0:00:03 > 0:00:08For more than half a century, films produced by the newsreel company British Pathe
0:00:08 > 0:00:11informed cinema-goers about affairs
0:00:11 > 0:00:14of national and international importance.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23But after the First World War, the company diversified.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Alongside its newsreels, Pathe produced short films
0:00:31 > 0:00:35that took a softer, more light-hearted approach.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38This is news and current affairs that's been sweetened.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40It's nothing that was too unpalatable.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45They're like the colour supplement to the newsreel's news.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50The subjects ranged from handy household hints...
0:00:50 > 0:00:54to fashion and lifestyle items...
0:00:56 > 0:01:01..to the weird, wonderful and utterly bizarre.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08Known as cine-magazines, these films became
0:01:08 > 0:01:12a mainstay of Pathe's output for more than 50 years.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18You would be often shown amusing things about Britain.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22"What are we like, the British?"
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Often overlooked, because of their frivolous tone,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33these films have received little critical attention...
0:01:33 > 0:01:35until now.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Just because a story has a light tone,
0:01:38 > 0:01:44it doesn't mean that what's contained within it has no value.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50Over six decades, Pathe's cameras captured everyday life,
0:01:50 > 0:01:54turning the man on the street into a film star.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58Sitting alongside celebrated and glamorous Hollywood stars,
0:01:58 > 0:02:02there were Mr and Mrs Bloggs from Accrington.
0:02:10 > 0:02:15By focussing on everything from the marvellous to the mundane,
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Pathe captured an intimate record of social change in Britain.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Pathe created Britain's first regular cine-magazine
0:02:54 > 0:02:56at the end of World War I.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Cinema audiences had been shocked and saddened
0:03:00 > 0:03:03by news footage of frontline conflict.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07So the company developed a strand called Pathe Pictorial
0:03:07 > 0:03:11to provide some much-needed light relief.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23Alongside the newsreels, these short and entertaining films were shown
0:03:23 > 0:03:25between the main features.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35Pathe's earliest cine-magazines tended to cover
0:03:35 > 0:03:37traditionally male subjects.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41But soon, the company spotted a new social trend,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44and a gap in the market.
0:03:44 > 0:03:50During the 1920s, the majority of the cinema-going audience was female.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55So, in 1921, Pathe launched Eve's Film Review,
0:03:55 > 0:03:59a weekly cine-magazine specifically aimed at women.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05What they were doing was looking at a part of the cinema-going audience
0:04:05 > 0:04:11and creating something which would address that market.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15In some ways, they were specialising their product.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29These films featured everything from the latest Paris fashions...
0:04:31 > 0:04:34..to the achievements of remarkable women,
0:04:34 > 0:04:37like cross-Channel swimmer Mrs Arthur Hamilton.
0:04:39 > 0:04:44And they showed how Eve was replacing Adam in the workplace.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49There's a reason why
0:04:49 > 0:04:51all these women are sitting in the dark on their own.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53It's because there aren't enough men around.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57The First World War has taken this incredible toll
0:04:57 > 0:05:00upon the male population of Britain,
0:05:00 > 0:05:05and this idea of the surplus woman comes very much to the fore.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15An early Eve's Review item, called No-Man's Land,
0:05:15 > 0:05:17reflected this development
0:05:17 > 0:05:21by documenting the lives and experiences of single women.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33The problem of the so-called "surplus women" did provoke
0:05:33 > 0:05:36a lot of organisations
0:05:36 > 0:05:40to look for ways to make life better for the spinster,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43and they'd all go off and go for pleasant rambles
0:05:43 > 0:05:44and that kind of thing.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10The women, who have moved into the male role,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12have cut their hair short to look more like boys,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14who have flattened their bosoms
0:06:14 > 0:06:19with elasticated corsets and shortened their skirts
0:06:19 > 0:06:21so they've now become more male,
0:06:21 > 0:06:25they're taking up all sorts of athletic activities.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40These films regularly featured women exercising their freedom
0:06:40 > 0:06:42on the sports field.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02When you look at images of men in this period,
0:07:02 > 0:07:03particularly in fiction films,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06they're full of war veterans with immobile legs.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10They're full of emasculated men who've returned from the trenches
0:07:10 > 0:07:14and can't fulfil the proper offices of their sex.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19In contrast, Pathe showed women as fit and dynamic.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23The images seem positive, but in the film titles
0:07:23 > 0:07:26you can read the social concerns of the day.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30If you were a man, in all sorts of ways, you felt threatened.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33You felt threatened politically,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35because the vote had just been granted.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39And you felt threatened financially, because you might feel
0:07:39 > 0:07:41that all these spinsters flooding the market
0:07:41 > 0:07:43would be liable to take your jobs.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45After all, a lot of them had been out
0:07:45 > 0:07:48taking men's jobs during the war.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51There was also a more subtle sexual threat.
0:07:51 > 0:07:52There was this thought that,
0:07:52 > 0:07:57suddenly, if you were a man, perhaps these women didn't really need you.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Pathe often ended these films
0:08:05 > 0:08:08by re-establishing athletic Eve's feminine qualities.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Although Pathe was a progressive organisation,
0:08:17 > 0:08:22it remained a very masculine environment.
0:08:22 > 0:08:27And the company made sure Eve's Film Review
0:08:27 > 0:08:31always had something of interest for its male viewers too.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40Any excuse to get a bunch of pretty girls together,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43dressing and dancing around and mucking about,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47showing their beautiful body shapes and tossing their lovely hair.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51I think it's the pleasure of looking at a group of women.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Of course, there's an element of voyeurism.
0:09:05 > 0:09:11Only 20 years previously, women remained tantalisingly covered up.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Now, in Eve's fashion items,
0:09:14 > 0:09:18acres of shapely legs were suddenly on display.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23While British feature films of the 1920s were strictly censored,
0:09:23 > 0:09:28Pathe's cine-magazines were categorised as news,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31which meant they were allowed to self-regulate.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39And Pathe's cameramen exploited this freedom to the limit.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Although male appetites were well catered for,
0:09:51 > 0:09:55Eve's Film Review was essentially aimed at women.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04One of the most popular elements of the strand featured
0:10:04 > 0:10:05handy domestic tips.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09Like this Homespun butter cooler that offered invaluable advise
0:10:09 > 0:10:13to housewives who couldn't afford the latest mod-cons.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21We know Pathe's audience appreciated these films
0:10:21 > 0:10:24because the company had an ongoing dialogue with its viewers,
0:10:24 > 0:10:26who frequently wrote in
0:10:26 > 0:10:29to comment on items or suggest subjects for future stories.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40One box of these letters sent to the company in 1928 still survives.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48"I need hardly say how much I enjoy your Eve's Film Review.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52"They are so educational and so easy to follow.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57"And it is quite a pleasure to watch them, and they only end too soon."
