The Rattle

An opportunistic crook gains the upper hand as two likely lads attempt to solve an annoying rattle in their car. Dear viewer, you may need to suspend disbelief with this absurd comedy crime caper produced in the 1960s by a fun-loving crew from the Newcastle and District Amateur Cinematographers Association. The rather deserted location is the Team Valley trading estate in Gateshead, established in 1936 to encourage industries into an area hit hard by the Depression.

In June 1937 the new king was one of the visitors to the British Industrial Fair at Earl’s Court in London who gazed at the industrial city of tomorrow contained in a 50ft square model of miniature factories, roads, railways, and gardens that made up the future Team Valley – billed as the finest trading estate in Europe and built to alleviate Depression era unemployment (67.8 per cent on Tyneside in 1934). It was promoted as a ‘modern miracle’, distinct from the ‘smog, roar, dust and fumes of the city’ and the contentious industrial landscapes of the north. Here in the 60s, it forms the perfect backdrop for amateurs wielding cine cameras to practise elaborate fight scenes with a touch of northern edgelands noir.