The North East Film Archive is one of a network of regional film archives established to collect, preserve and show film made in, or about the North East of England. Our collections are non-fiction, and date from the early 1900s to the present day, providing a rich record of life in the region over the 20th century. Many of our films are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
This film is part of Free
Tramp Tramp Tramp
A dance band crooner and his sweetheart take the rough with the smooth on a hike through Yorkshire in the 1930s.
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Overview
Two novice backpackers take a marathon hike through the Yorkshire moors and dales in the 1930s. From a kip in a bathtub to a thirst-quenching pint at the head of Stake Pass, George is a dance band crooner who takes the rough with the smooth. Meanwhile, his elegant girlfriend contemplates sublime landscapes like a Romantic loner in a Casper David Friedrich painting, and gamely poses in a fake rain shower in York.
The narrative devices, comic interludes and rudimentary special effects make this creative amateur travelogue delightfully watchable, despite poor picture quality at times. The film includes footage of the Ripon Hornblower in the ‘Setting the Watch’ ceremony that dates back to the year 886. The filmmaker, George Cummin, played saxophone in a dance band in Whitby in the 30s and later became a reserve fireman in Manchester during World War Two. He began to make films in 1933, working on many documentaries and fiction films into the 1960s as a member of the Newcastle and District Amateur Cinematographers’ Association.
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