'30s and '40s film online archive completed

The People's Land (1941) from British Council Film on Vimeo.

'30s and '40s film online archive completed

Some of the news articles that I choose to feature on this blog often concern vintage-orientated projects such as archives, recreations and restorations.  Sometimes these long-term ventures get a flurry of media coverage at the outset and then all goes quiet for a time - the thing gets forgotten about and bubbles along in the background until completion brings press attention again or, less happily, it slips into oblivion.  I always like to revisit the more successful undertakings where possible and this latest post is one such pleasing example.

Nearly four years ago now(!) I wrote about an article detailing the British Council's intention to digitise and upload its entire collection of cultural information films from the 1930s and '40s.  All told as many as 160 ten-minute films were to be archived online for everyone to view.  I'm delighted to see today that this process has finally been completed, with 120 clips - mainly from the 1940s - now available to enjoy on the Council's Vimeo site.   


Country Town (1943) from British Council Film on Vimeo.

Film of Britain preparing for war in 1940 revealed by the British Council

A good few bits of footage feature the British war effort, as is to be expected, yet in amongst the wartime clips are some equally fascinating views of daily life in Britain in the 1940s - some in beautiful Technicolour.  I've included a couple more of my favourites here, plus the three in my original post, but really every one is a gem of Forties detail.  The insight these films give us into British life 70 years ago is nothing short of fantastic, with both familiar sights and long-lost scenes from around the country.   Endlessly captivating, it's wonderful to finally see them all preserved for the future.

A snapshot of life in Britain more than 50 years ago

I'm sure most if not all of my UK-based readers will have been watching the Time To Remember series that has been running for some time now on BBC Four. For those of you outside the British Isles or without digital television, this programme consists of a selection of 1920s-30s British Pathé newsreels on various subjects which in the 1950s were spliced together and narrated by some well-known actors of the day including Ralph Richardson, Basil Rathbone, Anthony Quayle and Roger Livesy. These have now been reworked into half-hour long shows with the odd bit of modern narration between the excerpts. Suffice to say they have all been captivating and I am well and truly hooked.



It was with some interest, therefore, that I read yesterday (I won't say where, or provide a link this time, because the original article was so biased and patronising that it actually incensed me - thankfully it was not one of my usual sources) that the British Film Council is releasing a series of cultural and educational films about British life in the 1940s and 1950s, which have been recently digitised having languished in the archives unseen for over 30 years. These 15- to 20-minute films were originally intended to be shown abroad, and to explain and promote the British way of life. A sort of 1940s tourist information advert, in a sense.

At the moment only 13 have been uploaded and are available to view, but apparently there are 160 in all - yes, one hundred and sixty! - and all of them will eventually be added to the archive website. One other good thing to have come out of this project is that some of the people working on it are funded by a charity set up to help the young unemployed.



These three are my favourites so far, but I think you'll agree that they're all a fascinating insight into life in Britain 60-70 years ago and I can't wait to see what else is to come. There are many values on display (not to mentions fashions!) that we'd all like to see making a return in today's lifestyle. Some show an existence that has long since vanished in this country, some show activities that continue in some form today, a few remain informative and relevant even now; all are spellbinding.