British Pathe

Reel 3.

01:10:21 Various shots of the assembly line Men move Mini chassis in place, wheels are added to a Mini as it moves along. The Morris emblem is attached to the bonnet and seats are fitted. High angle shot of the production line. Man climbs into white Mini and drives it off the production...

Reel 3.

01:10:21 Various shots of the assembly line Men move Mini chassis in place, wheels are added to a Mini as it moves along. The Morris emblem is attached to the bonnet and seats are fitted. High angle shot of the production line. Man climbs into white Mini and drives it off the production line.

01:11:26 More testing - windscreen wipers, lights, clutch all tested. Final alignments are made. Headlights are focussed. Minis are driven out of the factory. "Here's your car, ready for the road".

01:12:29 Group of pressmen and motoring correspondents are assembled outside the Morris plant. Press releases are handed out and badges pinned on. C/U of engine of the car. Some of the men are named: foreign correspondents Paul Frere, Robert Braunschweg, Werner Kroll, Bernard Cahier and British correspondents like Harold Nockhold, Maurice Smith, Basil Cardew, Tommy Wisdom. Some of the men are seen examining the cars. Some of the men take notes. They then take the Minis for a drive. Point of view shots showing Minis everywhere!

01:13:47 The press hail the Mini as a great success. Sequence intercuts newspaper headlines with shots of the cars being driven. Majestic music accompanies this celebratory sequence. Cars are positively pouring off the production line.

01:14:18 We see the family featured earlier standing at the bus stop. This time they are picked up by a Mini. Father isn't sure if they will get all the luggage in. Nice sequence showing how much can be squeezed into the car - suitcases, chairs, radios, books etc.
01:15:40 The family set off on their holiday in the Mini. We see the car being driven down a suburban street. C/U of father driving. He laughs. He is reminding them of the days before the Mini Minor came into their lives. Shot of them waiting at the bus stop is repeated. Various shots of mother and the two kids sitting in the back. Plenty of room!

01:16:09 Various shots of London through the front windscreen - Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square (?). C/Us of the dashboard, foot pedals and speedometer. L/S of Big Ben with Mini driving towards camera. Canterbury, Kent - city walls. Various shots of the car speeding along the Dover Road and arriving at the port. Various shots of Port officials and the Mini boarding a cross channel ferry. "You and your Mini Minor are bound for fresh and exciting new horizons." Various shots of the ferry leaving Dover.

01:17:42 Great credit shot of a model Mini beside a small trophy. "Produced by Associated British-Pathe for the Nuffield Organization." Voiceover states: "This car was awarded the Dewar Trophy in 1960 for most outstanding British technical achievement in Automobile Design. "The End".

Commentary spoken by David de Keyser.

There may have been two different versions of this film. Documentation file exists - shotlist and commentary. May be for this version but I have a feeling that it may be for a different (possibly longer) version.

Colour is very faded on this print.

Colour is very faded on this print.