This film is part of Free

A Bedtime Story

In this captivating film shot in Skidby, a little girl reads her favourite dolls a bedtime story that miraculously comes to life.

Amateur film 1959 8 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for Yorkshire Film Archive

Overview

This heart-warming film begins with a two year old child, Ann, arranging her dolls on a sofa. Ann proceeds to read her animal picture book to her toys. Every time she turns a page to reveal another animal, we are shown the animal living and breathing in real life. The film comes to a close when Ann puts her toys to bed and falls asleep beside them.

This film is part of the A.R. Smith collection which dates from 1956-1970. Filmmaker A.R. Smith filmed his niece, Ann Baker, in the upstairs rooms of her family’s bakery. Although she was only two at the time, Ann remembers her uncle making the film in the late 1950s.

Subjects