The Big Blockade

{{Short description|1942 British film by Charles Frend}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Use British English|date=August 2012}} {{Infobox film | name = The Big Blockade | image = The_Big_Blockade_film_Theatrical_release_poster_(1942).jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = [[Charles Frend]] | producer = [[Michael Balcon]] | writer = Charles Frend [[Angus MacPhail]] | narrator = | starring = [[Leslie Banks]] [[Frank Cellier (actor)|Frank Cellier]] [[Will Hay]] [[John Mills]] [[Robert Morley]] [[Michael Redgrave]] | music = [[Richard Addinsell]] orchestrated by [[Roy Douglas]] | cinematography = [[Wilkie Cooper]] [[Douglas Slocombe]] | editing = [[Compton Bennett]] [[Charles Crichton]] | studio = [[Ealing Studios]] | distributor = [[United Artists|United Artists Ltd]] {{small|(UK)}} | released = {{film date|1942|01|19|df=y|UK}} | runtime = 73 minutes | country = United Kingdom | language = English | budget = | gross = }} '''''The Big Blockade''''' is a 1942 British [[black-and-white]] dramatised documentary war [[propaganda film]] [[film director|directed]] by [[Charles Frend]] and starring [[Will Hay]], [[Leslie Banks]], [[Michael Redgrave]] and [[John Mills]].<ref name="BFIsearch">{{Cite web |title=The Big Blockade |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150123018 |access-date=21 May 2026 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}</ref> It was written by Frend and [[Angus MacPhail]], and was [[film producer|produced]] by [[Michael Balcon]] for [[Ealing Studios]], in collaboration with the [[Ministry of Economic Warfare]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article92372391 |title=News From The Talkie Studios |newspaper=[[The Chronicle (South Australia)|The Chronicle]] |volume=LXXXIV |issue=4,804 |location=South Australia |date=15 January 1942 |accessdate=18 August 2018 |page=33 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article247497050 |title=Britain's New War Film |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]] |volume=II |issue=42 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=31 August 1941 |accessdate=18 August 2018 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133936469 |title=San Demetrio LONDON |newspaper=[[The World's News]] |issue=2214 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=13 May 1944 |accessdate=18 August 2018 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}} It intersperses actual film footage with sections of acting. </ref>

==Synopsis== The film illustrates thr [[Blockade of Germany (1939–1945)|British strategy of the economic blockade]] of [[Nazi Germany]] through a series of scenes and sketches, combined with documentary footage.

==Cast== {{div col}} *[[Frank Owen (politician)|Frank Owen]] as narrator *[[Leslie Banks]] as Taylor, Civil Service *[[Michael Redgrave]] as a Russian on the train *[[Will Hay]] as Skipper, Merchant Navy *[[Bernard Miles]] as Mate, Royal Navy *[[Michael Rennie]] as George, Royal Air Force *[[John Mills]] as Tom, Royal Air Force *[[Frank Cellier (actor)|Frank Cellier]] as Schneider *[[Robert Morley]] as the senior Nazi Official, von Geiselbrecht *[[Alfred Drayton]] as Direktor *[[Marius Goring]] as German propaganda officer *[[Austin Trevor]] as U-boat Captain *[[Morland Graham]] as civil servant *[[Albert Lieven]] as Gunter *[[John Stuart (actor)|John Stuart]] as naval officer *[[Joss Ambler]] as Stoltenhoff *[[Michael Wilding]] as Captain *[[George Woodbridge (actor)|George Woodbridge]] as Quisling *[[Quentin Reynolds]] as American journalist *[[Elliott Mason]] as German stationmistress *[[Peter De Greef]] as RAF airman {{div col end}}

==Release== The film premiered at the [[London Pavilion]] on 19 January 1942, and the premiere was attended by a group of [[List of MPs elected in the 1935 United Kingdom general election|members of Parliament]] interested in economic warfare.<ref>''The Times'', 20 January 1942, page 2: ''News in Brief'' - found in The Times Digital Archive on 26 February 2014</ref>

