The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
This film is part of Free

Matilda Ford T
Matilda sets the standard for the mass produced car
In partnership with:

Overview
TV reporter Clive Gunnell takes a ride in Mrs Hawkins' 1913 Ford model T car, at the time one of 145 in the country but the only one to be owned by a woman. An enthusiastic Gunnell is a ready passenger as they take to the lanes of Devon and relive the glory days of the first mass produced motorcar.
Matilda does 20 miles to the gallon with a top speed of 40 to 45 miles an hour. The car is started with a starting crank wound around at speed to set the piston of the internal combustion engine into rotation. The Ford Model T is referred to as Tin Lizzie or T and was produced from 1908 to 1927. 1908 is the year cars became available to the mass market. Henry Ford’s Detroit assembly line produced car with its available interchangeable parts found a ready market with the middle classes whose disposable income was spent readily on the model making it an instant success.
Related

Lady Pilots Lady Pilots
Non-Fiction 1935 3 mins Silent Location: Devon
Talented women become mistresses of the skies.

Jubilee Jubilee
Current affairs 1977 13 mins Location: Bath
A special report looks into the preparations for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and her subsequent tour of the South West.

Daz with the Blue Whitener Daz with the Blue Whitener
Advert 1967 2 mins Location: Devon
Mrs Cross takes the Daz test but what will the outcome be?

One Per Cent of Us - One in a Hundred One Per Cent of Us - One in a Hundred
Current affairs 1986 52 mins Location: Plymouth
This documentary charts the progress and challenges of disabled people living in the community.

One Per Cent of Us - Children No More One Per Cent of Us - Children No More
Current affairs 1976 45 mins Location: Plymouth
The TV cameras return to Downham School to see what has changed for disabled children since 1966.

Clothes to Please Clothes to Please
Current affairs 1963 1 mins Location: Devon
Responses to questions about dressing to please are of their day.

Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass) Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2011 33 mins
Over 30 years and 150 projects, the composer shares, with humour and passion, the intricacies of making film music.

Ian Neil (Masterclass) Ian Neil (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2012 74 mins
Neil selected soundtracks for 127 Hours, Shame, Kick Ass, Control and many more. He discusses the job and its complexities, referencing his own work.

Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass) Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass)
2013 61 mins
British cinematographer of The Hurt Locker, Captain Phillips, Hillsborough and Riff Raff reviews the art of the moving image.

Lois Burwell on movie makeup Lois Burwell on movie makeup
Inside Film 2013 17 mins
Lincoln, Braveheart and Magnolia make-up artist Lois Burwell explains how she created some of her most iconic looks, as part of a BAFTA Masterclass.

Gabriel Yared on composing for film Gabriel Yared on composing for film
Inside Film 2013 11 mins
Composer of The Lives of Others, The English Patient and Betty Blue on intimacy and experimentation.

Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan
Inside Film 2012 mins
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's adapter reveals his quest for "the poem of the book" and the importance of simplicity: 'Drain the pond to find the fish'.