This film is part of Free
Calling Blighty (Walsall)
War-weary servicemen far from home reconnect with relatives and friends in this touching collection of filmed messages
Overview
This touching collection of filmed messages from troops stationed in India would have played to packed houses back home - an emotional reunion of a kind for family, friends and lovers missing their distant loved ones. The Picture House, on Bridge Street in Walsall provided the venue for this sometimes stilted but always loving message home.
The filmed message format was briefly adopted by the Movietone and Pathe newsreels, and was repurposed by the Directorate for Army Welfare in India to boast morale and facilitate better communication with troops in the Far East. The men often didn't know one another and were brought together just to film their messages. The North West Film Archive's website has a database and more information on the Calling Blighty films.
Related
Female Bus Conductors Female Bus Conductors
News 1963 2 mins Location: Walsall
Walsall Corporation judge men to be more important at work.
Walsall Market Walsall Market
News 1973 6 mins Location: Walsall
The sights and sounds of Walsall Market
Walsall Coronation Celebrations, 12 May 1937 Walsall Coronation Celebrations, 12 May 1937
1937 8 mins Silent Location: Walsall
Revels in Walsall - processions and crowds on the streets of Walsall, and at the Coronation Sports Fete in Fellows Park.
His Home Town His Home Town
Non-Fiction 1927 1 mins Silent Location: Walsall
Author Jerome K. Jerome, one of Walsall's most famous sons, returns home for what may have been his last screen appearance.
Walsall Co-Operative Society Limited Jubilee Celebrations Walsall Co-Operative Society Limited Jubilee Celebrations
Promotional 1936 13 mins Silent Location: Cannock
Fifty years of the Walsall Co-operative Society is celebrated in style with a grand vehicular parade.
Walsall Trolleybuses Walsall Trolleybuses
News 1970 3 mins Location: Walsall
Walsall says "Goodbye" to the clean and spacious trolley buses and "Hello" to the 'dirty diesels' as the town modernises its public transport.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.