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 currently unavailable
Spaghetti Junction Story
C2963 or Gravelly Hill Interchange or Spaghetti Junction? The public's name is going to be the one that sticks as a little bit of Los Angeles arrives in Birmingham.
From the collection of:
Overview
26,000 tons of steel and 160,000 yards of concrete take shape as final preparations are made to the construction of Spaghetti Junction at Gravelly Hill in Birmingham. A mammoth road project linking the M6 with the city that will go on to define Birmingham for a whole generation. The police at Perry Barr are standing by with all the latest in closed circuit cameras and even a computer to help keep the traffic flowing in anticipation of the chaos predicted by many forecasters.
Related
Let's Go to Birmingham Let's Go to Birmingham
Documentary 1962 5 mins
Paddington to Birmingham in five and a half minutes! A sped up journey filmed from the front of the train.
Midland Journey Midland Journey
Travelogue 1947 17 mins Location: Warwick
Tourist promo film extolling the delights of Birmingham and the Midlands, with a sprinkling of arch one-liners.
Birmingham University Procession on Degree Day (1901) Birmingham University Procession on Degree Day (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 9 mins Silent Location: Birmingham
Female graduates and gents sporting spectacular Edwardian whiskers take part in Birmingham’s first Degree Day ceremony.
Employees Leaving Tangyes Engineering Works, Smethwick (1901) Employees Leaving Tangyes Engineering Works, Smethwick (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 3 mins Silent Location: Birmingham
Exuberant scenes of engineers and machinists at the famous Cornwall works near Birmingham.
Easter Holiday Activities Easter Holiday Activities
News 1957 6 mins Silent Location: Birmingham
Out and about across the Midlands to see what people do with their Easter Monday holiday. Spring is in the air with time for swimming, funfairs and a good honest pint.
Birmingham Centenary Pageant 1938 Birmingham Centenary Pageant 1938
Non-Fiction 1938 7 mins Silent Location: Aston
Local news coverage of the wonderful (and very weird) parades and performances staged in Brum to celebrate 100 years since incorporation.
Frederick Wiseman's High School - a discussion Frederick Wiseman's High School - a discussion
Short documentary 2026 22 mins
Filmmaker Andrea Luka Zimmerman and curator Matthew Barrington discuss Frederick Wiseman’s High School with Sandra Hebron.
A Last Resort A Last Resort
Comedy 2022 17 mins
Rose is desperate to celebrate her 60th birthday in style, but her daughter Genevieve is struggling to ignore some recent tragic news about her mum.
Hard, Cracked the Wind Hard, Cracked the Wind
Horror 2019 17 mins
A haunting with words is the lure between life and death for a young Cornish poet.
The Walk The Walk
Drama 2023 12 mins
Adeel Akhtar portrays a man on a weekly trek to his nearest JobCentre, entering a state of purgatory through barriers put in place by the system.
Seagull Seagull
Horror 2022 6 mins
Seagull is a recovering drug addict who is about to have a very strange night on The English Riviera.
Octopus Octopus
2021 13 mins
Upon returning to her home town for a funeral, a young woman reconnects with the friends she left behind.