The University of Leicester

Jenny Stewart

Representations of the reconstruction and

modernisation of post-war city centres in

promotional film and newsreels: A case study of

The Precincts in Coventry and the Bull Ring in

Birmingham, 1945-1965.

Submitted for the degree of MA (MassCommunication), 2013

Word count: 13,832

Abstract

This dissertation explores documentary filmic representations

of post-war city centres in British cities, focusing on the

Precincts in Coventry, 1945 -1966 and the opening of the Bull

Ring centre in Birmingham, 1962 to 1964.

Towards the end of World War Two, the publicly funded,

government department, the Ministry of Information (MOI),

produced a number of films about the reconstruction of bomb-

damaged cities. Later, companies who invested in rebuilding

during the 1950s and 1960s, sponsored short cine-magazine

style films, to ‘sell’ their modernist spaces to potential

clients and the wider public. Newsreel companies, such British

Movietone, reported on their building and opening, informing

the national population about cities built in the modernist

style. The films selected for this dissertation are: the

Ministry of Information film, A City Reborn (Eldridge, 1945), two

sponsored documentary films, Phoenix City (Wallace, 1958) and The

Bull Ring Shopping Centre (John Laing & Son, 1965), two cine-

magazines from Rank’s Look at Life series; Rebirth of a City (1960) and

2

Down Town (1965), and newsreel, Brum Goes Under (British

Movietone, 1964).

This dissertation argues that the selected films reflect the

changing purpose of post-war reconstruction, from initial

reconstruction films designed to boost morale and address the

pressing needs of the local population, to a new post-war

consumerism, presenting a modernist city of the future for a

younger, affluent population. The selected films are

considered within their social, historical and production

contexts to understand why representations of the post-war

city centre experience are framed in particular ways. A

comparative approach focuses on key themes discussed in all

the films; the relationships between the old and the new city,

modernist centres as spaces for the female consumer, the

burgeoning affluent youthful population, the motorist, and the

role of the planner and designer as a ‘visionary’ figure.

Chapter One explains the methodology used and reviews existing

literature on post-war sponsored films and newsreels. Chapter

Two focuses on the MOI film, A City Reborn (1945), addressing how

film engaged the public in post-war reconstruction plans and

the needs of local citizens. Chapter Three compares selected

newsreels and promotional films, exploring how they promoted

new city centres as sites of consumption. Chapter Four offers

conclusions and suggestions for further study.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my tutor, David Baines, for his

continued support and advice throughout the MA. Many thanks

3

also to the whole Media and Communications team at the

University of Leicester for excellent administration and

teaching.

4

Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction 5

1.1. Context: Birmingham and Coventry as case studies 5

1.2. Existing literature 6

1.3.Methodological considerations 7

Chapter 2 Promoting Post-War Reconstruction in Film: A Case Study of A City Reborn (1945)

9

2.1. A City Reborn (1945): production, analysis and exhibition 9

2.2. The impact and influence of A City Reborn on the local population 14

Chapter 3 The Post-War City Centre in Newsreels and SponsoredFilms 16

3.1. The sponsored post-war documentary film 16

3.2. Newsreels and cine-magazines during the 1950s and 1960s 18

3.2.1. Newsreels 18

3.2.2. Cine-magazines and Gaumont’s Look at Life series 20

5

3.3. Representations of the ‘Future City’ and Post-War Shopping Centres in Sponsored Films and Newsreels

21

3.3.1. Context: the post-war economy and construction of new shopping centres – the public and private city 21

3.3.2. Shopping for ‘leisure and pleasure’ 24

3.3.3. Relationships with the past: contrasts between the old and new city 28

3.3.4. Representing differing cross sections of the population 31

Chapter 4 Conclusions, Limitations and Suggestions for FurtherStudy 36

4.1. Conclusion 36

4.2. Limitations and suggestions for further study 37

Bibliography 39

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1. Context: Coventry and Birmingham as case studies

The important status ascribed to Coventry, as representative

of war-torn cities and bold post-war reconstruction, was

reflected in the mass media of the day, as the rebuilding of

the city was reported in local and national press and

6

newsreels. Exhibitions such as The Festival of Britain (1951) and

Coventry of the Future (1945) offered government and local

authorities the opportunity to share with national and local

populations plans for rebuilding, in which visual

representations such as maps, pamphlets and films played a key

role. Coventry city had plans to embark on a modern city

centre before the war; City Architect and Planning Officer,

Donald Gibson (1938-1954), produced the original plans for the

city centre, pioneering traffic-free, pedestrianised

precincts. The devastation caused by the Blitz, between

November 1940 and April 1941, provided an opportunity for

change, accelerating Gibson’s original plans, and spurred on

Lord Reith’s call to build ‘boldly and comprehensively’.

However, reconstruction of city centres was a “piecemeal

affair” (Lilley, 2007, p.152) with priority given to building

housing, as many local citizens were living in hostels. A

foundation stone was laid in the Broadgate area of the city

centre in 1948 by Princess Elizabeth, with the first building

completed in 1953. Arthur Ling succeeded Gibson as City

Architect in 1955 and oversaw completion and opening of the

Precincts in 1958.

Birmingham became synonymous with the motorcar, building ring

roads around the city and creating subways for pedestrians.

Its aim to live up to the city’s motto, ‘Forward’ reflected

the ethos of the architects and authorities, overseen by City

Engineer and Surveyor Herbert Manzoni (1935-1963) who

envisaged the modernisation of Birmingham city centre. The

Bull Ring Centre was built by the Laing Investment Company and

opened in 1963 after two years of construction, with the

official opening by the Duke of Edinburgh on 29 May 1964. It

7

consisted of “a multi-storey shopping precinct…the city retail

market, parking for 500 cars, a seven storey office block,

eight restaurants, four public houses, twenty one escalators

and an underground bus station” (Townsend, 2010, no

pagination).

Gold and Ward (1997) refer to the 1960s as a period where

there was renewed interest in town planning, thus film and

visual media at a local level was revived to strengthen public

interest. It is in this context that Rank produced the cine-

magazines Down Town (1965) and Rebirth of a City (1960) and in which

the companies that invested in the building of modernist

centres sponsored films such as The Bull Ring Shopping Centre (1965)

and Phoenix City (1958). Sponsored films were used to promote

these new modernist centres to the public and clients alike,

while newsreels reported on the opening and rebuilding in a

light, mainly non-critical style, appealing to a wide variety

of cinema goers.

Footage of centres upon completion are now viewed in the

context of local museums and online archives; Phoenix City forms

part of the ‘reconstruction’ section of the Herbert Art

Gallery in Coventry, while The Bull Ring Shopping Centre and Down

Town are viewable in the BFI Mediatheques. These films now

exist as a form of memory or nostalgia, occasionally screened

to the wider public as part of regional archive cinema events,

as many of the buildings featured in the films have been

demolished or transformed.

1.2 Existing Literature

8

Film historians have tended to concentrate on the role of

propaganda films during World War Two (such as Chapman, 1998),

disregarding post-war sponsored films due to their limited

influence and reach. However, in this instance they are

treated as historical artefacts useful for analysis of the

ways in which city centres were envisaged, articulated and

sold through the visual medium. Key sponsored films are

selected due to their subject matter being primarily about the

development of shopping centres in Birmingham and Coventry.

These ‘official’ films represent the “external city" rather

than the ““internal city…concerned with social exclusion,

lifestyle, diversity and multiculturalism” (Hubbard, 2006,

p.91). However, as Jayne (2006) argues, they “nonetheless tell

us a lot about the vision of urban life, and the economic and

political priorities of politicians, planners, architects and

so on” (p.181).

Film historian Pronay (1972; 1976) laid the foundations for

newsreel study and his research still plays a pivotal role for

film and media historians covering this period. Archival

research by McKernan (2001) and Enticknap (1999; 2000; 2001)

provide a key understanding of the production and reception of

British newsreels. Althaus (2010) calls for more research into

newsreels in the field of mass communication study, drawing on

Pronay’s (1972) argument that newsreels are historical

evidence of what a diverse section of the global population

saw and heard from 1910 until the 1960s. Overall, newsreels

remain a neglected area of study, which Althaus (2010)

attributes to their “melodramatic style” and “soft news” focus

(p.196). Research into post-war newsreels is scant, possibly

9

due to their dwindling audiences as a consequence of the

increase in television viewing in the 1950s. However, the BBC4

series, The Story of British Pathé (August 2011), raised the profile

of newsreels and may ignite interest in this under-researched

area.

There are few, but notable, academic studies of reconstruction

films. Wildman (2012) uses the documentary film A City Speaks

(1946) to demonstrate how film can be used as a “prism” for

the promotion of civic identity (p.82). Haggith (1998)

concentrates on the period immediately after World War Two and

briefly discusses the role of sponsors in reconstruction films

up to 1951. His approach successfully blends an examination of

the film 'text' with a rigorous analysis of post-war history,

and as a result provides a “greater appreciation of the

history of both film and reconstruction” (p.361). However,

much of the literature in this field does not extend beyond

the mid-1950s.

Literature in the fields of urban and social history on post-

war reconstruction is useful for understanding the discourses

employed in the films and how the films were part of a wider

debate on modernist, post-war city centres. For historians,

such as Lilley (2007) and Hubbard (2010), Coventry is an

important case study as it is symbolic of the pain caused by

the Blitz, yet also of the country’s determination “to resist,

and later, to rebuild” (Lancaster & Mason, 1987, p.8).

Birmingham’s vision as a ‘motor city’ and complete

modernisation of the city centre during the 1950s and 1960s

has been well documented by historians such as Townsend (2010)

and Adams (2011). This dissertation, therefore, extends the

10

body of knowledge in the field of mass communications, film

history and urban history through prioritising under-

researched film texts to discuss how discourses of rebuilding

and consumption were articulated and represented to the

public.

1.3. Methodological considerations

This dissertation employs discourse analysis as the main

method to analyse selected films, drawing on Gold and Revill’s

(2004) definition of discourse as a “regulated way of speaking

or writing about the world – it takes place according to the

rules and conventions of the society and culture” (p.74) and

Foucault’s notion of discourse as “a system of representation

… characteristic of the way of thinking or the state of

knowledge at any one time” (Hall, 1997, pp.72-73). The

analysis of selected films also adopts a ‘New Film History’

approach (Chapman et al, 2007), where textual analysis is rooted

in contextual research, for a "more complex relationship

between films and social context" (p.4). Therefore, discourse

analysis is employed in conjunction with archival research and

existing literature in the fields of urban history and film

studies, enabling a more complex understanding of the

relationship between film, reconstruction, modernisation and

the wider public.

From a theoretical standpoint, this dissertation draws on

cultural studies notions of the city as “key sites for the

production of consumption of leisure and pleasure” (Bell et

al, 2008, p.168). This methodology and approach is used

11

demonstrate how selected films reflected changing discourses,

from the Labour government’s (1940-1951) ‘people led’ ethos of

post-war reconstruction in the late 1940s, to a Conservative

(1951-1964) ethos of modernisation, where city centres were

refashioned and represented primarily as sites of consumption.

