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
Glamour comes to wartime Folkestone as the town hosts its first world film premiere.
Documentary 1941 6 mins
The coastal town of Folkestone was on the front line during the war, with the fear of German invasion very real. So the arrival of stars from the film Kipps, attending the first 20th Century-Fox premiere to be held outside London, brought much-needed glamour and excitement to the beleaguered residents. Actors Phyllis Calvert, Michael Redgrave and Diana Wynyard address assembled dignitaries at a formal dinner before awarding prizes at a dance.
Folkestone was selected for the honour as author H.G. Wells lived in the area from the late 1890s to 1909, having moved there to recuperate from illness. His source novel Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul was published in 1905. Carol Reed's 1941 film was the second screen adaptation following the 1921 silent version, which was set in Folkestone.
War 1939 9 mins
Summer 1939, and an ordinary family gets an alarming taste of war to come in this little-known Ealing Studios propaganda short.
Government sponsored film 1944 2 mins
A Peter Strausfeld animation, encouraging the public to use the telephone more sparingly in wartime.
Promotional 1941 2 mins
A trailer for Ealing's wartime drama "Ships with Wings", an all-star actioner about the Navy's Fleet Air Arm.
Promotional 1943 3 mins Silent
Gainsborough melodrama trailer, starring the most desirable cast of the period.
War 1943 36 mins Location: Cwmgiedd
The villagers of Cwmgiedd re-enact a Nazi massacre in Czechoslovakia, in Humphrey Jennings’ unforgettable propaganda film.
Documentary 1940 16 mins
Terror on the home front - literally - in this heady and eccentric brew.
Promotional 1969 10 mins Location: Folkestone
There's something for everyone in Folkestone as this promotional film claims - including lidos, fine dining, cliff railways and the weirdest fitness machines ever seen
1961 13 mins Location: Folkestone
Veteran tennis commentator Peter West takes us on a journey around a boarding school for disabled children.
Amateur film 1964 16 mins Silent Location: Gravesend
Wilf Green and his family enjoy a day out in Calais before returning to Deal for more sight-seeing in this delightful film from the mid-sixties
Amateur film 1985 5 mins Silent Location: Folkestone
Folkestone on foot is the subject of this quirky and mysterious film from the 1980s which hints that there is a lot more to the town than just a ferry terminal.
Non-Fiction 1904 7 mins Silent Location: Folkestone
From road sweepers to rollercoasters - all life is here in this stunning portrait of Folkestone in its Edwardian heyday.
Advert 1931 6 mins Silent Location: Folkestone
Sunshine and strolls in Folkestone, "the gem of the Kentish coast".
Short documentary 2021 5 mins
Actor Marli Siu (Anna and the Apocalypse, Run) introduces Naomi Kawase’s calming culinary drama.
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.
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