0:10:57 > 0:10:59This is from a woman in Cheltenham
0:10:59 > 0:11:05suggesting a story for Eve's Film Review, written October 30th, 1928.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07"Dear Sirs, I have been wondering
0:11:07 > 0:11:10"if you can make use of the following idea in your Film Review,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13"which so often contains helpful items.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17"Everyone knows the annoyance of being what people describe
0:11:17 > 0:11:21"as a dirty walker, yet some folk can, on the muddiest day,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24"manage to get through without a splash."
0:11:24 > 0:11:27This film, entitled Cheating The Mud Spots,
0:11:27 > 0:11:31shows how directly Pathe responded to the needs,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34interests and passions of contemporary women.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38From her clothes to her leisure pursuits,
0:11:38 > 0:11:44Pathe paints an intimate portrait of the girl it calls The Modern Miss.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46But the days of Eve's Film Review were numbered.
0:11:46 > 0:11:53In 1933, Pathe stopped producing its silent women's weekly.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56The company would now channel its resources into harnessing
0:11:56 > 0:11:59the potential of an exciting new innovation.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Sound.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11Pathe marked the arrival of sound in British cinemas with a fanfare
0:12:11 > 0:12:15as they launched Pathetone Weekly, a cine-magazine
0:12:15 > 0:12:18dedicated to exhibiting the novel, amusing and strange.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24With particular emphasis on musical items,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27it featured a host of celebrated singers,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30variety acts and novelty performers.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34What Pathe concentrated on,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38which was quite different to its competitors,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41was that they thought the possibility of sound
0:12:41 > 0:12:43should be expressed in music,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47so initially with Pathe Sound Pictorial,
0:12:47 > 0:12:50you had this special studio, Pathe Studio,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54which was done out with the latest technology.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57And they had music-hall artists
0:12:57 > 0:13:02and all the popular names of the time come in and do a session.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08- What are you here for?- A few minutes. What are you here for?
0:13:08 > 0:13:09A few pence.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12- Well, I'll have 50% of your pence. - I'll have 50% of your moments.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16- I suppose I'll see you at the seaside?- If I'm not kept too busy.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18Then I shall see you at the seaside.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20'Most music hall people came and went
0:13:20 > 0:13:22'before the advent of the camera,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25'and indeed before the advent of recording technology.'
0:13:25 > 0:13:28So rather tragically, most of music hall is now lost to posterity.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Some of Pathe's films contain
0:13:31 > 0:13:35the only known footage of these once-popular performers.
0:13:35 > 0:13:36# If you're feeling fed up
0:13:36 > 0:13:38# And tired of single life
0:13:38 > 0:13:40# There's one thing for you to do
0:13:40 > 0:13:41# Just take yourself a wife
0:13:41 > 0:13:43# You will get rewarded
0:13:43 > 0:13:44# Get everything you like
0:13:44 > 0:13:46# On winter nights, you'll even get
0:13:46 > 0:13:47# Two cold feet in your bag
0:13:47 > 0:13:49# When you're married! #
0:13:49 > 0:13:55These musical stories form a marvellous historical record
0:13:55 > 0:13:59of what popular musical taste was at that time.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01# Now, if you choose a pretty wife
0:14:01 > 0:14:03# You find them hopeless cases
0:14:03 > 0:14:05# While all the ones that sew or cook
0:14:05 > 0:14:07# Have got such rotten faces! #
0:14:07 > 0:14:11Now, of course, the footage of these music-hall performers
0:14:11 > 0:14:14and similar entertainment clips are the kind of thing that we cherish.
0:14:14 > 0:14:22The music-hall veteran Lily Morris was renowned for her risque songs.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26Don't Have Any More, Mrs Moore plays on the double-entendre
0:14:26 > 0:14:28between Mrs Moore having too much to drink
0:14:28 > 0:14:33and the possibility of her having yet another child as a result.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35# Don't have any more, Mrs Moore
0:14:35 > 0:14:40# Mrs Moore, please don't have any more
0:14:40 > 0:14:46# The more you have, the more you'll want, they say
0:14:46 > 0:14:50# And enough is as good as a feast any day... #
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Pathe liked to reflect whatever was
0:14:52 > 0:14:54really popular amongst the population at large.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58And music hall always made a great play of being topical.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Usually they were trying to make fun of some current trend.
0:15:01 > 0:15:06It was rather like a modern tabloid. It was basically irreverent,
0:15:06 > 0:15:10and so it reflected the broadest concerns of its audience.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14# Don't have any more, Mrs Moore
0:15:14 > 0:15:20# Mrs Moore, please don't have any more... #
0:15:20 > 0:15:22To us, with the benefit of hindsight,
0:15:22 > 0:15:24it's tremendously revealing of the times.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26Oh, it's no laughing matter
0:15:26 > 0:15:29that I should be left an old maid, repenting my sins.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33- You never committed any sins.- No, that's just what I'll be repenting.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37Oh, well, it's over now. Forget it...
0:15:37 > 0:15:40A glamorous double-act, the Carson Sisters put a comic spin
0:15:40 > 0:15:45on a major preoccupation for many of Pathe's young female viewers -
0:15:45 > 0:15:50how to bag themselves a man, and ideally, a rich one!
0:15:50 > 0:15:54# Just being good to our man
0:15:54 > 0:15:57# Never quite naughty
0:15:57 > 0:16:00# But often quite nice
0:16:00 > 0:16:02# Well, if men are sporty
0:16:02 > 0:16:04# They must pay the price... #
0:16:04 > 0:16:08We're talking about women who'd grown up viewing marriage
0:16:08 > 0:16:13as the crown and joy of a woman's life, as one writer put it.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17They'd grown up thinking of marriage as their absolute birth right.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20And they knew no other identity.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23What became of that other boyfriend of yours?
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Oh, he's a big shot down at the studios.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28He should be. He's been fired often enough!
0:16:28 > 0:16:31What you wanted in life was a man.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33If you were still in the competition,
0:16:33 > 0:16:34if you were still out there,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37then there was a very strong sense
0:16:37 > 0:16:40that you had to work hard to get him.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43# Never say no, the word of love, so refrain
0:16:43 > 0:16:48# Never say yes they'll make you say it again
0:16:48 > 0:16:51# So just keep them guessing as long as you can
0:16:51 > 0:16:55# And dig for your gold by being nice to your man... #
0:16:55 > 0:16:59Competition for audiences was intensifying,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01so it paid to be populist.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05In the 1930s, feature films became longer,
0:17:05 > 0:17:09leaving less room for short cine-magazines.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11So Pathe started to produce films
0:17:11 > 0:17:13to appeal to the broadest-possible audience.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17If you didn't like one item, then you might enjoy the next.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24One of the mainstays of the company's weekly cine-magazines
0:17:24 > 0:17:29would be items featuring the great British eccentric.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32A good idea, hot off the brain, is a world-shattering device
0:17:32 > 0:17:35that'll keep the head dry underwater.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37The secret is in the nifty bit of work at the back.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40And when installed, the apparatus leaves the hands
0:17:40 > 0:17:41as free as a pain in the neck.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Here's another bright idea.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Motorcycle goggles with windscreen wipers.