12

Chapter 2 Promoting post-war reconstruction in film: A case study of A City Reborn (1945)

2.1. A City Reborn (1945): Production, analysis and exhibition

The bombing raids on Coventry between 1940 and 1942 caused

widespread devastation to the city, including near-total

destruction of the city centre and cathedral. The Labour

government and local authorities were eager to commence

rebuilding to provide housing for local citizens, many of whom

were living in hostels, and reinstate plans envisaged in the

1930s for a modern city centre to ease congestion in the

crowded medieval streets. Bullock (1997) observes, through

Mass Observation surveys undertaken at the time, that “all

were united in wishing to believe that the post-war world

really would be better than the pre-war world…they wanted

their cities to be rebuilt to provide better housing, new

schools, more green space” (p.54). Richardson (1972) described

the centre of Coventry in 1945 as “a grey, unpainted waste

with cellars and temporary corrugated-iron buildings”, thus

many local citizens felt “the best of them [local people]

would be remaking the city’s soul” (p.290). Discussion of

reconstruction was an important tool for the Government to

lift morale after the devastation caused by bombing. Minister

of Town and Country Planning, Lewis Silkin (1945-1950),

encouraged the production of films and exhibitions to promote

town planning in an accessible manner (in Tiratsoo, 2008). It

was in this environment that the Coventry of the Future (1945)

13

exhibition and A City Reborn (1945) were envisaged at a local

level.

The Coventry of the Future exhibition ran for two weeks in Coventry

Town Hall, from 8th-20th October 1945, with the aim to encourage

citizens to discuss and view plans for the reconstruction of

the city. Hubbard et al (2010) describe the efforts taken by the

council to promote the exhibition, including a loudspeaker van

and a partnership with the Coventry Evening Telegraph to run a

competition, asking local residents to submit an essay titled

‘How would you rebuild your city?’ The booklet accompanying

the exhibition, The Future Coventry (1945), revealed plans for

linked zones in an accessible manner, combining civic and

commercial life. Larkham and Lilley (2003) argue that local

authorities used exhibitions such as Coventry of the Future “to

promote the identity, centrality, connectedness and vibrancy

of these places outside the boundaries of local authority”

(p.201). It was in this spirit of public participation and

local publicity that A City Reborn was viewed. Rather than being

part of the exhibition as an adjunct, the film was produced by

the MOI with the guidance of Coventry City Council and thus

integral to the message of the exhibition as a whole. Indeed,

Silkin (who opened the exhibition), pointed out “exactly those

features (the pedestrianised arcade and large area of civic

building) described in the film” (Haggith, 1998, p.156).

The MOI was established at the start of World War Two and

given the power to “initiate a policy of informing people in

this country [Britain] and overseas, to co-ordinate Government

publicity work and to undertake the production of films,

pamphlets, posters and other material required” (The Arts

14

Enquiry, 1947, p.63). During World War Two, the MOI released a

monthly programme of films funded by the taxpayer, was given

time on each cinema screen in the country, and organised

travelling shows, screening to factory workers, village halls

and workplace canteens (Baird, 1945). The audiences grew

larger and the venues more prestigious, with later films

focused on localised areas rather than geared towards the

general population (Haggith, 1998). A City Reborn was one of 54

films made by the MOI between 1940-1945 about post-war

reconstruction (Bullock, 1997). The MOI films were produced

either by the Crown Film Unit (its own production unit) or, in

the case of most reconstruction films, by independent

companies. These Independent film companies were not given

wide discretion, however, as the MOI paid close attention to

the films throughout production (Haggith, 1998).

Haggith’s (1998) production history of A City Reborn reveals the

idea for the film arose from a conference talk by Dr Stephen

Taylor in 1942 about the state of the nation, with the working

title ‘Building the Future’. The film was scripted by Welsh

poet Dylan Thomas and produced in conjunction with Gryphon

Films, an independent documentary film unit, previously known

as Strand Films. Gryphon operated under Donald Taylor and Alex

Shaw who produced 52 films for the MOI, including a

reconstruction film called New Towns for Old (1942). A City Reborn is

about a solider, Wilf, who returns home on leave to Coventry.

He takes his girlfriend, Betty, on a walk around the city,

explaining the plans to build prefabricated homes. Meanwhile,

in a hostel an engineer and town planner discuss the

rebuilding of the city. Wilf and Betty continue their tour,

visiting the plans for the city centre at an exhibition. The

15

film ends with the solider returning to duty and saying

farewell to his girlfriend. The main purpose of the film was

to boost morale among citizens in the bomb-damaged city and

address the aspirations of a cross-section of local people who

strived for a better future. Attempts to raise morale in a

war–torn city are evident from the start; foreboding, funereal

music is used to introduce the devastation caused in the city.

The voice-over commentary describes how Coventry became “a

city of destruction” but “it didn’t die”, with a heavy

emphasis on this phrase. Long shots of people going about

their everyday lives are used to demonstrate the people’s

ability and need to continue with a ‘normal’ life.

The use of characters, representing local citizens, in

conjunction with a voice-over commentary, is due, Russell

(2011) argues, to the non-theatrical distribution of MOI

films, enabling filmmakers to experiment with the documentary

film. Haggith (1998) attributes the style of MOI films to the

broad audience, citing an MOI official who argued that “films

for mass audiences must have popular appeal, must be made to

achieve contact with the audience and must therefore avoid

over-intellectualism” (p.141). Gold and Ward (1997) describe

how films about reconstruction moved away from worthy, but

dull, accounts of the technicalities of planning to the use of

actors, thus communicating their message in an engaging and

entertaining manner, striving for a balance between

“instruction, entertainment and evangelism for change” (p.76).

In A City Reborn, a local man in a pub, rather than an ‘official’

planner, explains how prefabricated houses work. The local man

says “stop me from getting too technical”, demonstrating the

filmmaker’s intention to explain design features and promote

16

prefabrication in a way that ‘ordinary people’ could

understand.

Wilf explains prefabrication to Betty while walking through

the bombed out streets, with humourous banter between the

couple used to explain concepts in a palatable manner. The

focus on housing and the aspiration for “a nice little garage

and a nice little nursery” reflected the aspirations of young

families as people behaved more like the young couple, who

wanted a comfortable home of their own (Haggith, 1998). This

is not surprising as housing was the salient issue of the

time; in Britain as a whole, three million homes were

destroyed by the war and housing was a “key issue” of the 1945

election (Atkinson, 2012, p.158). Therefore “the niceties of

architecture could be left until after the war was over”

(Bullock, 1997, p.57). A City Reborn is one of many British films

of the era about prefabrication, as newsreels such as British

Pathé’s A Home of the Future (1944) and Homes While You Wait (1945)

reassured a sceptical population about the merits of

prefabricated homes. At a local level, Tiratsoo’s (2008)

analysis of surveys undertaken in Coventry in 1942 and 1943

reveals that housing was indeed the most pressing concern, as

local people wanted to reclaim what they had lost in the war.

Indeed, Tiratsoo notes a “distinct lack of enthusiasm” for

town planning and community facilities among the local

population (p.38), hence city centre redevelopment warrants a

brief mention towards the end of the film. Wilf joins a

discussion in a pub about prefabricated houses designed to

encourage local people to embrace the idea. The voice-over

commentary re-emphasises Wilf’s points, stating that the

prefabricated houses will be built in addition to brick houses

17

to satisfy the “over whelming need to re-house”… “the people

of Coventry must have houses and they will get them”. In the

meantime, hostels are praised as a “new, communal way of life”

and visually presented as a harmonious environment, with

residents enjoying dancing and chess, reflecting scriptwriter

Dylan Thomas’s left wing ideals of communal living (Ackerman,

1995). This section of the film clearly addresses the many

citizens who found themselves homeless after the Blitz, living

in hostels until new housing could be built.

The film then turns to discussion about plans for the

rebuilding of the city centre, with a voice-over commentary

explaining plans for reconstruction, anchoring shots of Wilf

and Betty walking through the war damaged ruins. A sense of

civic pride and a focus on ‘people’ is evident in the

commentary, “cities only exist for the use of people… In war

we work together to destroy a common evil. In peace, we must

work with no less vigor for the common good”. The rousing,

poetic rhetoric used demonstrates an ethos of community, one

where people are integral to plans for reconstruction. This is

further emphasised in the next scene that takes place in a

hostel, where Mr Evans, a planner, declares; “This is the

people’s city, or anyhow, it’s going to be”. He lists the

plans for the rebuilt city in the following order of

importance: “housing, hospitals, schools, roads, shopping”,

referring to a “proper people’s plan”. The use of a discussion

involving local people and a town planner were intended by the

MOI to provoke real-life discussions among the people who

attended the exhibition. The town planner is not a ‘great man’

or ‘visionary’, as represented in later 1950s sponsored films,

but a man of the people, willing to engage with the opinions

of ordinary citizens. Tiratsoo (2008) argues that this idea of

18

the dictatorial planner was not the case during the war and

immediately after, thus the film reflects this ethos of

inclusion. A City Reborn demonstrates “there is room for all

types” (Haggith, 1998, p.159) with the wide variety of

characters representing differing social classes; this future

city was for everyone, and everyone could express their

opinion on the form it could take in a variety of ways. It is

difficult to ascertain the extent to which the public was

actively engaged in discussion, other than attendance at the

exhibition. Indeed, inclusion of local people discussion plans

in A City Reborn may have been a publicity measure by the Labour

government to give the impression of public engagement.

The utopic idealist vision of the ‘people’s city’ is

emphasised in the voice over, as Wilf and Betty walk off into

the distance, away from the bombed out the cathedral, the

sunlight representing the bright future ahead (fig.1):

Coventry is going to be a place to live where people believe that human life can be good and pleasant. In the days to come, we must feel that it is not every man for himself, but every man for the good and happiness of all people living. Every man must believe in the good and happiness that is to be shared –to be shared equally.

Figure 1

19

For Ackerman (1995), this statement reflects Poet Dylan

Thomas’s socialist views of a communal vision, arguing that

his scripts “often have a sharp political edge that reflects

his political, social and cultural views” (p.xxi). Thomas

scripted a number of films for the MOI during the war,

including These are the Men (1943) and Battle for Freedom (1942),

describing the films as “my war work” (in Ackerman, 1995,

p.xxi). Ackerman (1995) perceives Thomas’s war film scripts as

being part of the general atmosphere of reform in the wake of

the 1942 Beveridge report that led to the setting up of the

welfare state. The left wing message of the film is not

surprising when considering most of the talent at the MOI was

politically left wing. Thomas was “emotionally and morally

committed to socialism” (Haggith, 1998, p.145). Thus the

message in the film is idealistic, emphasising that

reconstruction is the work of the ‘people’, a democratic

rather than top-down process. However, Haggith (1998) warns

not to over-state the socialist nature of the film as parts of

the film were removed by the MOI “which had the appearance of

political propaganda” (p.157), although the film’s message

does reflect the general ethos of a left wing, Labour

government; the state would provide its citizens with social

improvements including housing and city centre facilities.

