Looking at London (1946)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Undescribable Perfection

An Exercise In Nonsense

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Views of damage in London are hard to find in postwar movies. Passport to Pimlico is a rare exception, as is this travelogue. Still to come for plucky peacetime London are additional years of rationing and the killer smog of 1952. The effect of coal smoke is clearly evident in the dark cast to all the buildings. (Yes, I know they also had fires from bombs.) It's no wonder one reviewer remembered this as black and white. Between the condition of the buildings and the fading of the film, it nearly is! :) Looking at this as an opportunity to rebuild on better lines with more appreciation for the landmarks is of course the right way to view the devastation. Sometimes it takes a disaster to put things on a better path.I doubt I would have appreciated these travelogues when they first came out but as history, wow, they are sensational. They went all over Europe right up to the start of war and went back right afterward. Incredible. I hope they are restored some day and kept in an archive for future historians.

Looking at London (1946) *** (out of 4) Another entry in MGM's TravelTalk series this time taking a look at London with such sites as Buckingham Palace, the Bank of England, Hyde Park, the various bridges and much more. This series paid quite a few visits to England so the sites here aren't anything new but what is new is that this was filmed just years after WW2 so we get to see some of the destruction caused by the war. We get to see various buildings that were involved in bombings and this includes the birthplace of Charles and Mary Lamb. While the documentary does look at many bombed sites, it also wants to make clear that the British people are very strong and moving out in repairing their cities.

The narrator is quick to point out that although the blitz during WWII did destroy many buildings in London, many did survive intact. And, of course, the British spirit never died. Once the war was over, the renewal began with the building and reconstruction of the city. This is a typical James A. FitzPatrick TravelTalk short subject.We get a glimpse of London sites--the Thames, the bridges, the Bank of England, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, and monuments to Queen Victoria and Lord Nelson. All of these buildings and Piccadilly Circus survived.Then we're shown some of the damaged buildings, foremost among them being the birthplace of Charles and Mary Lamb and some ruins surrounding St. Paul's Cathedral. The cathedral itself was miraculously undamaged and stands proud and tall above the ruins.A closing section deals with the British spirit to survive the scars of war and the assurance that the rebuilding will soon begin.Aside from the monuments for Queen Victoria and Lord Nelson, we're also shown a statue of Abraham Lincoln near Buckingham Palace, proof of the good relationship Great Britain has with the United States.

An MGM TRAVELTALK Short Subject. While LOOKING AT LONDON in this little film we are shown some of the major sights of this mighty capital: Buckingham Palace, the Bank of England, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus.After gazing at bomb damage left from the Blitz, we are left to contemplate majestic St. Paul's Cathedral. This is one of a large series of succinct travelogues turned out by MGM, beginning in the 1930's. They featured Technicolor views of beautiful & unusual sights around the globe, as well as vivid, concise commentary. These films were produced & narrated by James A. FitzPatrick.