== Reception == ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote: "A sincere and well-constructed propaganda film in dramatic form. The direction and production are effective and the acting in most instances most admirable, especially that of Frank Cellier as Herr Schneider and Will Hay and Bernard Miles as the mate and skipper explaining navicerts. Frank Owen is a masterly commentator who obviously believes whole-heartedly in his subject."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1942 |title=The Big Blockade |volume=9 |issue=97 |pages=13 |id={{ProQuest|1305818934}} |magazine=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]}}</ref>

''[[Kine Weekly]]'' wrote: "Showmanlike documentary describing in prodigious and spectacular detail the vast, intricate and hazardous workings of the British blockade. The slow but sure stranglehold on Germany is depicted with authenticity. There are a number of impressive guest artistes ... There is no story in the real sense, but rather a straightforward, illuminating and spectacular statement of exciting facts."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=15 January 1942 |title=The Big Blockade |volume=299 |issue=1813 |pages=18 |id={{ProQuest|3127094481}} |magazine=[[Kine Weekly]]}}</ref>

''[[The Daily Film Renter]]'' wrote: "Britain's blockade of Germany told in striking documentary, commentary and acted scenes. Strong patriotic and propagandist note enhanced by introduction of names-in-the-news personalities. Neat interludes of forthright humour leavening thrills and impact of sea and air warfare. Big scale canvas results in occasional obscurity of theme and repetition of argument. Lively acting. Imaginative direction. Powerful semi-documentary, with obvious additional asset of important star names, which should make widespread appeal to popular audiences."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=14 January 1942 |title=The Big Blockade |volume= |issue=4224 |pages=15 |id={{ProQuest|2594636948}} |magazine=[[The Daily Film Renter]]}}</ref>

''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote: "There is an absorbingly interesting plot, based on the almost forgotten fact by the man in the street that Britain applied blockade methods some time before she was at war with Germany by putting into operation the system of [[Navicert|navicerts]] whereby she restricted the importation of all sorts of essentials to the Nazi war preparations, interfering with contraband, etc. Story starts with the observation that the British navy could not, at that time, destroy what Germany already possessed in supplies, but had in operation a navy at work preventing further imports. ... Inclusion of comedy, not to mention intensive drama, also enhances the film's potenticlities."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=18 February 1942 |title=The Big Blockade |volume=145 |issue=11 |pages=8 |id={{ProQuest|1285805551}} |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

''[[The Times]]'' wrote: "this particular hotch-potch is, as propaganda, woefully unconvincing. It is splendid to give audiences a glimpse of the devoted work done by the Services […] but actors got up as comic Nazi business men distort the lessons the more serious parts of the film are trying to drive home"<ref>''The Times'', 14 January 1942, page 6: ''"The Big Blockade" - Fact and Fiction'' - found in The Times Digital Archive on 26 February 2014</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160310004445/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6f4b2339/ ''The Big Blockade''] at the [[British Film Institute]] * {{IMDb title|0034512}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Blockade, The}} [[Category:1942 films]] [[Category:1940s war comedy-drama films]] [[Category:British war comedy-drama films]] [[Category:British World War II propaganda films]] [[Category:British black-and-white films]] [[Category:British seafaring films]] [[Category:Films set in England]] [[Category:Films set in Denmark]] [[Category:Films set in Germany]] [[Category:Films set in Hungary]] [[Category:Films set in London]] [[Category:Films set in Norway]] [[Category:Ealing Studios films]] [[Category:Films produced by Michael Balcon]] [[Category:Films directed by Charles Frend]] [[Category:Films scored by Richard Addinsell]] [[Category:1942 war films]] [[Category:1942 drama films]] [[Category:British World War II films]] [[Category:1942 English-language films]] [[Category:English-language war comedy-drama films]]