The description of the central shopping area in the film is

one that comes to fruition in the late 1950s; “no road for

traffic in the centre of the city. Shopping done quietly,

leisurely – no fuss, no bother”. The camera pans round a plan

model for the central area, allowing local citizens a glimpse

at what the plans may look like in reality. Wilf and Betty are

20

show in mid-shot admiring the plans, representing the local

people, designed to encourage local interest and discussion.

When analysed in the context of the Coventry of the Future

exhibition, it is evident that the film was part of a larger

campaign that was as much about “civic boosterism as “‘place

promotion’” (Larkham & Lilley, 2003, p.201). This close

analysis of A City Reborn reveals that, in the use of film, this

was certainly the case.

2.2. The impact and influence of A City Reborn on the local population

While no specific reports exist to demonstrate the influence

of A City Reborn on the local population, reports from the Coventry

Evening Telegraph, during and immediately following the Coventry of

the Future exhibition, do provide an indication of the popularity

of the film.

Originally, films were screened each evening and afternoon,

with A City Reborn having top billing on an hour-long programme.

However, the popularity of the film far exceeded expectations,

thus the number of screenings was increased initially to four

per day with the Coventry Evening Telegraph reporting that “the

technical presentation is making a strong appeal to the

ordinary man and woman”(Coventry Evening Telegraph, 10.10.1945).

Demand for the film became so great that during the second

week of the exhibition, screenings increased to a continuous

run, “interrupted only by the time taken to empty and refill

the cinema” (Coventry Evening Telegraph, 17.10, 1945). Over a two-

week period, 57,500 people visited the exhibition; 7,500 more

than the Coventry Evening Telegraph initially predicted. The film

was viewed by 25,000 people, with the Coventry Evening Telegraph

reporting that the film “was a popular feature of the

21

exhibition… The operator of the film stated that he had the

biggest audiences in his experience” (22.10.1945)

Haggith (1998) argues that the government considered

reconstruction films to be an important means of communicating

with the public, yet they “had only [a] limited effect in

achieving this” (p.11). However, in the case of A City Reborn, the

popularity of the film and increase in screenings suggest this

particular film was successful, albeit as part of a wider

exhibition, with the Coventry Evening Telegraph reporting people

were “full of praise for the courageous ideas now envisaged”

(22.10.1945). However, caution must be heeded when using the

Coventry Evening Telegraph’s response as a barometer as the paper

was generally in support of the Labour council’s plans. The

film was viewed in a climate of public participation, where

“town planners were not to be undervalued but nor would they

be allowed to dominate” (Tiratsoo, 2008, p.40) with local

citizens responding enthusiastically to the Coventry Evening

Telegraph’s ‘Coventry of the Future’ competition. Russell (2011)

maintains that the non-theatrical nature of these MOI films

had a greater impact than those made for the general public in

cinemas, supporting Baird’s (1945) conclusion that such films

were impactful because they were “calculated to supply

information and ideas to people who are already discussing or

ready to discuss problems” (in Russell, 2011, p.169). This

notion of the ‘people’s plan’, as espoused in the film, was

reflected in the editorial of the Coventry Evening Telegraph that

boldly stated, “no exhibition has ever been of more personal

concern to every citizen as this” (8.10.1945).

22

Haggith (1998) stresses that generally, these films did not

have much influence, with Lilley (2007) arguing that there was

little sustained interest in the exhibition as a whole.

Although they made not have had much influence among the

general population, it is evident that at a local level, when

viewing A City Reborn as part of the wider exhibition, in terms of

attendance, it was a success for the local population of

Coventry, enabling support for reconstruction plans. Bullock

(1997) agrees that to suggest the films had little impact or

influence should not detract from the value of the films in

creating a sense of expectation in post-war rebuilding; and

thus, documentary film “helped to create a climate of positive

opinion in support of reconstruction” (p.60).

Overall, analysis of A City Reborn demonstrates that post-war

reconstruction films produced towards the end of World War Two

were intended to boost morale, addressing differing cross-

sections of the local population and reassure them

reconstruction would focus first on the urgent need for

housing, with shopping facilities in the central area a

secondary, but no less minor, consideration. The discourse

inherent in the commentary, visuals and wider exhibition in

which it was viewed, was one of civic pride, where local

people are integral to the rebuilding of the future city. In

reality, the post-war rebuilding took place at a much slower

pace than originally envisaged, partly due to steel shortages

immediately after the war (Larkham, 2013). These new,

pedestrianised city centres, as mentioned in the film, were

eventually completed during the late 1950s and early 1960s, by

which time a Conservative government, with an ethos of

commercialisation and private enterprise, was in power. The

23

disbanding of the Ministry of Information in 1946 and the

government’s commissioning of far fewer public information

films, meant that sponsored films and newsreels took on the

role of addressing a new, post-war, consumerist generation.

Chapter 3 The post-war city centre in newsreels and

sponsored films

3.1. The sponsored post-war documentary film

The most widely studied and celebrated sponsored documentary

films were those produced in the 1930s by the British

Documentary Movement, pioneered by Humphrey Jennings. After

the Second War World and with the disbanding of the MOI, the

sponsored film industry flourished amid a booming economy and

commercial enterprise encouraged under the Conservative

government (1951-1964). Although post-war sponsored films have

been afforded little scholarly attention, they are interesting

in that they “provide insights into the motives of sponsoring

24

institutions by revealing the views which they wanted the

public of the day to hold” (Hughes, 1976, p.64). Russell

(2003, BFI Screenonline) calls for a reassessment of

industrial and corporate films as they reveal much about the

relationship between film and the wider economic climate. He

argues that the sponsored nature of the films is interesting

as institutions were willing to embrace the documentary film

in Britain in “distinct ways” (no pagination). Production of

industrial and sponsored films diminished in the 1970s and

1980s, due to de-industrialisation and an economic downturn,

with companies who produced sponsored films, such as World Wide

Pictures (UK), venturing into corporate training videos.

The building of modernist city centres in the 1950s and 1960s

gave those construction companies involved an ideal

opportunity to sponsor films as a showcase for their projects.

Bowater (Building Boards Division) sponsored Phoenix City (1958)

partly as an opportunity to demonstrate the quality of their

materials used in the building of Coventry City Centre. Ray

Townsend, the current chair of World Wide Pictures (UK), the

company which produced Phoenix City, recalls how sponsors of

industrial films were not viewed as clients (as is the case

today). This meant that conditions were “ripe for filmmakers

to fund themselves through big corporations whilst retaining

some freedom” (Townsend, 2010, no pagination). The company,

established in 1944, originally produced films for the MOI and

Crown Film Unit. After 1942 World Wide Pictures (UK) continued as

the largest independent company to produce sponsored

documentaries. Townsend argues there was integrity to the

‘sales’ pictures of the 1950s as “back then the films were

25

genuine sponsored films…you made films about all sorts of

subjects” (2010, online). Russell (2003, BFI Screenonline)

argues the quality of many post-war sponsored documentaries is

partly due to the inheritance of “craftsmanship” from the

earlier, established documentary movement “while bringing to

it postwar sensibilities alien to the earlier films”, “an

unmistakable love of….cinema” and “a profound lack of

cynicism” (no pagination). This is reflected in the ‘talent’

used for such films; the director of Phoenix City, Graham

Wallace, directed four post-war documentary shorts, including

Town Meeting of the World (1946) for the Crown Film Unit. The

quality of these films is also reflected in contemporary

reviews; The Film User (1958) praises Phoenix City as “a well-made

and effective film for the specialist audience” (p.341).

John Laing and Sons (producers of The Bull Ring Shopping Centre,

1965), one of the biggest engineering firms of the twentieth

century, demonstrated the willingness of industrial companies

in using film to document their work and advertise

construction projects to potential clients and the wider

public. Sir John Laing realised the potential of film,

eventually setting up the Laing Film Unit to produce films

‘in-house’ (Stewart, 2002 BFI online). The Bull Ring Shopping Centre

was part of a wider campaign promoting the Bull Ring

instigated by the Laing Development Company. Laing’s marketing

piece in the Birmingham Mail (1965) referred to the Bull Ring as

“one of the most advanced shopping areas in the world” (in

Adams, 2011, p.251), while promotional leaflets were produced

to market the centre emphasising the same key features as the

film, including “complete shopping comfort in an air-

conditioned atmosphere” (Laing Development Company, 1964; in

26

Adams, 2011, p.252). It is important therefore, as with A City

Reborn, to consider the film part of a wider promotional

campaign where audiences could receive the same message

through a range of media.

Both Phoenix City and The Bull Ring Shopping Centre utilise the

expository documentary mode (as outlined in Nichols, 2001),

common in MOI propaganda films and newsreels, with an

authoritative ‘Voice of God’ narration and direct, persuasive

commentary anchoring a montage of images. The rhetoric in both

films reflects the commentaries of war propaganda, with

persuasive descriptions such as “smashing” and “magnificent”

delivered by an upbeat, authoritative, male commentator; for

example, The Bull Ring Shopping Centre uses the recognisable voice of

BBC newsreader Richard Baker. Short interviews with planners

are a common feature, allowing the architect or designer to

explain their constructions in an accessible manner.

The first section of Phoenix City addresses a wider audience,

with voice-over commentary explaining how Coventry is

changing, with imagery of plans and the newly constructed

Precincts, with city architect Arthur Ling interviewed to

discuss the concept of traffic-free shopping. The second part

of the documentary then addresses the specialist audience,

potential future clients, with discussion of techniques and

materials used to create the new city.

The Bull Ring Shopping Centre begins with a brief history of the Bull

Ring area, then focuses on the development of the shopping

centre, promoting a new indoor, American mall, style of

shopping with a wide range of amenities. An interview with one

27

of the designers is used to explain key features such as

building on six levels. Although created for potential

clients, Stewart (2002 BFI Online) notes that this film had a

cinema release, screened before the feature film as part of

the government’s requirement for a quota of British films.

3.2. Newsreels and cine-magazines during the 1950s and 1960s

3.2.1. Newsreels

Newsreels began in Britain in 1910 as a collection of selected

news items on a single reel, “released at regular intervals”

in cinemas throughout the country (Hiley & McKernan, 2001,

p.187). The industry was a global operation, with Fox

Movietone supplying the largest percentage of global news. At

newsreels peak in 1950, when cinema attendances were at their

zenith, Movietone newsreels were screened to 8 per cent of the

world’s population (Althaus, 2010). The British market was

dominated by five subsidiaries: Pathé (1910-1970), British

Movietone (1929-1979), Gaumont-British (1910-1959), Universal

(1930-1959) and Paramount (1931-1951) (Althaus, 2010).