0:17:47 > 0:17:53Mr Haveren, the inventor, says that a speed of 15 mph is sufficient
0:17:53 > 0:17:55to drive the propeller that puts the wipers in action.
0:17:55 > 0:18:00Tom Handcox is an engineer of Beaconsfield, Bucks,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03and for two years he's been working on the idea of a motor-skate
0:18:03 > 0:18:06that would be cheap to run and easy to manipulate.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09He thinks he's found it in his one-horse auto.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13Pathe Pictorial celebrates British eccentricity.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Different types of innovation,
0:18:16 > 0:18:22and what strikes us now is how non-judgmental they are.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27And partly that's because they have to appeal to everyone.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30A modern inventor follows an age-old tradition.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Through the centuries, it has generally been the custom
0:18:33 > 0:18:37for men of science to try out their inventions on themselves first.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39And Mr Jack Truro of Devonshire is no exception.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41He's invented a fluid
0:18:41 > 0:18:44that he claims will fire-proof any normal woven material.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47It's very much in the tone of, "Mr So And So has
0:18:47 > 0:18:50"come up with this invention, and good luck to him!"
0:18:50 > 0:18:54Pathe's eclectic programme proved hugely popular,
0:18:54 > 0:18:58enabling the company to dominate the cine-magazine market.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00George is safe, and so is Mr Truro.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02The man who has the courage of his own invention.
0:19:02 > 0:19:07Well, done, Mr Truro. We think maybe you've got something!
0:19:14 > 0:19:17With the outbreak of World War II,
0:19:17 > 0:19:21news footage became increasingly disturbing to watch.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25But it was during this critical moment in British history
0:19:25 > 0:19:29that Pathe's cine-magazines really came into their own.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Cinema had never been better attended. Even though
0:19:32 > 0:19:37there was the threat of dying in your seat because of the Luftwaffe,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40more people went than had ever been before.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42It's the historical peak of cinema going.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50Ronald Frankau. Scene four, take 56.
0:19:50 > 0:19:56Where shall I put this? Oh, I'll put it over there.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Pathe responded to the wartime needs of its audience
0:19:59 > 0:20:01with popular music items
0:20:01 > 0:20:06that offered cheerful escapism and boosted the nation's morale.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09A great favourite was the singer Ronald Frankau.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11# They showed me correspondence
0:20:11 > 0:20:13# That's what made me depressed
0:20:13 > 0:20:15# 50,000 letters with the same request
0:20:15 > 0:20:19# Don't let's sing about the war
0:20:19 > 0:20:22# The whole thing's really such a bore
0:20:22 > 0:20:25# Let's sing of love or something similar
0:20:25 > 0:20:30# Not about Goering, Hess or Himmler
0:20:30 > 0:20:32# Don't lets sing about the war... #
0:20:32 > 0:20:34This is 1940, and Britain is just entering
0:20:34 > 0:20:36the serious stage of World War II.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39And Ronald Frankau was making the point
0:20:39 > 0:20:41that if you really want to cheer people up,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44don't sing patriotic songs about how brilliantly the war is going.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46Just take people's minds off the subject.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Here is the ballet Down Under.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53One quirky film from 1941 captured members of the armed forces
0:20:53 > 0:20:56enjoying some impromptu entertainment,
0:20:56 > 0:21:01and sent a reassuring message to relatives back home.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04It was quite a common thing in these entirely male environments
0:21:04 > 0:21:08for the men to dress up in drag and play the female part.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12Boy, we hope they never crash! We'd hate to kill the fatted calf!
0:21:15 > 0:21:19Nobody at the controls, that's the trouble. Going into a spin.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22Looks as if it's going to full sails.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26Contact! She can't get out of it. She can't get out of it.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30Why should she, anyway?!
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Pathe judged the mood perfectly.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41The company's cine-magazines became
0:21:41 > 0:21:43an integral part of the cinema programme
0:21:43 > 0:21:47and boosted the nation's spirits during testing times.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49People really, really needed it.
0:21:49 > 0:21:55And one of the things they needed it for was that sense of commonality.
0:21:55 > 0:22:00Of an audience bonded together.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02An Englishman's home may be his castle,
0:22:02 > 0:22:04but even castles aren't bombproof.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08So it's a case of "Chins up" with the civilians in the frontline.
0:22:08 > 0:22:09The Hun may do his worst,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12but he can't destroy the dauntless spirit of our people,
0:22:12 > 0:22:16whether young or old. Down may be their homes, but not their hearts...
0:22:16 > 0:22:20I think the great slogan about the war was, "We can take it.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23"No matter how bad things are, we'd go on."
0:22:23 > 0:22:27We didn't really want to take it, but we knew it was the only thing to do,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31so we'd better put a brave face on it, and we tried to play games
0:22:31 > 0:22:34during the Blitz, and we tried to pretend it was all great fun.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40Pathe cine-magazines give us a snapshot of how the British people
0:22:40 > 0:22:45responded to the national call to arms, each in their individual way.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Hats off to a Manchester piano tuner
0:22:48 > 0:22:49who has been awarded
0:22:49 > 0:22:52The Ministry of Agriculture's Dig For Victory diploma.
