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The precision and beauty of shipbuilding in Britain.
1938 9 mins Silent
The precision, beauty and craftsmanship of shipbuilding come across loud and clear in this silent educational film. And the film has a certain precision and beauty of its own. At a brisk pace but in methodical and measured fashion it takes us through a liner's production process - from its elemental origins in metal and wood through manufacturing, assembly and fitting, culminating in a spectacular launch.
This film has a certain historical importance and curiosity value on account of being, in large measure, a re-edit of a much more famous one: Paul Rotha's documentary classic Shipyard (1935). Gaumont-British Instructional, producers of both films, would often cut 'public' and 'educational' versions of the same subject. They also frequently released films in both sound and silent versions; many 1930s classrooms had access only to silent projectors. Normally the various versions were pretty similar but Shipyard was radically different from the company's usual work - so it's interesting to see it re-edited here to conform to the house style. Though shorn of Rotha's modernist and socio-political concerns, it's a happy marriage between his majestic images and the production company's clarity of exposition.
Industry sponsored film 1957 7 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
The famous Swan Hunter shipyards on the Tyne grease the slipway for another stirring launch in the prosperous 1950s.
Non-Fiction 1910 8 mins Silent
The construction and launch of the S.S. Olympic, the sister ship of the Titanic.
Non-Fiction 1903 5 mins Silent Location: Barrow-In-Furness
Princess Louise comes to Edwardian Barrow in Furness to christen the battleship HMS Dominion.
Documentary 1952 25 mins
A heart-warming tale about a Tyneside shipyard worker who dreams of a cruise on the luxury ocean liner he helps to build.
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent Location: Greenock
Unruly shipworkers defy direction from Mitchell and Kenyon's showmen partners.
Industry sponsored film 1950 9 mins Silent Location: Middlesbrough
Grandeur, excitement and pride for a Middlesbrough crowd at the Smiths Dock launch of a ship for the Sugar Line.
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Location: Barrow-In-Furness
Factory gate glimpses at - we think - Barrow-in-Furness
Amateur film 1966 3 mins Silent Location: Barrow-In-Furness
A prestigious occasion for the Vickers Armstrong shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness.
Documentary 1961 28 mins Location: Barrow-In-Furness
The spectacular story of the building of a massive ocean liner.
1935 25 mins Location: Barrow-In-Furness
Paul Rotha’s brilliant film of the building and launch of SS Orion from the shipyards of Barrow-in-Furness.
Documentary 1933 22 mins Location: Lancashire
An epic and electrifying portrait of the county that cradled the industrial revolution.
Non-Fiction 1903 5 mins Silent Location: Barrow-In-Furness
Princess Louise comes to Edwardian Barrow in Furness to christen the battleship HMS Dominion.
Comedy 1896 1 mins Silent
A deft music hall act adapted for film, featuring the only known appearance of pioneer filmmaker Robert Paul
Advert 1985 2 mins
Take a fighter jet, a Top Gun pilot with sunglasses and a brand new SAAB 900 and you have a sure-fire vehicle to launch a Hollywood career.
Promotional 2019 10 mins
A wandering warrior dreams of a new form of expression, in this promo for UNKLE’s album The Road: Part II / Lost Highway Pt. II directed by Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones.
1935 16 mins
A rare glimpse of 1930s London in colour: the Thames has never looked lovelier.
1965 1 mins Location: York
A world away from zany humour, Richard Lester shows he can also capture the easy opulence of the upper class nibbling After Eight mints.
Advert 1946 1 mins Silent
Life is looking up! The war is over and the “Corona” Man can visit his “Corona” families once more, door-to-door.
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