Description
Object description
An edition of the British official newsreel "World Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.
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I. 'PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE.' Panoramic footage shows the Eiffel Tower and Seine River, while silhouettes of people walking along the riverside in the twilight are visible. Paris is described as the "mecca of peacemakers", as the world leaders meet to frame the Peace Treaty. Vehicles are directed along streets, thronging with spectators behind barriers. Parisian crowds watch delegates arrive at the Luxembourg Palace by official car. Brief footage shows a close-up of British Prime Minister Clement R Attlee, described as a man of "greatest diplomatic gifts", who is standing in for an "indisposed" Ernest Bevin. British delegation member, A V Alexander enters Luxembourg Palace, past a line of uniformed individuals and crowds behind, followed later by Canadian Prime Minister W L MacKenzie King, French Premier Georges Bidault, United States Secretary of State James F Byrnes and Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav M Molotov. Camera pans over delegates at the conference table showing members of the Chinese, United States, Polish, Indian and Australian delegations. Premier Bidault gives his opening address to the assembled conference delegates (mute). Bidault sits, to applause.
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II. 'JUBILEE OF MOTORING.' Spectators view a parked line up of cars taking part in the British Motor Industry's Jubilee Parade held in Regent's Park in London - marking fifty years of British motoring. Crowds of people mill around in anticipation. Various vehicles of all shapes and sizes pass by, flanked on either side by spectators, several rows deep. Panhard and Daimler cars built in the 1890's, lead the ceremonial drive past that has nearly five hundred vehicles participating. His Majesty King George VI, his wife Queen Elizabeth (later joined by King Faisal of Iraq) watch the drive past with evident amusement and interest, from the royal pavilion. The procession is headed by the Grenville Steam Carriage of 1875, designed by Robert Neville Grenville of Glastonbury. Further shots of the parade. Applause among the Royal group. 1946 model saloon cars drive past the reviewing box. B-type motor bus B43 "Ole Bill" drives past the camera position representing the 1,300 London omnibuses which saw service on the Western Front in the First World War (B43 was built in 1911 and worked Routes 8, Willesden-Old Ford and 25, Victoria-Seven Kings. "Ole Bill" saw service with the British Army in France and Belgium for the duration of the First World War and is now on display as one of the Imperial War Museums's large exhibits). The latest mobile unit from Gaumont British News records the event, to the amusement of Queen Consort Elizabeth.
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III. 'SPORTS NEWS.' Interior footage shows a boxing match at Kings Hall, Belle Vue stadium, in Manchester. Highlights of the European Title bout between Bruce Woodcock and Albert Renet are shown at some length. The boxing ring is surrounded by a full house of spectators, about to witness "a wonderful display of courage and stamina". Shots of early sparring. The fight continues, the men tire. Faces of spectators and their reactions. Shots of the action, seemingly from inside the boxing ring. Sounds from the excited crowd can be heard. A dramatic sequence between the two fighters shows Renet taking the count, but getting back up before he eventually goes down for the full count, eventually beaten. Ringside shot of the defeated man on his back. Woodcok, the winner, is robed and surrounded by supporters, all vying for a word with the victorious party.
Footage cuts to White City Stadium in West London showing highlights of a close-run race battled out between British hopeful Sydney Wooderson (dubbed 'the mighty atom') and Dutchman, Slykhuis. Wooderson competes among eighteen starters in the amateur athletics association's three-mile championship. Shots of the runners lining up in the sports stadium. Gunshot start. The race begins, closely filmed from the edge of the track. Wooderson, Number 17, drops back, and the athlete from Holland, the 'Flying Dutchman', in Number 15, takes the lead. The crowd is treated to the "biggest thrill for years" as all British hopes centre on Number 17. Shots of male spectators. The race is shown from an elevated camera position. Wooderson takes the lead again and all eyes are on him. Low to ground shot of the runners racing past, round the bend. Close up on the two-man race at the front of the pack. A woman in the crowd tracks their progress through a pair of binoculars. The camera pans along, following the final yards. A new 3-mile record is set, as British athlete Wooderson wins the race. Close up on the victor, recovering, his glasses still on his smiling face, as the commentator exclaims "the shy little solicitor remains Wooderson the Great".
Cyclists of all ages and builds gather at the Gervaise racing track in France to put on a humorous spectacle of "eccentric" bicycle designs and unusual riding techniques. Shots of bicycle contraptions with enormous wheels, miniature wheels, wide handlebars and upside-down parts suggest this is a display of bizarre bicycles, ridden by young and old, male and female, dressed variously in casual and formal attire. This is “cycle manufacture gone mad”. A girl on an enormous-wheeled bike and a man on a baby bike are among those showing off “every variety of useful and useless invention”. A woman shows off a spinning stunt in one contraption which won first prize. A mobile armchair and mechanised pram speed past the camera.
A crowd of youngsters clap enthusiastically as they are treated to a display of track riding by the Royal Corps of Signals (RCS) in Austria. The RCS mount a display of their motorcycling prowess in the shadow of the Gloriette in the grounds of the Schönbrunn Palace (environs of Vienna). Shot of uniformed riders in procession on panoramic grounds, watched by large crowds. They perform an elaborate manoeuvre in beautiful surroundings. Motorcyclists weave past the camera and perform further stunts, to applause and smiles. In wartime, these men were dispatch riders; today they are skilled entertainers. A montage of incredible stunts unfolds, including riding a motorbike backwards, speeding along a ramp through a ring of fire, ending on the grand finale of a big pyramid of multiple riders.
In Vienna, Austrian ex-servicemen have put on a Punch and Judy puppet show for children of servicemen still abroad. Enthralled faces of the very young children, full of expressions of delight, anticipation and amazement. A brief shot ‘behind the scenes’ just captures the puppeteers in action. Close up on puppets. The boys and girls show animated involvement. Commentary relays the “tears, smiles, and last laughs from an enraptured audience”. It’s all too much for one young spectator, who covers her ears and breaks down in tears. Other children laugh as the puppets fight. Close up shots of children’s faces, as “the adventures of Punch still manage to excite every child’s hearts.” The closing shot records two children sat side by side, one in rapturous applause and the other appearing entirely bemused. Final shot of various national flags and end title.
Physical description
35mm