Pronay (1976) describes newsreels as “a medium for the man-in-

the-mass, in the warm, communal darkness of the auditorium”

(p.111), able to reach working class audiences and sections of

the population who could not read. Althaus (2010) asserts that

newsreels were intended primarily to entertain audiences who

went to the cinema for diversion and may not have an interest

in current affairs. It was this reception context that heavily

influenced the conventions and format of the newsreel. They

28

were primarily produced as entertainment and consisted of an

authoritative voice-over commentary from an unseen narrator,

with a “simple” and “direct” style (Hilley, 1996, p.62) over a

montage of images. They regularly used stock or library

footage and a continuous music track, often using pre-recorded

library music. The commentaries used a direct mode of address,

“our”, “your”, and so on, allowing the audience to engage with

the presentation and digest its information easily (Enticknap,

1999). This ‘digestible’ format was evident in the running

time; each reel lasted around ten minutes and each item two to

three minutes.

Newsreels were “more of a repeating medium than a reporting

medium”(Althaus, 2010, p.200) as they never intended to

‘break’ news, instead reporting news events that had already

taken place. This was a consequence of television’s ability to

provide breaking news and cinema exhibition practices.

Newsreels were released twice weekly, screened in ‘first-run’

theatres for less than a week, then sent out to second-run

theatres, circulating overall for about a month in cinemas

(Althaus, 2010). As newsreels were screened after events had

taken place, newsreel producers were “dependent on their

audience already being aware of the story to which their

images referred” (Taylor, 2002, p.68 in Althaus, 2010, p.200).

Accordingly, newsreel companies selected stories that had

‘longevity’, such as Royal engagements. The British Movietone

newsreel, Brum Goes Under (1964) is typical of the format; the

opening of the Bull Ring shopping centre is presented in a

short, one minute, news item, with an up-beat, non-critical

commentary praising the merits of the new centre.

29

Contemporary reports suggest that newsreels were “superior” in

quality to news broadcast on television, with audiences

preferring to digest news at the cinema (Cummins, 1957,

p.253). However, in terms of style and format, television news

mimicked the newsreel format, as television news bulletins

also consist of a package of short, edited stories, with news

values and hierarchy of items dictated by the editors

(McKernan, 1993). Neither were newsreels in direct competition

with newspapers, serving instead as an “illustrated

supplement” (Taylor, 2002, in Althaus, 2010, p.200).

Newspapers are also consumed differently as the reader decides

what to read and in what order, whereas in newsreels the

editor makes those choices (Pronay, 1979).

The 1947 the Arts Enquiry noted that cinema managers did not want

politics on the big screen, therefore “the main aim of the

newsreel directorate is therefore to be as complaisant as

possible, to be inoffensive by rule, and when forced by

exceptional circumstances to deal with social and political

issues, to play it safe” (p.140). Newsreels did not operate

under the same regulatory constraints as films as they were

“accepted as part of the press rather than the film

[industry]” (Pronay, 1976. p.113), allowing producers to self-

regulate. The extent to which newsreels were politically

biased is debatable. Vick (2013) argues that Pathé were

centre-left while Movietone was centre-right. Aldgate claims

newsreel companies were “permeated by ways of seeing and

thinking which belong[ed] to the dominant structures of power

which supported the dominant political census of the day” (in

Vick, 2013, p.76). There was no agreed consensus among

newsreel crews as to the political allegiances of their

30

companies. Cameraman and eventual head of production of Rank’s

Look at Life Series, Ted Candy (1987), considered all newsreels to

have a Conservative bias, while cameraman Norman Fisher (1989)

felt there was no political bias, although he acknowledged

that Movietone was part owned by the Daily Mail, which is where

the Conservative influence may possibly lie.

The longevity of newsreels was due to their entertaining

nature, audience familiarity with the format and ability to

adapt to cine-magazines in the wake of television’s increased

popularity. British Movietone was the last newsreel on the

cinema circuit, releasing one colour reel per week and ceasing

production in May 1979. At this time British Movietone were

supplying independent cinemas rather than exhibiting on the

major circuit (Tunwell, 1963). Cameraman Norman Fisher (1989)

recalls exhibitors no longer wanted newsreels due to

competition from television news. Colour newsreels were not

commercially successful; companies producing colour newsreels

were losing money (Turnwell, 1963) and, during the 1960s and

1970s, commercial films and shorts were covering the costs of

the weekly newsreel (Fisher, 1989).

3.2.2. Cine-magazines and Gaumont’s ‘Look at Life’ series

Newsreels adapted slightly in form after World War Two; Pathé

Pictorial produced magazine-style bulletins in colour while

Gaumont continued as a cine-magazine (Pronay, 1976). Cine-

magazines were produced and distributed by the same companies

as newsreels and can be defined as an off-shoot of the

newsreel, with less emphasis on topicality and time-scales and

31

a focus on more general topics. Newsreel cameraman, Alf

Turnwell (1963), stressed that Gaumont’s Look at Life series was

not a newsreel and Pathé’s news output in the 1960s was not

‘hard’ news but magazine stories. The cine-magazine,

therefore, combined “the industrial advantages of the newsreel

with the cultural status of documentaries” (Enticknap, 1999,

p.97). Rank announced its change in newsreel policy in July

1958, due to the increasing popularity of television news,

with The Times newspaper reporting “it will now emphasise human

interest stories rather than the breathless urgency with

scoops being left to the BBC and ITA (Independent Television

Authority)” (The Times, 1958; in Ballantyne, 1993, p.20). In

November 1958, Rank announced its intention to produce a cine-

magazine in colour to “have a more lasting impact” (The Times,

1958; in Ballantyne, 1993, p.20).

The Look at Life series (March 1959 – April 1969) was one of the

first major projects produced by the Special Features division

of the Rank Organisation and screened in their Odeon and

Gaumont cinemas (BUFVC). It was produced as a weekly colour

cine-magazine, with commentary by E.V.H. Emmett, a popular

voice already recognisable to audiences from his commentaries

at Gaumont-British from 1930-1945 (Enticknap, 1999). Look at Life

focused on differing aspects of British life such as leisure,

industry, and fashion. These cine-magazines were slightly

longer in length than newsreel items, with an average running

time of ten minutes, screened in cinemas between the main

features. The style mimicked the newsreel, with voice-over

commentary presenting information over a montage of images.

Rebirth of a City (1960) and Down Town (1965) were part of the Look at

Life series, designed to show the public how city centres were

32

changing, presenting a new style of shopping centre to the

British public in colour. Rebirth of a City portrays the ‘new’

Coventry to the wider public with images of a young female

resident, ‘Evelyn’, experiencing the new shops, cafes and

hotels of the city centre. Down Town discusses new shopping

centres around the country, including Coventry, Birmingham,

and Manchester. Images of Rotterdam’s new precincts are used

to demonstrate how new centres were built in the European

style. The commentary uses a direct mode of address

throughout, urging people to consider the legacy of these new

centres for future generations.

3.3. Representations of the ‘future city’ and post-war shopping centres

3.3.1. Context: the post-war economy and construction of new shopping centres: The

private and public city.

The end of rationing in 1954 and economic boom of the mid-

1950s led Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (1957-1963) to

declare “most of our people have never had it so good” (1957).

Disposable income in Britain increased by 30 per cent in the

1950s and 22 per cent in the 1960s (Obelkevic, 1994, p.140),

with shoppers demanding an increased selection of good and

shops in their city centres. Contemporary writers observed

that Coventry in the mid-1960s was a “notable prosperous area”

with a “young and expanding population” (Lewison & Bilingham,

1966). Birmingham also prospered during the same period, with

people in paid employment during the mid-1960s above the

national average (Cherry, 1994). This new affluence led to a

consumer spending boom and national and local government had

33

to provide shopping facilities to accommodate this buoyant

economy.

There was an accelerated building programme of city centres

during the 1950s, leading to a “shift from post-war

reconstruction to talk of modernising Britain and keeping up

to date with America” (Bullock, 2002, p.245). A change in

power to a Conservative Government in 1951 led to a “major

shift in values” (Bullock, 2002.p.277) from the public, civic

notion of reconstruction to private enterprise. Mandler (1999)

refers to the 1950s and 1960s as an era where commercial

forces dominated, revealing “the modernity not of the expert

but of the voter, the consumer, the worker…where consumer

democracy and economic modernisation…were the masters”

(p.209). The shopping centre building boom of the mid 1950s is

attributed to increasing private investment, a focus on

commercial building, rising personal wealth and a need to deal

with burgeoning traffic congestion (Bennison & Davies, 1980).

It is amidst this political and economic climate that the

Precincts in Coventry and the Bull Ring shopping centre were

constructed, with the Bull Ring completed in 1964 and

emblematic of the “fundamentally different way” British cities

were built (Bullock, 2002, p.278). Under Conservative rule,

British cities were increasingly privatised spaces (Todd,

2013). During the 1950s, however, Coventry remained a Labour

council, hence the rebuilding of the centre was a continuation

of the plans presented in A City Reborn, albeit with private as

well as public investment. Indeed, the Coventry Corporation

described the city centre as “a mixture of public and private

buildings” (1959, p.12).

34

Coventry and Birmingham became iconic during the 1950s and

1960s for their modernist planning and architecture, thus they

are the focus, alongside Manchester, in the cine-magazine Down

Town, showcasing the new future city to British cinema-goers.

Adams (2011) defines this period as one where modernist

buildings and ideologies combined “to become part of the

language and discourse of reconstruction” after the Second

World War (p.236). Kynaston (2013) defines the modernist

zeitgeist from 1957 as a desire to “dump the past, get up to date

and embrace a gleaming, functional, progressive future”

(p.46). Accordingly, he defines 1958 was the year modernism

entered the mainstream. Architects of the era were inspired by

the modernist style pioneered by Le Corbusier, exemplified by

simplicity and functionally, where new towns and cities were

planned in horizontal and vertical grids, in landscaped

surroundings. This new ethos of modernism is reflected in the

language and imagery used in the selected films; the voice-

over in The Bull Ring Shopping Centre states the centre is “symbolic

of the new Birmingham”, while Birmingham is presented in Brum

Goes Under (1964) as a template for the future city. Its

commentary describes the Bull Ring as “setting the pace for

the rest of the country. London and other cities are expected

to follow her example with similar centres” - the tone is

upbeat, optimistic and uncritical, ending with “here’s to its

success”. This sense of rebirth and renewal is embedded in the

general rhetoric of the time, as pamphlet ‘A New Look at

Birmingham’ (1961) exclaimed: “Birmingham today is undergoing

a transformation which will startle and doubtless delight…the

city is undergoing a stupendous rebirth” (in Parker & Long,

2004, p.37).

