A Yank Comes Back

Burgess Meredith returns to Great Britain a few years after the War to see how the country is doing. He doesn't have a script, and wanders around, trying to figure out his movie, pursued by Freddy Peters and his camera, a clapper boy, and someone playing a harmonica.

Meredith had made a film for the Crown Film Unit during the War, WELCOME TO BRITAIN to show the American GIs what they were getting into. Now he's back, and this movie shows the loss and chaos and hopeful disaffection of the British in a seemingly chaotic manner. Meredith always knew what he was doing, and here he shows his enormous affection for the people of the battered island.

Burgess Meredith served with the US Air Force during World War II and came to the UK to make a light-hearted documentary, "A Welcome to Britain", advising GIs about the British way of life. Three years after the War ended, he returned to Britain to write and produce a similarly quirky film, this time reporting on how Britain was adapting in peace time. The conceit is that Meredith fails to make the film he wants (written by Coward, Greene and GBS), but is accompanied on research trips by an eager two-man film crew, who end up making the film we're watching. The message for the world is that productivity is up in many industries, but ordinary folk don't like rationing. As with the earlier film, Burgess pulls in favours from famous friends. The biggest star making a cameo here is Paulette Goddard. Meredith's style is relatively adventurous. There are plenty of jump cuts and zip pans. The comedy is now laboured, but the concept is fun and Meredith's final soliloquy, likening Britain to a wounded lion, is still stirring. Some scenes are staged (Meredith plainly isn't in a Welsh coal mine) but the real locations are great. Unbilled are strongwoman Joan Rhodes and one of William Friese-Greene's sons. Does anyone know which one? Whoever he is, he's a terrible actor. And that's Ronald Chesney playing the harmonica.

This is as much of a propaganda film as his original documentary. We see how productivity is on the increase. There is only a brief mention of rationing,which was worse than during the war. Generally this film falls flat on its face.