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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Out of the Drum
Lady Luck smiles on a reckless secretary who takes a punt on the Irish Sweepstake … but not everyone’s a winner.
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Overview
prim secretary takes a punt on the Irish Sweep and blows her winnings on a chic gown from Georges in Newcastle. This morality tale is an amateur gem, which doesn’t shirk from showing the seedy side of gambling in the 30s. The original Irish Free State Hospitals’ Sweepstake promotional draws were held in Dublin three times a year from 1939 and were grand extravaganzas on a Busby Berkeley scale, often promoted in newsreels.
The Irish Sweepstake was a horse-racing based lottery founded in the Irish Free State in 1930 to build and equip new hospitals. Tickets were smuggled in and sold illegally in Britain, Canada and the United States, where gambling was illegal. Corruption was endemic and was exposed by a journalist in 1973, but the Sweeps limped on until 1987. References to the Sweep in popular culture abound, including a mention in Orson Welles’ film ‘Forces of Evil’. This film was produced by talented members of the Newcastle and District Amateur Cinematographers' Association, one of the earliest British cine clubs, formed in 1927 by James Cameron.
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