Contraband
(a.k.a Blackout).
1940
CONTRABAND
(American Titile: Blackout)
1940
Powell/Pressburger Ethnocentrism ad Cultural Relativism
Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism (define)
Different cultures have different perceptions as do often groups in larger groups. Words often express these differences or attitudes (I am in favor of what people are trying to make you believe – consciousness raising; I am against what people are trying to make you believe “brain washing”)
Different cultures have different points of view which are sometimes offensive. An American says to someone from Britain or Australia, New Zealand etc. “Oh you drive on the WRONG side of the road” rather than the more neutral “the OTHER side of the road” Pressburger as an outsider seems to have been aware of this and as a result, produces peculiar or atypical approaches which are often surprising or disorienting. Hence he is often drawn to borders where there can be complications of different perceptions. The Spy in Black did that both by setting a border and having an unexpected main character – a Nazi officer.
His films also deal with problems of identity – often cultural reflecting his own constant movement from Hungary to Germany to France to England. These are often destabilizing to the characters he writes. Although Spy in Black is a spy genre film, it deals with topics that are of interest to Pressburger and which will develop in his writing over his career – deception and watching/looking/viewing which will relate many of his films to a reflexive subtext.
Like horror films, spy films often deal with the concept of “the other”, who is usually demonized but with Pressburger is often not. Both of these genres are well fit for the expressionist forms which deal with distortions of reality – that is reality as perceived. Both genres are often involved with paranoia.
Britain at the point of the start of the war was in the process of dismantling its empire – some of Korda’s films, Sanders of the River (Zoltan Korda), Elephant Boy (Flahert, Z. Korda), The Drum (Zoltan) and Four Feathers (Zoltan) are sometimes known as the "Empire films". (Jungle Book and Thief of Bagdad sometimes are considered here as Middle East/Indian fairy tales) These films are often seen as more British than the British themselves would have made. They clearly mark a distinction between “The Other” and British national identity and are scene as MARKED for national racial and gendered identity. These are Korda films, but not those of Pressburger. It is important to see these films as something which are tied to the Powell/Pressburger films and we will talk more about them when we get to The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, which to a greater degree than The Spy in Black and Contraband is a direct response to the earlier films
PROBLEMS OF BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND CULTURAL (NATIONAL) IDENTITY ARE AROUND AND CAN BE USED TO SIGNAL ONE ANOTHER
CONTRABAND
The Pair has still not formed “The Archers” so they are working under Korda looking for good parts for Veidt. Pressburger produces a script with 2 good psrts – one for Veidt and one for a womanwho will once again be Hobson Contraband (Blackout) parallels The Spy in Black in several ways. First it is a spy film. Secondly it stars Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson, the stars of Spy in Black in similar roles. Veidt is a ship captain in both films, a German in one and a Dane in the other. Hobson is again the romantic interest. Some of the other cast members are used, but not in similar roles the was Veidt and Hobson are.
. Instead of being set in a remote area – Orkney – Contraband is set largely in war time London. Like Spy in Black, there is the use of Hitchcockian expressionist film techniques. There are also references to many things that would have had much more meaning at the time (the plaster busts of Neville Chamberland for example). The film is filled with examples of deception. Watch for them. How many can you find?
This film (like the one before and several after it are often seen as “Propaganda” films – a difficult term to define.
deas or statements that are often false or exaggerated and that are spread in order to help a cause, a political leader, a government, etc.
Full Definition of PROPAGANDA (MERRIAM WEBSTER Dictionary)
Manipulation of information to influence public opinion. The term comes from Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith), a missionary organization established by the pope in 1622. Propagandists emphasize the elements of information that support their position and deemphasize or exclude those that do not. Misleading statements and even lies may be used to create the desired effect in the public audience. LOBBYING, advertising, and missionary activity are all forms of propaganda, but the term is most commonly used in the political arena. Prior to the 20th century, pictures and the written media were the principal instruments of propaganda; radio, television, motion pictures, and the Internet later joined their ranks. Authoritarian and totalitarian regimes use propaganda to win and keep the support of the populace. In wartime, propaganda directed by a country at its own civilian population and military forces can boost morale; propaganda aimed at the enemy is an element of PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE.
