This film is part of Free

Hastings Calling
Town criers test their vocal mettle and there's a comic knees-up in this curious tinted newsreel item
Overview
Oyez! Sussex town criers show off their vocal prowess in this curious newsreel item. Assorted chaps take to the stage but it's the lone female competitor who really gives it some welly. There's also a great crowd relaxing in deckchairs, watching an odd competition in which women have their legs judged - the results of which we sadly never learn. Perhaps most intriguing about this short item is the damage to the blue tinted sections of the nitrate film stock, which gives the subjects a rather beautiful, ghostly shimmer.
Related

A Peep into the Future A Peep into the Future
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1946 2 mins Silent Location: Hastings
Post- war Hastings needs to brace itself for change in this short film from the Town Planning Department

Stranger on the Shore Stranger on the Shore
Short documentary 2016 13 mins Location: St Leonards
Concluding Michael Smith and Maxy Bianco's trilogy on Britain's coastal edgelands, this films looks specifically at the bohemian eccentricity of Hastings.

Hastings' Week of Pageantry: Sir Herbert Tree Unveils the Tablet to Kean & Elliston Hastings' Week of Pageantry: Sir Herbert Tree Unveils the Tablet to Kean & Elliston
Non-Fiction 1914 2 mins Silent Location: Hastings
A plaque commemorating the first theatre in Hastings is unveiled and Stone Age dwellers take to the lake for a race.

Seaside Scenes at Hastings Seaside Scenes at Hastings
Amateur film 1938 15 mins Silent Location: Hastings
Hastings looks marvellous in this sumptuous colour film from the late 1930s - complete with sunbathing, swimming and being slapped with a fish

Holiday in May Holiday in May
Amateur film 1952 17 mins Silent Location: St Leonards
Join the Youngs as they tour a number of historic coastal towns and resorts during a May holiday in the early fifties

Devon/Fishing Net Industry Devon/Fishing Net Industry
1911 14 mins Silent Location: Ilfracombe
Recreation rules the day at Ilfracombe, while work continues on Hastings beaches

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.