BRITISH PARAMOUNT NEWS SPECIAL (ISSUE 571, 13 May 1940) [Main Title]
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- Title: BRITISH PARAMOUNT NEWS SPECIAL (ISSUE 571, 13 May 1940) [Main Title]
- Film Number: ADM 430
- Other titles: WAR AT SEA (story title) [Alternative Title]
- Summary: Mainly mute print of the newsreel story of the evacuation, but with brief commentary from the cameraman on soundtrack. Cameraship probably the transport El Djezair.
- Description: Opening sequence shows Ironside and Carton de Wiart with French generals, watching the landing of some of the evacuated British and French troops. The American cameraman, Arthur Menken, introduces the film, declaring that his recent experiences on the return from Norway eclipse anything he had previously witnessed in Spain, China or Finland. Cut to Namsos - a He 111 passes overhead, its national markings clearly visible. The aircraft is seen again through a screen of tree branches as it circles over the town. A building burns fiercely after the raid. LS as German aircraft passes behind a snow-clad mountain. CUs of two men of the 4th Lincolns on road control near Skagge - they flag down a passing car - one of the men ostentatiously juggles a grenade in his hand. A detachment of the Lincolns falls in before its billet for early morning roll-call. General Carton de Wiart and his ADC, Captain Ford, stand before the headquarters building at Spillum. Group MS of a detachment of Chasseurs Alpins. A German prisoner taken at Skagge is escorted past the camera. Sequence inside Namsos hospital - a Frenchman, his head bandaged, lies holding his badly dented helmet - he smiles slightly at his narrow escape. Cut to LS over Namsos at night - a burning building, reduced to a heap of embers, glows brightly. On the night of 2/3 May the evacuation ships enter the fjord and Menken embarks - masts of the ships and an AA gun on El Djezair are visible in the early morning twilight - onshore a fire burns (possibly the abandoned motor transport shelled by Afridi to deny it to the Germans). The evacuation force begins its withdrawal. Menken prefaces the next sequence with a brief statement that dawn found the convoy still within the fjord, a perfect target for bombers. LS of the cruiser HMS York in the fjord in early morning light. The force forms up in line ahead, the cameraship preceded by the AA cruiser HMS Carlisle which flashes a signal. LS off the port beam of El Kantara - in the foreground is a 2x13.2mm Hotchkiss machine gun with gunner and lookout. The haste of the escape is emphasised by the jumble of equipment on deck - mostly 25mm Hotchkiss M1934 anti-tank guns. Soldiers rest or sleep on deck - in contrast a French chasseur's St Bernard is full of energy and barks vigorously. LS of distant aircraft formation. LS to the escorting Devonshire - bombs explode off her port bow as she fires simultaneously both port and starboard 4-inch AA. Cameraship fires 75mm AA. Devonshire turns to port to avoid more bombs. CU of Menken 'scanning the skies' with his camera. LS of a raider. AA guns fire while the troops watch the battle from shelter. MS of one of the ship's 37mm anti-aircraft guns firing - in XLS in the background is a Tribal Class destroyer and HMS Devonshire signalling. LS over one of the cameraship's lifeboats to a Town Class cruiser. In an interval between attacks, food is served to the troops. A British officer has his hair cut. A British chaplain chats with a counterpart from the French Navy - the Frenchman wears a pectoral cross adorned with a fouled anchor. CUs of a group of Norwegian merchant sailors - one wears the cap-badge of the J Lund & Co (?) shipping line. Lookouts gaze skywards in anticipation of a fresh attack. Further shots of Devonshire under air attack, intercut with AA guns firing. An aircraft goes down in flames. LS of El Kantara with Carlisle in the background. LS off the starboard bow of Carlisle as she fires at the raiders. More AA firing. LS through rigging to El Kantara - bombs explode in the background. A Bf 109 flies low past the cameraship. XLS of two Ju 88s. A Sunderland circles overhead - first air escort for the convoy, reaching them on the afternoon of 3 May. The White Ensign is broken out on El Djezair. Final words from Menken - "As an American I was proud to be with these men of the Allies who are fighting the fight for freedom."
- Alternative Title: WAR AT SEA (story title) [Alternative Title]
- Colour: B&W
- Digitised:
- Object_Number: ADM 430
- Sound: Sound
- Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM (ADM 430)
- Featured Period: 1939-1945
- Production Date: 1940-05-13
- Production Country: GB
- Production Details: Admiralty (Production sponsor) British Paramount News (Production company) Menken, Arthur (Production individual)
- Personalities, Units and Organisations: Ironside, William Edmund (person) Carton de Wiart, Adrian (person) Royal Navy, York (regiment/service) Royal Navy, CARLISLE (HMS), cruiser (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Devonshire (regiment/service) French Navy, El Djezair (regiment/service) French Navy, El Kantara (regiment/service) British Army, Lincolnshire Regiment, 4th Battalion (regiment/service) French Army, Chasseurs Alpins (regiment/service) British Army, Mauriceforce (regiment/service) French Army, Mauriceforce (regiment/service)
- Keywords: ships, British naval - cruiser: York (object name) ships, British naval - cruiser: Devonshire & [-] (object name) ships, British naval - cruiser: Carlisle & [-] (object name) ships, French auxiliary - cruiser: El Djezair (object name) ships, French auxiliary - cruiser: El Kantara (object name) weapons, French naval - gun [AA]: 37mm M1925 (object name) weapons, French naval - gun [AA]: 75mm M1922 (object name) weapons, French - gun [AT]: 25mm M1934 Hotchkiss (object name) combat, British naval - anti-aircraft (object name) aircraft, British - seaplane: Short Sunderland (object name) aircraft, German - combat: Heinkel He 111 (object name) aircraft, German - combat: Messerschmitt Bf 109 (object name) Norway & Namsos (geography)
- Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English Subtitle language: None
- Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 608 ft; Running time: 7 mins
- HD Media:
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