WORLD PICTORIAL NEWS NO 272 [Main Title]

An edition of the British official newsreel "World Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.

I. 'NEWS FROM ITALY.' Italian townsfolk put the finishing touches to a traditional street flower-carpet as spectators look on. Close-up footage shows a finely detailed flower-carpet depicting the Madonna and child. (Italian flower-carpets usually take the form of geometric patterns or depict religious scenes. Residents of individual streets gather their own flowers and design their own carpet layouts, often in strong competition with their neighbours. A judge decides on the winning carpet and a prize is given. The ceremony takes place during the Feast of Corpus Domini. A religious procession walks on the carpets at the conclusion of the celebrations).

II. 'SPORTS NEWS.' Race-goers assemble for the Ascot Royal Meeting, the first to be held at the Surrey racecourse for seven years. A photographer take pictures of fashionably dressed young ladies using a tripod-mounted camera. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrive by landau and are driven along the racecourse to the royal box. Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret are driven behind their parents in a separate landau. Women spectators curtsey as the royal family passes. Highlights of the long distance race follow (fielding twenty four horses). Footage cuts to Wimbledon showing lawn tennis highlights of women's singles and doubles play for the Wightman Cup. Contestants shown include Pauline Betz (USA), Margaret Osbourne (USA), D Hart (USA), J Bostock (GB), K Menzies (GB) N Passingham (GB) and W M Lincoln (GB). The United States wins the tennis trophy for the tenth time.

III. 'THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE.' A party of delegates from the Empire Scientific Conference visit the National Physical Laboratory based at Kew in Surrey. Technicians work a large electrical surge generator which produces lightning bolts in controlled conditions (The generator being capable of producing up to two million volts of electricity). Visiting delegates view a scale model of the debating chamber in the House of Commons. The model demonstrates air flow patterns of a proposed installation of an air-conditioning system. A wall-mounted plaque reads "The Alfred Yarrow Tank- The gift of Alfred Yarrow for the service of the nation, July 5th 1911." Delegates view the hydrodynamic testing of a ship model in the water filled tank.

IV. 'PARIS- BIG FOUR TALKS.' Brief footage shows the arrival of the British, United States (US) and Russian delegations for the "Big Four" conference held at the Luxembourg Palace in Paris (April 25 1946). Interior footage shows Ernest Bevin shaking hands with Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Vyacheslav M Molotov. US Secretary of State, James F Byrnes is also evident. Georges Bidault takes his seat at the start of a conference described by the commentary as being "one more step to bring understanding and hope to the peoples of Europe and the world."

35mm