'Bringing you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing like the truth'

: British fascism and film from the interwar period

Abstract

This thesis explores the multifaceted and pivotal ways in which film and media contributed to the rise, fall, and historical legacy of the British Union of Fascists (BUF). It examines the BUF’s use, production, and criticism of film and media in interwar Britain, as well as the ripple effects caused by those practices ever since. Drawing on previously unaccessed archival materials – including a scarce number of surviving British fascists films, newspapers, newsreels, records, and personal papers – I argue that film and media were central to the BUF’s emergence as a domestic and international political movement, while also contributing to its eventual downfall and the shaping of its historical legacy.

Centred around the BUF (1932-40) and its Leader, Sir Oswald Mosley, this thesis spans the era of British mass democracy from 1918 to the present day. Employing an intermedial research methodology, the thesis situates film within a broader media ensemble, encompassing television, radio, newspapers, newsreels, and digital media. Interwar British fascists ultimately embraced film and media to recruit members, generate targeted and widespread publicity, cement intra-party cohesion amongst geographically disparate local factions, communicate with and position itself at the heart of an international fascist network, and broadly shape fascism’s public image both domestically and internationally.

Beyond offering a revisionist account of Mosley and the BUF, this research engages with a range of scholarly debates and seeks to communicate with a number of fields of study, including scholarship on British cinema, British social and political history, non-theatrical film, useful cinema, public relations, and news media. By uncovering the BUF’s since-overlooked media strategies and their lasting consequences, this study provides novel insights into the dynamic relationship between fascism, media, and mass culture in twentieth-century Britain, and beyond.

Date of Award	17 Mar 2031
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of St Andrews
Supervisor	Tom Rice (Supervisor) & Paul Flaig (Supervisor)