0:22:52 > 0:22:53Mr Sharky's blind,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56but he can dig and tend his allotment with unerring skill.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58A good example of "much in little",
0:22:58 > 0:23:01or "multum in parvo", as we Latin scholars put it,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03is Warden Griffin of Millhill,
0:23:03 > 0:23:06now reporting for duty with big buddy Bert.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Whether on the phone at the post or on the prowl outside,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12the weenie warden is a wonderful worker. He stands three foot 11 in his pullover
0:23:12 > 0:23:16and weights half as much as a man twice his size.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20His favourite hobby, and we can't say we blame him, is first aid.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25As well as its rousing soundtrack
0:23:25 > 0:23:30and morale-boosting messages, Pathe did its bit for the war effort,
0:23:30 > 0:23:35giving cinema-goers a hefty helping of practical advice.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37For a really modern idea, look at this.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40These strips of white sticky paper show up in a black-out,
0:23:40 > 0:23:43and prevent that run-down feeling.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Another useful tip is a white one on the toe of a shoe,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48with a white heel to match.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52War gave cinema a new role to do. It didn't have to just distract people.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57It had to absolutely inform them of things that they really needed to do
0:23:57 > 0:23:59in the daily business of their lives.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01All's well in the shelter
0:24:01 > 0:24:04if head and feet can be quickly and effectively covered.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07So, out of scraps of rubbers, she creates, first of all, a booty
0:24:07 > 0:24:11that can be slipped on in a jiffy before you slip out to the shelter.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13She's marking out the sole.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17The idea is based on the suggestion of an aeronautical expert
0:24:17 > 0:24:20who claims the best protection against glass is
0:24:20 > 0:24:22to insulate yourself with rubber.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25What you see with Pathe Pictorial is
0:24:25 > 0:24:29one of its fundamental characteristics,
0:24:29 > 0:24:34which is giving practical advice, helpful advice,
0:24:34 > 0:24:36in an entertaining way.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39So down to the shelter they go, the little booties,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42their feet snug and insulated in their rubber casings.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45All's well if the ends are well.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56During the war, Pathe refocused its fashion features,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59showing British women how to make the most of limited resources,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02and turn the grimy into glam.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19There's a real inventiveness, I think,
0:25:19 > 0:25:21in the way that British women engaged
0:25:21 > 0:25:27with making themselves feel good and look good during the war years.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31The "Make do and mend" mentality is something that's associated
0:25:31 > 0:25:34with the great British housewife, and she can turn herself around
0:25:34 > 0:25:38and look good with little expense and in the shortest-possible time.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42And here's a way to go to it for the girl who's tired of ladders.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44The stocking shortage was acute,
0:25:44 > 0:25:49and women resorted to all manner of stratagems.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52You can use a special cream that does the job in the same time.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54And no-one's any the wiser, except yourself.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58That is, unless the boyfriend takes a sly nip to celebrate his birthday.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01As you see, you simply rub it on the palms and then on the legs.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03And you use more cream for two legs than for one.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05It's that sort of cream.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13Women used a solution of potassium permanganate.
0:26:13 > 0:26:18They used wet sand. They used gravy browning, which in the summer months
0:26:18 > 0:26:21attracted hoards of flies to your legs.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24They used camp coffee, if you could get it.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28And these are the finished cream-laid legs.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30We certainly have seen worse.
0:26:30 > 0:26:31If you insist on a seam,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34it's just a low-down trick for the eyebrow pencil.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39Legs or eyebrows, it's all the same. Only a little difference in shape.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44In spite of its upbeat tone, Pathe couldn't ignore
0:26:44 > 0:26:49the devastating impact war was having on domestic life on Britain.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51The flying bombs began to come over.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55First in ones and twos, and then all day long.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02As soon as one passed over, you began to breathe again,
0:27:02 > 0:27:07another would come, and so it went on.
0:27:07 > 0:27:08Throughout the war,
0:27:08 > 0:27:13Pathe expanded its repertoire and reached new creative heights.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17The film A Tribute To Women dramatised
0:27:17 > 0:27:20every woman's wartime experience.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22A well-crafted tear-jerker,
0:27:22 > 0:27:26it responded directly to the needs and concerns of its audience.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29As I stood on the platform, waiting,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33my thoughts went back to that September morning in 1939.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37We were on holiday, and as we strolled past a cottage,
0:27:37 > 0:27:39we heard that fateful news on the wireless.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41'Two hours ago,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44'the Prime Minister announced that we are at war with Germany.'
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Looking at the flowers in that garden,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53I thought what a crazy world it was then.
0:27:53 > 0:27:58After that, it seemed only a few moments, and John was in khaki.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01I remember how brave we pretended to be as we said goodbye,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04but I don't think we fooled each other for a moment.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07I loved the way that it was shot.
0:28:07 > 0:28:08I thought that was poignant,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11because it didn't say this was about individual people.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15It's about everyone who's watching this film.
0:28:15 > 0:28:16"You've all had this happen to you."
0:28:16 > 0:28:20That evening, when the children were in bed,
0:28:20 > 0:28:22I realised how lonely a room can be.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27His chair, his pipe on the mantelpiece.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30Just as if he'd be back in a moment.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33It was about the loneliness, the sitting at home,
0:28:33 > 0:28:38the "How did you get through the long winter evenings?"
0:28:38 > 0:28:41It was about sending their children off to be evacuated.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43The sacrifice that you felt you had to make.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46I think only a mother could understand
0:28:46 > 0:28:50the strange emptiness when children have left a house.
0:28:50 > 0:28:55As I gazed at the cot with the toys strewn around, I made a decision.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07A few days later, I hadn't time to dwell on loneliness.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11Working at the factory, feeling that I was doing something to help.
0:29:11 > 0:29:15Yes, I grumbled sometimes, but I always felt so ashamed afterwards,
0:29:15 > 0:29:20knowing how much more he was having to go through out there.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26I found it very moving. I was touched by it.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29I thought they had captured in that little Pathe clip
0:29:29 > 0:29:32the essence of everywoman's experience.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35My heart seemed to stop beating as I took the envelope,
0:29:35 > 0:29:38hardly daring to read what was inside.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41This was the moment I was living for.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44John was coming home.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46I hurried to the station and stood there, waiting.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48And remembering.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54The role of a wife or mother or daughter was
0:29:54 > 0:29:55to keep the home fires burning.
0:29:55 > 0:30:00To keep something for men to think about and for the soldier
0:30:00 > 0:30:04to want to come back to and to want to rebuild.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12I looked at the faces of the people as they hurried along the platform.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15But I couldn't see any sign of John.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28Then suddenly, there he was. It was us two alone.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32There were so many things I was going to say to him.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36Yet just to hold him again meant more than all of them.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40It's emotional, isn't it, the homecoming?
0:30:40 > 0:30:44The tremendous joy of returning.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47What it didn't enlarge on was, what then?
0:30:50 > 0:30:52Once the victory celebrations were over,
0:30:52 > 0:30:54Britain was left to nurse its wounds.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56And it soon became clear
0:30:56 > 0:30:59that the nation was deeply scarred by the conflict.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01Back from the front,
0:31:01 > 0:31:06to the peace of an English hospital come men who are now convalescing.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09A short while ago, they could not be moved front their wards,
0:31:09 > 0:31:13but today, thanks to skilful treatment and a burst of sunshine,
0:31:13 > 0:31:16they are able to take a little exercise in the grounds.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19And it's easy to see whose side the nurses are on.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21One of the things that you can read
0:31:21 > 0:31:24through the cine-magazines of the immediate post-war period
0:31:24 > 0:31:28is this idea of Britain being a nation of causalities of some kind.
0:31:28 > 0:31:29There's a strong sense
0:31:29 > 0:31:34that there are many broken people in this nation,
0:31:34 > 0:31:37and that they need to be fixed.
