With the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain

This short film was directed by Herbert Kline (1909-1999) and Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004), now remembered as one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century, for the Frontier Films, the New-York based non-profit, radical documentary production company. With the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain was long considered lost until curator Juan Salas discovered it in office of the Veterans of the Lincoln Brigade in 2010.

Kline and Cartier-Bresson went to Spain in late summer and fall 1937, visiting Madrid, Saelices, Benicassim, and Quinto, on the Aragon front. The documentary combines the footage they shot on this trip with newsreel material filmed earlier by famed war photographer Robert Capa.  With the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain has a very loose narrative structure, showing the volunteers going from training into active service and then following wounded soldiers to Benicassim, where they were sent to recuperate. The film emphasizes the humanity and ordinariness of the soldiers. There are numerous close ups, many of which are followed by inter-titles giving their name, hometown and occupation or union membership.  For example, “Seaman McCarthy, a Baltimore organizer” and “Leo Gordon – Member of the N.Y. Knit Good Workers’ Union”. Two Black and one Asian American are shown in close up, but their names are not mentioned. There are also striking scenes of soldiers using showers donated by the French Steel Workers Union and a long sequence of wounded soldiers and local Spaniards watching a soccer game.

With the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in Spain was made as a way of raising money to help wounded volunteers return home. After connecting the Lincolns’ service in Spain to America’s “tradition of fighting for democracy”, it concludes with text against a black background: “They Offered Their Lives! Will You Offer Your Help! Hundreds Of Wounded Americans Are Now In France And At The Spanish Border. $125 Brings One of Them Home! They All Need Medical Care!” Shot in 35mm, a 16mm version of the film was produced to be shown in union halls and clubs.

Frontier Films produced two other short films about the Civil War: Heart of Spain (1937) and Return to Life (1938). Together with The Spanish Earth (1937) and the pro-Franco Defenders of the Faith (1938), they are testament to the importance of documentary film in trying to win American hearts and minds during the conflict in Spain.