''The World in Action'' (aka ''World in Action'') was a monthly series of propaganda films from the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

(NFB), created to boost morale and show the Allied war effort during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The series was inspired by the success of the NFB's ''

Canada Carries On ''Canada Carries On'' (French: ''En avant Canada'') was a series of short films by the National Film Board of Canada which ran from 1940 to 1959. The series was initially created as morale-boosting propaganda films during the Second World War. Wit ...

'' series. Patterned after the popular American '' March of Time'' newsreels, ''The World in Action'' was designed to appear to a broader international audience than ''Canada Carries On'' . It was distributed internationally by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

.Ohayon, Albert
"Propaganda cinema at the NFB – The World in Action."
''National Film Board of Canada'', September 30, 2009. Retrieved: January 11, 2016. ''The World in Action'' series was produced in 35 mm for the theatrical market. Each film was shown over a six-month period as part of the shorts or newsreel segments in approximately 800 theatres across Canada. The NFB had an arrangement with Famous Players theatres to ensure that Canadians from coast-to-coast could see them, with further distribution by

.Ellis and McLane 2005, p. 123. After the six-month theatrical tour ended, individual films were made available on 16 mm to schools, libraries, churches and factories, extending their life for another year or two. They were also made available to film libraries operated by university and provincial authorities. The narrator in ''Global Air Routes'' in ''The World in Action'' series was

Lorne Greene Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; 12 February 1915 – 11 September 1987) was a Canadian actor, musician, singer and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Ad ...

, known for his work on both radio broadcasts as a news announcer at CBC as well as narrating many of the ''Canada Carries On'' series. His sonorous recitation led to his nickname, "The Voice of Canada", and when reading grim battle statistics, "The Voice of Doom"."Bonanza's Canadian Lorne Greene."
''Bite Size Canada''. Retrieved: January 9, 2016.

Series titles

* '' Churchill's Island'' (1941), Directed, Produced by Stuart Legg, 22 min. *Originally released as part of ''

'' * ''Food, Weapon of Conquest'' (1941) Directed, Produced by Stuart Legg, 22 min. * '' Ferry Pilot'' (1942) Produced by Stuart Legg, Directed by Ross McLean, 19 min. * ''Freighters Under Fire'' (1942), 26 min. * ''Geopolitik - Hitler's Plan for Empire'' (1942) Directed and produced by Stuart Legg, 20 min. * '' Inside Fighting China'' (1942) Produced by Stuart Legg, 22 min. * '' Inside Fighting Russia'' (1942) Produced by Stuart Legg, 22 min. * ''Invasion of North Africa'' (1942), 21 min. * ''The Mask of Nippon'' (1942) Directed by Margaret Palmer, produced by Stuart Legg, 21 min. * ''Road to Tokyo'' (1942) Produced by Raymond Spottiswoode, 18 min. * ''This Is Blitz'' (1942) Directed by Stuart Legg, 22 min. * ''Battle Is Their Birthright'' (1943) Directed and produced by Stuart Legg, 24 min. * ''Corvette Port Arthur'' (1943) Directed and produced by Joris Ivens, 22 min. * ''Fighting Dutch'' (1943) Produced by Raymond Spottiswoode, 15 min. * '' The Gates of Italy'' (1943) Produced by Stuart Legg, Tom Daly, 21 min. * ''Invasion of Europe'' (1943), 21 min. * ''Labour Front'' (1943), 21 min. * '' Letter from Overseas'' (1943), 15 min. * ''Paratroops'' (1943) Directed and produced by Stanley Hawes, 10 min. * ''War Birds'' (1943), 15 min. * '' The War for Men's Minds'' (1943) Directed and produced by Stuart Legg, 21 min. * '' Wings on Her Shoulder'' (1943) Directed by Jane Marsh, 9 min. * ''Fortress Japan'' (1944) Produced by Stuart Legg, 16 min. * ''Balkan Powder Keg'' (1944) Directed and produced by Stuart Legg, 19 min. * ''Battle of Europe'' (1944) Directed by Tom Daly, produced by Stuart Legg, 15 min. * '' Global Air Routes'' (1944) Directed and produced by Stuart Legg, 14 min. 45 sec. * ''Inside France'' (1944) Directed by Stuart Legg and Tom Daly, produced by Stuart Legg, 21 min. * '' Our Northern Neighbour'' (1944) Directed by Tom Daly, produced by Stuart Legg, 21 min. * ''Ships and Men'' (1944) Directed by

Leslie McFarlane Charles Leslie McFarlane (October 25, 1902 – September 6, 1977) was a Canadian journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and filmmaker, who is most famous for ghostwriting many of the early books in the very successful ''Hardy Boys'' series, using the ...

, produced by Ernest Borneman, 18 min. * ''

When Asia Speaks ''When Asia Speaks'' is a 19-minute film produced in 1944 by Stuart Legg and directed by Gordon Weisenborn for the National Film Board of Canada series ''The World in Action''. The film is narrated by broadcaster Lorne Greene. ''When Asia Speaks ...

'' (1944) Directed by

Gordon Weisenborn Gordon Weisenborn (March 20, 1923 – October 4, 1987) was an American director, producer, writer, and cinematographer specializing in sponsored and educational films. His works express a style that blends naturalism and lyricism with modernist ab ...

, produced by Stuart Legg, 19 min. * '' Zero Hour'' (1944) Produced by Stuart Legg, 22 min. * ''Food: Secret of the Peace'' (1945) Directed and produced by Stuart Legg, 11 min. * ''Guilty Men'' (1945) Directed, Produced by Tom Daly, 11 min. * ''John Bull's Own Island'' (1945) Directed and produced by Stuart Legg, 20 min. * ''Maps in Action'' (1945) Produced by Stuart Legg, 20 min. * '' Now — The Peace'' (1945) Produced by Stuart Legg, 21 min. * ''Spotlight on the Balkans'' (1945) Produced by Stuart Legg, 11 min.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Bennett, Linda Greene. ''My Father's Voice: The Biography of Lorne Greene''. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse, Inc., 2004. . * Ellis, Jack C. and Betsy A. McLane. ''New History of Documentary Film''. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. . * Khouri, Malek. ''Filming Politics: Communism and the Portrayal of the Working Class at the National Film Board of Canada, 1939-46.'' Calgary, Alberta, Canada: University of Calgary Press, 2007. . * Lerner, Loren. ''Canadian Film and Video: A Bibliography and Guide to the Literature''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997. . {{DEFAULTSORT:World in Action Newsreels National Film Board of Canada documentary series United Artists films Canadian short documentary films Short film series 1940s Canadian films