35

The commentary in Phoenix City refers to a “new Coventry” that

“rises up from the ashes and ruins of the old, a city fit for

the twentieth-century”, while Michael Ingrams’s commentary in

Down Town declares that “new cities and shopping centres are

changing the way of life for millions”. This echoes

contemporary reviewers of the Coventry Precincts; Morton

(1949) proclaimed that “nothing like the Precinct has ever

been contemplated by an English City…The Precinct definitely

belongs to the same world as New York, Stockholm, Johannesburg

and Miami!” (p.35). Adams (2013) confirms that the mood was

one of excitement in Coventry, with the Precincts viewed as “a

place of adventure, excitement and newness” (no pagination).

For Birmingham, it was evident that planners and architects

favoured an American-style centre. Sutcliffe (1970) noted that

Birmingham’s appeal “lay in its almost transatlantic

modernity” describing the city as “one of the most visually

dynamic and exciting cities in Britain, if not in Europe” (in

Kennedy, 2004, p.1). This rhetoric is echoed in Bull Ring Shopping

Centre as the commentary states “A team…studied shopping centres

abroad, especially in Canada and the USA”.

The intention to create a ‘Continental culture’ through new

shopping centres is evident in descriptions of Birmingham and

Coventry at the time and in the selected films. Garderner-

Medwin (1955) described Coventry city centre as taking on “the

thronging promenade character of the Rotterdam centre…Coventry

citizens will begin to imitate the more sociable habits of the

Continent” (p.458). European references are made in The Bull Ring

Shopping Centre, as Italian café, Gino’s, is described as “the

café with the continental touch” with the terrace described as

having a “Continental style”. References to a “spacious

36

piazza” show how the Bull Ring attempted to recreate a

European atmosphere in the Midlands, demonstrating the

aspirations of planners, even if the reality did not live up

to this ideal. Shots of customers enjoying the café, and

discussion of the controlled heating and air conditioning to

create “eternal spring”, presents the European experience as

idyllic, under the roof of an American-style mall.

The notion that the “planners’ eye view” is reflective of a

masculine, capitalist view of the city is discussed by Hubbard

et al (2010) who draw on Foucault and Lefebvre, arguing those

who design spaces “have a particular way of seeing – from on

high and afar”, while for Foucault, ordered spaces, as

exemplified in maps and plans are ‘exercises in

power/knowledge” (p.385). This notion of seeing ‘from high and

afar’ is evident in the selected films. Promotional films and

cine-magazines rely heavily on aerial views, presenting a

clean, ordered city, with planners and architects positioned

in offices, surrounded by their plans, emphasising ‘their’

view of the city. In Phoenix City, City Architect Arthur ling

(1955-1964) reinforces the idea of ‘linked zones’ where

commerce would be separate from, but linked to, the historic

cathedral area. Ling is presented in Phoenix City as the great

planner, surrounded by maps and plans, which he presents to

the interviewer (fig.2).

37

Figure 2 Phoenix City Figure 3 Rebirth

of a City

The city is presented as his ‘vision’ where he explains to the

viewer what a shopping precinct is and its purpose. Rebirth of a

City depicts town clerk Arthur Barrett and Arthur Ling,

surveying their plans for the city (fig.3). The commentary

reinforces the patriarchal, ‘great man’ perspective, asserting

that “behind their (cities) growth are determined men”. A shot

of the model of the city then dissolves into an aerial shot of

the completed market car park, demonstrating how the planner’s

vision becomes reality. Several shots in Down Town and Phoenix

City are at ‘street level’, demonstrating the effectiveness of

the planner’s vision, as shoppers use the spaces for the

purpose intended. The Bull Ring Shopping Centre features an interview

with the designer, yet is presented in a humorous, accessible

manner in comparison to the serious style adopted in Phoenix

City. Stewart (2002, BFI online) notes this banter is unusual

38

for Laing films. The designer is given over five minutes of

airtime adopting the authoritative stance of standing, in a

suit, surrounded by his designs. It is this section that is

clearly aimed at an audience of potential clients as the focus

is on how design issues, such as planning on six levels, were

overcome. The lone planner, surrounded by his plans and vision

of the city is in marked contrast to the planner in A City Reborn,

who is part of a democratic discussion and where we experience

the city through the ‘ordinary’ couple, wandering the streets,

while local people, not just planners, discuss the future

direction of the city.

3.3.2. Shopping for ‘leisure and pleasure’

The affluent period of the 1950s and 1960s resulted in high

employment and a reduction in working hours. By the end of

1961, a 44-hour working week was the norm in Coventry

(Ichihashi, 1994), while in the same year, incomes in

Birmingham were 13 per cent above the national average

(Sutcliffe & Smith, 1974). Burns (1959) attributed shorter

working hours to the increase in leisure, emphasising the

rhetoric that in the post-war city, consumption and leisure

are intertwined. Shopping as primarily a leisure activity,

rather than necessity, is reflected in discourse of the

period, “A shopping centre is a place where people like to

wander about…to enjoy the variety on display…It is one of the

few occasions where she [the female shopper] can mix with

other people” (Burns, 1958, p.73). Shopping for enjoyment and

the centre as a place for relaxation and leisure is

highlighted by Burns (1958) who describes it as a “place where

people can meet…where they can stroll about looking in shop

39

windows for the sheer pleasure of it…where people can feel

free to indulge in the luxury of just looking” (pp.94-95).

Rebirth of a City is reflective of these consumption practices

encouraged by post-war planners; the camera gives a view at

street level, showing the use of arcades to provide a

pleasurable experience with the voice over emphasising the

comfort of shopping “without getting wet” (fig.4). Miles

(2010) argues that in a capitalist consumer-driven society,

shopping is experienced as “freedom” with the “unfulfilled

promise of happiness and fulfillment”, whereby “shopping is

how we satisfy our need to socialise”(p.4). Shopping as a

pleasurable experience, is presented throughout The Bull Ring

Shopping Centre and is described in the commentary as a “gay

adventure”. The importance of browsing and window shopping is

emphasised by shots of (mainly) female shoppers gazing through

shop windows (fig.5). The voice-over commentary promotes the

benefits of the mall experience, interlinking modernity and

consumption: “Bright inviting shops everywhere, flooded with

light and colour, modern as the hour”.

40

Figure 4

Figure 5

A centre appealing to an affluent consumer in a booming

economy is apparent in the language used to entice the public

in The Bull Ring Shopping Centre: “Never before has such a galaxy of

merchandise been gathered together under one roof in a

permanent shopping centre”. Rebirth of a City depicts ‘Evelyn’

casually strolling around Coventry’s Precincts, enjoying

window-shopping and the cafes and restaurants of Coventry,

demonstrating a leisurely approach to the shopping experience.

The Bull Ring Shopping Centre endorses the pub as another feature of

the complex, designed not for the traditional male customer

but as a pleasant, relaxing space for young couples, reflected

in the mid-shots used of couples chatting and raising a glass.

The film promotes dancehalls, cafes and restaurants as

offering leisure opportunities after the shops have closed,

41

clearly addressing an affluent consumer with time and money to

spare.

Down Town compares Coventry with Rotterdam, where leisure and

shopping are integral to the design of the city. Shots of

exotic birds in cages in Rotterdam’s precincts are used to

show how the new shopping centre is full of pleasurable

distractions. This compares to similar images of tropical

birds in cages, loaned by Dudley Zoo, in The Bull Ring Shopping

Centre, representing the shopping experience as a ‘paradise’.

The idea of the city centre as a place to relax is represented

clearly in Down Town, demonstrating Ling’s vision of a city made

up of smaller spaces with green areas to relax, rather than

high rises envisioned by the previous City Architect, Donald

Gibson. Aerial shots of people relaxing in Coventry’s Precincts

in Rebirth of a City reinforce the discourse of the time, where the

civic idea of the shared city as a space to relax are linked

with consumption, thus combining immediate post-war ideas of

the civic city with the rhetoric of later, 1950s Conservative-

led, commercial ideas of the city.

Coventry as a centre for remembrance, a civic as well as a

commercial space, is evident in Rebirth of a City and Phoenix City’s

focus on civic art and the memory of the Blitz. Here, public

art and private building intermingle. Left wing poet and

former director of Herbert Art Gallery, John Hewitt, advised

Arthur Ling in the vision for municipal art; for Hewitt “ a

harmonious and visually attractive townscape would foster a

genuine sense of citizenship, exemplified by a common respect

for and appreciation of the first fruits of this new civic /

public art form” (Smith, 2006, p.21). The mosaics featured in

42

Coventry City centre are presented in Down Town and Rebirth of a

City as important features. In Rebirth of a City ‘Evelyn’ stops to

observe and enjoy the new municipal art on display (fig.6).

Similarly, in Down Town, civic art is used to demonstrate how

‘pleasant’ the new Precincts are, with the voice-over

commentary stating, “the art of sculpture and architecture

have married to create this very pleasant place; a new

dimension in community living”. Shapely (2012) maintains that

modern public art and architecture was a reflection of civic

pride but also important for place promotion; “the two were

inseparable” (p.314). Indeed, the films feature art as both a

selling point to attract people to the City of Coventry and to

foster a sense of pride.

Figure 6

Miles (2010) argues that “in the past, civic pride was most

readily expressed by the political and the private…Consumption

spaces used to be about as far away from civic pride as you

can get” (p.4) However, the rhetoric of the time, including

this analysis of selected films, reveals that private

investors and planners of modernist shopping centres did have

civic ideals. Laing viewed the Bull Ring as integral to

Birmingham as whole, interconnected to the rest of the city

43

centre, with it being a “prominent feature of Birmingham’s

skyline” (in Shapely, 2012, p.321). For Shapely (2012) the

making of post-war centres “gave structure to the expressions

of civic pride” reinforced by Royal approval and ceremonial

openings (p.321). Indeed, Laing end The Bull Ring Shopping Centre

with the words of the Duke of Edinburgh: “It seems to me there

can be nothing wrong with the virility of civic government if

it can bring about a development such as this”.

Down Town concludes with a series of questions about the post-

war rebuilding of cities, urging a sense of civic pride and

calling for the public to think about the city that remains

for future generations: Has the great adventure of our times so bravely begun by Rotterdam and Coventry creating the frame for a new life?Has it been sidetracked? Its purposes blurred? There’s only one criterion – whether we can stand in our new centres and honestly say this is uniquely my city and a damn fine place to be – good, cheap shopping? Yes, but far more important; here we feel its great to be alive. Cities built for people, for us, for our children. The inheritance should be a precious one.

Images of children playing in the fountain in Coventry city

centre reinforce the message that the modernisation of cities

must consider the needs of future generations, signified

visually with children in the foreground on a carousel. The

critical and optimistic tone of the commentary is both a plea

to planners and authorities and reflects the concerns of

people, young and old, towards these centres. The cine-

magazine would largely be seen by a younger and middle-aged

cinema audience, therefore it speaks to youth by asking them

to consider future generations, not just the here and now,

44

while reassuring older audiences that the rapid pace of

change, although startling, is for the better.

