The introduction of rationing in January 1940 ensured that food became a central concern for the British people during the Second World War. The food companions investigates the cinema of this period and demonstrates the cultural impact that rationing and food control had on both government propaganda and commercial feature films.
Combining archival research, detailed film analysis, and the extensive use of contemporary documents and resources, this book is the first to fully address the extensive propaganda work of the Ministry of Food both inside and outside the cinema. It also explores...

In Britain, the cinema was never more popular - or more important - than it was during the Second World War. This comprehensive and innovative study provides a social and cultural history of cinemas and cinemagoing in Britain between 1939 and 1945, and explores the widespread impact that the war had on the places in which the British watched films. Although promising escape from the hardships and occasional terrors of wartime life, the cinema was so intimately woven into the fabric of British society that it could not itself escape the war. Drawing on a wide range of contemporary sources, as...

Making substantial use of new and underexplored archive resources that provide a wealth of information and insight on the period in question, this book offers a fresh perspective on the major resurgence of creativity and international appeal experienced by British cinema in the 1960s.