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Sea Scouts (1941)
Character: Narrator (voice)
A light-hearted look at the history of the Sea Scouts and the many skills its members can acquire.
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Shipbuilders (1940)
Character: N/A
Shipwrights, plate-fitters and riveters are busy at work in shipyards around Britain, but make time to talk to well-known newsreader, E.V.H. Emmett, about the nature and importance of their work - with the occasional dig at the expense of their colleagues. From Clydeside to the North East of England there's an intensive war effort underway and this propaganda film aims to "Let everyone know that we're building ships that we're proud of", as shipwright Charlie puts it.
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Memories (1944)
Character: Narrator
History - and natural history - filmed on location in Selborne, East Hampshire. This unusual edition of the long-running series Secrets of Life tells the story of the village's famous son, Rev Gilbert White, whose 1789 book The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne is a classic of natural history. The film follows in his footsteps, with camera rather than quill in hand, focusing on nature but also taking in views of the village and its human inhabitants. The ingenious close coverage of bird, reptile and other wildlife was the stock-in-trade of the filmmakers at Gaumont-British Instructional, producers of the series. Under the direction of the redoubtable Mary Field, the behind-screen talent here includes legendary 'cine-biologists' Percy Smith and Oliver Pike. A tribute by one generation of pioneering naturalists to another, it's a quietly moving film in spite of its clipped English reserve - or perhaps partly because of it.
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Colour in Clay (1941)
Character: Narrator
A Technicolor study of English pottery, the skill of the potter, and the modern mechanised factories of Wedgwood (British Council).
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Happy Event (1939)
Character: Commentator
Follows the life of a foal who enters the Grand National.
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They Made the Land (1938)
Character: Commentator
They Made the Land (1938) is a documentary showcasing how land in Scotland was reclaimed and cultivated for agriculture. It explores the challenges of making a living from the land while highlighting the contributions of agricultural research and animal breeding. Produced as part of a series of seven documentaries for the 1938 Empire Exhibition, the film was created under the supervision of pioneering documentarian John Grierson.
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Once We Were Four (1942)
Character: Narrator
The Secrets of Life series (1934-50) may not conform to modern expectations of nature filmmaking, inclined as it is towards giving cute fluffy creatures human names and characteristics. But it couldn't be accused of shielding kiddies from the harsher realities of the food chain, as this exercise in ruthless Darwinism demonstrates to unintentionally hilarious effect. A more than usually eccentric narrator introduces us to the newborn bunny quartet of Donald, James, Charles and Clifford, but as the film's title gives away, "the boys" aren't all long for this world as they face an assault course of hungry owls, predatory badgers, shotgun-happy gardeners and aerial bombardment (no harm in a little anti-Nazi detour, this is 1942 after all). (from http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-once-we-were-four-1942/)
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Lockender Süden (1957)
Character: Narrator (English version)
A documentary on the island off the French Riviera where 'bathing in the buff' isn't just practiced, it's highly encouraged!
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He Would a-Wooing Go (1936)
Character: Narrator (Voice)
Mary Field and F Percy Smith create this whimsical look at the breeding habits and life cycle of frogs.
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Seashores (1940)
Character: N/A
On the search for weird and amazing creatures living on the seashores... This short movie played before The Thief of Bagdad (1940) during its original run in the cinema.
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Civilian Front (1940)
Character: Commentary
E.V.H. Emmett narrates this propaganda short about how sacrifices on the home front support the war effort.
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On the Barrier Reef (1955)
Character: Narrator
Armand and Michaela Denis visit the Barrier Reef and explore the mysteries of life there - animals, birds, fish and plants, the underwater life. Climax shows seabirds invading young turtles as they struggle to reach the sea.
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Midland Journey (1947)
Character: Narrator
Tourist promo film extolling the delights of Birmingham and the Midlands, with a sprinkling of arch one-liners.
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Ulster Story (1947)
Character: Narrator
Part of a travelogue series, this films visits to Derry, the Giant’s Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede, Mount Stewart and Belfast.
