

A dramatised account of Norwegian fishermen outwitting occupational forces during World War II, directed by Jiří Weiss and written by acclaimed author Laurie Lee.

British educational documentary film about the principal instruments in the modern symphony orchestra, illustrated through Benjamin Britten's composition, "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra", for which it was commissioned.

Documentary about an average day during the Blitz.

A woman blames herself for her husband's death. To overcome her grief and her guilt she becomes a nurse but then a patient dies while under her care.

An Englishman and Frenchman sharing a hotel room discover their children are fighting on the same side, French Resistance and R.A.F.

Edward R. Murrow narrates Humphrey Jennings' short documentary about life in England during wartime.

The flower fairies help a little girl named Mary to thwart germs.

This is the authentic story of a bombing raid on Germany... how it is planned and how it is executed. Every person seen in the picture is a member of the Royal Air Force from Commander-in-Chief to aircraft hand, re-enacting his own daily life on the job. They are the men and women who actually direct, plan and execute the raids.

Focuses on the work of the Air Transport Auxiliary or ATA. By 1941, literally hundreds of RAF fighters and bombers needed to be flown each day between aircraft factories, maintenance depots and RAF aerodromes. This vital task was carried out by the men and women of the ATA, a civilian air force operating from their own pools and stations all over Britain. Essentially a dramatised account of typical ATA deliveries, the film features coverage of the ATA's own fleet of Ansons, as well as being notable for some excellent Spitfire film and very rare footage of the Whitley bomber, including take off and in-cockpit sequences.

How Britain coped with a Christmas during the war.

A doctor talks about the number of injuries and deaths resulting from automobile accidents.

Tradition, dance and song, modern customs and development and welfare services in the Caribbean Islands.

A documentary short on The Festival in London.

An explanation of what is involved in the devaluation of sterling.

A narrator recounts the state of Great Britain near the end of WWII via a visual diary for the titular baby boy born in September 1944.

The true story of the massacre of a small Czech village by the Nazis is retold as if it happened in Wales.

An account of the first expedition to the Queen Maud Land region of Antarctica.

Humphrey Jennings’s Crown Film Unit short on the summer 1944 V-1 “doodlebug” campaign, tracking a salvo from the coast toward London as it runs Britain’s layered defenses—coastal AA guns, RAF fighters, and barrage balloons—capturing both interception and impact in a stark report of terror and resilience.

The Heart of Britain (1941) depicts wartime life in the North and Midlands, contrasting tranquil countryside with the grit of industry. From Sheffield steelworkers and Lancashire cotton mills to ARP squads, concerts, and choirs, the film highlights resilience in the face of bombing and concludes with the building of a Whitley bomber as a symbol of Britain’s strength.

The ill effects on children's bodies and minds of the chaotic conditions being countered by the endeavours of UNESCO. The film emphasises especially the problem of the devastated areas.