This film is part of Free
Broken in the Wars
Film pioneer Cecil Hepworth raises awareness of a royal fund to support servicemen wounded in WWI
Overview
British film pioneer Cecil Hepworth raises your awareness with this ultra-intriguing short - an early hybrid of drama-doc, public information film and promo for a good cause. It publicises the King’s Fund for Disabled Officers and Men, raising £3m to support the war wounded: sort of a social enterprise, helping them to help themselves. It’s interesting from both a political and a film technique point of view.
This early in the game, it was already clear to filmmakers that some situations call for documentary authenticity, others for the emotional power of drama - and many, like this one, for a mix of the two. Amid a cast of actors - familiar faces to cinemagoers - pensions minister John Hodge (a right-wing Labour MP turned ultra-patriotic wartime coalition minister) appears as himself, at times facing the camera to address the audience directly. He speaks both to the men who might benefit from approaching the scheme and the public who might dig into their pockets to support it. Hodge, and the film, make clear that that this is a job for charity, not government. A full-fledged welfare state was still decades away.
Related
Zero Hour Zero Hour
Charity appeal 1928 8 mins Silent
"In the kingdom of the blind, the St Dunstan's man is king": how blinded WWI soldiers set up their own businesses.
Disabled Fundraiser Disabled Fundraiser
News 1974 4 mins Location: Tamworth
Disabled ex-miner Derek Sewell lets his chair do the talking in his quest to help people with mobility issues.
Lest We Forget Lest We Forget
Charity appeal 1937 8 mins Silent Location: Andover
Charles Laughton stars in this appeal film for Enham Village Centre, where WWI servicemen with disabilities are cared for.
Lanlivery Special School Lanlivery Special School
News 1976 2 mins Silent Location: Lanlivery
Special School receives a special visit.
East End Cripples Enjoy a Happy Days Outing in Epping Forest East End Cripples Enjoy a Happy Days Outing in Epping Forest
Non-Fiction 1911 2 mins Silent Location: Epping Forest
Disabled East End ‘ragged’ children go on a trip to the country - but not everyone seems happy
It's Like Getting Wings It's Like Getting Wings
Short documentary 1970 13 mins
Thanks to the Winged Fellowship Trust disabled guests at Crabhill House enjoy a fortnight’s holiday that can make a real difference
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Blades Blades
Drama 2023 2 mins
A group of young Black boys run into a building. One of them is about to do the unimaginable.
We Collide We Collide
Romance 2023 2 mins
A queercore romance - a visceral and immersive exploration of the power of the mosh pit and finding love in the most unlikely of places.
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.