''Proudly She Marches'' is an 18-minute 1943 Canadian

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

, made by 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 ...

(NFB) as part of the wartime ''

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. The film, directed by Jane Marsh and produced by Raymond Spottiswoode, described the work of Canadian women in uniform 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 ...

. The film's

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

version is titled ''Carrières de femmes''.

Synopsis

In 1943, Canadian women are making a significant contribution to the military, disproving the old saw, "in the home women are good for everything, outside it, good for nothing." Other misconceptions about women's frailty, subservience to men and devotion to the pursuit of beauty have been in place for centuries. In modern times, when war came to Canada, Canadian women answered the call. Women signed up in the

Canadian Women's Army Corps The Canadian Women's Army Corps was a non-combatant branch of the Canadian Army for women, established during the Second World War, with the purpose of releasing men from those non-combatant roles in the Canadian armed forces as part of expandi ...

(CWAC), the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

(RCAF) Woman's Division (WD) and the

Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service The Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS or "Wrens") was an element of the Royal Canadian Navy that was active during the Second World War and post-war as part of the Canadian Forces Naval Reserve, Royal Canadian Naval Reserve until unificat ...

(CWREN), taking on jobs that relieved men for combat duty. All new recruits went through the usual four-week basic training program, preparing them for military life. The everyday life in the forces included barracks living, marching and specialized gas-mask drills, eating at the mess hall, and even recreation opportunities. Once basic training was over, women began to learn to handle many kinds of work. In the RCAF, women became clerks, drivers, photographers, air photo interpreters, weather observers, instrument mechanics, parachute riggers as well as staffing many administrative and technical positions. As part of the CWAC, women took over 21 types of army duties as secretaries, clerks, canteen workers, vehicle drivers and many other non-combat military jobs. As CWREN personnel, women served in 26 non-combatant occupations in Canadian naval bases at home or abroad. These jobs included cipher duties, clerical work, teleprinter operations, telephone switchboard operator, wireless telegraphic operator, coder duties, cook, steward, messenger, elevator operator and motor transport driver. All of the roles that Canadian women undertook in military service added to the immense contribution of women to Canada's fighting strength in the Second World War.

Cast

* Crown Princess Juliana of the Netherlands *

Prince Bernhard Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (later Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands; 29 June 1911 – 1 December 2004) was Prince of the Netherlands from 6 September 1948 to 30 April 1980 as the husband of Queen Juliana. They had four daughters to ...

of the Netherlands * Dorothy Brennan, RCAF photographer * Myra Lockridge, RCAF instructor * RCAF Sergeant Bill McNaughton * Cécile Levesque, CWREN drafting technician * Helen Adamson, CWREN map plotter * Catherine Storey, CWREN drafting technician

Production

Typical of the NFB's Second World War documentary

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

s in the ''Canada Carries On'' series, ''Proudly She Marches'' was made in cooperation with the Director of Public Information, Herbert Lash."Recognize leadership of Winnipeg women."
'The Winnipeg Tribune'', April 18, 1941. Retrieved: February 9, 2016. The film was created as a morale boosting

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 ...

with another purpose, to dramatically depict women's changing roles in society. "This film Proudly She Marches' made ostensibly to encourage female recruitment, concluded with positive observations about women in the present and future. Unfortunately, the female narrator was replaced by a male to make the points." ''Proudly She Marches'' was a

compilation documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill N ...

that relied heavily on newsreel material but also included original footage shot at military bases in Canada to provide the background to the dialogue. The unusual use of

intertitles In films and videos, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (hence, ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred ...

similar to those used in

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

, overlaid over film images, provided onscreen dialogue for the audience.Morris, Peter
"Film Reference Library: Canada Carries On."
''Canadian Film Encyclopedia''. Retrieved: February 9, 2016.

Reception

From an interview of Janey Martin, one of actors in ''Proudly She Marches'', ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' reporter in 1943, at the film's premiere, noted that she was "... chosen to represent the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service in a National Film Board production which is a story of Canadian women in the air force, army and navy. Janey

artin Artin may refer to: * Artin (name), a surname and given name, including a list of people with the name ** Artin, a variant of Harutyun Harutyun ( and in Western Armenian Յարութիւն) also spelled Haroutioun, Harutiun and its variants Har ...

has a featured role in 'Proudly She Marches', which is being shown in theatres across Canada now and for the next three months. Is she excited? No! ... The slim blonde naval typist from Windsor would rather be a WREN than a movie star, though she has qualifications for both positions. She considers herself quite an ordinary WREN, doing an ordinary sort of job, and coming from an ordinary background. But her part in the film is definitely more than ordinary ..." ''Proudly She Marches'' 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 Famous Players Limited Partnership was a Canadian-based subsidiary of Cineplex Entertainment. As an independent company, it existed as a film exhibitor and cable television service provider. Famous Players operated numerous movie theatre locati ...

to ensure that Canadians from coast-to-coast could see them, with further distribution by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

.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. A total of 199 films were produced before the series was canceled in 1959.Ohayon, Albert
"Propaganda cinema at the NFB".
''National Film Board of Canada'', July 13, 2009. Retrieved: February 9, 2016. Historian Malek Khouri analyzed the role of the NFB wartime documentaries with ''Women Are Warriors'' characterized as an example of a propaganda film. "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 further stated: "As they made a case for the importance of women's contribution to the war industry, the message in NFB films such as 'Proudly She Marches' ... was that this work would be merely temporary. The film even hints that such line of activity (e.g., working in heavy industries or as military personnel) is 'unnatural' for women."Khouri 2007, p. 137.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Armatage, Kay, Kass Banning, Brenda Longfellow and

Janine Marchessault Janine Marchessault is a professor of Cinema and Media Studies and Canada Research Chair (2003-2013) at York University in Toronto, Canada. Her main fields of research are Ecologies of Media and Mediation, (sub)urban cultures, the works of Mars ...

, eds. ''Gendering the Nation: Canadian Women's Cinema''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999. . * Ellis, Jack C. and Betsy A. McLane. ''New History of Documentary Film''. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005. . * Evans, Gary. ''John Grierson and the National Film Board: The Politics of Wartime Propaganda''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1984. . * 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. .

External links

''Proudly She Marches'' at NFB Collections website

Watch ''Proudly She Marches'' at NFB,ca

''Proudly She Marches'' at Canadian Women Film Directors Database
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Proudly She Marches 1943 films Canadian aviation films Canadian black-and-white films Canadian short documentary films Canadian World War II propaganda films Documentary films about women in World War II English-language Canadian films National Film Board of Canada documentaries 1943 short documentary films Films scored by Louis Applebaum Films set in 1943 Documentary films about Canada Films directed by Jane Marsh Beveridge Canada Carries On Quebec films Columbia Pictures short films 1940s feminist films 1940s Canadian films Documentary films about women in Canada