This film is part of Free
The drama and spectacle of steelmaking at Ebbw Vale.
Industry sponsored film 1948 42 mins
Atmospheric photography combines with some nifty animation in this directorial debut of documentary master John Krish, here co-directing with Ray Elton, who is better-known as a cinematographer. The witty animation is provided by John Halas and Joy Batchelor, pioneers in the field - and also responsible for the first British animated feature film, Animal Farm (1954).
John Krish went on to become a major documentary director, making several films now considered classics, including the documentaries The Elephant Will Never Forget (1953) and I Think They Call Him John (1964), and a host of public information films. But perhaps his most familiar (though uncredited) work is the iconic credits sequence for the ultra-suave 60s TV series The Avengers.
Public Information Filler 1973 1 mins
Who needs to talk to strangers when you're the only one who can understand the garbled mewling of your best buddy cat, Charley?
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1935 9 mins Silent
Don’t listen to Slacky the Sloucher or Giro the Germ will stage a jailbreak – public health cartoon by the Health & Cleanliness Council
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1957 10 mins
Ye Gods! It’s the future of telecommunications – as seen through a cartoon modern lens from the 1950s
Advert 1930 5 mins
Bloody foreign cows coming over here and becoming our dinners
Advert 1972 1 mins
Dangerously addicted to boring old movies? This is a case for Dr BFI, as demonstrated in this 1970s animated promo
Sponsored film 1947 5 mins Silent
Do you know the golden rules of tea making? The Tea Bureau set out to put your cuppa straight in this progressively designed post-war cartoon
Amateur film 1959 16 mins Silent Location: Crumlin
Owen Humberstone Prosser, an expert on railways and canals, captured the Crumlin Viaduct on film in 1959, before its demolition in 1967, a victim of the Beeching rail cuts.
Promotional 1958 17 mins Location: Ebbw Vale/Glyn Ebwy
RTB, the Ebbw Vale steel company, records a town highlight, preparations for which have been in train a year, involving organisers, competitors, quarrymen and steel workers.
Amateur film 1937 3 mins Silent Location: Ebbw Vale/Glyn Ebwy
Richard Thomas & Co. Ltd (later Richard Thomas and Baldwins) brings government-backed hope to depressed Ebbw Vale with new steelworks.
1956 21 mins Location: Ebbw Vale/Glyn Ebwy
Only connect: a little Welsh Lady doll, a steel rocking horse, burning Schnapps and the “Limestone Special”.
1953 20 mins Location: Ebbw Vale/Glyn Ebwy
The steel industry: the men engage with gigantic machines on a huge scale; the apprentice boys help and holiday; the women have their hair done with the stars.
1949 18 mins Location: Ebbw Vale/Glyn Ebwy
RTB has lots to celebrate and Howard Marshall, director of personnel/public relations and the main Ingot Pictorial commentator, downs a pint in one on opening Ebbw Vale House.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1936 8 mins
Spoiler alert! The fox is always going to outsmart the hounds in this delightful, balletic cartoon that heads from the countryside into 1930s suburbia.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1936 9 mins
Carmen get your cartoon opera fix in this (very!) loose version of Bizet’s classic tale of romance and treachery.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1909 4 mins
Toy Story meets Fatal Attraction in this tale of an Edwardian childhood romance scuppered by poor finances and a stalking dolly
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1940 8 mins
Who does he think he’s kidding? This parodic day-in-the-life portrait of Mr Hitler is one of the very few British examples of comic cartoon propaganda from WW2.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1919 10 mins Silent
Remember when Charlie Chaplin went into space? Reality is no obstacle in this endlessly inventive silent cinema cartoon of the 'Little Tramp'
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1925 6 mins
1920s canine icon Bonzo the Dog tests the Entente Cordiale to the limit in this silent British cartoon
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