ABSTRACT
Since the beginning of the war, producers had debated whether the public wanted films which offered them an escape from the reality of war or whether they wanted to see their wartime experiences reflected on the screen. The realist position was naturally espoused by the documentarists but it also found a vociferous champion in Michael Balcon, who promised that at Ealing he would ‘grasp with both hands the opportunity of putting every phase of the war on the screen’.2 Maurice Ostrer, in charge of production at Gainsborough, was equally resolute in his support of escapism. He described himself as ‘no great believer in the serious, patriotic war setting, which an increasing number of the public must find “too near home” for complete enjoyment’, and declared ‘Good themes and good laughs-that is what audiences want, and that is certainly my production policy’.3
