The Media Archive for Central England is the public screen archive for the East and West Midlands. An independent charity and company based at the University of Lincoln, MACE acquires, catalogues, preserves and makes widely available moving image materials that inform our understanding of the diverse cultures and histories of communities between the Lincolnshire coast and the Welsh border.
This film is part of Free
Rootes Car Factory
From spray shop to assembly - life on the line for the workers of Ryton.
From the collection of:
Overview
These February 1967 scenes were shot at the Rootes car factory at Ryton on Dunsmore near Coventry. At the time the firm was riven with strikes so we are probably lucky to see the plant so busy. The men are assembling the range known to the firm as Arrow - the most common variant on the forecourt being the Hillman Hunter, which was made at Ryton from 1966 to 1969, after which production was moved to Linwood in Scotland.
The factory at Ryton was originally a shadow plant assembling aircraft during the Second World War. In June 1964 the American Chrysler company began to gradually take over Rootes, eventually taking full control in the late 1960s. The Americans produced cars at Ryton against a storm of industrial unrest until the European arm of Chrysler was sold to Peugeot-Citroen in 1978. The axe finally fell on the Ryton plant at the end of 2006.
Related
Watch for free
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.
Watch for free
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.
Watch for free
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.
Watch for free
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.
Watch for free
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.
Watch for free
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.