Miles (2010) argues that cities “intensify the superficial

sense that social engagement is possible in a world of

shopping”(p.18). For representations of the Bull Ring, social

engagement is built into the whole shopping experience, as The

Bull Ring Shopping Centre ends with a focus on leisure and

interaction, as couples are depicted in its public houses and

Continental style restaurants. In Phoenix City and Rebirth of a City,

leisure is also catered for through civic art and open spaces,

intertwining notions of the civic and ‘private’ city. This

representation of municipal art contrasts to the ‘diversions’

depicted in The Bull Ring Shopping Centre, when diversion is

interlinked with consumption. The legacy of the Blitz is one

that was inevitably reflected in reconstruction films of

Coventry, with municipal art a key feature of remembrance,

whereas Birmingham did not suffer bomb damage on as large a

scale as Coventry.

3.3.3. Relationships with the past: contrasts between the old and new city

The Bull Ring Shopping Centre, Down Town and Brum Goes Under address

the legacy of the ‘old’ city as a contrast to the ‘new’.

Discussions of the Bull Ring are couched in its history, with

the new centre presented as a continuation of its heritage as

a bustling centre of trade. Down Town and The Bull Ring Shopping

Centre depict a series of paintings of the Bull Ring,

demonstrating its 1,000 year history, which are juxtaposed

with images of the new Bull Ring centre. This signification of

45

the past and contrasts of old and new are echoed in the

commentary in The Bull Ring Shopping Centre: “For centuries the

pattern of community showed little change”. Brum Goes Under

begins with aerial shots of the Bull Ring under construction,

then cuts to the Bull Ring in operation, with the commentary

emphasising the area’s history; “The Bull Ring has been

Birmingham’s traditional marketplace for centuries” over

images of brand new escalators and walkways. The fluidity of

images of the old and new city, with recognition of the

importance of tradition, suggests a natural progression from

the old to new.

Linking the old and the new city is evident in Phoenix City,

where Arthur Ling explains how zoning is used to bring old and

new elements of Coventry city centre together. The ‘civic’

city is separate yet linked to commercial spaces, as

demonstrated by Arthur Ling on his city plans. The film’s

commentary further explains and praises Ling’s plans; “Getting

the best of old and new. That’s the challenge facing the

architects of Coventry”. Rebirth of a City ends with a shot of

Trinity Church in Coventry looming in the foreground, with the

reconstructed Broadgate in the background, marrying the old

and the new city and demonstrating the realisation of these

linked ‘zones’. The notion that Coventry was still undergoing

reconstruction, that the project was not yet finished, is

reflected in the language used in Rebirth of a City: “Coventry is

still rising from the ashes”, anchoring images of rebuilding

and bulldozers, depicting the piecemeal nature of post-war

rebuilding.

46

Narrator Michael Ingrams adopts a direct mode of address and

recognises the existence of criticism when discussing the

‘new’ city at the beginning of Down Town. He asks the audience,

“what kind of cities are our children going to inherit from

us? For better or worse, they’re taking shape and strange

shapes in our midst”. This ‘shock of the new’ is evidenced in

the voice-over that describes new modernist architecture as

‘strange’. The voice-over commentary anchors an image of

Birmingham City Centre, with a children’s carousel in the

foreground and the Rotunda and Bull Ring in the background,

signifying a city for the future generation. The transition

from old to new is signified with the use of a wipe cut; a

bulldozed area wipes to reveal the new shopping centre

(fig.7).

Figure 7

The old ‘character’ of the Bull Ring markets is discussed in

the both The Bull Ring Shopping Centre and Down Town. The commentary

in Down Town is mildly critical of what may have been lost in

new centres, “the human touch”. However the commentary states,

“the architects have striven to retain something of the old

character of the Bull Ring Outdoor market”. The Bull Ring Shopping

Centre uses sound to demonstrate the atmosphere of the old, as

47

dubbed voices of market traders and background noise of

traders and shoppers is used to evoke what the commentator

refers to as “the spirit of warmth and vitality”. Mid shots

and close ups of traders and shoppers haggling and discussing

wares gives the feel of the old market, imagery produced to

reassure older audiences that the modern centre will keep the

ethos of the old Bull Ring market, alluded to with historical

images at the start of the film.

The quieter, more leisurely city is contrasted with notions of

the ‘old’ city in The Bull Ring Shopping Centre. Images of Oxford

Street in London are used to show how outdoor shopping is a

noisy, unsafe and unpleasant experience. The camera is placed

at street-level with handheld shots and quick edits to portray

an unpleasant experience (fig.8). The voice-over anchors the

image as a way to promote mall shopping by reassuring the

spectator that in the new city there would be “none of this

sort of thing – struggling to reach your favourite shop

through jostling street crowds until you don’t know whether

you’re coming or going”.

Figure 8

48

Crash zooms into busy traffic and a mother trying to look

after her son crossing the road seek to make the audience feel

disorientated and view the old city as unsafe for children.

Images of the spacious and uncrowded Bull Ring with people

walking at a leisurely pace are used to contrast the ‘old’

style of shopping with the new. The camera is static and

soothing music is used in conjunction with the commentary to

create a calm atmosphere: “What a difference! No risky street

crossings…no weather problems…no traffic, no noise, no dust,

no fumes”. Conversely, Down Town uses of a montage of shots of

Norwich to juxtapose the new clean, modern city with the old.

These images are deployed in conjunction with the commentary

to critique what has been lost with new modernist centres: “In

the old, haphazard city centres there’s always surprise,

adventure….round every corner a different sight, a different

experience”.

The selected films demonstrate how Coventry and Birmingham

were centrepieces for a new, modernist style of shopping

centre, setting the pace for the rest of Britain to follow.

They reflect a realisation of post-war planning, albeit within

a new environment of commercialism and private enterprise. The

attention afforded to an ‘old’ city, like Norwich, shows that

there was a clear attempt to demonstrate how these new centres

link and consider the heritage of the old city, whilst

acknowledging that the bomb damaged city gave planners the

opportunity to build anew, realising plans presented at the

end of World War Two. The legacy of these centres is evident

in the commentaries, with Down Town mildly critical and

uncertain about how these centres will be remembered by future

generations, whereas The Bull Ring Shopping Centre reflected the

49

aspirations of Laing to create a bold city of the future, one

that ‘solves’ the problems of old, even if the reality was

quite different. The Bull Ring Centre was not quite as

successful as the film’s namesake claims. A report from an ATV

Midlands News bulletin (1965) reveals many of the shops were

unlet, with high rents discouraging retailers from opening

units.

Despite the optimistic rhetoric espoused in the selected

films, critiques of new modernism are evident in Down Town. The

commentary describes modernist shopping centres as having a

“sad sameness”, anchoring shots of post-war rebuilding in

Manchester. Dissenting views were noted by commentators at the

time as Ginsburg (1969), in the Architectural Review, called the

Precincts “correct, seemly, yet dull” (in Richardson, 1972,

p.297). The ‘blandness’ of the postmodern city centre, often

a criticism levelled at centres today, with chain stores

dominating, is also evident here as the commentary in Down Town

states that social amenities are “a long way second to the

commercial interests of the traders, and many of them

appearing, even if they’re not to be, one vast, multiple

store”. Prince Charles later publicly critiqued the Bull Ring,

condemning it as having “no charm, no human scale, no

character except arrogance” (in Townsend, 2010, no

pagination). Historian Todd (2013) uses reflective oral

testimony of local people in Coventry to ascertain responses

to the rebuilt centre, noting there was a pride in

reconstruction with some citizens stating “Broadgate was

beautiful” (no pagination). Adams (2011) uses oral testimony

to recount positive reactions the Bull Ring, with one

respondent describing the centre as creating a feeling of

50

“astonishment and wonder” (p.253). Overall though, both Todd

(2013) and Adams (2011) discovered there was a mixed reaction

to new modernist developments, demonstrating “the distance

that existed between the planners’ visions and reality as

experienced by city centre users” (Adams, 2011, p.255).

3.3.4. Representing differing cross-sections of the population

Hubbard et al (2010), in their oral history project of memories

of reconstruction in Coventry, reported that some older

respondents did not approve of the new city centre, having

felt that “much of the variety of pre-war Coventry had been

lost as smaller retailers were displaced from the precincts by

larger department stores and national multiples” (p.391). This

is echoed in Down Town as the commentator notes how ”many of

the old and middle-aged yearn for the narrow, smelly,

comfortable streets of pre-war Rotterdam”, immediately

implying they were wrong, then raises the questions “Are they

plain stupid? Or in some way have the planners and architects

failed them?” Negative views of older citizens are also

addressed and acknowledged in Phoenix City as the commentator

states, “what horrible, ugly boxes, declare a few of the older

citizens who are homesick for the overcrowded, medieval city

they knew before the war”. Coventry had a young and

cosmopolitan population in the late 1940s and 1950s, attracted

by work in thriving industries and relatively higher wages

(Ichihashi, 1994). New social groups such as the teenager and

the affluent working class were “defined by their consumption”

(Slater, 1997, p.12). The notion that this is a city for the

young, countering the negative views of older citizens, is

51

reflected in Phoenix City: “But the majority, thinking of their

children and the future will say “it’s smashing, for this is

their home where they live and world and they take an owner’s

pride in the plans for redevelopment.” As a promotional piece,

Phoenix City is obviously uncritical, whereas Down Town aims to

present a more balanced view, less dismissive of the views of

older citizens.

The focus on ‘Evelyn’ in Rebirth of a City allows the audience to

view the city at ‘street level’. Close ups of her in the

Precinct reinforce the notion that this is a city for the

young, built for the needs of a female consumer (fig.9).

Images of female shoppers dominate in The Bull Ring Shopping Centre,

with shots of women browsing hats in upmarket department

stores and window shopping. Brum Goes Under describes the Bull

Ring as a ‘housewives paradise” with “no streets to cross, no

traffic to negotiate”. The focus on the female consumer was

echoed in the local press, with a headline in the Birmingham Post

describing the Bull Ring as “a woman’s world”, declaring “for

the average woman shopper it [The Bull Ring] will provide a

real fillip - the kind of spree that, until now, only a day in

London could afford her," (Birmingham Post, 1963; in Beattie,

1999).

52

Figure 9

Shopping malls are highly constructed and controlled

environments, where behavior is regulated. The Bull Ring Shopping

Centre promotes the indoor mall as a safe area, featuring a

loudspeaker system and a narrative with a lost and found

child, ‘Elsie’, as a way of presenting this controlled

environment as one of safety, in contrast to the unsafe

street. Elise is found quickly with the voice-over offering

reassurance for mothers: “Not to worry Mum -no hiding place

for little Elsie”. A focus on ease and safety is reflected in

the films and highly reflective of architects’ plans.

Consideration of mothers and babies is given where ‘changes in

level will be overcome by ramps which will offer no difficulty

to the mother with her pram” (Hubbard et al, 2010, p.319).

