ABOUT NEWSREELS
What is a newsreel?
A newsreel is a short film, about five minutes long, usually featuring four
of five different news stories. They first appeared around 1910 and soon
became a feature in cinemas throughout the country.
At first, newsreels were produced in black and white and without sound.
They were often accompanied by live music from a piano or organ, and
were introduced by brief titles to explain the story. By the 1920s no
cinema would dream of screening a feature film without first showing a
newsreel.
Later, they were filmed with sound, with a voiceover provided by a
commentator, who spoke in a very distinctive English accent. Audiences
soon became accustomed and reassured to hear the same authoritative
voices each week.
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As people were paying to watch a programme that included a newsreel,
the producers ensured that the newsreel compilation consisted of serious
news reports mixed with more humorous stories. This balance was
deliberate, since most people paying to watch films in cinemas wanted
light relief and escapism. If they were constantly bombarded with grim,
depressing images, negativity towards watching the newsreels would
follow.
ABOUT NEWSREELS
Where were newsreels shown?
Initially, newsreels were presented in cinemas as part of a programme that
included a feature film, supporting film, trailers and often, cartoons. Soon,
their popularity encouraged entrepreneurs to build cinemas specifically
to show newsreels, and from the 1930s they began to spring up in towns
and cities across the country. These news theatres were usually built in
areas where there were lots of people passing by. They attracted a variety
of people, including shop or office workers heading towards bus or train
stations on their way home and shoppers interrupting a shopping trip to
catch up on the latest news. Footage was shown on a continuous loop,
allowing the public to ‘dip in and out’ of the programme at will. News
theatres presented newsreels from all the major companies, whereas
cinemas would often just present one particular company’s newsreel.
For people who could neither read nor afford a newspaper or radio, paying
to watch newsreels was the only way they could find out what was
happening in the world and see moving images of national and international
events. In an age where there was no central heating, newsreel theatres
were temptingly warm, and there were even some, like the News Theatre in
Newcastle, that had coffee rooms, providing a further inducement.
Sally Ann Norman
Clockwise from top left to bottom right:
Tyneside Cinema exterior.
The Classic auditorium, taken on the day
the News Theatre opened in February
1937.
Cinema projectionists.
Two usherettes, who used torches to
direct customers to their seats in the
darkness during continual screenings.
Newcastle’s News Theatre bill showing
newsreels being presented from the
major British newsreel companies.
Newcastle City Libraries
Tyneside Cinema
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Newcastle City Libraries
Bradford National Media Museum
How were newsreels made?
Newsreel ‘language’
Most stories were covered by a small film crew with only one cameraman.
Then, when sound was introduced, a reporter, sound recordist and a
narrator were added. However, major events often required several film
units, but because film-processing costs were expensive, cameramen
needed to be economical with filming. Newsreel companies, in their
quest to get the best coverage, went to extraordinary lengths to achieve
this, positioning their cameramen in quite precarious places or exposed
positions. Then, to despatch the footage as quickly as possible for
processing, they would use the fastest means of travel available.
British newsreels were usually similar in
style. They were patriotic, pro-government
and royalist, and extolled the virtues of the
Empire and then later the Commonwealth.
The language used by reporters and
commentators was overtly pro-British
and the music was often jingoistic. Unless
reporting tragic events, most newsreels
had a generally humorous approach
- slightly tongue in cheek – intended to
amuse a paying cinema audience who
sought entertainment.
As newsreels were issued twice weekly - to feed public appetite production had to be fast. They were filmed, edited, processed, duplicated
and distributed very quickly. This urgency resulted in a speedy presentation
style, giving rise to what has been called a ‘machine gun’ style of reporting
the news. (This style of reporting later influenced the style of television
news.)
The five biggest newsreel companies in Britain during the 20th century
were Pathé, Movietone, Gaumont, Universal and Paramount. Some of these
companies still exist today.
Fully equipped Gaumont British News
van in the 1940s with cameraman
and sound recordist.
Bradford National Media Museum
Gaumont British News film being transferred
from plane to news van in the 1940s.
