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Spanish Civil War
Espoir France-Spain 1939 Dir André Malraux
Film of the Spanish Civil War in the NFTVA has been divided into four sections: contemporary documentary film shot in Spain mostly by Republican sources or by British left-wing groups; post-war film and television documentaries, newsreels; and fictional representations of the war. The films are arranged chronologically, and then alphabetically. Explanatory notes are given for some of the films, but the books and articles listed in the Sources give the most detail. A Glossary and Who's Who give a brief description of the main film-makers, locations, personalities and terms that are used.
About the Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War began on 18 July 1936 and ended on 1 April 1939. It was fought between the Loyalist or Republican forces of the legitimate Spanish government, and the Nationalist forces led (after October 1936) by General Franco. The war had its roots in the unstable nature of the Second Republic under which Spain was governed from 1930 following the collapse of the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. The left-wing regime elected in October 1931 was replaced by a right-wing one in November 1933. When this was in turn replaced by a second left-wing government (a coalition known as the Popular Front) in February 1936 a right-wing coup was planned by the military.
The coup started with an uprising in Spanish Morocco on 17 July, which then spread in garrisons throughout mainland Spain. Support for the uprising, however, proved to be less than total and the hoped-for coup turned into a three year war with Spain divided roughly in two, geographically and politically. While little international aid came through to the Republican side, owing to the League of Nations' policy of 'non-intervention', the Nationalists were given large financial and military support by Fascist Germany and Italy. Some support for the Republicans came from the Soviet Union and in the form of the International Brigade of volunteer fighters. A war of attrition was eventually won by the better-supplied Nationalist forces, the Republican side being weaker in arms and hampered by political in-fighting between the socialist, communist and anarchist groups which made up the Popular Front. Franco, head of the Nationalist forces from October 1936, then ruled Spain as a dictatorship until 1975.
Glossary and Who's Who
- Alcazar
- See Toledo.
- Alvarez del Vayo, Julio
- Socialist politician; Republican foreign minister.
- Aragón
- Region of eastern Spain; a major battle-front throughout the war, especially around Teruel and Zaragoza.
- Asturias
- Northern province of Spain, scene of miners' revolt put down with brutality by Franco in 1934; battleground during the Civil War.
- Azaña Diaz, Manuel
- Prime minister 1931-33, February-May 1936; President of the Republic May 1936-February 1939.
- Barcelona
- Capital of Catalonia region; strong Republican (and anarchist) centre, eventually fell to the Nationalists on 26 January 1939.
- Belchite
- Town south-east of Zaragoza; scene of fierce battle August-September 1937, ending in Republican victory.
- Bilbao
- Port and capital of Basque region of Vizcaya; destination of many food ships, fell to the Nationalists on 19 June 1937.
- Blockade
- Naval siege, with the intention of blocking the arrival of arms and supplies. There were several incidents involving Spanish warships and British, French or American warships protecting neutral shipping.
- Brunete
- Village west of Madrid and location of a Republican assault during July 1937; intended to restore their fortunes but which resulted in heavy losses and a marked downturn their campaign.
- Catalonia
- Self-governing region of Spain; bastion of Republican defence, its fall after Franco's assault at the end of 1938 led to the end of the war.
- Cole, Sidney
- Film editor and active member of the A.C.T., the British film trade union; part of the team sent to Spain by the Progressive Film Institute.
- Companys Jover, Luis
- President of the regional government of Catalonia.
- Condor Legion
- German air formation which fought for the Nationalists; most notorious for the bombing of Guernica.
- Dickinson, Thorold
- Film director and editor; not an active socialist but nevertheless a member of the Progressive Film Institute's team in Spain.
- Ebro
- River of northern Spain; the Battle of Ebro, which took place near Tortosa, was an attempt to reverse Franco's advance on Valenica; it lasted between July and December 1938 and was a major and deciding failure for the Republicans.
- Falange
- Spanish Fascist coalition party formed 1934; absorbed other parties of the right in April 1937 to become the single party of the Franco leadership.
- Film and Photo League
- British left-wing film organisation; edited and distributed film sent from Spain but did not have a camera team in Spain.
- Franco Bahamonde, Francisco
- Nationalist general; sole leader of Nationalist forces from October 1936; Spanish dictator until his death in 1975.
- Guadalajara
- Scene of Republican victory over Italian forces, March 1937.
- Guadarrama
- Mountainous region north of Madrid, one of the main battle-fronts during the first weeks of the war.
- Guernica
- Basque town on north Spain coast; heavily bombed by the Condor Legion on 26 April 1937.
- Insurgents
- Term used to describe the Nationalist forces.
