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Series
Intertel
Episode Number
40
Episode
The Lion and the Eagle
Producing Organization
Rediffusion Television Ltd. (London, England)
Contributing Organization
Thirteen WNET (New York, New York)
Library of Congress (Washington, District of Columbia)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/75-07tmph1q
Public Broadcasting Service Series NOLA
LIEA 000000
NOLA Code
ITTL
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Description
Episode Description
The lion of the title is England; the eagle is the United States. Its writer and narrator, Alistair Cooke, was present as a young reporter in the White House when President Roosevelt announced the destruction of the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. Commemorating the 25th anniversary of this event, Mr. Cooke reviews the shifting Anglo-American Alliance - a relationship that has "been maintained down three centuries by an odd mixture of feelings: by affection, curiosity, envy, ridicule and admiration."
Series Description
Intertel, a dramatic breakthrough in the dissemination of ideas and cultural exchange through television, was conceived in November 1960. Five television broadcasters in the four major English-speaking nations joined to form the International Television Federation, to be known as Intertel, the first such international organization. The participants were Associated Rediffusion, Ltd. of Great Britain, the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and for the United States, the National Educational Television and Radio Center and the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company. Intertel produced on a bi-monthly basis hour-long documentaries on important world topics, inaugurating a global television production agency dedicated to the creation of programs of substance and meaning. John F. White, President of NET, called Intertel "more than a fusion of the creative talents of the organizations involved in producing television programs of outstanding merit. It is a step forward to world understanding," he added. "I believe that the exchange of documentaries, while of great significance in the vastness of the mutual understanding in it can foster, is but the first step in a regular exchange of all forms of programming." Donald H. McGannon, President of WBC, hailed the new organization as "a pool of the technical and creative ability and knowledge of all the groups which will extend the international horizons of television in all aspects. This is the first practical step, after years of talking and hoping, toward the creation and use of international television for cultural exchange and an effective weapon for peace." By having observers examine topics far removed from their everyday assignments, Intertel gives viewers a fresh viewpoint. The founder members indicated that by dubbing these programs in foreign languages and making them available to all nations, they hoped television companies in Europe, Asia and South America will eventually join this unique project. The supervisory committee for the United States programming segments consists of Mr. McGannon and Mr. White; Richard M. Pack, WBC Vice President - Programming; and Robert Hudson, NET Vice President for Programming. Intertel came into formal being November 14, 1960, in a special meeting in Vancouver, B.C., and the culmination of plans for such an association which has been under way for a long time. John McMilliam of Associate Rediffusion, was named contemporary Coordinating Officer at that time. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
Description
The lion of the title is England; the eagle is the United States. Its writer and narrator, Alistair Cooke, was present as a young reporter in the White House when President Roosevelt announced the destruction of the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. Commemorating the 25th anniversary of this event, Mr. Cooke reviews the shifting Anglo-American Alliance a relationship that has been maintained down three centuries by an odd mixture of feelings: by affection, curiosity, envy, ridicule and admiration. For the duration of the war, the alliance was as firm as it would ever be. For its aim was grand and simple: survival and victory. Since 1945, there have been events that strained the alliance such as the Suez Crisis of 1956, the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, and the desire of a renovated and recovered Europe to brush aside the protective umbrella of Americas missiles and her spreading armies of occupation. This period has marked a significant change in the relative power of the two countries. Says Cooke: 1943 is a watershed, down one side of which British power declined, as up the other side climbed the new power of the United States. And yet the alliance has remained firm a source of irritation to detractors such as President de Gaulle, a source of united strength for the West. The Cold War has underlined its political relevance; but the common roots of the two peoples have buttressed it. 1) Film clips from World War II are prominent in the program. From these clips emerge the voices of history Neville Chamberlain, Franklin Roosevelt, Wendell Willkie, Charles Liudbergh, Winston Churchill, Douglas McArthur, Harry Truman, Joseph McCarthy, John Foster Dulles, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, William Fulbright, Dean Rusk. Post-war significance is attached to such events as the raising of the Iron Curtain; the counter effect of NATO; the Korean war, and its twin phenomena of Eisenhower the presider and McCarthy the Commie-catcher; the Suez crisis, signifying the further decline of the British Empire and the nadir of Anglo-American relations; the Common Market; the Berlin crisis; the Cuban crisis; the assassination of Kennedy and the succession of Johnson; and now the war in Vietnam.
Broadcast Date
1966-12-05
Asset type
Episode
Genres
Documentary
Topics
Public Affairs
Media type
Moving Image
Credits
Director: Beattie, Randal
Executive Producer: Windlesham, David James George Hennessy, Baron, 1932-2010
Producer: Holtzman, Boris
Producing Organization: Rediffusion Television Ltd. (London, England)
AAPB Contributor Holdings
Thirteen - New York Public Media (WNET)
Identifier: wnet_aacip_2377 (WNET Archive)
Format: 16mm film
Duration: 00:54:10?
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2332649-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 16mm film
Generation: Copy: Access
Color: B&W
Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive
Identifier: [request film based on title] (Indiana University)
Format: 16mm film
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Citations
Chicago: “Intertel; 40; The Lion and the Eagle,” 1966-12-05, Thirteen WNET, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 29, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-75-07tmph1q.
MLA: “Intertel; 40; The Lion and the Eagle.” 1966-12-05. Thirteen WNET, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 29, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-75-07tmph1q>.
APA: Intertel; 40; The Lion and the Eagle. Boston, MA: Thirteen WNET, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-75-07tmph1q