The Green Girdle

About the film

In a bid to encourage city-dwellers to leave behind the restrictions of war, The Green Girdle escapes from the austere urban landscape of inner-city London and savours the natural delights of the capitals rural surroundings.

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Details

• Release year - 1941
• Director - Ralph Keene
• Production company - Strand Film Company
• Producer - Basil Wright
• Cinematographer - Jack Cardiff
• Composer - Richard Addinsell, William Alwyn
• Narration - Bruce Belfrage, Robert MacDermot
• Editor - Michael Gordon
• Sound recording - Al Rhind
• Musical director - Muir Mathieson
• Running time (minutes) - 09 mins 34 secs

Original description

London's open spaces

'London is surrounded on all sides by open spaces - common lands, in the shape of parks, hills, and forests which can never be built upon. This belt of green around the Metropolis is at every point within reach of the city's centre by omnibus. From its busy streets and workplaces the Londoners go out into the lovely woods, the great expanse of furze and scrub, the sloping green terraces and the sweeping hillsides in pursuit of health and recreation. Some walk, some ride, some picnic, others study at first hand the wild life of birds, beasts and plants.'

(Films of Britain - British Council Film Department Catalogue - 1941)

Did you know?

• The Green Girdle was one of only a few British Council films that was not intended for an overseas audience, but was instead meant to boost the morale of a British people weary from bombs and war.
• The greenbelt areas featured in the film include Wimbledon Common, Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, Box Hill, and Ivinghoe Beacon.
• There was a dispute over the copyright of the musical score during the production of The Green Girdle, and though Richard Addinsell is accredited with the composition in the film’s title credits, it may actually be the work of William Alwyn.

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