Ministry of Information

Backstage before a performance, a French actor recalls his time in Madagascar during World War II, when he secretly ran a Resistance radio station under the watch of a collaborationist police chief. His story unfolds in flashback, revealing espionage, deception, and divided loyalties within the French ranks. Made for Britain’s Ministry of Information, this 1944 French-language propaganda short satirizes Vichy opportunism and wartime hypocrisy, and was shelved for decades before its release in 1993.

From a series of propaganda films made to raise awareness of the risks of idle gossip providing vital information to enemy spies and collaborators. This Ealing Studios production features well-known 1940s actor John Mills, playing a sailor whose girlfriend thoughtlessly blunders away vital wartime secrets. The consequences prove disastrous when his boat next leaves to cross the English Channel.

An exposure of the fallacy of race myths; Nazi and Japanese theories about pure blood and master races are contrasted with scientific facts of mixed origins to prove that no nation or race can be considered inferior or superior.

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

After a masterful Shakespearean performance in a London theater, Ralph Richardson is sought for an autograph by Fred, his dresser. Later, Fred has joined the Fleet Air Arm (Fly Navy) and become a hero, rescuing a pilot from his burning plane. When Fred arrives at Buckingham Palace, it's Ralph's turn to ask for an autograph.

A tribute to the courage and resiliency of Britons during the darkest days of the London Blitz.

British documentary on Tuberculosis.

Commissioned by the Ministry of Information and specifically target working class audiences; ‘Now you’re talking’ follows a plant worker, who lets slip vital information about some overnight research on a captured enemy aircraft. This inevitably leads to this most important of secrets falling into the lap of the enemy.

E.V.H. Emmett narrates this propaganda short about how sacrifices on the home front support the war effort.

Ministry of Information-sponsored comedy short showing wartime audiences how to deal with the threat of incendiary bombs.

A short wartime documentary spending time with those charged with manning British anti-aircraft defences during WWII.

Ever seen a snake with a moustache? The Middle East was as much an ideological as a physical battleground in the Second World War. In the midst of the conflict Halas & Batchelor were commissioned by the British Government to make four cartoons featuring a young boy Abu and his mule. They were intended to demonstrate in simple visual terms that Britain was a stout friend and the Axis powers a pernicious evil.

Animated short from Halas and Batchelor encouraging the British public to post early for Christmas.

A brief documentary about the history of the Royal Mail.

A documentary edited by Jiří Weiss on the role of Soviet women in the Second World War

During the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk in 1940, a young woman takes her motorboat to join the flotilla to rescue soldiers and also to search for her husband, a British soldier who was fighting in France and who may be among the troops waiting to be rescued.

A look at the Scottish town of Aberfeldy during the Second World War as troops arrive on leave.

After escaping a Nazi POW camp, a young Scottish RAF gunner recounts his perilous journey through occupied France with the help of the Resistance. During his debriefing in London, French intelligence officers press him for details—especially about one companion whose true loyalties may not be what they seemed.

This film explains how sneezing in public can spread disease, and shows how using a handkerchief can stop it.

An uncredited Anthony Asquith is one of the directors of this WWII film (a joint UK/US production) which aims to explain British culture and character to the newly arrived American soldier. Starting with the ubiquitous pub visit, the film breezes through geography lessons, food and entertainment on the Home Front.