File A3/26. - Miss Jennie Lee, House of Commons, London SW1 to Jack Hylton, Jack Hylton Ltd, Adelphi Theatre, Strand, London WC2. Is ...,

Miss Jennie Lee, House of Commons, London SW1 to Jack Hylton, Jack Hylton Ltd, Adelphi Theatre, Strand, London WC2. Is most grateful to the recipient and to all the others who have contributed to the film about Nye. She had dreaded seeing the film, but it proved to be a solace to see something of his personality, work and values set out so honestly. The portrayal of his early years is obviously the work of men and women who shared many of Nye's formative experiences. But the picture is less convincing for his later years. This was to be expected because Nye was apt to differentiate between 'out-fighting' and 'in-fighting'. He was himself an 'out-fighter' in so far as he loathed Party meetings, government by conspiracy, and he drew his support from his power to communicate with the mass of ordinary people. It was his obsession with the very real threat of nuclear war that led Nye to agree to share power at the heart of the Labour Party with Hugh Gaitskell with whom he had so little in common both in temperament and outlook. Thus he was forced to participate in 'in-fighting' which meant that he was no longer able to communicate with the public at large. His overriding ambition was to ensure that the Labour Party won the next general election, and he firmly believed that, as Foreign Secretary, he was capable of securing a diffusing of East-West tensions. It is all-important to ensure that posterity inherits a true record. Nye said to the writer during his last phase, 'I believe I can just about save this Party but I shall destroy myself in doing it'. Does not wish to create the impression that Nye was always right. The much quoted phrase 'desiccated, calculating machine' did not constitute a reference to anyone in particular; Hugh Gaitskell had actually vetted the text of the speech before it was delivered. Does not wish to indulge in any petty criticism of the film, and is fully appreciative of all the hard work and sensitive feeling that characterised its production.