London’s Screen Archives enables Londoners see their past come alive on film. Managed by Film London, we are a unique network of historic film collections that cares for, collects and screens heritage film across the city. Together we preserve London’s rich film heritage from feature films to home movies, public information films, newsreels, and records of the capital’s many different industries.
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Fred James Collection: Our First Film, Woodford Wells
Deck chair wrestling and DIY feature in this home movie shot by Fred James, as he gets to grips with his new camera in 1955.
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Overview
Woodford Wells resident and amateur photographer Fred James made numerous home movies all over Europe, but his first attempt at film-making was this 17-minute look at his house, No 4 Dale Gardens, and home town – shot by Bell & Howell camera in black & white and colour. As such, it’s a charming picture of the 1950s outer London suburbs, featuring guest appearances by his wife, stepmother, friends and in-laws, as well as some interesting scenes of the local high street.
During the film James experiments with different angles and styles and features a comical scene with a deckchair, but, when looking back at the film in 1975, would admit some technical faults. In mitigation, he pointed out that it was ‘edited by being drawn across a battery torch light whiles I clenched a watchmaker’s magnifier in my eye’. Like all films by Fred James, it is part of the Redbridge Archive.
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