0:31:37 > 0:31:38The hospital is situated
0:31:38 > 0:31:41in a stretch of typically English countryside.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45Well wooded and undulating. From the grounds, the convalescents
0:31:45 > 0:31:47can glimpse a lovely bit of the homeland
0:31:47 > 0:31:48that they've been fighting for.
0:31:48 > 0:31:54The convalescent home painted a wonderfully unclouded
0:31:54 > 0:31:57and uncomplicated view.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59It was about sacrifice.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02It was about an England that we were fighting for.
0:32:02 > 0:32:07And it was about the woman as healer, carer,
0:32:07 > 0:32:10nurturer and all-round good angel.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13And the infantilised male.
0:32:13 > 0:32:20Grateful, looked after, cared for. Where he wants to be.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25The bombs had stopped falling, but the rationing continued,
0:32:25 > 0:32:27and people began to realise
0:32:27 > 0:32:30that daily lives were still as hard as ever.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39There was this feeling that the suffering was still going on,
0:32:39 > 0:32:42and I think over the period, let's say 1945 to 1950, 1951,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45there was gradual resentment about all that.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47"Damn it, my husband, my brother,
0:32:47 > 0:32:51"my father went through the Burma campaign and came back,
0:32:51 > 0:32:54"and still we can't get bananas!"
0:32:54 > 0:32:57Responding to the widespread sense of dissatisfaction,
0:32:57 > 0:33:00Pathe ran a series of cine-magazine specials,
0:33:00 > 0:33:05featuring feel-good films intended to create a more positive mood.
0:33:05 > 0:33:10This item, filmed at a nursery in north London, captures a repair man
0:33:10 > 0:33:12giving broken toys a new lease of life.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14Yes, it's a business, happiness.
0:33:14 > 0:33:19It's Jack Burkett's business. The toy doctor at Hampstead Day Nursery.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23His job is making happily ever after a real-life ending.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25His work makes him a partner in that happiness.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33You get a sense of a country kind of putting itself to rights,
0:33:33 > 0:33:37and a country that wants to cure itself of something,
0:33:37 > 0:33:40and is looking forward into a brighter future.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43that it's going to make damn sure happens.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50Rationing in Britain finally ended in 1954,
0:33:50 > 0:33:53and a year later, Pathe's cine-magazines burst into colour,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56reflecting this optimistic new age.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10Throughout the history of Pathe Pictorial, they're constantly
0:34:10 > 0:34:14looking for ways to differentiate their product,
0:34:14 > 0:34:19and in the 1950s, the big competitor is television.
0:34:19 > 0:34:25As TV was still black and white, Pathe exploited its advantage,
0:34:25 > 0:34:28choosing stories that would maximise the impact of colour.
0:34:28 > 0:34:30Coffee houses like
0:34:30 > 0:34:34this one at Kensington are having a new vogue throughout the country.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36Waiters from Trinidad and Marseilles,
0:34:36 > 0:34:38furnishings from Argentina and Hong Kong,
0:34:38 > 0:34:40music from Latin America.
0:34:40 > 0:34:45These exotic touches create an unusual and colourful atmosphere.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49Foods, too, reflect the modern demand for variety and imagination.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51Open sandwiches in the Swedish style
0:34:51 > 0:34:54contain steak tartar or continental savouries,
0:34:54 > 0:34:57and odd mixtures like cream cheese and fresh fruit,
0:34:57 > 0:34:59or cheese marons and walnuts.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01I think we do imagine that,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04literally, Britain went into colour in the '50s.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07Some time during the Coronation, things did switch
0:35:07 > 0:35:10from being in black and white to being in colour.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14Certainly, colour was more prevalent just out on the streets at this time
0:35:14 > 0:35:16than it would have been for the previous decade.
0:35:20 > 0:35:26Britain was looking to a brighter, better future.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29And with this spirit of optimism came a new emphasis on youth.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33The emerging generation that would rebuild a damaged nation.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39And Pathe captured the mood, turning its cameras
0:35:39 > 0:35:44on young Brits at work, rest and play.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49If there are two things that young children always enjoy,
0:35:49 > 0:35:51it's dressing up and pretending.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54Which is once reason why this ballet school at Rochester, Kent, has
0:35:54 > 0:35:59so many enthusiastic pupils. Of course, few will ever graduate
0:35:59 > 0:36:01to the distinguished ranks of the ballet companies,
0:36:01 > 0:36:03but that doesn't stop them giving heart-warming,
0:36:03 > 0:36:07if unprofessional, performances. And, above all, enjoying themselves.
0:36:07 > 0:36:12Everybody was taking youth, childhood, more seriously
0:36:12 > 0:36:14than at any time in our history.
0:36:14 > 0:36:15It was all an attempt to find
0:36:15 > 0:36:18the best way of doing the best thing for the young people.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21Because we were looking to the future rather than the past.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23Over now to Battersea Festival Gardens
0:36:23 > 0:36:26to meet the contestants in a friendly competition,
0:36:26 > 0:36:30with no holes barred. A baby show!
0:36:30 > 0:36:34Throughout the 1950s, Pathe's cine-magazines celebrated motherhood
0:36:34 > 0:36:37and reflected Britain's post-war baby boom.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41Memories of poverty in the 1930s were vivid.
0:36:41 > 0:36:46Children who died of malnutrition. Those were live memories.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49So, chubby, strong babies who didn't die
0:36:49 > 0:36:54in the first five years of their life were so important.
0:36:54 > 0:36:59That, I think, is behind baby shows in the 1950s.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01This is one beauty competition
0:37:01 > 0:37:03where a pretty face doesn't count for too much.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06For the ten judges connected with the medical profession,
0:37:06 > 0:37:09watch out for points like good teeth, or rather, gums,
0:37:09 > 0:37:12and other characteristics of the healthy baby.
0:37:12 > 0:37:18Bringing up your child to a healthy life was a triumph.
0:37:21 > 0:37:22As well as stronger babies,
0:37:22 > 0:37:25Britain was also benefiting from a healthier economy.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28The new prosperity powered a wave of consumerism
0:37:28 > 0:37:31that would revolutionise domestic life.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38The Britain public was determined to put the war years
0:37:38 > 0:37:40and "Make do and mend" behind them.
0:37:40 > 0:37:46They wanted it all, and they wanted it now.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50You can really see this in the cine-magazines of the period,
0:37:50 > 0:37:54which will bombard you with images of things that might want.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57The ingenuity of bed designers is our subject,
0:37:57 > 0:38:01and this particular example underlines the fact that
0:38:01 > 0:38:03we are living in a highly-mechanised age.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07Pathe's cine-magazines pushed an idealised version of domestic bliss
0:38:07 > 0:38:10for the 1950s housewife to aspire to.
