At its conclusion, Spring Cruise outlines the duel purpose of this naval trip in ‘linking naval training with a mission of goodwill’. The picture is similarly divided. The initial scenes of the West Indies appear almost as a holiday travelogue – ‘acquire a real Jamaican suntan at one of the lovely beaches, of which the island is famous’ – and appear in stark contrast to the later sequences of military training with the Canadian navy. This contrast has clear repercussions for the viewer’s understanding of the respective regions, and their role within the Empire.

The move from the West Indies (‘goodwill’) to Canada (‘training’) represents a shift visually from holiday to work, and from sun to snow. The seemingly attractive representation of the West Indian islands can thus assume a negative connotation when positioned alongside the Canadian military exercises. Canada offers military assistance, as an active self-supporting power, while the West Indian islands, by comparison, are devoid of imperial responsibilities and still heavily reliant on the British. This contrast is reinforced by the music and voiceover. While a traditional British voice speaks on behalf of the West Indies, a new voice explains that ‘now we’re in my country Canada’. The British voice articulates perceived West Indian thoughts from a position of superiority and authority – for example, the Bermudan youngsters are ‘wide-eyed with curiosity’ at boarding the British ship ‘on a wonderful voyage of discovery’ – yet Canada has its own voice. The West Indies, without its own voice, is, for the most part, represented through conventional British imagery.

For example, Grenada is introduced through shots of a cricket match. This serves to promote the continuing British influence here, as the commentary explains that ‘the Navy was responsible for introducing cricket to the West Indies’. Cricket serves as a representation of traditional British ideals, so that the film suggests that it is not merely the sport but, more specifically, a set of social values that Britain has transported to the West Indies. The commentary notes that ‘there’s nothing like cricket as a symbol of goodwill … unless it’s football’, as a game of football is also then depicted.

Within eight years – four years after Jamaica – Barbados would achieve full independence, yet the commentary states that ‘Proud of its nickname “Little England” Barbados is the most English of them all’. It further notes that ‘no other flag has ever flown here’. Spring Cruise offers Technicolour footage of pre-Independence Caribbean colonies, but avoids any mention of either the newly formed Federation or of any emerging independence movements. Instead, the representation of the West Indian islands – particularly in contrast to Canada – promotes a continued dependency on, and support for, the British Empire.

Tom Rice (April 2008)