Operation Malaya (film)

Operation Malaya

Directed by David MacDonald
Produced by John Croydon
Peter Crane
executive
Herman Cohen (US version)
Written by John Croydon
David MacDonald
Narrated by Chips Rafferty
John Humphrey
John Slater
Wynford Vaughan-Thomas
Cinematography Geoffrey Faithful
Edited by Inman Hunter
Production
company
David MacDonald Productions Ltd
Abtcon Pictures
Distributed by American Releasing Corporation (US)
Release dates
 August 1953 (UK) (Edinburgh Festival)
1955 (USA)
Running time
 77 minutes (UK)
67 minutes (US)
Country United Kingdom
Language English

Operation Malaya is a 1953 British documentary about the actions of English troops during the Malayan Emergency.

It was also known as Terror in the Jungle.[1]

Plot

Scenes from the action of English troops against Communists in Malaya, focusing around the tracking down of a group of communist who killed a rubber planter. Scenes included:

Production

David MacDonald had previously made a documentary movie about World War Two, Desert Victory. He approached the Colonial Office for money to help make a similar movie about the Malayan Emergency but was refused by Sir Gerald Templar on the grounds it was a commercial venture.[4][5] Instead MacDonald obtained commercial funding from Sir Alex Korda.[6]

The film mixed genuine documentary footage with dramatic re-enactments of real life incidents. The voices of professional actors were used, including Chips Rafferty.[7][8] The film was shot partly in Merton Park Studios.[1]

Release

The film debuted at the Edinburgh Festival but struggled to find commercial distribution in England. The Manchester Guardian called it "an honest-to-goodness attempt to describe the course of politico-military events in post-war Malaya" but "it often looks and sounds quite unnecessarily bogus."[7] C.A> Lejeune of the Observer thought the film was less effective than David MacDonald's earlier Desert Victory because of all the "reconstructed school of documentary" scenes but did succeed as "a picture of hard work and good soldiering gradually overcoming the fears of the native population, the incredibly difficult terrain, and a relentless enemy shielded by the jungle."[9]

US Release

American rights to the film were bought by the American Releasing Corporation, the forerunner of American International Pictures in 1955. It was one of the first movies released by that company. Herman Cohen was credited as producer for this version.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Cine Technician, August 1953 p 100 accessed 18 December 2014
  2. ↑ Full synopsis at Operation Malaya at Colonial Film
  3. ↑ "Rafferty's Role In Malaya Film.". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954) (NSW: National Library of Australia). 28 August 1953. p. 5. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  4. ↑ British Cinema and the Cold War: The State, Propaganda and Consensus By Tony Shaw I.B.Tauris, 3 Sep 2006 p 214 accessed 18 December 2014
  5. ↑ Susan Carruthers, "The Film Presentation of Mau", Terrorism, Media, Liberation Ed John David Slocum, Rutgers University Press, 2005 p 79 accessed 18 December 2014
  6. ↑ LONDON FILM REPORT: Latest Screen-Television Dilemma -- Summary of Current Productions By STEPHEN WATTSLONDON.. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 20 Sep 1953: X5.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 AMERICAN NATIONAL BALLET THEATRE: New Work Based on Schumann Concerto Hope-Wallace, Philip. The Manchester Guardian (1901-1959) [Manchester (UK)] 29 Aug 1953: 3.
  8. ↑ ""CHIPS" HAS NEW ROLE IN MALAYA WAR FILM.". The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954) (Brisbane, Qld.: National Library of Australia). 28 August 1953. p. 4. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  9. ↑ FACT & FICTION Lejeune, C A. The Observer (1901- 2003) [London (UK)] 30 Aug 1953: 6.

External links