Bradford National Media Museum
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ABOUT NEWSREELS
The development of British newsreels
The first British newsreel, Pathé’s Animated Gazette, was issued in June
1910. This new form of news reporting became so popular that by the
beginning of World War I many other newsreel companies began producing
them. But, the war caused many to close owing to shortage of men who
had enlisted in the army. During World War I the Government took over
one newsreel company, Topical Budget, to produce official war films and
propaganda material. It changed its name to The War Office Official Topical
Budget. At the end of the War only a few newsreel companies remained in
business, including Pathé Gazette and Gaumont Graphic.
By the 1920s, the public’s expectation of watching news and current affairs
in moving form became an integral part of cinema showings and were
routinely screened before the main film. Another company, Empire News
Bulletin (later, Universal News) was set up at that time.
Such was the growing appetite for news items that newsreel companies
began to compete for the best coverage of stories. Cameramen took greater
risks to get the best pictures, often acting like stuntmen. Climbing tall
trees and leaning out of windows was quite common, especially for major
sporting events such as the Grand National or the FA Cup Final.
Newcastle City Libraries
Stoll Picture Theatre bill, Newcastle, which
features a newsreel as part of its show.
With the emerging medium of radio, the public were able to hear news in
their homes. Initially, many people could not afford a radio and its licence,
and continued to rely on newsreels for news, even though they were still
silent. Nevertheless, the advent of radio prompted newsreel companies to
explore the use of sound. But, it did not catch on immediately and many
newsreels continued to be shown as silent films with voiceovers added
afterwards. However, by the mid-1930s, the public expected sound on all
newsreels, especially in news theatres where they were paying just to see
newsreels. This combination of sound, moving image and the need for quick
reporting resulted in a standardised style of reporting that would last for
decades.
Bradford National Media Museum
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A British Paramount news truck in Abyssinia
(Ethiopia) in the 1930s.
Bradford National Media Museum
Newsreel cameramen train their telephoto lenses
on the Royal Box at Ascot in June 1937.
The development of sound also encouraged newsreel companies to
produce lighter programmes called cinemagazines. These were lighthearted commentaries about subjects such as fashion, sports and travel,
along with celebrity interviews and novelty stories. They proved very
popular and helped offset more serious news stories. Cinemagazines also
satisfied a desire for ordinary people, most of whom did not have the
means to travel, to see moving pictures from around the country and the
rest of the world.
Newsreels also reported on traditional aspects of British life, such as
the Royal Family and the Government. However, unlike today’s news
coverage, politics and politicians were seldom criticised, and the Royal
Family were always reported positively as they represented the essence
of ‘Britishness’. Newsreels were not expected to upset the status quo.
The biggest companies at this time were Movietone, Paramount, Pathé,
Universal and Gaumont.
Bradford National Media Museum
British Paramount cameramen assembled for the
Coronation of King George VI in May 1937.
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ABOUT NEWSREELS
During World War II, newsreels were an important means of informing
people about the War, especially as many families had sons, fathers,
or brothers serving abroad. But, newsreel companies were subject to
Government censorship. By summer 1940, all material proposed for
inclusion within a newsreel was viewed by officials from the Ministry
of Information. Their scripts were closely inspected and, if deemed
suitable, were submitted to a final scrutinising committee. Owing to the
physical dangers of filming wartime stories, newsreel companies often
shared filmed footage and, as a result, newsreel presentations became
standardised.
World War II was a difficult time for newsreel companies, since the public
came to see them as the bearers of bad news. Cinema owners were also
concerned about the effect footage of wartime events would have on their
paying audiences. Stories were reported as ‘positively’ as possible for
the British and, then later, the Allies, and any setbacks or losses needed
careful presentation to maintain morale at home. When the liberation of
the Nazi concentration camps was filmed there was a big debate whether
to show these films in cinemas.
The Government also produced its own public information trailers which
were screened at the end of the newsreels. Different Government
departments produced their own.
- The Ministry of Information produced ‘Worker and Warfront’
- The Ministry of Supply produced ‘Warwork News’
- The Inter-Allied Information Committee produced ‘Allied News
- Magazine’.
