''Our Northern Neighbour'' is a film produced in 1944 by

Stuart Legg Stuart Legg (31 August 1910 – 23 July 1988) was a pioneering English documentary filmmaker. At the 14th Academy Awards in 1941, Legg's National Film Board of Canada film '' Churchill's Island'' became the first-ever documentary to win an Oscar ...

and directed by Tom Daly for the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

series ''

The World in Action ''The World in Action'' (aka ''World in Action'') was a monthly series of propaganda films from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), created to boost morale and show the Allied war effort during the Second World War. The series was inspired ...

''. The film is narrated by broadcaster

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

Synopsis

In 1943, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, three great powers come together at the

Tehran Conference The Tehran Conference (codenamed Eureka) was a strategy meeting of the Allies of World War II, held between Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill from 28 November to 1 December 1943. It was the first of the Allied World Wa ...

to decide the state of the Allied war effort. One of the three powers that has emerged as a key player is the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

, led by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

. The effectiveness of their Allied cooperation depends heavily on the United States and the United Kingdom having an understanding of the nature and history of their other partner, the Soviet Union. In

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, after the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

of November 1917, Communist Party leader

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

overthrew the last Russian

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

. The Soviet Union was subsequently officially established in December 1922. After Lenin's death in 1924, Stalin emerged as the new leader. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, with great sacrifices made by the working class and peasants, the Soviet Union was transformed into the world's second greatest industrial power. In the later 1930s, faced with the prospect of war with Germany, Stalin signed a non-aggression pact, but Soviet factories turned out armour, aircraft and ships, building up their defences. In 1941, despite their binding treaty,

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

forces attacked the Soviet Union but were met by a fierce resistance. With sweeping gains leading them right to the capital city,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Nazi armies were stalled by an unusually harsh winter and met their first defeat at the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

. With the end of the war in sight, the ordinary Soviet citizen is now envisioning the work ahead. First, after years of destruction, will come rebuilding cities, town and industries. Next, with the prospect of a different society in the Soviet Union, a new peaceful world will also have to be rebuilt.

Cast

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

Production

Typical of the NFB's wartime series of documentary short films, ''Our Northern Neighbour'' relied heavily on stock footage, including "enemy footage". The narrator in ''Our Northern Neighbour'' was

, known for his work on both radio broadcasts as a news announcer at ''

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

'' as well as narrating many of the earlier ''

Canada Carries On ''Canada Carries On'' () was a series of short films by the National Film Board of Canada which ran from 1940 to 1959. The series was created as morale-boosting propaganda films during the Second World War. With the end of the war, the series los ...

'' series. His sonorous recitation led to his nickname, "The Voice of Canada", and when reading grim battle statistics, "The Voice of Doom".

Reception

''Our Northern Neighbour'', as part of the NFB's ''The World in Action'' newsreel series, was produced for both the military and the theatrical market. According to the National Film Board's official history, "The most remarkable films in the series are '

Inside Fighting Russia ''Inside Fighting Russia'' (aka ''Our Russian Ally'') is a 1942 22-minute Canadian short documentary film produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) for distribution by United Artists, as part of the wartime '' The World in Action'' seri ...

', 'The War for Men's Minds' and 'Balkan Powder Keg', all three directed by Stuart Legg, and 'Our Northern Neighbour' by Tom Daly." 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 also had an arrangement with

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

to ensure that newsreels would get a wider release in North America.Ellis and McLane 2005, p. 122. After the six-month theatrical tour ended, individual films were made available on 16 mm, to schools, libraries, churches and factories, extending the life of these films for another year or two. They were also made available to film libraries operated by university and provincial authorities. Available from the National Film Board either online or as a DVD.Ohayon, Albert
"Propaganda cinema at the NFB".
''National Film Board of Canada'', July 13, 2009. Retrieved: January 25, 2016. An accompanying film, "Getting the Most Out of a Film" explored issues in the film and also provided some commentary and feedback from the audience. Drummond Wren, the General Secretary of The Workers' Educational Association of Canada (WEA) started the discussion. Historian Malek Khouri analyzed the role of the NFB wartime documentaries with ''Our Northern Neighbour'' characterized as a

propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...

, especially directed at countering the wartime criticisms of the Soviet Union. "During the early years of the NFB, its creative output was largely informed by the turbulent political and social climate the world was facing. World War II, Communism, unemployment, the role of labour unions, and working conditions were all subjects featured by the NFB during the period from 1939 to 1946".Khouri 2007
back cover

References

Notes

Citations

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. .

External links

Watch ''Our Northern Neighbour''

"On all fronts, World War Two and the NFB: 'Our Northern Neighbour'."
{{DEFAULTSORT:Our Northern Neighbour Black-and-white documentary films 1944 short documentary films English-language Canadian films National Film Board of Canada documentaries Canadian short documentary films 1944 films Documentary films about the Soviet Union in the Stalin era Crown Film Unit films Films produced by Stuart Legg Soviet Union in World War II Canada–Soviet Union relations Films scored by Lucio Agostini The World in Action Quebec films National Film Board of Canada short films 1940s Canadian films