Neptune's Eye

Wishes go awry when a man discovers an eyeball on a Teesside beach with unpredictable magic powers. The man turning trick into fantasy in this enjoyable comedy is amateur filmmaker Leonard Winter, based in Middlesbrough in the 1950s. His wife and daughter also star in the film. It was shot during post-war trips to the Cleveland coast and World War Two anti-invasion defence structures can still be seen on the beach.

Leonard Winter was a talented amateur filmmaker who often blurred the distinction between home movie and fiction in his work. He made many 9.5mm movies between the 1930s and 70s. In 1938 he shot films with the West Norwood Cycling Club in Kent and London, but World War Two intervened in his filmmaking activities. From 1946 onwards his films usually featured his wife and daughter. The family moved from the South East to Middlesbrough in the late 1940s. Teesside and North Yorkshire are the locations in many subsequent films, bar holiday movies shot further afield. He also screened his films with the Cleveland Cine Club and appeared in their chilling 1975 production, The Glade (also available on BFI Player).