This film is part of Free
Record Shop (Fun Palace outtakes)
Back in 1963, record shops were a place to hang out with friends and hear the latest pop tunes, with no pressure to buy.
Overview
This vinyl emporium is a gathering place where listening to the new single by your favourite combo is all part of the service. Booths allowed customers to hear before they bought and flipping through the racks was a way of passing the time, as well as checking out new releases. This unidentified shop carries a pretty broad selection, with space for Schubert and Strauss, plus jazz (trad and modern), alongside 'popular'. The window display is clearly aimed at male customers, featuring some risqué LPs (including 'Music to Strip By') as well as some Kenny Lynch for the ladies.
This footage was shot for a film Littlewood was making to support her Fun Palace concept. This was intended to be a huge movable construction that would contain education and entertainment. In 1963 she shot 60 reels of 16mm rushes around London to show what people currently did for leisure and to demonstrate that something else was needed. The film was finished but is now lost and Joan’s Fun Palace never got built. However, the rushes paint a fantastic picture of the period, with many expertly filmed by cameraman Walter Lassally, who also shot “We Are The Lambeth Boys” and “A Taste Of Honey”.
Related
Quiet Morning Quiet Morning
School programme and Educational film 1955 11 mins Location: Finchley
Everyday family life in suburban North London - as seen by folk learning English in the 1950s.
Cyclist Turning Right Cyclist Turning Right
Instructional film/TV programme 1983 1 mins
Two young BMX-ers nearly come a cropper in this short and shocking cycling safety film.
Pedal Cyclists Pedal Cyclists
Public Information Filler 1947 2 mins
A witty, eccentric guide to safety on two wheels under the watchful eye of a pedalling angel.
Good Cycles Deserve Good Riders Good Cycles Deserve Good Riders
Public Information Filler 1950 3 mins
The car-free, Kodachrome streets of 1950s London offer an idyllic environment for acting out the 'wrongs' of cycling safety.
Everybody Happy! Everybody Happy!
Non-Fiction 1926 2 mins Silent Location: London
Splendid scenes of Londoners letting off steam around the capital - but where, exactly?
Bombed Out Bombed Out
Amateur film 1945 9 mins Silent Location: Southwark
Step into the aftermath of a WWII bombing raid in south London in this startling amateur film.
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
The NHS75 Celebration The NHS75 Celebration
Short documentary 2023 3 mins
Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.