The Biter Bit

The Biter Bit makes much of the supposed German love of destruction, which is then emphatically trumped by the Allies' own bombing of Germany. This lauding of the Allied tactic of out-bombing Germany struck an uncomfortable chord with some of its wartime audience, a contemporary reviewer writing: "Now that the tide of war has turned we should surely in our propaganda be demonstrating our power to bring to Europe, not only bombs, but a speedy and just peace".

This multi-layered propaganda film also takes a critical look at a well-known German propaganda film, Feuertaufe (Baptism of Fire, 1939), which was shown in neutral countries to illustrate the crushing of the German military forces. The Biter Bit also makes mention of British propaganda films such as Britain Can Take It! (1940) and The Front Line (1940) and uses extracts from them in its ambitious and extensive reporting of the war effort. This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.