Local female respondents in the study conducted by Hubbard et al

(2010) recalled the ease of shopping in these new precincts.

However, this is later contested when the failures of the

centres were recognised, with women complaining that it was

difficult to get prams onto upper levels and the subways in

Birmingham, lauded in The Bull Ring Shopping Centre as a ‘safe space’

became no-go areas and crime hotspots. For Hubbard (2006),

multi-level shopping centres and underpasses “further

underlies the dissonance between male planners’ conceptions of

the city and women’s use and occupation of the city” (p.115).

Two-level shopping in Coventry was criticised not long after

its completion (in Richardson, 1972), as it appeared planners

did not cater for buggies and prams to the degree that they

stated in the films. Indeed, in one shot of Phoenix City a mother

can be seen in shot struggling up the steps, an image that

53

undermines the narration espousing the virtues of this two-

level shopping.

The notion of planning for differing cross sections of the

population and reconciling different needs is reflected in

contemporary planning reports. Burns (1959) asks “for whom do

we plan?”, the housewife, the motorist or the shopkeeper?”

(p.71), concluding that, “all designs should…be primarily

based on the needs of the pedestrian shopper” (p.72). The

hierarchy of needs presented in the films reflects this

thinking; the pedestrian is placed at the forefront, with the

motorist considered in quick succession. Both Coventry and

Birmingham were key industrial cities for car production with

Coventry having “the highest percentage of car ownership per

head nationally, followed by Birmingham (Gunn, 2013, p.228).

The selected films were produced during a period where car use

for shopping trips was on the rise (Gunn, 2013), hence there

was a focus in all the films on new road structures, ease of

travelling to the centre by car and car parking facilities. In

Phoenix City, Arthur Ling discusses plans for the new ring road

while in Rebirth of a City ‘Evelyn’ admires the new roof-top car

park above Coventry market. Down Town provides a ‘passenger’

view of the Birmingham ring road, allowing the viewer to

experience how a motorist would experience new road structures

and the Bull Ring (fig.10). The commentary is positive,

describing the “problem” of getting into the Bull Ring as

“superbly solved”. Indeed, Gunn (2013) notes how the

reconstruction of Birmingham City centre in the 1950s and

1960s was “a prime example of the interaction of retail

expansion and mass motorisation”(p.234).

54

Figure 10

For Adams (2011), The Bull Ring Shopping Centre reflects modernist

“ideas of the coalescence between shopping and leisure, free

from the dangers of traffic” (p.248). The Bull Ring was

marketed in films and promotional leaflets as “the town centre

under one roof” (in Adams, 2011, p.252) while the public

relations department of the Coventry Corporation echoed the

importance of the car-free precinct; “with the precinct the

pedestrian is supreme” (1959, p.12). In Phoenix City, planner

Arthur Ling, strongly emphasises this view that city centres

should be for the pedestrian: “The main aim is to get the

motorcar out of the pedestrian’s hair. Traffic in the city

centre “has no business there”. The pedestrian shopper is

considered first by Arthur Ling, with the motorist addressed

as male: “the pedestrian shopper has quiet areas for shopping

and the motorist has his car parks from which he can get to

the shops”. Planner’s eye views of the city with long shots of

the Coventry Precincts are used in Phoenix City to demonstrate the

orderly, traffic-free, pedestrianised streets (fig.11).

55

Figure 11

Overall, the selected films represent the traffic-free

precincts and indoor shopping as spaces to primarily serve the

needs of the young, female, pedestrian shopper, although in

reality the planners failed this demographic with difficult-

to-navigate spaces and dark, unsafe areas. Indeed, Mandler

(1999) notes that the designers of the Bull Ring later

admitted they “betrayed a misplaced confidence in the ability

of traffic and humans to interact fruitfully” (p.225).

However, the films’ demonstrate that this was not what

planners envisaged for the city, that these spaces were

planned with the best intentions as the ‘ease’ with which the

shopper can access the centre and arrive safely is a key

feature of Down Town and The Bull Ring Shopping Centre.

56

Chapter 4 Conclusions, limitations, and suggestions for

further study

4.1. Conclusion

Close textual analysis of the selected films with key

considerations of social, production and reception contexts,

57

reveals the changing discourse in post-war Britain, from

reconstruction to modernisation and consumption. The films

reflect the changing political landscape, from 1945 plans

focused on social needs and a government that “felt it had the

tools to remodel society according to a collective plan”

(Mandler, 1999, p.227), to a commercially driven, yet civic-

minded, modernisation.

Analysis of the distribution practices of the MOI and

reception of A City Reborn reveals that the film was the most

popular element of a wider exhibition on post-war

reconstruction and is best understood within this context. A

City Reborn expresses the pressing concerns of the day, mainly

housing, with shopping centres a secondary consideration.

Consideration of the production and reception of the film

demonstrates how the MOI and local council used the film to

boost morale after the devastation caused by the Blitz and to

provoke discussion from local people about the rebuilding of

their city.

Later sponsored films and newsreels about the modernisation of

Coventry and Birmingham city centres reflect a change in

rhetoric, representing the city as a public, civic space

intertwined with the consumption practices of an affluent

population. The films demonstrate the realisations of the

plans exhibited in A City Reborn, albeit within the context of a

new Conservative government, a prospering economy and a new

wave of consumerism. The selected films offer an insight into

how the visions and ethos of planners and architects changed,

from the “people’s plan” in A City Reborn to the planner as the

‘great visionary’ in later sponsored films and cine-magazines.

58

Expressions of civic pride in modernisation and consumption

practices are evident in all the later films, with a belief

from filmmakers and the companies which sponsored films that

they were constructing a city of the future, changing the city

centre and shopping experience for the better. Phoenix City, Rebirth

of a City and Down Town demonstrate the importance of municipal art

and the legacy of the Blitz within Coventry’s new, modern city

centre, while The Bull Ring Shopping Centre and Brum Goes Under show

that the Bull Ring Centre offered a new, safe shopping

experience while attempting to maintain traditions of the old

Bull Ring market. Promotional films and newsreels emphasise

the importance of civic art and consider the historical legacy

of this new boom-town Britain, a Britain that sought to

emulate the shopping habits of Continental Europe and the USA.

The selected sponsored films and newsreels address an

affluent, younger population, reflecting the changing

demographics in thriving industrial cities as higher wages and

employment meant more leisure time and money to spend on

consumer goods. The rise in car ownership and increased use of

the car for shopping trips is addressed in the films’ emphasis

on roads and ease of access to the city centres. Modernisation

meant car-free centres, with pedestrianised streets and indoor

shopping, represented in the films by aerial and street-level

shots to demonstrate the ease of the new centres. For Stewart

(2002, BFI Online), the focus on the Bull Ring as the centre

of modernity in The Bull Ring Shopping Centre is due to the ‘real’

audience being “the captains of industry, town planners and

government officials who might stump up the cash for other

such grandiose civil engineering projects” (no pagination).

59

However, when viewed in context of other cine-magazines and

newsreels on the Bull Ring and Precincts in the 1950s and

1960s, local press reports and contemporary accounts, this

rhetoric reflects wider discourses of post-war consumption and

modernism. These films, therefore, reflect the zeitgeist,

offering the viewer insights into how modernisation, although

subsequently maligned by critics and the public alike as a

failure, was perceived and presented on screen.

4. 2. Limitations and suggestions for further study

Due to the small-scale of this dissertation, a focus on mainly

non-critical, promotional sources cannot tell the whole story

of how post-war city centres were fully represented. A larger

study would include representations of post-war moderisation

of city centres in the local press, television news and

political talk shows, where dissenting views were possibly

voiced and and key issues debated. Such research would allow

for comparisions between how representations converge or

contrast in different media forms.

The Media Archive of Central England (MACE) contains a wealth

of material on Birmingham and Coventry city centres in

regional television news and documentary film. It is my

intention, therefore, to continue this area of research at PhD

level by expanding the range of media representations and

consider how representations of modernist city centres changed

during the economic downturn of the 1970s and 1980s.

Promotional films have a much more limited audience than

newsreels. Accordingly, their importance and possible

60

influence is difficult to determine. A lack of archival

sources on the production and reception of these films limits

the analysis of their effectiveness and influence on

contemporary audiences. Indeed, it may be the case that they

are reaching much larger audiences now through gallery

screenings, television broadcasts and digitisation of the

archives, where they are viewed as historical curios and

nostalgia pieces.

This dissertation reveals the gaps in scholarly knowledge on

post-war sponsored films and it is evident more research needs

to be conducted in this area, particularly about production,

distribution and reception of the films. Therefore, the

chapters on newsreels and sponsored films do not adequately

account for the reception and influence of the films, thus a

focus on textual analysis and production context dominates.

Some relevant films are lost or difficult to access;

regrettably, a key film called Face of England (1960), which

features the reconstruction of Coventry City Centre in the

1950s and early 1960s does not survive. Smith’s (2006)

analysis of the shot list and script suggests “it must have

offered a revealing insight into…early consumerism and

relative affluence” (pp.17-18). This dissertation is limited,

therefore, to films that are available to access through

digital archives, the British Film Institute and the Media

Archive of Central England.

With the continued digitisation of moving image archives such

as Pathé and Movietone, the BBC4 documentary on British Pathé

and the current interest among urban historians on post-war

British cities, analysis of the links between film and the

61

urban environment may prove an emerging and fertile area for

further study.

Bibliography

Adams, D. (2011) Everyday experiences of the modern city: remembering the post-war reconstruction of Birmingham. Planning Perspectives, 26(2), 237-260

Adams, D. (2013) Restructuring post-war Coventry and Birmingham. Conference Paper: Infrastructure and the Rebuilt Post-War City Conference. Birmingham School of the Built Environment and held at Millennium Point, Birmingham, on Monday 25 March 2013.

Ackerman, J. (Ed.) (1995) Dylan Thomas: The Complete Screenplays Applause Books.

Althaus, S.L. (2010) The Forgotten Role of the Global NewsreelIndustry in the Long Transition from Text to Television. International Journal of Press/Politics,15(2), 193–218

62

Arts Enquiry (The). (1947) The Factual Film: A Survey Sponsored by the Darlington Hall Trustees Oxford University Press

Atkinson, H. (2012) The Festival of Britain: A Land and its People I.B. Taurus & Co ltd.

Baird, T. (1945) A Job for Postwar Films: The British Documentary in War and Peace. Reprinted from Channels, April-May, 1945.

