Pleasant remembrances and foreboding futures: Glorifying representations of empire and their opposition within Britain's national cinema during the 1930s

In his 1969 memoir, Michael Balcon Presents . . . a Lifetime of Films, the famed
British producer reflected upon his executive influence and efforts at Gaumont
British Picture Corporation during the 1930s. Overall, his account regarding the
healthiness of Britain’s studios and trade, its notable figures, and its popular films
was fairly positive; however, there was one aspect from this period that nagged at
his conscience long after the decade had concluded. He wrote,
I realise that the preceding chapters of this story have played against a shadowy background of world events – some world-shattering . . . now that events
can be seen in their historical perspective, one cannot escape the conclusion
that in our own work, we could have been more profitably engaged. Hardly a
single film of the period reflects the agony of those times.