This film is part of Free
John Mills Collection Film 37 - China/Hayley-Bells
An amateur film of rural China in the early 1930s shot by the actor John Mills’ father-in-law, showing farming and transport methods in Tianjin.
Overview
This home movie was probably shot around Tianjin in northern China, where Colonel Francis Hayley Bell (father of John Mills' wife Mary) was Commissioner in 1930-31. Bell’s rather shaky film records aspects of rural life - harvesting, irrigation and river transport. While the boats are distinctive and donkeys replace horses, the methods used are not so different to those of pre-mechanised British farming.
Related
Modern China Modern China
Non-Fiction 1910 8 mins Silent Location: Beijing
Extraordinary and exquisite views of life and landscape in Beijing during the late Qing dynasty.
Peking and Its Surroundings Peking and Its Surroundings
Travelogue 1910 6 mins Location: Qinglongqiao
The austere beauty of the Great Wall of China's rugged mountain passes, in a travelogue tracing a caravan of camels' journey to Beijing.
Beijing - Coal Hill Street Scenes and the Forbidden City Beijing - Coal Hill Street Scenes and the Forbidden City
Amateur film 1938 15 mins Silent Location: Beijing
This delightful colour film features Beijing's Forbidden City, the Summer and Winter palaces as well as parks, processions, a drama school and a Chinese picnic.
Visit to Beijing and the Forbidden City Visit to Beijing and the Forbidden City
Amateur film 1929 2 mins Silent Location: Beijing
Beijing's Forbidden City is the star attraction in this film from the late 1920s, featuring historic buildings, the Lion's Gate and an early panorama across the city.
My Oriental Friends, From Penang to Peking My Oriental Friends, From Penang to Peking
Amateur film 1933 16 mins Silent Location: Hong Kong
This unique and beautiful tour of Southeast Asia and China is a treasure trove of picturesque views of Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing.
Summer Palace Beijing and Tsientsin Summer Palace Beijing and Tsientsin
Amateur film 1929 3 mins Silent Location: Beijing
Dancing bears and camels feature in views of Beijing's Summer Palace in the late 1920s filmed by an expat couple who are later seen enjoying a traditional Chinese meal.
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.