This film is part of Free
Clyde River
A trip from source to sea along the banks of the Clyde in a lesser-spotted Scotland where the sun always shines.
Overview
The breathtaking views, bustling cities and picturesque towns seen in this travelogue of the Clyde River can still be guaranteed to any tourist today - if not the perpetual holiday-brochure sunshine. Refreshingly free of stereotypes, the film was made before WWII but re-released after, offering glimpses of RMS Queen Elizabeth awaiting launch and the shipyards before the Clydebank Blitz.
The film was produced by the publicity department of London, Midland and Scottish Railways in 1939 before events over took it. WWII changed the landscape of the country in many ways, not least politically, with a new peacetime Labour government merging Britain's 'Big Four' railway companies and nationalising them under the British Railways banner. In this version you can hear the commentator having to hop over some discrepancies between the pre-war images and the post-war realities experienced by the contemporary tourist.
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