Crashing the Water Barrier

Robert Youngson is best remembered for producing short subjects and compilation films which celebrated old movies, particularly slapstick comedy. With this short, he produces a short about Donald Campbell and his efforts to produce a boat that can do more than 200 miles an hour on the water.

The result is an Oscar winner for Best One-Reel Short Subject. I found the print on TCM to be a bit odd, as if it had been shot by an amateur, not a professional cinematographer. The color values seem oversaturated. All in all, it seems likely the print from which the TV transfer was made was not well preserved.

By 1956, there weren't that many live-action shorts being made, and this one looks likely to have won through a combination of the odd sort of choices made by the nominating process of the Academy, a desire to reward Youngson for his work on making old comedy new, and the excitement of a genuinely interesting side path in technology.

Konstantin Kalser's Oscar-winning "Crashing the Water Barrier" features Donald Campbell attempting to break a water speed record using a special type of watercraft on Lake Mead. While a lot of it goes by so quickly that it's hard to digest, one has to appreciate the effort that Campbell put into this. The aerodynamics, the air density, and other things all amounted to one of the many scientific feats.

In the past few years, I've been trying to watch a lot of Oscar-winning short documentaries from years past. This is certainly an interesting one, so I recommend checking it out if you get a chance.

This has a disappointingly superficial, newsreel, look to it as it takes us to Lake Mead in Nevada. That's where Donald Campbell has come from the UK to try and emulate his father's land-speed record, only on water this time, on a lake hopefully devoid of the logs he encountered at home. The first few practice runs present problems. Not enough oxygen is getting in to let the jet breathe, then too much water is getting in to drown it out. Some basic redesign is required if he is to get over the 200mph mark over his target distance of one mile, and he also needs this massive expanse of man-made water to play ball too - choppy waters are a non-starter. The film doesn't really tell us anything about the man, his motivation or his kit nor is the commentary especially captivating and given history has already told us what happened next, it's all just a bit procedural. There is some decent photography but this film doesn't really convey very much of the excitement of the day very well.

Crashing the Water Barrier follows the ambitions of Donald Campbell, an engineer who, in 1956, attempted to set a water speed record on Lake Mead in his water-jet known as "Bluebird." Campbell's father was Sir Malcolm Campbell, who held the record for land speed and water speed, previously. Campbell's ultimate goal was to reach at least 200 mph and survive, for reaching that level of speed could result in the disintegration of the jet itself. Such speeds on water make the water less an uneven surface and more like solid concrete in that speeds are so high, one can't even register that the surface beneath them isn't exactly a surface at all.

Director Konstantin Kalser, and narrator Jay Jackson, work to detail the exploits of Campbell, specifically showcasing the hardships he faced whilst trying to break this record. For one, his air intake system could potentially prevent him from reaching his desire speed, in addition to other uncontrollable, unpredictable features like the weather and the conditions of the water as a result being out of his control.

Crashing the Water Barrier does a nice job of balancing science and entertainment here; the jargon never gets too alienating nor does the entertaining elements become too clearly embellished. Jackson's engaging narration, combined with the attractive, super-colorized videography, create a pleasant aesthetic for a documentary that could've lacked it entirely. This is a solid short documentary, packing enough adventure to be a worthy illustration of its subject and bearing enough information to allow audiences to emerge with new knowledge.

Directed by: Konstantin Kalser.

Crashing the Water Barrier (1956)

*** (out of 4)

Oscar-winning documentary short about Donald Campbell's attempt to use an auto-racer to break the water barrier at Lake Meade, Nevada. At the start of the film we learn why breaking such a barrier could be so important and then we see various issues that come up that prevent them from even attempting. Once the boat, called Bluebird, is out in the water, more issues come up but finally Campbell is able to take off and reach speeds over 250mph. CRASHING THE WATER BARRIER is a pretty entertaining film that history buffs or fans of boats should enjoy. There's a lot of really good footage of what goes on behind-the-scenes getting everything set up, which should entertain many but there's also some wonderful cinematography that captures the boat going down the lake. The cinematography certainly helps keeps the viewer glued to what they're watching.