Crisis in Iran

An intriguing review providing key historical context to the start of the Abadan Crisis (1951-54), a pivotal event that shaped present-day Iran.

Featuring interviews with the main protagonists, this comprehensive survey of the nationalisation of the British Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and its aftermath seeks to highlight both the political and economic dimension of the international crisis while roundly condemning the forces within Iran that precipitated it.

This penultimate issue of the March of Time encapsulates the style forged under Richard de Rochemont, a screen journalism preoccupied with balance and representation of all views concerned. With its illustrative use of stock footage this content is a far cry from the iconoclastic and cynical pre-war material that sought to change the perspective of the audience. Although the series still provided an in-depth examination of the issues of the day, by this point it mirrored rather than challenged existing beliefs.