Title:IS YOUR JOURNEY REALLY NECESSARY? [Main Title]
Film Number:NPB 12509
Other titles:
Summary: Second World War British Ministry of Information newsreel trailer asking the public to restrict their journeys in order to save fuel for the war effort.
Description: The film opens with shot of a troop train pulling in to a large railway station followed by several more, very brief, shots of troops on trains and troops embarking on a troop ship. The commentary states "This war, more that any other in the history of mankind, is a war of transport. Troops must be carried to their positions to guard Britain and to attack for Britain". Shots of tanks being moved by train, wood being transported in railway wagons and women workers leaving a factory. The commentary continues "weapons of war must be transported, the factories which make these weapons must be fed with raw materials and supplied with workers. Keep the lines clear for waging war." The commentary reminds civilian passengers "every time you ride in a train you are using coal which would be used to make the machines of war". The film cuts to a shot of a schoolboy waiting at a request bus stop in New Bond Street, London and the commentary continues "every time you ride in a bus you are using petrol which is needed to drive these machines" (brief shot of an aircraft taking off) "you may not be very big or very heavy and you may not be going more than a three halfpenny ride, but every little counts". The boy looks at the coins in his hand and walks away from the bus stop and watches a group of soldiers marching along the road. The film ends with the appeal " So save you fare and save our fuel and march to victory with the troops" with a shot of the schoolboy walking along the pavement in step with the marching troops.
Production Details: Ministry of War Transport (Production sponsor)
Ministry of Information (Production sponsor)
Spectator (Production company)
Gunn, Gilbert (Production individual)