The Crown Film Unit was an organisation within the British Government's Ministry of Information during the Second World War; until 1940, it was the GPO Film Unit. Its remit was to make films for the general public in Britain and abroad. Its output included short information and documentary films, as well as longer drama-documentaries, as well as a few straight drama productions.
Music was an important element. The conductor Muir Mathieson was the director of music for many productions, and notable composers commissioned to write original scores included Walter Leigh, Benjamin Britten, Ernst Meyer, Richard Addinsell, Benjamin Frankel, Christian Darnton, Guy Warrack and Arthur Benjamin.[1]
The Crown Film Unit continued to produce films, as part of the Central Office of Information (COI), until it was disbanded in 1952.
| Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Scotland | 1952 | Oscar-nominated documentary |
| Mary's Birthday | 1951 | Animation by Lotte Reiniger |
| Out of True | 1951 | Directed by Philip Leacock |
| Daybreak in Udi | 1949 | Directed by Terry Bishop, Oscar-winning documentary |
| School in Cologne | 1948 | Directed by Graham Wallace, short film in the British Zone of Germany |
| Worth the Risk? | 1948 | British road safety public information film |
| Instruments of the Orchestra | 1946 | Scored by Benjamin Britten, later published as The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra |
| A Defeated People | 1946 | Directed by Humphrey Jennings, filmed in Occupied Germany |
| A Diary for Timothy | 1945 | Directed by Humphrey Jennings, written by E. M. Forster, featuring Michael Redgrave, Dame Myra Hess and John Gielgud |
| Two Fathers | 1944 | Directed by Anthony Asquith, written by V. S. Pritchett, starring Bernard Miles and Paul Bonifas |
| Western Approaches | 1944 | Docufiction directed by Pat Jackson, Crown Film Unit's first Technicolor production |
| The Silent Village | 1943 | Directed by Humphrey Jennings |
| Before the Raid | 1943 | Directed by Jirí Weiss, written by Laurie Lee |
| Fires Were Started | 1943 | Directed by Humphrey Jennings |
| The True Story of Lili Marlene | 1944 | Directed by Humphrey Jennings, featuring Marius Goring and Lucie Mannheim |
| Coastal Command | 1942 | Directed by J.B. Holmes |
| A Letter From Ulster | 1942 | Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst |
| Listen to Britain | 1942 | Directed by Humphrey Jennings, featuring Dame Myra Hess and Flanagan and Allen |
| Malta G.C. | 1942 | Directed by Eugeniusz Cekalski and Derrick De Marney, narrated by Laurence Olivier |
| Target for Tonight | 1941 | Directed by Harry Watt, winner of Special Award Certificate from AMPAS |
| The Heart of Britain (also known as This Is England) | 1941 | Directed by Humphrey Jennings, narrated by Edward R. Murrow |
| Men of the Lightship | 1940 | Directed by David MacDonald |
| Musical Poster Number One | 1940 | Written and directed by Len Lye |
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