The North East Film Archive is one of a network of regional film archives established to collect, preserve and show film made in, or about the North East of England. Our collections are non-fiction, and date from the early 1900s to the present day, providing a rich record of life in the region over the 20th century. Many of our films are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
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Laughing at Life
“A bundle of nerves, no music, one black dress”: Scarlet O’Hara, a Geordie queen of comedy, looks back at her life of grit and glamour.
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Overview
A young Pauline Petty's Sunday dinner used to be sage and onion stuffing sandwiches, but in the 80s she topped the bill at her own nightclub in Whitley Bay as popular Geordie raconteur, Scarlet O'Hara. The comedian reminisces about nit nurses, husbands, debt, and growing up poor on the West End streets of Newcastle in a Tyne Tees TV documentary, which captures the impeccable timing of her stand-up comedy at working men's clubs that could make or break stars in the past.
This documentary was broadcast on the 12th March 1981, as part of the Tyne Tees Television Northern Scene series.
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