British Pathe

A promotional film made for British Insulated Cables Ltd. Great industrial processes footage. c 1932

Reel 1 Primitive methods of obtaining power from natural sources are illustrated. We see horse power (horse attached to a pulling device), water power (a water mill), wind power (a windmill...

A promotional film made for British Insulated Cables Ltd. Great industrial processes footage. c 1932

Reel 1 Primitive methods of obtaining power from natural sources are illustrated. We see horse power (horse attached to a pulling device), water power (a water mill), wind power (a windmill with half a dozen Dutch girls walking towards the camera arm in arm. Intertitle explains that Power is now produced in the great Power Stations and distributed by cable to wherever it is required. L/S of a large power station. Interior shots. An electric railway is featured. this is contrasted to Stephenson's Rocket - a replica of which is filmed pulling trucks filled with people in old fashioned costume. An old fashioned oil lamp is lit this is contrasted with an electric light being turned on. Low angle shot of a large factory lit up at night. Various large municipal buildings are seen lit up at night. Intertitle describes how the distribution of power and light is only made possible by the electric cable. The film will show the skill and care that go into its manufacture. "It will, also, we believe, relieve the householder of any qualms he or she may have when contemplating the wiring of a house."
C/U of a woman speaking on the telephone. She says that herself and her husband will go round and see the person on the other end of the line in the morning. The woman and her husband leave their house - very smartly dressed. They walk through the garden gate and climb into their car. The car drives off down a nice suburban street. We see the couple arriving in town. They stop outside an electrical shop. The man opens the car door for his wife. They walk into the shop. They have gone to find out about getting electricity in their house. The man admits that electricity is a mystery to him and that they could do with his help. The salesman goes through all the different options for wiring with the couple. They speak about different prices for different types of wiring. The salesman recommends they go for British Insulated Cables. The salesman explains that the system he proposes wouldn't cause any damage to the walls in their house. The salesman goes into some detail about the wiring system. They discuss the use of Bakelite. The salesman offers to show them a film about how wires are made.

Processes involved in the manufacture of electrical cable are shown in the salesman's film. We are taken to the factory in Prescot. Metal bars are rolled into rods. We see various stages in this process. Men at work, foundries, machinery, industrial processes etc. Narrator makes a joke about the reducing process being much quicker here than it is for women on diets. Moving overhead shot of the factory floor. The coper wire is fed into various reducing machines. Part of the process is seen in slow motion. Copper rod then goes to the drawing machines. The wire drawing shop is seen. The wire is "drawn" very thin. Narrator states that some mills in the "East" weave copper wire into fabrics. A handful of very thin wire is shown. L/S of the factory with women at work on machines - it looks very similar to a fabric mill in fact. Women work with coils of wire.

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