This film is part of Free

Wish You Were Here
Round-the-clock fun is the order of the day in this whirlwind survey of the tourist industry in 1949: from a mass Hokey Cokey at Butlin’s Pwllheli, to stand-up comedy in the Catskills.
Overview
This tour of American and British holiday habits in the late 1940s makes up for in infectious enthusiasm what it lacks in in-depth analysis. From Wales to Nassau, and from Quebec to the Catskills, the emphasis is on communal - and often fairly vigorous - activity, from skiing, skating and golf, to dancing, sailing and fishing. The serious point - emphasised by Billy Butlin’s revolutionary holiday camps - is that by 1948 holidays were becoming available to everybody.
Viewers of a certain British sitcom will recognise the ‘Hi-de-Hi’ call of the Butlins Redcoat as he leads a packed ballroom in a slightly terrifying mass rendition of the Hokey Cokey. Jimmy Perry, the co-writer (with David Croft) of the popular comedy series ‘Hi-de-Hi’, based the programme on his own experiences as a Butlins Redcoat at the same Pwllheli camp featured in this film. From the ranks of chalets, to the playground, vast canteen, and (surprisingly plummy) tones of the Radio Butlin’s announcer, the sights and sounds of the British holiday camp are so familiar it is easy to forget that Butlin, did indeed revolutionise the tourist industry by giving ordinary people ‘a week’s holiday for a week’s wage’.
Related

Inside Nazi Germany Inside Nazi Germany
Documentary 1938 16 mins
A genuinely historic film, which caused much controversy at the time: the first commercially -released American motion picture to explicitly attack Hitler and Nazism.

Presidential Year Presidential Year
Documentary 1948 15 mins
‘Crisp and sincere’,‘carefully trained’ or ’resonant and vibrant’? Which voice would appeal to you if you had to pick the Republican candidate for the 1948 Presidential Election?

Great Britain Coronation Great Britain Coronation
Anthology 1937 24 mins
Weatherproof bunting, fog, clockwork dolls and a Hollywood exodus to London: this sideways look at preparations for the Coronation of George VI provides a wry American take on a very British ceremony.

Metropolis Metropolis
Documentary 1939 18 mins
This ode to New York from March of Time shows us how seven and half million people from every race and nationality in the world, live, work and play together in ‘the greatest metropolis of the New World’.

Irish Free State Irish Free State
Anthology 1936 23 mins
How Ireland turned herself into a self-sufficient powerhouse - plus a study of the "lunatic fringe" in US politics.

America Thinks It Over America Thinks It Over
Documentary 1939 17 mins
In a world on the verge of war, will America support the democracies of Europe, or turn inwards and embrace isolationism?

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.