This film is part of Free
Tram Ride into Halifax (1902)
A breathtaking winter journey in the Pennines, from country to town and back again via electric tram.
Overview
An unusually painterly visual sweep (taking landscape rather than people as its subject) distinguishes this particularly special Mitchell and Kenyon film. It proves thought-provoking as well as beautiful: expressing the changes to the face of Britain heralded by tram electrification and later accelerated by the internal combustion engine: the route travelled here is today a busy A-road.
In his celebrated 1934 travelogue An English Journey, author and thinker J.B. Priestley suggested there were "three Englands": the first a peaceful, ageless, pastoral land; the second a gritty, smoky one spawned by the Industrial Revolution; and the third an urban and suburban 20th-century England less rooted and romantic than either - and destined to supplant them both. Tram Ride in Halifax was filmed three decades earlier, yet it somehow encompasses all of Priestley's Englands, while revealing the crucial role of transport in connecting and transforming them all.
Related
Panorama of the River Avon to Portishead (1902) Panorama of the River Avon to Portishead (1902)
Non-Fiction 1902 9 mins Silent Location: Portishead
A fine variety of views of the Avon gorge taken from various positions downstream from the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Phantom Ride on the Furness Railway (1901) Phantom Ride on the Furness Railway (1901)
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Silent Location: Furness Abbey
A driver's view of the Furness Railway through Furness Abbey Tunnel and Station.
Tram Ride through Sunderland (1904) Tram Ride through Sunderland (1904)
Non-Fiction 1904 3 mins Silent Location: Sunderland
The thrill of a ride through central Sunderland to the sea at Roker.
Liverpool As Seen from the Front of an Electric Car from the Pierhead to the Circus (1901) Liverpool As Seen from the Front of an Electric Car from the Pierhead to the Circus (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent Location: Liverpool
A fascinating film tour into the heart of Edwardian Liverpool.
Scenes at Egremont Ferry (1901) Scenes at Egremont Ferry (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent Location: Egremont
Edwardian tourists and businessmen hurry off the ferry and down the long pier at Egremont on the River Mersey.
Beautiful Panorama of Railway Ride from St. German to Millbay (1901) Beautiful Panorama of Railway Ride from St. German to Millbay (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 3 mins Silent Location: Plymouth
Views from an Edwardian railway trip, filmed just east of the Devon-Cornwall border and over the Tamar.
Calderdale Talking Newspaper Calderdale Talking Newspaper
Documentary 1981 6 mins Location: Halifax
Dedicated volunteers from Halifax provide a talking newspaper service for locals on cassettes, strangely not motivated by money.
Calderdale Calderdale
Factual TV 1987 9 mins Location: Halifax
Halifax’s Calderdale Council inspires real and lasting positive change in the community through infrastructure investment in this film.
The Baker The Baker
Amateur film 1985 9 mins Location: Halifax
An experienced Halifax baker takes us behind the counter and showcases his sweet and savoury secrets in this endearing short film.
Halifax Day by Day Halifax Day by Day
Documentary 1910 2 mins Silent Location: Halifax
One of the most industrious and enterprising towns of northern England takes a break to greet the novelty of the movie camera.
The Halifax Laundry Blues The Halifax Laundry Blues
Documentary 1985 25 mins Location: Halifax
Women workers give voice to their puzzlement, anger and despair as years of hard work cleaning laundry for hospitals is discarded.
See You Tomorrow See You Tomorrow
Industry sponsored film 1965 17 mins Location: Halifax
The lesson here is clear, do the right things in the workplace – wear totectors and Rozalex barrier cream – and all will be well, and if not there is a nurse on hand with a plaster.
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.
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.
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.
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.