- International Brigade
- International volunteer force organised by the Comintern, which fought for the Republicans between November 1936 and November 1938. Individual brigades included the British Brigade, the Thaelmann Brigade (consisting of Germans) and the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (consisting of Americans; George Orwell was also a member).
- Irun
- Basque town at the point of the main road and rail links with south-western France; fell to the Nationalists on 5 September 1936.
- Ivens, Joris
- Dutch left-wing documentary filmmaker, director of THE SPANISH EARTH.
- Jarama
- Location of a bloody and inconclusive battle south of Madrid in February 1937, in which many members of the British battalion of the International Brigade died.
- Largo Caballero, Francisco
- Prime minister of the Republic, September 1936-May 1937.
- Laya Films
- Film production company of the Commissariat of Propaganda of the Catalonian regional government.
- Loyalists
- Term used to describe the Republican forces.
- McLaren, Norman
- Filmmaker, filmed in Spain with Ivor Montagu for the Progressive Film Institute in November 1936; later a renowned film animator.
- Madrid
- Capital of Spain and centre of Republican government until November 1936; its fall was incorrectly predicted by the British newsreels in that month. The original target of the Nationalist coup, it finally fell on 27 March 1939.
- Malraux, André
- Novelist and politician; colonel of an air squadron (Escadre España) on the Republican side; in 1937 wrote his novel of the war L'Espoir and in 1938-39 wrote and directed the film ESPOIR.
- Miaja Menant, José
- Republican general.
- Mola Vidal, Emilio
- Nationalist general, leader of the July 1936 uprising.
- Montagu, Ivor
- Filmmaker, political activist, table tennis player. Organised the Progressive Film Institute's filming in Spain.
- Nationalists
- The term used in this filmography to describe the right-wing forces led by General Franco; also known as Insurgents or Rebels.
- Negrín López, Juan
- Republican prime minister from May 1937 to the end of the war.
- Non-intervention
- An international policy of non-involvement in Spain, signed in August 1936 by France, Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, the USSR and others. Later in the month Germany also signed the pact, and Italy and Portugal said that they were in agreement with the principle. In practice the Soviet Union gave support to the Republic (greatly increasing communist influence on the regime), while Germany, Italy and to a lesser extent Portugal actively supported the Nationalists. Devised for pressing reasons of political expediency, non-intervention was decried for not distinguishing between the democratically elected government and the rebels, the refusal to sell arms to the Republic being seen by the left-wing as complicity in the Nationalist assault.
- Pasionaria, La
- Communist; real name Dolores Ibarruri. An impassioned speaker, famed for her phrase 'No Pasarán!'
- People's Army
- Phrase used to describe the Republican Army.
- Popular Front
- The alliance of socialists, communists and left-Republicans which won the elections of February 1936 and was governing Spain at the time of the Nationalist uprising. The bitter in-fighting and turmoil that existed behind the illusion of a 'Popular Front' did much to destroy the Republic.
- Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, Miguel
- Dictator of Spain from 1923 to January 1930. His son José founded the Falange, the Spanish fascist party, and was executed by the Republican Government on 20 November 1936.
- Progressive Film Institute
- British left-wing film organisation founded by Ivor Montagu. Sent two camera teams to film in Spain; Montagu and Norman McLaren went in November 1936 to film DEFENCE OF MADRID; in January 1938 Montagu returned with a team of A.C.T. members: Thorold Dickinson, Sidney Cole, Alan Lawson, Arthur Graham, Philip Leacock and Ray Pitt, where they made BEHIND THE SPANISH LINES, SPANISH A.B.C. and others.
- Rebels
- Term used to describe the Nationalist forces.
- Republicans
- The term used in this filmography to describe those fighting for the elected left-wing government of the Second Republic; also referred to as Loyalists and the Popular Front.
- Saragossa
- See Zaragoza.
- Tarragona
- Catalonian town; fell to the Nationalists on 15 January 1939.
- Teruel
- Town of Aragón; location of a Republican assault designed to divert Franco away from Madrid. Took place in the middle of a bitter winter (December 1937-February 1938) and although the Republicans captured the Nationalist garrison they subsequently lost all the ground they had gained, with heavy losses.
- Toledo
- Town south-west of Madrid. The Alcazar (castle) housing a military academy held by Nationalists was beseieged by the Republicans July-September 1936. The starved inhabitants were relieved by Franco on 21 September in what was a huge propaganda coup.
- University City
- Area of Madrid including university buildings; major battleground during the Nationalist assault on Madrid in November 1936.
- Valencia
- Major garrison city on the east coast; seat of the Republican government from November 1936.
- Zaragoza
- Town of Aragón; occupied by Nationalist forces from the beginning of the war. Also spelt Saragossa.