Ballantyne, J. (Ed.) (1993) Researcher’s Guide to British Newsreels, Vol.IIIBritish Universities Film and Video Council

Beattie, J. (1999) Hopes and dreams in tatters in shoppers' blighted paradise; Jason Beattie remembers a time when Birmingham's Bull Ring was the harbinger of a brave new world and not the infamous eyesore of today. The Free Library Online. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Hopes+and+dreams+in+tatters+in+shoppers'+blighted+paradise%3B+Jason...-a060548527 [Accessed: 12.07.2013]

Bell, D., Holloway, S., Jayne, M., & Valentine, G. (2008) Pleasure and Leisure. In Hall, T., Hubbard, P., & Short, J.R. (Eds.) The Sage Companion to the City pp.167-184, Sage Publishing

Bullock, N. (1997) Imagining the post-war world: Architecture,Reconstruction and the British Documentary movement. In Penz, F., & Thomas, M. (Eds.) Cinema and Architecture: Melies, Mallet-Stevens, Multi-Media pp.52-61, BFI Publishing

Bullock, N. (2002) Building the Post-War World: Modern Architecture and Reconstruction in Britain Routledge

Burns, W. (1959) British Shopping Centres: New Trends in Layout and Distribution Leonard Hill Ltd

Candy, T. (1987) Taped Interview. BECTU History Project. Recording made 26 October 1987, 111 Wardour St., London.

Chapman, J. (1998) The British at War: Cinema, State and Propaganda, 1939-1945 London: I. B. Tauris.

Cherry, G.E. (1994) Birmingham: A study in Geography, History and PlanningJohn Wiley & Sons.

63

‘City’s Democratic Approach to its Planning Problem’ (1945, 8 October) Coventry Evening Telegraph

Coventry City Council. (1945) The Future Coventry (Pamphlet)

‘Coventry of the Future Exhibition’ (1945, 1 September) Coventry Evening Telegraph

‘Coventry of the Future Exhibition a Success’ (1945, 10 October) Coventry Evening Telegraph

‘Coventry of To-day sees the Coventry of To-morrow’ (1945, 8 October) Coventry Evening Telegraph

Coventry Corporation Public Relations Department. (1959) Development and Redevelopment in Coventry (Pamphlet)

Cummins, G.T. (1957) Cinema Newsreel and the Impact of Television. Reprinted in McKernan, L. (2002) (Ed.) Yesterday’s News: The British Cinema Newsreel Reader pp.252-256, British Universities Film and Video Council

Enticknap, L. (1999) The Non-Fiction Film in Britain, 1945-51. Unpublished doctorial thesis, University of Exeter

Enticknap, L. (2000) This Modern Age and the British non-fiction film. In Ashby, J., & Higson, A. (Eds.) British Cinema, Pastand Present pp.207-220, Routledge: London & New York

Enticknap, L. (2001) Postwar Urban Redevelopment, the British Film Industry and The Way We Live. In Shiel, M., & Fitzmaurice, T. (Eds.) Cinema and the City: Film and Urban Societies in a Global Context pp.233-243, Blackwell Publishers

Fisher, N. (1989) Taped Interview. BECTU History Project. Recordingmade 25 September 1989 at ACTT Head Office

‘Future of Coventry Exhibition’ (1945, 11 October) Coventry Evening Telegraph

Gardener-Medwin, R. (1955). Rebuilding Rotterdam and Coventry.In The Listener, 27 September, 1955

Gold, J.R., & Revill, G. (2004) Representing the Environment Routledge: London & New York.

64

Gold, J.R. & Ward, S.V. (1997) Of Plans and Planners: Documentary film and the challenge of the urban future, 1935-1952. In Clarke, D.B. (1997) (Ed.) The Cinematic City pp.59-82 Routledge: London and New York

Gunn, S. (2013) People and the car: the expansion of automobility in urban Britain, c.1955–70. Social History, 38(2), 220-237

Hall, S. (1997) Foucault: Power, Knowledge and Discourse. Reprinted in Wetherell, M., Taylor, S., & Yates, S.J. (2001) (Eds.) Discourse Theory and Practice: A Reader Sage Publications Ltd.

Haggith, T. (1998) Castles in the air: British film and the reconstruction of the built environment, 1939-51. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Warwick

Hiley, N. & McKernan, L. (2001) Reconstructing the news: British newsreel documentation and the British universities newsreel project. Film History, 13 (2), pp.185-199

Hilley, N. (1996) Audiences in the Newsreel Period. In Jeavons, C., Mercer, J. & Kirchner, D. (Eds.) An international Newsfilm Conference: Papers, Presentations and Proceedings British Universities Film and Video Council.

Hubbard, P. (2006) City Routledge: London and New York.

Hubbard, P., Faire, L., & Lilley, K. (2010). Contesting the modern city: reconstruction and everyday life in post-war Coventry. Planning Perspectives, 18 (4), 337-397

Hughes, W. (1976) The evaluation of film and evidence. In Smith, P. (Ed.) The Historian and Film pp.49-79, Cambridge University Press

Ichihashi, H. (1994) Working class leisure in English towns 1945-1960 with special reference to Coventry and Bolton. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Warwick

Jayne, M. (2006) Cities and Consumption Routledge: London and New York

Kennedy, L. (2004) (Ed.) Remaking Birmingham: The Visual Culture of Urban Regeneration Routledge: London and New York

65

Kynaston, D. (2013) Modernity Britain: Opening the Box, 1957-1959 Bloomsbury Publishing

Lancaster, B. & Mason, T. (Eds.) (1987) The Experience of Coventry: Life and Labour in a 20th Century City Cryfield Press

Larkham, P.J. (2013) Conference paper: Re-shaping the post-warcity: re-planning, rebuilding, revaluing. The Transformation of Urban Britain Since 1945 Conference. Centre for Urban History, University of Leicester, 9-10 July 2013.

Larkham, P.J., & Lilley, K.D. (2003) Plans, planners and city images: place promotion and civic boosterism in British reconstruction planning. Urban History, 30 (2), 183-205

‘Letters to the Editor’ (1945, 10 October) Coventry Evening Telegraph

‘Letters to the Editor’ (1945, 22 October) Coventry Evening Telegraph

Lewison, G. & Bilingham, R. (1969) Coventry New Architecture Published by the editors, Coventry.

Lilley, K.D. (2007) Conceptions and perceptions of urban futures in early post-war Britain: Some everyday experiences of the rebuilding of Coventry, 1944-62. In Boyd-Whyte, I. (Ed.) Man-Made Future: Planning, Education and Design in Mid-20th Century Britain pp.145 – 156, Routledge

‘Look at Life: Volume 5 - Cultural Heritage’. (2012) British Universities Film and Video Council Online http://bufvc.ac.uk/dvdfind/index.php/title/av74552 [Accessed: 11.06.2013]

Long, P., & Parker, D. (2004) The mistakes of the past? visualnarratives of urban decline and regeneration. Visual Culture in Britain, 5, (1), 37-58

Mandler, P. (1999) New towns for old: The fate of the town centre. In Conekin, B., Mort, F., & Waters, C. (Eds). Moments ofModernity: Reconstructing Britain, 1945-1964 Rivers Oram Press

Miles, S. (2010) Spaces for Consumption Sage publishing

Morton, H.V. (1949) Future of Coventry. Illustrated, October 29, 1949.

66

Nicols, B. (2001) Introduction to Documentary Indiana University Press

Obelkevic, J. (1994) Consumption. In Caterall, P. & Obelkevich, J. (Eds.) Understanding Post-War British Society pp.141-154, Routledge

‘Phoenix City’. (1958) The Film User, 12 (142)

Pronay, N. (1976) The newsreels: the illusion of actuality. InSmith, P. (Ed) The Historian and Film pp.95-119, Cambridge University Press

Richardson, K. (1972) Twentieth-Century Coventry The Macmillan PressLtd.

Russell, P. (2011) Counterpoints and counterparts: film at thepost-war GPO. In Anthony, S. & Mansell, J.G. (Eds.) The Projectionof Britain: A History of the GPO Film Unit BFI Publishing.

Russell, P. (2003-12) Industrial and Corporate Films. BFI ScreenOnline. http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/964488/ [Accessed: 23.06.2013]

Russell, P. (2003-12). Bull Ring Shopping Centre (1965). BFI ScreenOnline. http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/1387611/index.html [Accessed: 23.06.2013]

Shapley, P. (2012) Civic pride and redevelopment in the postwar British city. Urban History, 39, 310-328

Slater, D. (1997) Consumer Culture and Modernity Polity Press

Smith, A. (2006) The City of Coventry: A Twentieth Century Icon I.B. Tauris

Smith, P. (1976) (Ed.) The Historian and Film Cambridge University Press

Sutcliffe, A., & Smith, R. (1974) History of Birmingham III, 1939-70 Oxford University Press

Tiratsoo, N. (2008) The reconstruction of blitzed British cities, 1945-55: Mythsand reality. Contemporary British History, 14 (1), 27-44

67

Todd, S. (2013) Conference Paper: Working Class Community in the 1950s. The Transformation of Urban Britain Since 1945 Conference. Centrefor Urban History, University of Leicester, 9-10 July 2013.

Townsend, S. (2010) Envisioning the Motor City: A comparison of post-war reconstruction in Nagoya, Japan and Birmingham, England. In One Hundredth Anniversary Commemoration of the Administration of the Central Ward Office Committee, Nagoya City: A One Hundredth Anniversary Commemoration of the Administration of the CentralWard Office.

Townsend, R. (2010) WorldWide Pictures: A Film Industry Casebook. BFI Q&A, 1 December, 2010. http://www.bfi.org.uk/live/video/563 [Accessed: 12.06.2013]

Turnwell, A. (1963) Recorded Interview: BECTU History Project - Interview No. 113 Recording made 31 October 1963, ACT, 2 Soho Square, London. http://media.bufvc.ac.uk/newsonscreen2/Staff/transcripts/AT.pdf [Accessed: 03.07.2013]

Vick, R. (2013) Windows on the World. Sight & Sound, 23(2), p76

Wildman, C. (2012). A city speaks: The projection of civic identity in Manchester. Journal of Twentieth Century British History, 23 (1), 80-99

Filmography

A City Reborn (Film) (1954, dir. Eldridge, J., UK)

A City Speaks (Film) (1946, dir. Rotha, P., UK)

A Home of the Future (Newsreel) (1944, British Pathé, UK)

ATV Today: Bull Ring Shopping Centre (Television news broadcast)(01.12.1965, ATV Today)

Brum Goes Under (Newsreel) (1964, British Movietone, UK)

Bull Ring Shopping Centre (Film) (1965, Laing & Son, UK)

Down Town (Cine-magazine) (1965, Rank Organisation: ‘Look at Life, UK)

Homes While You Wait (Newsreel) (1945, British Pathé, UK)

68

New Towns for Old (Film) (1942, dir. Eldridge, J., UK)

Phoenix City (Film) (1958, dir. Wallace, G., UK)

Rebirth of a City (Cine-magazine) (1960, Rank Organisation: ‘Look atLife’, UK)

The Story of British Pathé (Television documentary)(First broadcast: 18 August, 2011,BBC4, dir. Homan, K)

Town Meeting of the World (Film) (1946, dir. Wallace, G., UK)

69