Spring on the Farm
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United Kingdom, 1933 (documentary / children's, 9 minutes, black and white, English)
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| Image: © British Film Institute |
Film Description:
"Life on a farm at springtime, with the arrival of new lambs, chicks and young rabbits while children play outside."
-- British Film Institute
(source)
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| Film Credits (partial): |
| Produced by: |
John Grierson |
| Cinematography: |
A.E. Jeakins |
| Music: |
J.E.N. Cooper |
| Production Company: |
Empire Marketing Board Film Unit |
(sources)
Quotes about Spring on the Farm
"Years before children's programming came of age, the Empire Marketing Board produced Spring on the Farm. Evelyn Spice's simply-structured educational short used a child's voice to narrate together a series of short activity-led scenes. As the title suggests, the tone is of innocent exploration. The whole film works on a 'my first educational film' basis: lambs fall over, rabbits hide in hay, pigs crowd in a sty and children play on swings. The EMB had turned to producing films for schools because the dominance of American distributors made it difficult to place its film in commercial cinemas. The success of Spice's venture led the Ministry of Agriculture to commission a sequel, Spring Comes to England, and enabled the EMB to play an influential role in a fast-growing market."
-- Scott Anthony
(source)
"'Spring on the Farm' stands out among the four as a simple, broadly treated film. The boldest device used in it is the hesitant voice of a little girl making the running commentary in occasional, prim, copy-book phrases. This will be laughed at in the picture palaces, but it is unusual rather than ridiculous. Some of the pictures of ploughland and animals are so exquisite that one cannot imagine an audience to whom the film would not 'get over.'"
-- Manchester Guardian
(source)
"This is surely one of the most delightful films that was ever made. The photography is full of sunlight and the joy of spring; the harpsichord and harp music, the simple naiveté of the child commentator and the closing chorus of children's voices all have a charm which is indescribable. [...] The whole film has recaptured the simple and naive exhilaration of an Elizabethan lyric on Spring, as only Blake has done before. This film not only could be, but should be, shown to children of all ages, and will delight any adult."
-- Monthly Film Bulletin
(source)
Bibliography for Spring on the Farm
Articles from Newspapers, Magazines, or News Websites
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Monthly Film Bulletin. "Spring on the Farm." Review of Spring on the Farm. Monthly Film Bulletin, vol. 1, no. 1, January 1934.
Web Sites about Spring on the Farm