After the War, the need for secrecy and censorship was relaxed. The
public realised that they had been ‘fed’ information, or that information
had been withheld for political and propaganda purposes. The credibility of
the newsreels was questioned. Many felt they could no longer rely upon
newsreels for the truth. Nevertheless, newsreel companies continued to
present the news in their familiar style throughout the 1950s.
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Pathé News team lined up for the coronation
of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
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Leading industries also began to produce their own short series of
newsreels.
- The National Coal Board produced ‘Mining Review’
- British Transport Film produced ‘Cine Gazette’
- Shell produced ‘Oil Review’
- The steel industry produced ‘Ingot Pictorial’
- The Gas Council produced ‘Mr Therm’s Review’.
Also after the War, television broadcasts soon resumed. But, the
increasing popularity of this new form of home entertainment led to a
decline in cinema attendance. The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in
1953 was the first ever live televised coronation of British monarch, and
caused a surge in the sales of television sets. When in 1955, the BBC and
ITV introduced daily live TV news programmes with newsreaders, newsreel
production was no longer commercially viable.
British Paramount stopped making newsreels in 1957, followed shortly
by Gaumont, who, in 1959, changed to a Cinemagazine company called
Look at Life. Pathé continued to make newsreels, using colour at a
time when TV was only in black and white. However, when colour TV
was introduced in the 1970s, Pathé also stopped producing newsreels.
Movietone continued making newsreels until its 50th anniversary in 1979,
when it finally stopped production. The public now relied entirely on radio
and television for their daily news, which was transmitted frequently
throughout the day.
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Bradford National Media Museum
Tyneside Cinema
Top to bottom:
Gaumont British News cameraman filming an FA Cup Final at Wembley.
Gaumont British News camera team at Croydon Airport, 1937.
The News Theatre (now Tyneside Cinema) at night in the 1940s.
Fuelling public appetite for news.
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ABOUT NEWSREELS
Dixon Scott Sr. Founder of
the News Theatre, Newcastle
upon Tyne.
Tyneside Cinema
The Tyneside Cinema is one of the most famous cinemas in the UK.
It is unique in that it is the last surviving newsreel theatre in Britain
still operating as a full-time cinema. The original owner of the
building, Dixon Scott, intended it to be a colourful and informative
‘window on the world’ for the people of the region - a world of crazy
stunts, fabulous fashions and famous faces!
The building was opened as the ‘News Theatre’ on the 1st February
1937, and was Newcastle’s first newsreel cinema. It screened a
rolling 75 minute programme continuously from 10.30am to 9.30pm
featuring a mixture of news, travel, sport and cartoons.
Having bought your sixpenny (2 1/2p) ticket, an usherette would
show you to your seat by torchlight. If you missed the start you
simply waited until the film looped around to the point at which you
had entered. The fact that some of the items were days, occasionally
even weeks, old did not deter audiences. What people wanted was
to see moving images of real events, including major sporting events
such as Newcastle United winning the FA Cup in 1952. Audiences
even stayed to watch the whole newsreel programme over and over
to witness this famous victory!
A major part of Tyneside Cinema’s recent multimillion pound restoration was to tell the story of the
building, from its inception as a news theatre to its
transformation to a cutting-edge digital cinema. The
building now houses a permanent exhibition detailing
the history of this unique building and the newsreels
that were shown here. You can watch an original
newsreel film in the Classic auditorium, where for
over 70 years people flocked to see moving images
of world events for the very first time. Discover how
the original vision for this ‘Picture Palace’ lives on
today through exciting film screenings and education
programmes. Around the cinema you can explore
the fully-restored Art Deco interiors, including
original mosaics and elaborate paintwork, alongside
interactive audio-visual displays chronicling the story
of the newsreels and the people who both watched
and made them.
Visiting the Tyneside Cinema, including
free guided tours of the building
For teachers, free guided tours can help bring the topic of
the newsreels alive and inspire children and students to
create their own. These tours offer a behind-the-scenes
look at the cinema and the opportunity to watch an
original newsreel in the Classic auditorium – all free
of charge. Tours are available on Tuesday, Wednesday,
Saturday and Sunday mornings.
For more details visit:
www.tynesidecinema.co.uk/whatson/heritage.php