CONSIDER THE USE OF THE WORD IN THE THIRD MAN
This is the first appearance of Alfred Junge (here as set director) (German like Hein Heckroth costume designer for Stairway to Heaven, Black Narcissus, Red Shoes and Tales of Hoffmann and production designed for Red Shoes, Small Back Room (Hour of Glory) Gone to Earth, Fighting Pimpernel, Tales of HoffmannOh…Rosalinda!! and Battle of the River Plate (Pursuit of the Graf Spee)) in a Powell Pressburger film. He will remain with them in some capacity regarding the production design through Black Narcissus.
Junge had worked in Germany and did The Man Who Knew Too Much and Young and Restless for Hitchcock. He would work on Contraband, Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Volunteer, A Canterbury Tale, I Know Where I’m Going, Stairway to Heaven and Black Narcissus)
AFTER THE FILM
The spies (Pidgeon and Sorenson), the woman who sings like a man, the question at Three Vikings as to whether Anderson is really the captain of the owner/chef’s twin brother (both played by the same actor Hay Petrie) Watch also for Esmond Knight as Mr. Pidgeon (more about him in other P/P films – A Canterbury Tale, Black Narcissus, Red Shoes, Gone to Earth Peeping Tom and the Boy Who Turned Yellow) He joined the Royal Navy and lost an eye and was blinded in the right eye in the battle against the Bismark. Later he would play Captain Leach the commanding officer of Sink The Bismark in the very battle in which he lost his sight – he regained some sight in his right eye)
Note the German spy who is given the name “Lang” as a salute to the German filmmaker.
(Note Veidt was a British citizen for a year. Pressburger ad Junge were still aliens and this would cause some problems shortly
The association of ethnic groups together parallels Pressburger’s own relationships with other Hungarians (Rozsa, Korda etc.) The playing with symbols of identity (music, food (Pressburger was a cook and Powell loved food), and even stereotypic images – the guy in the Viking hat with the horns).
The film is very dark because of the blackout, so it lends itself well to expressionist forms. The use of flashlights (torches) are idea for chiaroscuro lighting.
Who is Neville Chamberland? 18 March 1869 – 9 November 1940
Conservative Prime Minister May 1937- May 1940
He had an “appeasement” foreign policy and signed the 1938 Munich agreement which conceded the Sudentenland of Czechoslovakia which was largely German populated, to Germany. When Germany invaded Poland, Britain declared war on Germany on Sept 3 1939. Chamerlain was, therefore the Prime Minister who lead Britain in the war for the first 8 months.
His premiership was dominated by the question of policy toward the increasingly aggressive Germany, and his actions at Munich were widely popular among Britons at the time. When Hitler continued his aggression, Chamberlain pledged Britain to defend Poland's independence if the latter were attacked, an alliance that brought Britain into war when Germany attacked Poland in 1939.
Chamberlain resigned the premiership on 10 May 1940 after the Allies were forced to retreat from Norway, as he believed a government supported by all parties was essential, and the Labour and Liberal parties would not join a government headed by him. He was succeeded by Winston Churchill but remained very well regarded in Parliament, especially among Conservatives. Before ill health forced him to resign he was an important member of Churchill's War Cabinet, heading it in the new premier's absence. Chamberlain died of cancer six months after leaving the premiership.
There has been a great deal of work more recently showing that the left (Churchill and others) scored many points with incorrect “facts” and by ignoring many other things. Chamberlain’s reputation now is still hotly contested. Chamberlain had been buried under memos sent by Churchill on a daily bases apparently as Chamberlain pointed out that they were “for the purposes of giving himself “quotations” for the book he would write later” as turns out to be the case
The 30 years rule which released a great deal of information has supported the revisionist idea about Chamberlain
It was initially hoped that the war could be ended by keeping economic pressure on Germany through blockades, His rating remained high 60 to 65% in April of ’40.
However at the time that Contraband came out things were very different and Chamberlain’s reputation was slipping.
When Chamberain finally resigned and the NORWAY plan collapsed, the film came out – the timing was perfect. Powell and Pressburger who went along with the anti-Chamberlain groups said that the audiences roared in the scene in the warehouse with the Chamberlain busts and an Veidt’s remark about him
FILM TECHNIQUES AND IDEAS
The film is very dark because of the blackout, so it lends itself well to expressionist forms. The use of flashlights (torches) are idea for chiaroscuro lighting.