0:38:10 > 0:38:15Just push the button and the foot of the bed soars skywards.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17Just the thing after a hard day
0:38:17 > 0:38:21slaving over a hot and fully automatic oven.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24A tape recorder for the career girl to dictate into.
0:38:24 > 0:38:29Or for the non-career girl, a means to play hours of soothing music.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35Really, the cine magazine is embodying that new consumer culture,
0:38:35 > 0:38:37the culture that's going to end with
0:38:37 > 0:38:41Harold Macmillan telling everybody that they never had it so good.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51Items featured women performing everyday chores in domestic settings
0:38:51 > 0:38:54whilst dressed like film stars.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06You didn't let your house show any dirt or any dust.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09Nor did you let your body or yourself show any.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11There's a lot of women for whom
0:39:11 > 0:39:15those ideals of cleanliness and perfection,
0:39:15 > 0:39:20the beautiful child, the perfect home, the impeccable outfit,
0:39:20 > 0:39:24those are ideals to aspire to, and they have a sort of glamour.
0:39:24 > 0:39:29Pathe used one of the great domestic icons of the age to show viewers
0:39:29 > 0:39:33how to make exciting meals from the most mundane materials.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35How often have you gazed enviously
0:39:35 > 0:39:38at the exotic creations of master bakers and chefs?
0:39:38 > 0:39:40Well, you needn't feel envious any more!
0:39:40 > 0:39:43Here are a few professional tips on what can be done
0:39:43 > 0:39:46with the simplest of tools and ingredients
0:39:46 > 0:39:50demonstrated by the husband-and-wife team Fanny and John Craddock.
0:39:50 > 0:39:55I think there's a sense in society as a whole that women need to return
0:39:55 > 0:39:58to more traditional, feminine roles,
0:39:58 > 0:40:00which include dressing up, so you get
0:40:00 > 0:40:07the re-emergence of a glamorous, almost artificial femininity.
0:40:12 > 0:40:13During the 1950s,
0:40:13 > 0:40:17Pathe's cine-magazines presented a prescriptive picture
0:40:17 > 0:40:21of what was considered to be the Ideal Woman.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25Women with an eye for bright colours but not the figure
0:40:25 > 0:40:28are the special problem of today's outsize designers.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31At a West End studio, OS model Linda Lee shows that
0:40:31 > 0:40:34glaring colours are a glaring mistake for her.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37Scarlet and bright red in particular
0:40:37 > 0:40:39should be left to the slimmer women...
0:40:39 > 0:40:41and to bull-fighters!
0:40:41 > 0:40:44In a sense, what the Pathe films do is
0:40:44 > 0:40:48provide an aid to women in how to dress.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51But at the same time, of course, they're pushing forward
0:40:51 > 0:40:55a kind of stereotype of the hourglass figure
0:40:55 > 0:40:57and this highly-feminine woman
0:40:57 > 0:41:00that also puts on an awful amount of pressure.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05But it wasn't just women who were
0:41:05 > 0:41:09under pressure to look their best in this new, post-war world.
0:41:09 > 0:41:10Once something for ladies only,
0:41:10 > 0:41:15fashion and grooming became a male preoccupation too.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21All these men have just got rid of their demob suits.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23They've mainly been in uniform for the whole of the war.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26What are they going to wear? What are they going to wear
0:41:26 > 0:41:29in these new professions that they're taking up?
0:41:29 > 0:41:30And so I think for the first time
0:41:30 > 0:41:34the idea of a sort of boardroom fashion begins to emerge.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37The average business conference is a rather dull affair.
0:41:37 > 0:41:38But we make no apologies
0:41:38 > 0:41:41for taking you behind the scenes of this sales conference.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43Yes, we did say conference.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45In fact, if this is what conferences are really like,
0:41:45 > 0:41:48our cameras will be covering them regularly in future.
0:41:51 > 0:41:52Actually, this sales conference is
0:41:52 > 0:41:55part of a drive to make men more fashion-conscious,
0:41:55 > 0:41:57directed particularly at their taste in shirts.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00And, of course, how better to interest men
0:42:00 > 0:42:03than with this new-style fashion show?
0:42:03 > 0:42:07The idea of the sexiness of business culture is
0:42:07 > 0:42:09something that's very new.
0:42:09 > 0:42:14The nice shirt and collar and tie and the status that that brings.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18Being in a boardroom and pointing at people and making decisions
0:42:18 > 0:42:22about things that are probably very, very boring can
0:42:22 > 0:42:24somehow seem attractive.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27The city type. Well, that's what the programme says.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31The girl is Maria Mellman. Every man's type!
0:42:31 > 0:42:35I bet there weren't many fashion shows with women
0:42:35 > 0:42:40taking their skirts off in the boardroom in reality,
0:42:40 > 0:42:45but Pathe capture some of the fantasies of the time and uses them
0:42:45 > 0:42:46to encourage men to engage
0:42:46 > 0:42:50with new forms of shopping and new forms of clothing.
0:42:50 > 0:42:55A chap who takes pride in his distinctive clothing
0:42:55 > 0:42:59likes to cap it all with a hairstyle to match,
0:42:59 > 0:43:01so he orders the works.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05Pathe's cine-magazines offered a rather traditionalist view
0:43:05 > 0:43:07on these new fashion fads.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11One item filmed at a barbershop in London
0:43:11 > 0:43:18captures an outlandish new hairstyle called the Elephant's Trunk.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20Sometimes, however,
0:43:20 > 0:43:23even a normal head of hair fails to rise to the occasion.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25And when it just isn't long enough,
0:43:25 > 0:43:29a switch of false hair is thrust into the breach.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33Not everyone's cup of tea, but this is no time to split hairs.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46To Cyril, the new style is a work of art.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49To the customer, it's a mark of distinction.
0:43:49 > 0:43:54To other folk, it looks like an elephant's trunk, which is just what it is called.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56We repeat - the Elephant's Trunk.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59What Pathe, I think, are trying to do is to reassure their audience,
0:43:59 > 0:44:02perhaps a middle-aged, middle-of-the-road,
0:44:02 > 0:44:06provincial audience that, although this looks bizarre,
0:44:06 > 0:44:12and possibly threatening to some people, it's all good, clean fun.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18The style may not be a practical one.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21It wouldn't pay to go near machinery, for example.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25But at least it's guaranteed to improve the memory.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28Have an Elephant Trunk and you'll never forget.
