Please download the latest version of the BFI Player app (3.4)
AirPlay is now enabled and casting functionality has been improved
This film is part of Free
Tyneside shipyard Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson turns out a beast of a tanker for the Argentine Navy
Sponsored film 1950 8 mins Silent
A bit-part player in the Falklands conflict of 1982 was the Argentine naval tanker Punta Medanos. Thirty years earlier, all 500 feet of this newly built behemoth are seen sliding into the waters of the Tyne - twice. You don't need to understand the Spanish title cards to see that the two countries enjoyed, at least for the time being, a good business relationship.
The copy of the film in the BFI National Archive is something of an oddity. The footage seems unedited, with the launch seen from two angles - not intercut, but separately with glimpses of construction stages in between. But the effusive Spanish titles at the beginning and end of the film seem fully finished - even if some of them refer to things unseen.
Industry sponsored film 1957 7 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
The famous Swan Hunter shipyards on the Tyne grease the slipway for another stirring launch in the prosperous 1950s.
Non-Fiction 1918 5 mins Silent Location: Barnstaple
Barnstaple's experimental concrete-hulled ship gets a visit from a jolly Italian admiral.
Industry sponsored film 1940 34 mins Location: Royal Albert Dock
There’s breathtaking footage of the London’s docks at their bustling peak in this informative film celebrating the work of the Port Of London Authority.
1935 25 mins Location: Barrow-In-Furness
Paul Rotha’s brilliant film of the building and launch of SS Orion from the shipyards of Barrow-in-Furness.
Non-Fiction 1912 2 mins Silent Location: Southampton
Two of the earliest surviving editions of the Topical Budget newsreel, released in the aftermath of the Titanic disaster.
1936 2 mins Silent
The iconic Cunard White Star liner leaves the shipyard of her birth and ventures seawards for the first time.
News 1974 2 mins Location: Wallsend
A simple home for the homeless under threat. The Simpson’s Hotel in Wallsend is down but not yet out.
Promotional 1984 27 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
The fast track to an ambitious new Metro system that ends commuter misery on Tyneside in the 80s.
Amateur film 1951 4 mins Silent Location: Wallsend
Baby boomers celebrate Christmas with a party at a prefab in post-war Wallsend.
Factual TV 1974 52 mins Location: Wallsend
Acclaimed author Hunter Davies travels the length of a magnificent Roman wall that stretches from industrial Tyneside to the Solway Firth.
Amateur film 1935 19 mins Silent Location: Wallsend
A construction project looks to the future at a Swan Hunter’s Tyneside shipyard in the 1930s.
Amateur film 1931 16 mins Silent Location: North Shields
The casual heroes of the shipyards – workers and the ships they build on Tyneside are captured in beautiful monochrome by an early cine club.
Short documentary 2021 5 mins
Associate Editor for Little White Lies Magazine Hannah Strong introduces Andrea Arnold’s stunning debut feature.
Short documentary 2021 5 mins
Lydia West (It’s A Sin) introduces debbie tucker green’s ethereal, warm and human debut feature.
Drama 1965 5 mins
The powerful, multifaceted spirt and energies of the revolutionary 1960s are channelled in dynamic, monochrome microcosm.
Short documentary 2021 5 mins
Susan Wokoma introduces Alice Lowe’s slasher comedy Prevenge, reflecting on Lowe’s journey making and starring in the film while pregnant, and her rich palette of classic influences.
Performance 1990 27 mins
The Bow Gamelan Ensemble stage spectacular avant-garde musical shows.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1973 15 mins
An elderly man takes a hypnotic journey through his memories in the moments before his death.
Do you recognise a place, building or location in this film?
Help us populate the Britain on Film map by spotting and plotting the street or location you know. This is a BFI project and anyone can help.
Go to our Britain on Film crowdsourcing site and contribute to our mapping mission – to identify locations within our archive films.
Add a location
