When the Pie Was Opened

When the Pie Was Opened

8 mins | Documentary, War | Jan. 1, 1941

Surrealism, avant-garde sound montage, and irreverent wit might be the last thing you'd expect from a government-sponsored film about wartime cookery. But director, artist, animator and all-round firework of a man Len Lye specialised in the unexpected. A simple tale of a mother cheering up her daughter with a pie from her rationing-stricken pantry (interestingly the war is never directly referred to) is skilfully crafted into a work of real artistic depth, while retaining an unpretentious charm.

When the Pie Was Opened

8 mins | Documentary, War | Jan. 1, 1941

When the Pie Was Opened
Surrealism, avant-garde sound montage, and irreverent wit might be the last thing you'd expect from a government-sponsored film about wartime cookery. But director, artist, animator and all-round firework of a man Len Lye specialised in the unexpected. A simple tale of a mother cheering up her daughter with a pie from her rationing-stricken pantry (interestingly the war is never directly referred to) is skilfully crafted into a work of real artistic depth, while retaining an unpretentious charm.
Producers Ministry of Information, Realist Films Ltd., Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Original title When the Pie Was Opened
Directors Len Lye
Writers

Cast

Valerie Forrest

as The Girl

Hilda Masters

as The Mother