Fires Were Started is an influential British film written and directed by Humphrey Jennings.
Shot in documentary style, it depicts the lives of firefighters through the Blitz during the Second World War.
The film uses actual firemen rather than professional actors.
Grade: A-
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Still from the documentary Fires Were Started
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Exteriors were shot 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.
Despite its reconstructions, critics mostly praised the moving and terrifying film for its realism and authenticity.
Credits:
Directed, wrotten 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: April 12, 1943 (UK)
Running time: 65 min