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The Tough 'un (1938)
Character: Narrator
"If they were as rare as orchids we would probably rave about them" opens this film in the Secrets of Nature series, directed by the prolific Mary Field. The mesmerising time-lapse photography is offset by a jokey commentary voiced by EVH Emmett, then best known as the voice of the Gaumont newsreel. The flippant tone is exemplified by his comment on the range of responses to dandelions: "Some gardeners tear up the lawn and lay crazy paving, some tear up a high cliff and jump off".
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Ebb-tide (1948)
Character: Narrator
Go with the flow: to gentle but spellbinding effect this innovative natural history film glimpses marine life astride rising tides at Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae. Urchins, lugworm, weaver-fish and crabs are the shy-but-elegant stars coaxed onto the screen (with the assistance of Millport’s local research station) for this archetypal edition of Gaumont-British Instructional’s 1930s cinema series Secrets of Life.
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Perky Cockney (1938)
Character: Narrator
The perky Cockneys are London sparrows, who star in this natural history film.
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Shadow in the Stream (1939)
Character: Narrator
Explores the natural history of the otter, depicted through the fictitious account of a day in the life of Otto the Otter and his mother. The narrator claims that the short features "the first film ever taken of an otter swimming underwater."
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Life in the Balance (1936)
Character: Narrator (voice)
This film shows how and why the animals which inhabit a pond are dependent one on another for their survival. We see the minnow in pursuit of water fleas and a stickleback seeking worms to satisfy his need of fuel. Carbon-dioxide, we are reminded, is essential for the growth of the green plants and the oxygen they release for the breathing of the animal population of the pond.
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Tawny Owl (1936)
Character: Narrator (voice)
A Secrets of Life short about the tawny owl.
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Sawfly (1936)
Character: Narrator (voice)
A Secrets of Life short about the sawfly.
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Look at Life: Jumping to Aintree (1959)
Character: Self - Commentator
A look at the Grand National horse race at held at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, where we see the winning horse, jockey and trainer.
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Look at Life: Ticket to Tokyo (1959)
Character: Self - Commentator
A look at travelling from London with Britannia Airline to Tokyo to discover Japan, and back via Hong Kong along with a look at the ocean liner Arundel Castle.
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Gentlemen, The Queen (1953)
Character: N/A
Compiled in 1953, this is a scrapbook-style documentary about Britain’s Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. It charts her transition from childhood to womanhood and from Princess to Queen. Footage includes the Coronation of King George VI, Her Majesty’s first broadcast, her engagement to Prince Philip and their wedding, as well as her experiences of the war captured on newsreel. With voice-overs by well known British figures, this is both an insight and a tribute to Britain’s much-loved Monarch.
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For Freedom (1940)
Character: Ted / Commentator
Made in 1940, this stirringly patriotic film cleverly combined new scenes with genuine newsreel footage. A newsreel journalist is on hand when the Giant German battleship Graf Spee flees into Montevideo Harbour after a punishing encounter with the British warships Exeter and Ajax. As events unfold in a very unexpected way, he is there with his camera to capture the dramatic end to the encounter.
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L'incanto della foresta (1957)
Character: Narrator (English language version)
A Donatello Golden Plate winning documentary on the Appenines, and on the adventures of a young racoon.
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Kew and Me (1944)
Character: Narrator (voice)
This peek behind the scenes at Kew Gardens in the 1940s was part of the ever-eccentric Secrets of Life series. Arcadian images of tranquil greenery, attended to by a discreet army of gardeners, make it hard to believe WWII was raging in the background. We're also treated to a spot of the series’ trademark time-lapse nature photography and charming narration - one plant described as "rather like an Italian having an argument with his hands".
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I'm All Right Jack (1959)
Character: Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Naive Stanley Windrush looks for a career in a family business. Much to his dismay, he finds work at a munitions factory where he has to start from the bottom, while both the management and the labor union use him as a tool in their fight for power.
