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Thrills and spills on two wheels at a charity motorcycling gymkhana in Mitcham, Surrey.
Non-Fiction 1928 1 mins Silent
Evel Knievel meets Wacky Races in this superb Topical Budget newsreel item on the London Ladies' Motor Club gymkhana at Mitcham. The fearless motorcycling men (and one or two women) show us how it's done as they tackle the giant see-saw and other death-defying stunts: proof that life is more fun on two wheels!
The year this film was shot, twin-sister motorcycling poster girls (and gold medal-winners) Nancy and Betty Debenham published 'Motorcycling for Women', a book promoting the sport's suitability for ladies. Women's motorcycling was a hot topic in the 1920s, part of the growing debate around female emancipation. The London Ladies' Motorcycle Club was a specialist club for fearless females, but, curiously, female motorcyclists in this film are few and far between.
Cinemagazine 1926 14 mins Silent
Jiu-jitsu for ladies, how to get ink off a white apron and other life essentials courtesy of the 'Hints and Hobbies' team.
News 1978 3 mins Location: Newtownards
Shoppers clear the aisles, as Ulster Television’s toilet roll racers get ready for action.
Comedy 1928 9 mins
"Don't be cruel to a vegetabuel": delightful pair of music hall numbers from the eccentric writer of Jollity Farm.
1936 9 mins Silent
Guests to impress? Celebrity chef Marcel Boulestin out a quick veal escalope with the aid of a shiny new gas cooker.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1964 16 mins
Meet a very beautiful, very clever girl who adores peaches in Michael Gill's BFI-funded fantasy short.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1928 15 mins Silent
From fashion and slimming tips to a jazz age night out in London - just some of the diverting items in this cinemagazine
Non-Fiction 1913 1 mins Silent Location: Mitcham
"The usual three days merriment on Mitcham Common"
Documentary 1951 18 mins Silent Location: Mitcham
Rides, boxing booths, and a dog-faced monkey keep on moving as the travelling fair hits Mitcham and Stratford-upon-Avon, with a look in at Blackpool.
Non-Fiction 1927 1 mins Silent Location: Mitcham
Carousels, doubling up on the helter skelter and an enormous key feature in this fabulous film of the annual funfair on Mitcham Green
Non-Fiction 1928 1 mins Silent Location: Mitcham
There are two mighty performances from one of Britain’s first female athletics stars at this meeting in Mitcham.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1933 2 mins
Hand-drawn sound experiment by Bauhaus professor László Moholy-Nagy.
Advert 1974 1 mins Location: Shaftesbury
A classic slice of British advertising history, though that hill's not as Northern as it looks...
Non-Fiction 1901 3 mins Silent Location: Rotherham
Edwardian workers react to the camera at one of Rotherham's major employers.
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Silent Location: Great Moor St, Bolton
Eager youngsters burst out of the gates of a Victorian cotton mill.
Sport 1901 1 mins Silent Location: Henley-on-Thames
It's the first weekend of July 1901, and high society are on the Thames
Advert 1898 1 mins Silent Location: St Pancras
An unusual farewell in this charming early film
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