This Year London 1951

Candid cameras follow the adventures of the staff at a Midland boot factory on their day off. They participate in the fun and pleasure of the train journey to Town, and in a sight-seeing trip round the capital. Lunch is followed by an afternoon cruise on the Thames from Richmond to Hampton Court, with tea in the Tilt Yard. Afterwards, amid the noise, the bustle and the lights of a West-End saturday night our party enjoy what few hours remain of their day.

Review (from The Reel Image website):

British Transport cameramen follow an annual works-outing to the capitol city. Using two narrators, one the voice of the outing's organizer, the other that of a journalist assigned to cover the various events visited in the London area including a trip up-river to Hampton Court Palace, where it is wryly observed: "There is more of a thirst for tea than knowledge!".

Probably made in late 1949 or during early 1950 since one of the London cinemas is showing "East Side - West Side (M-G-M 1949) starring Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, James Mason and Ava Gardner. A production of which one critic said: "No company is quite so adept as M-G-M at presenting basically uninteresting material with such style"! At the Palladium, Jack Benny was top of the bill with Phil Harris and Rochester. Nearby Harry Roy and his band were providing dance music.

A visit to the Tower of London prompts the journalist to describe the guards as 'Corn beef eaters', to which the other narrator muses, "I wish I'd thought of that joke!".

Nothing earth-shatteringly interesting about the original premise for this works-outing release. What is interesting today is the London of the 50's. The cars, buses and The West End. More of social document now than an exaltation to use British Transport (sorry Robert!)

The print is not quite so good as Groundwork For Progress but it suffices. It is slightly grainy and the print is a tad lacking in contrast and brilliance.

Pretty typical of this sort of DCR release in fact. I found it quite interesting in some ways and in fact ran it twice.

Spot the British Transport camera team (seen twice) in the bows of the Thames pleasure craft transporting the outing to Hampton Court.