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Watching Points (1957)
Character: Self - Commentator
Miniature railways, out-of-the-way single track lines and some of the great loco motives in use in Switzerland and Norway.
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Billy Liar (1963)
Character: Newsreel Commentator (uncredited)
A young Englishman dreams of escaping from his working class family and dead-end job as an undertaker's assistant. A number of indiscretions cause him to lie in order to avoid the penalties. His life turns into a mess and he has an opportunity to run away and leave it all behind.
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Cabaret Girl (1956)
Character: Narrator
This ultra-kitsch documentary goes behind the scenes at Murray's Cabaret Club, where Christine Keeler was later a showgirl.
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Ill Met by Moonlight (1957)
Character: Narrator(voice) (uncredited)
Led by British officers, partisans on Crete plan to kidnap the island's German commander and smuggle him to Cairo to embarrass the occupiers.
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The Way to the West (1947)
Character: Narrator
Hitchcock went the wrong way! Head south by southwest with this travelogue from Bath to Cornwall.
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Sailors Three (1940)
Character: Newsreel Commentator (voice)
Three sailors get drunk while on shore leave and end up on the wrong ship. When they realise their mistake they scramble off it and onto their warship, HMS Ferocious. However, they soon realise that the vessel they have boarded is not the Ferocious but a German battleship.
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Fresh As a Daisy (1945)
Character: Narrator
A retired Major's efforts to hone his golf skills are thwarted by the diminutive but defiant common daisy.
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Get Cracking (1943)
Character: Commentator (voice)
Get Cracking is a 1943 British comedy war film, directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Dinah Sheridan, Ronald Shiner and George Formby. It was produced by Marcel Varnel, Ben Henry and Columbia (British) Productions. This comedy explores the wayward rivalry between mechanic and Home Guard Lance Corporal George Singleton (George Formby) and an adversary also in the Home Guard (Ronald Shiner). When the rival Home Guard units of Major Wallop and Minor Wallop are sent on battle manoeuvres, George Singleton (Formby) launches his own unique style of commando raid against neighbouring Major Wallop to steal a Vickers machine gun. The raid fails and Singleton loses his Lance Corporal's stripe, so he and a little evacuee girl named Irene (Vera Frances) decide to fall back on 'Plan B' - to build their very own tank.
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Wisdom of the Wild (1940)
Character: Narrator (voice)
A wildlife film with a difference: it has A Message for any humans in the house. "The squirrel in the tree, the fox below, the birds, insects, all know that a time of plenty will not last forever". Austerity-stricken wartime viewers can learn from their economical feeding habits. An entertaining hybrid of public information and natural history from the makers of wildlife series Secrets of Life. Released in the BFI boxset Ration Books and Rabbit Pies: Films from the Home Front.
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The Lion Has Wings (1939)
Character: Commentator
This early, influential propaganda film blends documentary and studio footage to show the valiant efforts of the Royal Air Force to defend the British people against the Nazis.
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On Approval (1944)
Character: Narrator
Two wealthy Victorian widows are courted tentatively by two impoverished British aristocrats. When one of the dowagers suggests that her beau go away with her for a month to see if they are compatible, the fireworks begin.
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Carry On Cleo (1964)
Character: Narrator (voice)
Two Britons—inventor Hengist Pod, and Horse, a brave and cunning fighter—are captured and enslaved by invading Romans and taken to Rome. One of their first encounters in Rome leaves Hengist being mistaken for a fighter, and gets drafted into the Royal Guard to protect Julius Caesar.
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The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939)
Character: E.V.H. Emmett
During a charity football match between Arsenal and touring amateur side Trojans, the Trojan's new star player collapses and dies. Inspector Slade of Scotland Yard is called in and declares it was murder. It takes all his ingenuity and another death before the motive is discovered and the killer revealed.
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The Camels Are Coming (1934)
Character: Commentator
A British officer in the Camel Corps in Egypt goes undercover to investigate a gang of drug smugglers. He enlists the aid of a female pilot to help break up the gang.
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