0:44:28 > 0:44:34Throughout the 1950s, many British industries embraced opportunities
0:44:34 > 0:44:36created by the new consumer society.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40The rise of advertising didn't go unnoticed at Pathe,
0:44:40 > 0:44:43which was constantly looking for new stories.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46And the company was soon working closely
0:44:46 > 0:44:48with many influential promoters.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55In 1957, Pathe turned its cameras on a publicity stunt
0:44:55 > 0:44:59that saw a tramp transformed into a smart suit-wearing citizen,
0:44:59 > 0:45:02anticipating today's makeover shows.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05The idea is that, as part of our show,
0:45:05 > 0:45:08some of our top stylists should set out to prove
0:45:08 > 0:45:13that grooming maketh man, and that even down-and-out Ted
0:45:13 > 0:45:15can be transformed into a model of sophistication
0:45:15 > 0:45:17with a little expert treatment.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20The film was a collaboration between Pathe
0:45:20 > 0:45:23and a particularly opportunistic entrepreneur.
0:45:23 > 0:45:28A very celebrated hairdresser at the time called Leonard Pountney
0:45:28 > 0:45:32was an extremely ambitious businessman and supreme showman.
0:45:32 > 0:45:33A great self-publicist.
0:45:33 > 0:45:38Leonard goes out and finds a tramp sleeping rough on the streets and gives him a full makeover,
0:45:38 > 0:45:42which sets him on the road to a steady job and full recovery.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45This is pure showbiz from Leonard Pountney
0:45:45 > 0:45:48for the purposes of getting people like Pathe
0:45:48 > 0:45:53to whip up a bit of PR for himself.
0:45:53 > 0:45:57Actually, although most tramps wouldn't change their lives
0:45:57 > 0:45:58for all the tea in China,
0:45:58 > 0:46:03Ted, at 39, has had his fill of adventure and romance on the road
0:46:03 > 0:46:07and welcomed this opportunity of getting back on his feet.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10After this lot, Ted starts job hunting right away.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13The audience is full of likely-looking employers.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18I think it points to one slight difference between then and now,
0:46:18 > 0:46:20in that appearance was everything.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24A man who wasn't clean shaven, who didn't have a suit and tie on,
0:46:24 > 0:46:26a man who didn't have his hair cut short
0:46:26 > 0:46:28could not really expect to be taken seriously
0:46:28 > 0:46:30in the world of white-collar business.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34And the idea that an unshaven man could go into a job interview
0:46:34 > 0:46:37and last more than a few seconds would have been considered ridiculous.
0:46:37 > 0:46:41Undoubtedly, this is what they call living it up!
0:46:41 > 0:46:46But Ted's not sure and thinks, "This is what they call living it up?!"
0:46:51 > 0:46:54But the mood was changing.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57As the 1960s unfolded, traditions were swept away,
0:46:57 > 0:46:59and a new spirit of rebelliousness emerged.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02Powered by Britain's dynamic youth culture,
0:47:02 > 0:47:06the country embraced new fashions, tastes and values.
0:47:06 > 0:47:10Youth, the swinging youth who have given staid and sober old London
0:47:10 > 0:47:12its recent swinging metaphor.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16And it's the voice of youth which is decreeing change
0:47:16 > 0:47:18in this city of increasing contrasts.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21Exuberants, extroverts, exhibitionists.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24Not even the gay young things of the 1920s could make
0:47:24 > 0:47:26such an impression on the capital as this generation.
0:47:26 > 0:47:32Swinging London, changing London. Down with the old, up with the new.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35Although Pathe tried hard to reflect the changing world around it,
0:47:35 > 0:47:39the company was one of the old guard,
0:47:39 > 0:47:43and it found itself out of touch with an increasingly-youthful audience.
0:47:47 > 0:47:53This became particularly obvious in items covering the new pop culture.
0:47:53 > 0:47:58Its 1963 film Beatnik Beauty features a girl that epitomised "new cool"
0:47:58 > 0:48:02being turned back into "old school".
0:48:02 > 0:48:05Look at that Beatnik girl, she's passing a Mayfair beauty parlour,
0:48:05 > 0:48:08where smart, chic women pretty themselves up. No place for her!
0:48:08 > 0:48:12Or is it? Go on! See what they can make of you, because it so happens
0:48:12 > 0:48:14they specialise in teaching teenagers
0:48:14 > 0:48:17how to make the best of themselves.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21You look as though you could do with a good, square meal,
0:48:21 > 0:48:24as well as a wash and brush up. But no. Those eggs are only there
0:48:24 > 0:48:27to provide a lather that will condition your hair.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31Relax, and they'll make a gracious lady out of you yet.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34It's all part of the deception of a modern woman's life.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36This is what film stars
0:48:36 > 0:48:39and fine girls about town go through daily at great expense
0:48:39 > 0:48:42to convince the world that they really are beautiful.
0:48:42 > 0:48:43It's a hard, hard life.
0:48:48 > 0:48:55Cinderella's ballroom. Can this really be our Beatnik?
0:48:55 > 0:48:57Have we witnessed a grand transformation scene,
0:48:57 > 0:48:59with a modern Cinderella switched from
0:48:59 > 0:49:01her leather jacket to genuine elegance?
0:49:01 > 0:49:04It's hard to remember what this modern girl looked like
0:49:04 > 0:49:07when we persuaded her to look in.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11Many of the cine-magazines Pathe produced during the 1960s lacked
0:49:11 > 0:49:14the creative energy of its early years.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18By the time you come to the 1960s, there is no competition.
0:49:18 > 0:49:21They've effectively got it sewn up.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25In this age of progress,
0:49:25 > 0:49:29man's intrinsic ingenuity can be expressed in a variety of ways.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33Model making is a pastime with its own numerous permutations,
0:49:33 > 0:49:37depending on what you model and what you model with.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40Whereas before you would see them changing and innovating,
0:49:40 > 0:49:42they don't have to try anymore.
0:49:42 > 0:49:46If you look at their product throughout the 1960s,
0:49:46 > 0:49:50it doesn't change, and everything around them does change.
0:49:50 > 0:49:54They can fashion anything with a few expert squirts of royal icing.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58This is one of their standard designs, St Paul's Cathedral.
0:49:58 > 0:50:00Very tasty, they say.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05What you get in films like this is the slightly kind of second rate
0:50:05 > 0:50:10which is what's so delicious about them really.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14There's that rubbishness that you often find about British things,
0:50:14 > 0:50:19which is something that actually becomes intoxicating with age.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24The scene is a big, gay holiday camp at Bognor.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27During the 1960s, Pathe collaborated with several large businesses
0:50:27 > 0:50:30including a well-known leisure brand.
0:50:30 > 0:50:38The accent at this Clacton holiday camp is on fun. This is a spaghetti eating race.
0:50:38 > 0:50:44But it proved hard for the company to reconcile their editorial values with their commercial interests.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50And they're off! These girls at a holiday camp in Clacton
0:50:50 > 0:50:55aren't allowed a machine. Not even a needle. Only string and a pile of oddments.
0:50:55 > 0:51:00Butlins, the holiday camp, we had a contract with them to produce six items every year.
