Metadata
- Title: GERMANY CALLING [Main Title]
- Film Number: NGB 832
- Other titles: LAMBETH WALK [Alternative Title] PANZER BALLET [Alternative Title]
- Summary: Scenes from TRIUMPH DES WILLENS edited to the rhythm of the popular tune "The Lambeth Walk" to ridicule Hitler and the Nazis.
- Description: In this version, the film is introduced by the comedian Lupino Lane who, in contrast to earlier tributes to "a showman we all love", says he will "show you a man we all hate", and promises us a "Panzer Ballet" called "the Retreat from Moscow" to the tune of 'The Lambeth Walk'. The rest of the film consists of footage from TRIUMPH DES WILLENS edited to fit the rhythm of the tune, with looped film, jump-cuts, reversed motion and other devices; some sound distortion is also used to assist the general effect. The film concludes with the GAUMONT BRITISH newsreel end credits.
- Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
- Featured Period: 1939-1945
- Production Date: 1941
- Production Country: GB
- Production Details: Ministry of Information (Production sponsor) Spectator (Production company) Ridley, Charles A (Production individual) Lane, Lupino (Production cast)
- Personalities, Units and Organisations:
- Keywords:
- Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: None Subtitle language: None
- Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 218 ft; Running time: 3 mins
- Notes: Production: this film was released through the newsreels without acknowledgement of the MoI's role in its production, and without credits. The introduction (and implied title) vary from newsreel to newsreel - this version is taken from the GAUMONT BRITISH usage. Remarks: very effective and very funny - though experience in the 1990s suggests that schools audiences no longer seem to find it so. A generation used to visual satire and brought up on video edited to music apparently needs to be specifically reminded of the amount of vision, skill and work required to achieve this effect with 35mm film in 1941.
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