Fires Were Started

1943 British film

Fires Were Started

Still from the documentary Fires Were Started

Directed by| Humphrey Jennings
Written by| Humphrey Jennings
Produced by| Ian Dalrymple
Starring| William Sansom
George Gravett
Phillip Wilson-Dickson
Fred Griffiths
Loris Rey
Johnny Houghton
T. P. Smith
John Barker
Cinematography| C.M. Pennington-Richards
Edited by| Stewart McAllister
Music by| William Alwyn
Distributed by| Crown Film Unit

Release date

* 12 April 1943 (1943-04-12) (UK)

Running time

| 65 min.
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English

Fires Were Started is a 1943 British film written and directed by Humphrey Jennings. Filmed in documentary style, it shows the lives of firefighters through the Blitz during the Second World War. The film uses actual firemen (including Cyril Demarne) rather than professional actors.

## Production

[edit]

Exterior shots were filmed on location, while the interior scenes were shot at Pinewood Studios. Jennings's first cut of the film was titled I Was a Fireman and ran to 74 minutes. This was cut down to 65 minutes and released as Fires Were Started.

## Critical reception

[edit]

Film critics mostly praised the film for its realism and documentary value, despite its reconstructions. Dilys Powell, of the Sunday Times declared its authenticity to be 'moving and terrifying'.[1]

## See also

[edit]

* BFI Top 100 British films

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Winston 1999, p. 66.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Winston, Brian (1999). Fires Were Started. BFI Film classics. London: BFI Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85170-773-0.

## External links

[edit]

* Fires Were Started at IMDb
* Fires Were Started at the BFI's Screenonline

* v
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Films directed by Humphrey Jennings

* London Can Take It! (1940)
* Words for Battle
* In England Now (1941)
* Listen to Britain (1942)
* Fires Were Started (1943)
* The Silent Village (1943)
* A Diary for Timothy (1945)
* A Defeated People (1946)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States

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