Common Heritage (1940) User Reviews

The Last Hurrah For the British Commonwealth

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 16 October 2007]

This short subject where actor Leslie Howard meets three soldiers from Commonwealth countries, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia bears a lot of resemblance to the Frank Capra Why We Fight series that were made when America got into the war. As the United Kingdom was very desperately trying to woo America into the war at that point, some very flattering references to the USA was in the film including Howard quoting the Declaration of Independence at some length.

World War II was the last hurrah for the Commonwealth. It took a lot of effort to get some of them to declare war on the Axis Powers. Howard made reference to the autonomy that the French Canadians have in Quebec when referencing Canada. Of course the French Canadians held so much to their sovereignty that Canada had no draft for them. A position I have never understood since it was France that the British were trying to liberate. Go figure.

Australia and New Zealand had some voices of reluctance to send armed forces to Europe when they could be attacked, a fact that came home after Pearl Harbor and the fall of Singapore. For several months those two countries were very much vulnerable to invasion and many Aussies and Kiwis made no secret of their feelings about that.

Still these problems were papered over in this short and the contribution of Commonwealth troops in defeating Hitler cannot be overestimated.

And Leslie Howard himself was a very famous casualty of war in 1943, killed when the airliner he was on from Lisbon to Bristol was shot down. Howard was born Hungarian, but he did love his adopted country and their certainly was no better representative of the British and what they perceive as their national virtues than Leslie Howard.

I'm sure Frank Capra must have seen and liked this film, it's influence on our Why We Fight series is unmistakable.

One in the eye for multiculturalism!

[dgrahamwatson · 9/10 · 19 July 2005]

This short WW II propaganda movie was Leslie Howard's first after playing Ashley Wilks in the 1939 blockbuster "Gone with the wind". Although it was made 65 years ago It could have been made 165 years ago as so much has changed in the world. It no doubt was designed to raise moral in Britain, and the popular Howard was the ideal actor to promote this film in other parts of the British empire, in particular the English speaking world and it's former dominions.

The movie centers around Howard who while in a pub comes across three (or four) soldiers each from Australia, South Africa, Canada and the USA. While having a few pints of ale Howard promises to show them around London with particular attention to the London landmarks that all bind them to a common heritage. In other words they are all part of the Anglo-Saxon English speaking world that all share the common goal of liberty and freedom. Today, with multiculturalism we are not so sure, historical landmarks and common history do not bind us together anymore, and if you don't know where you have come from you certainly don't know where you are going.

Today if they were to attempt something similar (under the light of recent events) it would be hosted by some 20 something twit sounding like a presenter from 'Radio one' groomed with the obligatory spiked hair who would be showing a bunch of over seas students (studying on an EU grant) street art in Covent garden, a statue of Nelson Mandela, a rock concert in Hyde park where at the end the would be chants of "give peace a chance", the Notting hill carnival and finally a candle light vigil down at Picadilly circus!