Humphrey Jennings
Biography
Frank Humphrey Sinkler Jennings (19 August 1907 – 24 September 1950) was an English documentary filmmaker, celebrated for his poetic and visually striking portrayals of British life during World War II. A co-founder of the Mass Observation social research organization, Jennings blended avant-garde techniques with a deep sense of national identity, creating films that captured the resilience and spirit of the British people. His most acclaimed works, including Listen to Britain (1942), Fires Were Started (1943), and A Diary for Timothy (1945), showcase his unique ability to fuse documentary realism with lyrical storytelling. Film critic and director Lindsay Anderson described him as "the only real poet that British cinema has yet produced."
Personal Details
Movies (38)
Humphrey Jennings: The Man Who Listened to Britain
as Self (archive footage)
2025
Family Portrait
Director (Directing)
1950
The Dim Little Island
Director (Directing)
1949
The Cumberland Story
Director (Directing)
1948
A Defeated People
Director (Directing)
1946
A Diary for Timothy
Director (Directing)
1945
Myra Hess
Director (Directing)
1945
V. 1
Director (Directing)
1944
The True Story of Lili Marlene
Director (Directing)
1944
The Eighty Days
Director (Directing)
1944
The Silent Village
Director (Directing)
1943
Fires Were Started
Director (Directing)
1943
Listen to Britain
Director (Directing)
1942
The Heart of Britain
Director (Directing)
1941
Words for Battle
Director (Directing)
1941
This Is England
Director (Directing)
1941
London Can Take It!
Director (Directing)
1940
Spring Offensive
Director (Directing)
1940
Welfare of the Workers
Director (Directing)
1940
Cargoes
Director (Directing)
1939
Spare Time
Director (Directing)
1939
S.S. Ionian
Director (Directing)
1939
The First Days
Director (Directing)
1939
The Farm
Director (Directing)
1938
English Harvest
Director (Directing)
1938
Speaking from America
Director (Directing)
1938
Penny Journey
Director (Directing)
1938
Making Fashion
Director (Directing)
1938
Farewell Topsails
Director (Directing)
1937
The Birth of the Robot
Color Designer (Visual Effects)
1936
David Low Animation
Producer (Production)
1936
BBC: The Voice of Britain
1935
Coal Face
Additional Photography (Camera)
1935
The Glorious Sixth of June
as Albert Goodbody
1934
Pett and Pott: A Fairy Story of the Suburbs
as Grocer (uncredited)
1934
Post-Haste
Director (Directing)
1934
Locomotives
Director (Directing)
1934
The Story of the Wheel
Director (Directing)
1934
