Smith (1939 film)

Smith 1939 is a short film directed by Michael Powell to promote a charity that helped exservicemen who had fallen on hard times, starring Ralph Richardson and Flora Robson.

Smith wasnt just thought to be lost, most people didnt even know that it even existed. It wasnt included in any filmography of Michael Powell, and Powell only refers to it briefly and obscurely in his autobiography. The film was discovered in 2003 through the detective work of Mark Fuller of Bristol and a safety print was made by the BFI. This was shown at film festivals in Vienna and Bologna in 2004 but it didnt have its first public screening in the U.K. untilOctober 2004 when it was shown in Canterbury, 65 years after it was completed.John Smith Ralph Richardson fought for his country in World War I. But during the depression of the 1930s he found it hard to find work. Finally the bailiffs appear and take everything of value. His loyal wife, Mary Smith Flora Robson, tells John about a charity for exservicemen. ........

Source: Wikipedia