WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 136 [Main Title]

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  • Title: WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 136 [Main Title]
  • Film Number: WPN 136
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: The Grand Alliance.
  • Description: I. "THE GRAND ALLIANCE-THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF THE PACIFIC CONFERENCE AND THE TEHRAN CONFERENCE." Panoramic views show the Pyramids of Giza. An Egyptian policeman stands guard by a sign bearing the legend "Road closed." A detachment of United States (US) Military Policemen march along the forecourt to the entrance of the Mena House Hotel. British military police check the identification papers of a motorcycle despatch rider at a roadblock in the vicinity of the hotel. Egyptian civilians have their papers checked on disembarking from a bus. The commentary states that the Mena House Hotel has become a fortress as it is the venue for the Pacific Conference (Sextant Conference). Interior views show the conference room with seated military dignitaries including US General George G Marshall and General Henry H Arnold, Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, First Sea Lord Sir Andrew Cunningham and the Head of the British Military Mission to the US General Sir John Dill. US Admiral William D Leahy and US Admiral Ernest J King are also evident at the proceedings. Views to the rear of the hotel show US enlisted men playing checkers and reading newspapers. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill takes some time away from the conference table to review a detachment from the Fourth Hussars, his former regiment. M4 Sherman tanks (cast noses) of the Fourth Hussars drive past a reviewing podium, the Pyramids of Giza are evident in the background. The Prime Minister wears the uniform of Colonel-in Chief of the regiment as he stands with his daughter Mary Churchill. An M4 Sherman tank with "Churchill" painted on its hull side drives past the camera raising dust from the desert sand. The Prime Minister later inspects the men of the Fourth Hussars drawn up in front of their armoured vehicles. Later at the British Embassy in Cairo, the British Prime Minister is entertained with other dignitaries at a garden party given by Lord and Lady Killearn (Sir Miles Lampson and wife). Also present at the function are Prince Mohammed Ali, Nahas Pasha (Egyptian Prime Minister) and Amin Osman Pasha. Posing for photographs on steps leading to the garden are various party guests including Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal (Chief of the Air Staff), Field Marshal Sir John Dill, and Lord and Lady Killearn. US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and Madame Chiang Kai-shek are seated in a garden posing for photographs. The commentary states that this is also in the gardens of the British Embassy in Cairo, but is more likely to be at the "Kirk Villa" in the vicinity of the Mena House Hotel, the lodgings of President Roosevelt for the duration of the conference. Other dignitaries posing for photographs include Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, US General Joseph W Stilwell, General Sir John Dill and US General Brehon B Somervell. The commentary states that the overriding theme of the conference has been a determination to ensure that Japan will never again be in a position to bring the scourge of war upon innocent peoples. The commentary also highlights the understanding among conference delegates that China is to be a leading power in the "New East Asia" and on a par with all the other great powers of the world. The commentary states that the British and United States delegations then flew to Iran for the Tehran Conference over footage of a Royal Air Force (RAF) Douglas C-47 Dakota transport aircraft in flight. Street scenes in Teheran follow. The front elevations of the Russian Embassy in Teheran are shown, being the venue for the important conference between the three main Allied leaders (Eureka Conference). Inside the Russian Embassy, Churchill presents the Stalingrad Sword to Russian Leader Josef Stalin. The ceremony is watched by Marshal Klimenti Voroshilov and Vyacheslav M Molotov (Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs). British delegates to the Eureka Conference chat together in the gardens of the British legation which is guarded by Sikh infantry armed with Lee-Enfield .303-in Mk III rifles. British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden chats informally to Sir Archibald Clark-Kerr and Sir Alexander Cadogan. The British Prime Minister is presented with gifts by Sikh troops stationed in Teheran on the occasion of his sixty-ninth birthday. Voroshilov is described by the commentary as "An outstanding figure at the Teheran Conference" and is shown in close up. Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Josef Stalin pose for photographs at the conclusion of the meeting, Eden is evident in the background. End title reads "This conference has forged the United Nations into a single sword which is being wielded as if by a single brain and a single hand- President Roosevelt."
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: WPN 136
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1943-12-13
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Ministry of Information, Middle East (Production sponsor) War Pictorial News (Production company) Martin, Charles (Production individual) Keating, Rex1910-02-142005-01British newsreel commentator, WW2 period (Production cast)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Marshall, George G (person) Arnold, Henry H (person) Brooke, Alan Francis (person) Portal, Charles Frederick Algernon (person) Cunningham, Andrew Browne (person) King, Ernest J (person) Leahy, William Daniel (person) Dill, John Greer (person) Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer (person) Lampson, Miles Wedderburn (person) Lampson, Jacqueline Aldine Leslie (person) Nahas Pasha, Mustafa el (person) Mohammed Reza Pahlevi (person) Mohammed Ali, Prince of Egypt (person) Mountbatten, Louis (Earl) Mountbatten, Louis (Earl) (person) Osman Pasha, Amin (person) Roosevelt, Franklin Delano (person) Chiang Mayling Soong (person) Chiang Kai-shek (person) Mountbatten, Louis (Earl) (person) Stilwell, Joseph Warren (person) Somervell, Brehon B (person) Casey, Richard Gavin Gardiner (person) Stalin, Josef (person) Voroshilov, Klimenti (person) Molotov, Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Scriabin (person) Eden, (Robert) Anthony (person) Clark-Kerr, Archibald (person) Cadogan, Alexander George Montagu (person) British Army, Hussars, 4 (regiment/service) Indian Army (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: Second World War & Cairo Conference & 22/11/1943=25/11/194 3 (event) Second World War & Teheran Conference & 28/11/1943 (event) Iran & Teheran (geography) Egypt & Cairo <British Embassy> (geography)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 946 ft; Running time: 11 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    WPN 136

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