From the Four Corners

A well-done little propaganda piece set in London, bringing together Leslie Howard (his appearance the more poignant, knowing that he died fighting in WWII) and three former British Empire soldiers, one each from New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. These three first deny that they came to fight for "the Motherland," but Howard brings out their hearth-and-home motives and pulls it all together with a flag-waving, "we all love justice and good and are merciful to the vanquished" speech which even extends to the USA. Lump-in-the-throat stuff, done right, with a fairly light touch for wartime.

Gathered FROM THE FOUR CORNERS, military men arrive in London, prepared to fight against Hitler & the Axis.

Produced in the United Kingdom before Pearl Harbor, this excellent, intelligent little film explores the real reasons why men from around the world should unite to fight, not for Mother England, but for the basic love of freedom & liberty they all hold dear.. By examining these values, the film focuses in on the commonality shared by all members of the English-speaking nations, including America.

Pvt. R. Gilbert, a law student from Auckland, New Zealand, Cpl. W. Atkinson, owner of a bicycle shop in Sydney, Australia and Pvt. J. Johnston, a farmer near Vancouver, Canada, all do a very fine job playing themselves. They are joined by an uncredited Leslie Howard, who acts as the soul of the film - questioning, illuminating, tying it all together. Howard co-authored the script for what would be one of his final film appearances before his untimely death in June of 1943.

The film is available in its entirety online at the Imperial War Museum.

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060021299

Unfortunately, the ownership watermark is placed annoyingly high on the frame and is there throughout the short, but it's the only place online I've been able to find it after several years of on-and-off searching. I only saw it once or twice years ago, and it's better than I remember. Mr. Howard does a fine job with a cursory history of England and her empire, centered on London, from Alfred the Great to the American Revolution, and the explorers she sent out "To the the Four Corners" as it were. The private soldiers were also quite good. They were a little stiff, but most professional actors of the time weren't as naturalistic as we expect. They were real soldiers playing, I assume, themselves.

Well worth 15 minutes of your time.

From the Four Corners (1941)

** (out of 4)

This British short is the perfect example of a film having its heart in the right place but not any entertainment. Three soldiers from around the globe arrive in London where they're about to fight the evil Germany but while on leave they run into actor Leslie Howard. The four men then go to a bar, drink a few beers and discuss the war and why it's important to fight. I can respect the heart of this film, which is quite clear but for the life of me I found it pretty difficult to make it through the rather short 15-minute running time. For starters, the movie seems to get somewhat off target during the second half where we learn various things about England and at this point the short seems like a cheap TravelTalks entry. The stuff with Howard asking the soldiers why they left their lives behind in order to fight is the most entertaining thing but this section doesn't last too long. Howard would co-write the screenplay in what would turn out to be one of his final screen appearances.

This is an intriguing little piece of propaganda. That's a word with a negative connotation, but this is one example of it that was done right. Leslie Howard is perfect at this, explaining the English cause (and that of the allies) in World War II, without seeming too preachy; revealing the idealism of the soldiers he speaks to, and the viewer, without hitting them over the head with it.