This film is part of Free
Free Time
A colourful look at how residents of Lambeth spent their evenings in the early 1970s.
Overview
What do yoga, banjo playing and racing pigeons have in common? They were all recreation activities enjoyed by residents of Lambeth in 1972, captured in this vibrant short by the Lambeth Film Society. We also meet a group from the South London Theatre Centre (along Norwood High Street) preparing for Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh, and the Caribbean Song and Dance Group.
Best of all are the intriguingly-named Nonsuch dancers, a medieval dancing group filmed at Lambeth Palace in all their finery. Their name was taken from Henry VIII's Nonsuch Palace, considered to be one of the finest palaces ever built ("there was nonesuch like it").
Related
StoryTrails: The People's Map Lambeth StoryTrails: The People's Map Lambeth
Documentary 2022 15 mins Location: Lambeth
This map showcases a curated selection of audio stories and digitally animated 3D scans of the people and places in and around Lambeth.
London Ambulance Service Launch at County Hall London Ambulance Service Launch at County Hall
Amateur film 1965 5 mins Silent Location: Lambeth
A showcase of emergency response vehicles through the ages, featuring a donkey, an injured redcoat soldier and mock car accidents
Opening of the New Lambeth Bridge Opening of the New Lambeth Bridge
Non-Fiction 1932 3 mins Silent Location: Lambeth
A newsreel record of the opening of the second Lambeth Bridge by King George V in July 1932.
Sidewalk Surfing Sidewalk Surfing
Cinemagazine 1978 5 mins Silent Location: Lambeth
Skate City on the banks of the Thames
The Lambeth Housing Film The Lambeth Housing Film
Documentary 1937 17 mins Silent Location: Lambeth
An appeal for funds to improve the lot of slum-dwellers in the south London borough of Lambeth
Squatparty Squatparty
Documentary 1981 17 mins Location: Putney
Female punks have fun boozing, smoking and talking in this fascinating film by London lifestyle chronicler Captain Zip.
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
The NHS75 Celebration The NHS75 Celebration
Short documentary 2023 3 mins
Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.