This film is part of Free
Arctic Expedition : 1937
Join James Wordie on his 1937 Arctic expedition venturing the frozen seas of Baffin Bay encountering native Greenlandic Inuit along the way.
Overview
Footage capturing Polar explorer and geologist and one-time companion of Ernest Shackleton, James Wordie on an expedition in the vast expanse that is Baffin Bay. Stopping off at various points along the Greenland coast they record the lives of the native Inuit. Meteorologist and fellow Scotsman, Edmund Dymond completes a series of experiments with weather balloons up and down the coast.
Sir James Mann Wordie (1889-1962) was born at Partick, Glasgow, and educated at the Glasgow Academy and University. Wordie would continue his studies at St. John's College, Cambridge where his lifelong association with polar research began. In 1912 he met with scientists who had returned from Scott’s second expedition. This connection would see him appointed on Shackleton’s Endurance expedition as geologist and chief of the scientific staff which set sail in 1914. Wordie’s morale amongst the men on this near-disastrous voyage and scientific findings would be commended with a medal from the Royal Geographical Society. Wordie would go on to devote much of his life to arctic research and would serve as the President of the RGS between 1951 and 1954.
Related
Shackleton South Georgia Birds Shackleton South Georgia Birds
1920 13 mins Silent
Wildlife in the remote South Atlantic, captured during the ill-fated Shackleton-Rowett Expedition
Jenny's Dog Team Journey Jenny's Dog Team Journey
Documentary 1975 25 mins
Travels with my camera: inspirational seventy-something Scottish film-maker Jenny Gilbertson travels through Northern Canada by dog sled, with four adults and a baby.
The Conquest of Everest The Conquest of Everest
Documentary 1953 78 mins
Colour film (narrated by Meredith Edwards) telling the story of the ‘Mount Everest Expedition 1953’, which saw the first successful ascent of the mountain.
Preparing for an Expedition Preparing for an Expedition
Travelogue 1959 8 mins Silent
Scenes from a documentary or educational programme filmed in South America on the subject of how to prepare for an expedition.
Southward on the "Quest" Southward on the "Quest"
Documentary 1922 68 mins Silent
Potent record of the 1921 Shackleton-Rowett Antarctic expedition, marked by the death of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
Cape to Cairo Cape to Cairo
Travelogue 1926 1 mins
The Court Treatt expedition arrives in Luxor in this fragment from the film record of their journey across Africa.
Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass) Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2011 33 mins
Over 30 years and 150 projects, the composer shares, with humour and passion, the intricacies of making film music.
Ian Neil (Masterclass) Ian Neil (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2012 74 mins
Neil selected soundtracks for 127 Hours, Shame, Kick Ass, Control and many more. He discusses the job and its complexities, referencing his own work.
Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan
Inside Film 2012 mins
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's adapter reveals his quest for "the poem of the book" and the importance of simplicity: 'Drain the pond to find the fish'.
Gabriel Yared on composing for film Gabriel Yared on composing for film
Inside Film 2013 11 mins
Composer of The Lives of Others, The English Patient and Betty Blue on intimacy and experimentation.
Lois Burwell on movie makeup Lois Burwell on movie makeup
Inside Film 2013 17 mins
Lincoln, Braveheart and Magnolia make-up artist Lois Burwell explains how she created some of her most iconic looks, as part of a BAFTA Masterclass.
Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass) Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass)
2013 61 mins
British cinematographer of The Hurt Locker, Captain Phillips, Hillsborough and Riff Raff reviews the art of the moving image.