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Who needs the Boat Race? Not Hammersmith, with its own regatta - complete with greasy pole competition. Nearby, the Classic Cinema reopens to fanfare.
Non-Fiction 1951 5 mins
Bored by the Boat Race? Wondering who comes third? The Hammersmith Regatta declares itself the everyman's rowing event in this local newsreel, and makes a strong case with the addition of a greasy pole competition. Away from the riverbank, the reopening of the Classic as a repertory cinema gathers much interest - and not just because of the free sherry on offer.
An opening double bill of American B-movie thriller The Brute Man (1946) and Silvana Mangano in the Italian Bitter Rice (1949) suggests a somewhat eclectic programming strategy. Unfortunately the cinema was closed before the decade was out, and the building was later demolished.
Non-Fiction 1910 1 mins Silent Location: Trafalgar Square
Spot the changes and continuities in this majestic Edwardian panorama of Trafalgar Square.
Amateur film 1934 4 mins Silent Location: Spitalfields
A rare glimpse inside the Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor in the East End during the early 1930s.
Documentary 1971 12 mins Location: Croydon
Do you remember when the moon men came to Croydon? You can bet these kids never forgot the day Dogg's Troupe landed
1977 13 mins Location: Hammersmith
Environmentalists wage war on the Greater London Council in this eye-opening account of a battle to save Hammersmith's open spaces.
Amateur film 1963 3 mins Silent Location: Westminster
Excellent if somewhat jerky aerial shots of London taken from a helicopter and featuring close-ups of Waterloo, the docks and Tower Bridge.
1963 3 mins Silent
London in 1963 was a city in flux, as this spectacular aerial footage shows.
Industry sponsored film 1963 5 mins Silent Location: Hammersmith
London Transport engineers experiment with two options for the automatic ticket gates being developed for the Victoria line.
Amateur film 1958 7 mins Silent Location: Hackney
Hackney Downs School Cadets in athletics training and competition, filmed by teacher Joe Brearley.
1977 13 mins Location: Hammersmith
Environmentalists wage war on the Greater London Council in this eye-opening account of a battle to save Hammersmith's open spaces.
School programme and Educational film 1961 37 mins Location: Hammersmith
Watch – and learn – as the massive Hammersmith Flyover miraculously rises over Hammersmith Broadway during its complex construction period.
Non-Fiction 1925 4 mins Silent Location: Hammersmith
Oxford and Cambridge battle it out in traditional fashion on the River Thames.
Factual TV 1967 7 mins Location: Stevenage
In the 21st year following the first New Town designation to Stevenage, Anglia TV report on the quality of life of two of its residents, also 21, London-born Russell and David.
Industry sponsored film 1960 24 mins
A new luxury express is put through its paces. This film looks over the shoulders of the select band of craftsmen, engineers and operators, whose combined skills try to ensure that a train journey is a delightful experience.
Documentary 1973 15 mins
British Transport Films record the varied daily lives of their neighbours as seen from the high roof of their building in London’s Marylebone.
Travelogue 1953 21 mins Location: York
The Stationmaster at York guides us through a typical day, from dawn to dusk.
Industry sponsored film 1957 20 mins
Illustrating the efficiency of express freight trains, and how they link manufacturers with their customers at the other end of Britain.
Documentary 1952 30 mins
Examining a day in the life of what was then the busiest railway system in the world – British Railways.
Industry sponsored film 1957 9 mins
A 1957 film examining the future for British Railways, and some of the opportunities provided by a new modernisation plan.
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