0:51:00 > 0:51:05Now that's pretty hard going because there are only so many times
0:51:05 > 0:51:09you can cover a beauty contest or a donkey race.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13The judge has a problem too. In fairness to everybody, he has to ignore the foundation
0:51:13 > 0:51:15and give all his marks to the creation.
0:51:15 > 0:51:20Anybody who can do that in the circumstances deserves a prize himself!
0:51:23 > 0:51:30I came up with the idea of sticking plaster on the backs of bathers
0:51:30 > 0:51:34so that as the sun shone on them, words appeared on their backs.
0:51:34 > 0:51:42She's dreaming about Fred. And everyone's read about Fred.
0:51:43 > 0:51:51She's dreaming of nobody. But she can't resist the latest seaside craze of sun-signs.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55Here at Bognor, the craze began.
0:51:55 > 0:51:59It soon spread. Everyone's walking round with sticking plaster on their backs,
0:51:59 > 0:52:03waiting for the sun to leave a white tattoo.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07We pretended it was a great craze and amazingly, it became one afterwards.
0:52:13 > 0:52:19Although we aimed to make it a family entertainment, it was a male orientated environment
0:52:19 > 0:52:23and we all liked pretty girls in bikinis.
0:52:25 > 0:52:30While in the real world, a new generation of feminists were demanding equality for women,
0:52:30 > 0:52:37Pathe featured the leggy lovelies from London's Windmill Theatre at every possible opportunity.
0:52:37 > 0:52:42We had Windmill Girls demonstrating everything from ten-pin bowling to how to cure hiccups.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45All wearing hardly any clothes.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49As some of you may know, the basic cause of hiccups is an irritation of the diaphragm.
0:52:49 > 0:52:55The thin sheet of muscle separating the chest and the abdominal cavity, so that you need something to sooth
0:52:55 > 0:53:00the diaphragm and give it a chance to get back into rhythmic operation.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03Grated raw potato sometimes helps, they say.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10I look back now and I think, "God, how did we get away with this?"
0:53:10 > 0:53:14I mean, it was so sexist in many ways because the only women working there
0:53:14 > 0:53:17were secretaries and they typed the scripts.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24SHE HICCUPS
0:53:27 > 0:53:31We were looking for fun stories and we had fun looking for them.
0:53:33 > 0:53:39The world had changed irrevocably since Pathe produced its first cine-magazines.
0:53:39 > 0:53:44Unable to change with the times, the company fell back on the tried and tested themes
0:53:44 > 0:53:51that had served it well for half a century. Titillation, technology and eccentricity.
0:53:52 > 0:53:57Some of the world's most dramatic scientific discoveries had unusual origins.
0:53:57 > 0:54:01A fact that may have inspired teenager, Malcolm Pickard,
0:54:01 > 0:54:06when he spend two pounds on electrical equipment and built a snog-ometer.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09Britain is supposed to be the centre of the sexual revolution
0:54:09 > 0:54:15and here you've got this wonderfully suburbanised version of it,
0:54:15 > 0:54:19where this boy has invented this contraption in his bedroom
0:54:19 > 0:54:23and he's hooking people up to it to sort of test their lustiness.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26Hold tight... Just testing!
0:54:32 > 0:54:39And it's all going on in this rather wonderfully awful 1960s living room with his mother watching.
0:54:39 > 0:54:41There! Just sitting in the corner of the room
0:54:41 > 0:54:45looking like she could freeze the permissive society with one glare.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48Mother's got nothing to worry about because it's all child's play.
0:54:48 > 0:54:53But see what happens when someone just that much more mature gets to grips with the problem. Holy smoke!
0:54:53 > 0:54:58It all looks highly dangerous. They seem to be wired up to the mains with their mouths pressing together.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01I think he's quite lucky he didn't kill anybody frankly!
0:55:10 > 0:55:14By the end of the decade, Pathe's distinctive take
0:55:14 > 0:55:19on contemporary culture seemed out of tune with the times.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23These clips of hippy lifestyle
0:55:23 > 0:55:26or swinging London suggest to me
0:55:26 > 0:55:30are a sort of Carry On stereotype of the fashionable life.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35Short of a complete makeover,
0:55:35 > 0:55:39I don't think Pathe quite knows the way forward from this point.
0:55:39 > 0:55:46Cinema audiences had come to expect one continuous and often spectacular feature.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50Pathe's idiosyncratic cine-magazines, like this film, entitled, Stolen From Men,
0:55:50 > 0:55:54no longer had a place in the cinema programme.
0:55:55 > 0:56:00Look at this girl, and in particular, look at the nail varnish she's got on.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03White and pink.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05Where did she get it?
0:56:07 > 0:56:10This is where she got it...
0:56:10 > 0:56:12She stole it from men!
0:56:12 > 0:56:15From a real, true, he-man's motor accessory shop.
0:56:15 > 0:56:19The cine magazine was more or less made redundant by television
0:56:19 > 0:56:22which found that it could do exactly the same thing.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24It seems now to us a very televisual form.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34All to often, students get into hot water.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37But obviously, they're not such a shower as some people like to make out.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40In fact with ingenious ideas like this literally on tap,
0:56:40 > 0:56:47these industrial designers of tomorrow are going to make a devil of a splash.
0:56:52 > 0:56:57Pathe stopped producing cine-magazines in 1969.
0:56:57 > 0:57:01But for more than 50 years, the company's cameras
0:57:01 > 0:57:04had captured everything from the banal to the bizarre.
0:57:08 > 0:57:15From the 1920s, when Pathe's trailblazers created Britain's first, ground-breaking cine-magazines.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22Through its glorious heyday in the war years.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25To its swan song in the 1960s.
0:57:25 > 0:57:33Pathe created a rich repository of images that documented a period of tremendous change in British culture.
0:57:34 > 0:57:38Nobody in those days had any idea really how valuable
0:57:38 > 0:57:41and how interesting this material would be to future generations.
0:57:41 > 0:57:45So we owe a great deal of gratitude to organisations like Pathe,
0:57:45 > 0:57:50firstly, for recording this stuff and secondly, for preserving it.
0:57:50 > 0:57:55It's an incredible body of work and it's profoundly influential too
0:57:55 > 0:58:00because they founded and articulated this form
0:58:00 > 0:58:04that really is visible absolutely everywhere in TV culture today.
0:58:04 > 0:58:08Turn on your TV in the afternoon or the early evening
0:58:08 > 0:58:13and you are watching the ghosts of the Pathe cine-magazine parade before you.
0:58:16 > 0:58:23Pathe's films reflected the hopes, fears and values of the British people.
0:58:23 > 0:58:30Often quaint, usually quirky, these cine-magazines are an entertaining, enlightening
0:58:30 > 0:58:34and intimate record of a changing nation.
0:59:00 > 0:59:02Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:59:02 > 0:59:04E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk