The North East Film Archive is one of a network of regional film archives established to collect, preserve and show film made in, or about the North East of England. Our collections are non-fiction, and date from the early 1900s to the present day, providing a rich record of life in the region over the 20th century. Many of our films are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
This film is part of Free
Billingham Wharf and Official Opening of the Coal Hydrogenation Petrol Plant, ICI Billingham, by James Ramsay MacDonald M.P.
A political giant takes a trip by electric buggy into the heart of an extraordinary chemical town at Billingham.
From the collection of:
Overview
From the smoky, industrious Billingham Wharf to a vast new oil production plant, this film documents a brave new world at ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries) on Teesside in the 1930s. Fresh from his resignation as Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald and some ICI top brass ride an electric buggy to the heart of the giant Oil Works for the official opening ceremony. A slow, stately phantom ride, popular in early cinema, captures the awesome scale of this new chemical town.
ICI at Billingham was already the largest factory in the British Empire by 1930, totalling over 1,000 acres. The new Oil Works expansion was predicated on a future war, built to provide a home-grown source of oil, immune from U-boat attack. In February 1931 Aldous Huxley toured this extraordinary industrial site, a mass of steaming and sizzling steel cylinders, towers and pipes. Huxleys visit to ICI (whose Chairman was Sir Alfred Mond at the time) is thought to have inspired his classic dystopian novel Brave New World, released the next year, in which the character Mustapha Mond is the Resident World Controller for Western Europe.
Related
Miner Miner
Documentary 1950 36 mins Silent Location: Featherstone
Absorbing overview of coalmining in the early years of nationalisation.
Thud and Blunder in Knock off Time Thud and Blunder in Knock off Time
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1964 2 mins
Miners' safety training - marked by stylish animation and gallows humour.
Energy Energy
Advert 1935 42 mins Silent Location: Cardiff/Caerdydd
Coal, between the world wars, makes the industrialised world go round and Cory Bros & Co Ltd, with collieries in south Wales and oil refineries across the globe, is a major player.
Big Pit Big Pit
Industry sponsored film 1978 7 mins Location: Blaenavon
Memories of Blaenavon Colliery, Monmouthshire, as it nears its end.
Guilty Chimneys Guilty Chimneys
Documentary 1954 18 mins
Elegiac sponsored film imploring viewers to "allow the sun to penetrate the haze of ignorance" and relieve British cities of pollution.
People Will Always Need Coal People Will Always Need Coal
Advert 1975 1 mins
Deliriously kitsch recruitment ad for the implausibly glamorous world of coalmining.
The Big Country The Big Country
Promotional 1970 16 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Tuning into the biggest consumer market for television advertising in Britain with Trident TV.
River Tees Trip River Tees Trip
Amateur film 1979 4 mins Location: Billingham
A river trip explores the industrial heartlands of Teesside in the 70s.
All In A Days Work All In A Days Work
Amateur film 1966 5 mins Location: Billingham
A mysterious brew bubbles in the labs of an industrial complex on Teesside.
London Line Colour Series 2 - No. 71 - Burns Night London Line Colour Series 2 - No. 71 - Burns Night
Cinemagazine 1969 13 mins Silent Location: Billingham
Billingham's community 'Forum' leads the way in a colourful Burns night special promoting Britain overseas.
Billingham & Gastritis Billingham & Gastritis
Travelogue 1957 25 mins Location: Westminster
An alluring ICI travelogue proves to Cockney sceptics a real life wonderland awaits up north.
Just Billingham No. 7 Just Billingham No. 7
Cinemagazine 1946 10 mins Location: Billingham
A cheery report on the successful Synthonia Club rugby team, ICI blood donors, and an irritable bus queue in Billingham.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Luke Bean of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Samantha Arnold of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.
Horace Ové on Pressure Horace Ové on Pressure
Inside Film 2005 36 mins
The acclaimed director discusses his landmark film in this interview from 2005.