British Pathe

Various stories tinted various colours.

Green tint. Title: "Pathe Review presents THRILLS - a potpourri of speed and desperate moments from real life". Shot from a camera which is attached to the sail of a windmill. We see views of the landscape as the sails rotate. Men (or women - hard to...

Various stories tinted various colours.

Green tint. Title: "Pathe Review presents THRILLS - a potpourri of speed and desperate moments from real life". Shot from a camera which is attached to the sail of a windmill. We see views of the landscape as the sails rotate. Men (or women - hard to see) are hanging on to each of the four sails.

Orange tint. Two construction workers at work very high up seen from above. Blue tint. A man is suspended beneath a biplane. He holds on to a strap with his teeth - no hands! Several men climb down rope ladders suspended from a plane in flight, they then release their parachutes as they let go. This is seen again in slow motion. The ground is seen a long way below. Orange tint. A man on a motorbike drives off a cliff. A parachute opens. A man is fired from a cannon.

Blue tint. An air balloon lifts a man in a bath into the sky. Shot from above of the man washing himself in the bath. Then shot from the basket of the balloon. We see a cameraman operating his hand cranked camera. The man splashes water out of the bath. Man climbs a pole on top of a biplane. Air to air shot as he waves at the camera. Tinted brown. Two cows pull a wagon of hay along.

Intertitle reads: "Hold your seat - we are started again" (joke perhaps about the dull shot which proceeded the title?!). Biplane flies into a shed and demolishes it. We see it again in slow motion. Blue tint. Men jump out of aeroplane and their parachutes inflate. Two women on the wings of a biplane (same footage as "Aeroplane Stunt Women" from EP051). The plane flies under a bridge. We see the view from the back of the plane as they go under the bridge. (Not seen on the other version). Pink tint. Man on water skis at night. Woman sits on his shoulders carrying flares which light up the scene (short shot).
Green tint. Speedboats followed from the air. Orange tint. Sports car speeds along a beach - seen from the air. Car crashes - seen from the ground. (Spectacular crash). Tinted pink, title: "The End". (Completely different story follows).

Group of film extras pose for the camera. Intertitle: "It's the movie extra's dream to kiss the handsome leading man - but -". Shot follows of a beefy muscular leading man passionately kissing a doe eyed starlet. He kisses her on the hand first. Intertitle reads: "They used to burn witches at the stake - but in Hollywood they stake them to a contract!" Shot of an elderly woman dressed as a witch. She speaks to the camera in a witchy way! One of the extras is a very large woman. She speaks to an Abraham Lincoln look-a-like. When they move off, a small person (dwarf) is revealed to have been sitting behind her unseen. He picks up a suitcase and walks off. The dwarf takes his hat off and gets down from a pedestal. Two women portraying "mothers-in-law" stand and gossip. A wider shot reveals that one of the women has been standing on a bench. She is very short. They walk off together.

Intertitle reads: "This funny old world is full of Curiosities - freaks of nature as well as marvels of man's ingenuity - and we have collected a few of them for this Movie Side-show". Intertitle about how opposites attract. A very large woman on the beach strokes the hair of a puny looking man. The woman is called Irene. The man stands up and attempts to pull her up on to her feet. Some other men come to help but she is too heavy. Eventually they get her up. A very short woman (dwarf) is wagging her finger at her "boyfriend" and telling him off about something. He is a very tall man.

She is known as "Lady Little" and is "twenty-seven inches short". Captain Homer is seven foot six tall. She nags, he nods his head. She kicks him in the shins. He picks her up and hangs her on a telegraph pole. She waggles her legs and waves her arms as he walks off. Shot of a railway station - could be a movie set. Lots of people wandering around. Ticket collector. Intertitle reads: "If it's headed for the studios, then the train's on the right track". Steam train. A large boy sits on a bench and carves a piece of wood with a knife. He suddenly looks shocked, drops everything and falls of the bench (acting!). Intertitle: "Some hike out on a shoestring - there are only five mountains in the way". A man and a woman walk down long set of steps. Orange tint. They turn around and on their back packs are signs that read: "Honeymoon Hikers" and "Coast to Coast". Two men ride horses at great speed. Intertitle reads: "Many a milkman's horse leaves milk pitchers for movin' pitchers!" Four horses run along with empty saddles.

Intertitle: "Not air mails - but females - taking their IT to Hollywood". Biplanes in the air. A car draws up and an elderly lady gets out. Intertitle: "She's travelled from coast to coast to be a grand-maw at $7.50 per day!" C/U of granny smiling. Hollywood Boulevard. Shot from a moving car. Brown tint. Studio Row and a studio set. A dancing sequence is filmed. C/U of a woman's legs. Camera pans up to reveal a woman slightly less attractive than may at first have been assumed! She chews gum then looks coy. Man preens a very large beard. Abraham Lincoln look-alike. Child dressed in adult clothes looks a bit bemused by it all. He runs towards a couple talking and tries to get their attention. C/U of his face. He salutes. End title: "That's That "Holly-Nuts" A Futter Novelty". 1940 Educational Film Exchanges Inc.

Note: I presume 1940 doesn't refer to date or release - probably an identification number.

Apart from a short blue tinted sequence at the beginning the film is transferred in Black and white. Also, many flash titles.