This film is part of Free
Could computer-controlled taxis solve the traffic crisis? Maybe not, but this film's a must for technology buffs (and fans of early electronic music).
Government sponsored film 1972 16 mins
Is it a car? Is it a tram? No, it's an automated taxi service. The technical challenge of building Cabtrack were, apparently, more easily overcome than public scepticism, despite the best efforts of this quirky promo. Then and now, the unmanned taxi feels like the stuff of sci-fi - the Docklands Light Railway may be the nearest we've come to realising the concept.
Cabtrack was one of several prototype Personal Rapid Transit systems to be floated globally in the 1960s and 70s. The Royal Aircraft Establishment was commissioned by The Ministry of Transport to research the project thoroughly, investing in the test-track and one-fifth-scale model shown in the film, though all development stopped in 1972.
Cinemagazine 1926 14 mins Silent
Jiu-jitsu for ladies, how to get ink off a white apron and other life essentials courtesy of the 'Hints and Hobbies' team.
News 1978 3 mins Location: Newtownards
Shoppers clear the aisles, as Ulster Television’s toilet roll racers get ready for action.
Comedy 1928 9 mins
"Don't be cruel to a vegetabuel": delightful pair of music hall numbers from the eccentric writer of Jollity Farm.
1936 9 mins Silent
Guests to impress? Celebrity chef Marcel Boulestin out a quick veal escalope with the aid of a shiny new gas cooker.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1964 16 mins
Meet a very beautiful, very clever girl who adores peaches in Michael Gill's BFI-funded fantasy short.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1928 15 mins Silent
From fashion and slimming tips to a jazz age night out in London - just some of the diverting items in this cinemagazine
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Silent Location: London
Capital scenes thanks to Victorian filmmakers
Non-Fiction 1900 2 mins Location: London
Vivid images of Victorian London - but where?
1899 2 mins Silent Location: London
A sports day gives the young residents of the Foundling Hospital a chance to let off steam
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Location: London
Londoners turn out in their thousands to greet the returning Boer War hero after his famous defence of Ladysmith
Non-Fiction 1897 1 mins Silent Location: London
The Band of the First Life Guards approaches Westminster Bridge during Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Silent Location: London
Horse-drawn traffic on one of London's busiest thoroughfares
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1933 2 mins
Hand-drawn sound experiment by Bauhaus professor László Moholy-Nagy.
Advert 1974 1 mins Location: Shaftesbury
A classic slice of British advertising history, though that hill's not as Northern as it looks...
Non-Fiction 1901 3 mins Silent Location: Rotherham
Edwardian workers react to the camera at one of Rotherham's major employers.
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Silent Location: Great Moor St, Bolton
Eager youngsters burst out of the gates of a Victorian cotton mill.
Sport 1901 1 mins Silent Location: Henley-on-Thames
It's the first weekend of July 1901, and high society are on the Thames
Advert 1898 1 mins Silent Location: St Pancras
An unusual farewell in this charming early film
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