This film is part of Free
Entertaining and evocative Fleet Air Arm drama-doc propaganda piece, written and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
War 1944 42 mins
Intelligent, well-made WWII propaganda. Clumsy Fred Davey isn’t much of a theatrical dresser, as his thespian boss, played by Ralph Richardson, discovers. But he finds his true vocation in the forces. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger made this stirring mini-feature, which follows a young volunteer's progress from enlistment in the Navy's Fleet Air Arm to his subsequent decoration for valour.
This fascinating film also features behind-the-scenes footage shot at Denham Studios. Among the celebrities glimpsed are actress Anna Neagle – seen leaving the studio canteen - and the great Laurence Olivier - caught pulling funny faces through a window. Director Powell appears briefly too, playing a photographer. This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.
Science Fiction 1929 68 mins
Extravagantly-mounted futuristic sci-fi, now with added sound, although still with the world's two power blocs at loggerheads.
Biopic 1947 56 mins Location: Burns Cott
A brisk and rousing biopic of Robert Burns, punctuated by songs and poems based on his famous works.
War 1927 109 mins Silent Location: Hounslow
Dramatic reconstruction of the Somme
War 1921 13 mins Silent
Dramatisation of the popular conspiracy theory surrounding the mid-WWI death of Lord Kitchener.
Crime 1936 72 mins Location: Derry / Londonderry
Kidnapping, mobsters and moonshine! Is this a story is set in a country, which exists only in the minds of those who have never been to Ireland?
Drama 1986 83 mins Location: Derry / Londonderry
The bar flies prepare for the big day with betting, boozing and banter. But will best man Billy break more than his ma’s heart before the wedding?
Documentary 1939 10 mins Location: Denham
Fascinating record of the grit behind the glamour of one of Europe's largest film studios – and all in a sleepy little English village.
Documentary 1937 34 mins Silent Location: Houses of Parliament
Follow working narrow boats as they make their 60-hour trip from London to Birmingham along Britain's longest industrial waterway.
Comedy 1896 1 mins Silent
A deft music hall act adapted for film, featuring the only known appearance of pioneer filmmaker Robert Paul
Advert 1985 2 mins
Take a fighter jet, a Top Gun pilot with sunglasses and a brand new SAAB 900 and you have a sure-fire vehicle to launch a Hollywood career.
Promotional 2019 10 mins
A wandering warrior dreams of a new form of expression, in this promo for UNKLE’s album The Road: Part II / Lost Highway Pt. II directed by Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones.
1935 16 mins
A rare glimpse of 1930s London in colour: the Thames has never looked lovelier.
Advert 1946 1 mins Silent
Life is looking up! The war is over and the “Corona” Man can visit his “Corona” families once more, door-to-door.
Advert 1962 0 mins Location: Rhyl
Cinema advertisement for Marine Lake & Ocean Beach, Rhyl, a popular destination for crowds set on a day's fun on free rides.
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
