Learning on ScreenThe Future of Scotland
Series
- Series Name
- This Modern Age
Issue
Story
- Story No. within this Issue
- 1 / 1
- Summary
- BFI synopsis: Long shot of spires, highlands, monuments, Holyrood Palace, plaque on the tomb of David Rizzio, lochs, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The industries of Scotland are shown - liners in the Clyde, cranes in the docks, engineering workshops, steel furnaces, coal miners, jute mills, textile mills, fishermen, herrings poured out of baskets, salmon fishing, barrels of Scotch Whisky, livestock exhibited in a market place, horses pulling a plough, sheep on a hillside, sugar beet, seed potatoes, fields of oars and barley. Commentary explains that Scotland is short of labour, equipment and raw materials, and has too many heavy traders and too few light trades. Shots of smallholders and crofters, farmhouses left empty as people moved to the lowlands. Long shots of Dundee whilst commentary mentions the effects of the Depression. Future developments in Scotland are then given. Shots of factories being built on Clydeside, Lanark and Dundee. Shots of cash registers being made. New forests are planted, new coalmines developed. An intensive housing program is started. At the Forth fisheries, new boats are built. Scientists’ knowledge is used for sigh preservation. Shots of lochs, rivers and waterfalls which are being utilized for hydro-electricity schemes. Shots of the stations and pylons carrying electricity to the lowlands and the remoter parts of Scotland. Shots of Glasgow’s tenement houses, emphasising the desparate housing situation. Brief shots of Scottish customs - crowds singing at Hogmanay tossing the caber, men weaving kilts, bagpipe playing, band marching. Education and medical services are provided for all. Law can differ in Scotland from England. Shots of a wedding taking place in a private house. Poetry readings and amateur dramatics have their followings in Scotland. Many Scots want self-government. The Scottish Nationalists meet. Mr. Thomas Johnston, former Secretary of State and Chairman of the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board speaks on more self-government for Scotland. Meetings of the regional government board are held at St. Andrew’s House, Edinburgh. Mr. Arthur Woodburn, Secretary of State for Scotland is shown in attendance. Final close-up shots of Scottish people at work.
- Researcher Comments
- Trade shown on 16 April 1948.
- Keywords
- Education and training; Politics and government; Ships and boats; Health and medicine; Customs and traditions; Economics; Agriculture; Industry and manufacture; Fisheries; Energy resources
- Written sources
- British Film Institute Databases Used for synopsis
Enticknap, Leo. The Non-Fiction Film in Britain, 1945-1951 unpublished PhD thesis p255.
- Credits:
-
- Producer
- James Lansdale Hodson
- Producer
- Sergei Nolbandov
- Production Co.
- This Modern Age, Ltd.
- Length of story (in feet)
- 1805
This series is held by:
Film Archive
- Name
- British Film Institute (BFI)
- For BFI National Archive enquiries:
nonfictioncurators@bfi.org.uk
For commercial/footage reuse enquiries:
footage.films@bfi.org.uk - Web
- http://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web
- Phone
- 020 7255 1444
- Fax
- 020 7580 7503
- Address
- 21 Stephen Street
London W1T 1LN - Notes
- The BFI National Archive also preserves the original nitrate film copies of British Movietone News, British Paramount News, Empire News Bulletin, Gaumont British News, Gaumont Graphic, Gaumont Sound News and Universal News (the World War II years are covered by the Imperial War Museum).
- Series held
- View all series held by British Film Institute (BFI)
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