Painted Boats

This film is mainly a romance but is also a Documentary. Showing life on "the Cut" when the canals where a part of the British transport scene.

The story follows the lives (and loves) of two families. The "Traditional" Smith's (Father, Mother & Mary Smith) in the Horse Drawn Barge "Sunny Valley" (which is converted to a motor barge in the film) and the "Modern" Stoner's (Mother, Ted Stoner & his younger brother Alf) in the motor barge "Golden Boy" & butty (an unpowered barge) "Blackbird".

Although released in 1945 it was filmed during the later part of the second world war the couple Mary Smith & Ted Stoner never get to marry (not in this film anyway) as Ted is "Called-Up" and joins the Army (The Royal Engineers).

The end of the film sees "Sunny Valley" emerging onto the River Thames at Limehouse, East London.

The brief notes on the DVD sleeve include the word, 'charming' twice and whilst this is appropriate the film is much more. Indeed the 'charming' storyline can be ignored and the beautifully shot film enjoyed as a documentary, albeit with more than a little of the propaganda feel to it. Cinematography is by Douglas Slocombe and most effective with great use made of the lyrical landscapes and cloud peppered skies. Curious time for film-making, during the War and this must have been intended as a morale boost as much as anything. Amazing shots of the canals, including vivid footage that I have never seen before. I'm astonished that this historic document has been so ignored for so long and for anyone interested in a glimpse at what life on the canals was like in the mid 40s, this is invaluable.

Veteran Ealing director Charles Crichton's second feature film is as much documentary as drama. Handsomely shot on location by fellow Ealing craftsman Douglas Slocombe, like most of the studio's productions of the period it was intended at the time as reportage but has long since become a historical record of a vanished world.

The heroic tone of Louis MacNiece's commentary (portentously intoned by James McKechnie) is in marked contrast to the simple humanity of the film itself.

A sort of hybrid film with a good dose of documentary mixed in with a slight story. Excellent photography of a the canals and the boats and showing a way of life that was about to vanish. Could have done without the sonorous intonation of the poetry making it a sort of aquatic Night Mail.

Ealing were just at the beginning their golden period, after this the studio went on during the next year to make Dead Of Night which was one of their towering achievements. This little film however is not in that class even if still spellbinding for beaming back through Time to us a lost England. It's not completely lost because many people still ply boats along canals, only mainly as a pastime though.

It's a short semi-romantic semi-documentary showing brief episodes in the busy lives of a couple of families on the water, working on the Grand Union Canal between the Midlands and London. The rustic homeliness of it all was beautifully captured by the camera of Douglas Slocombe, I lost count of all the languid and lovely images of riverbanks, quaint buildings with or without thatch, gentle or frothing water and blue skies. And all in a clean and glorious black and white nitrate print. Thick accents through dubbed sound can be hard to follow at times as well as occasionally wondering what's going on as it's all taken so leisurely, but it's not a problem. A splendid lulling narration by James McKechnie takes over at times which is redolent of Eric Portman in Canterbury Tale – Can No One Speak Like That Nowadays? Jenny Laird, who a few years before had played Ethel to Just William was the main character in here, emotional Mary. Harry Fowler then nineteen years old played his usual lovable youth role, while Megs Jenkins seemed ready as usual to wash some glasses.

It leaves loose ends in the rush to finish but the main point was achieved in the one hour: the loving views of some wonderful English countryside. Engrossing inconsequential stuff, give it a punt.