‘Capitol’ Newsreel by Clifford Spain I

Processions, men in sacks and a garden fete all feature in this local cinema newsreel. We even get a view of the filmmaker, working on his splices in the projection room.

Starting in May 1927, this film starts with a fancy-dress fundraising parade for the local cottage hospital followed by an unusual sports meeting in 1931. Here we see men playing football in sacks and a boat race - on land. More silly games ensue before we then see a Garden Fete held later that year. The film ends with rare shots of the filmmaker himself in his projection room and splicing together lengths of film.

This compilation contains films of local interest which were exhibited in a newsreel format at the Capitol Cinema in Walton-on-Thames by its manager Clifford Spain. The events captured on film are primarily community-driven ones, filmed to attract their participants to the subsequent cinema screenings.