British Pathe

The British Motor Corporation Presents - The British Motor Car

01:16:56 Aerials of various large motorway junctions. Shot from bridge following traffic as it travels beneath it. Mini car travelling along at speed. Various trucks (shot from odd angles). Road ahead shot from inside car. Two minis...

The British Motor Corporation Presents - The British Motor Car

01:16:56 Aerials of various large motorway junctions. Shot from bridge following traffic as it travels beneath it. Mini car travelling along at speed. Various trucks (shot from odd angles). Road ahead shot from inside car. Two minis overtaking two Volkswagen Beetles.

Recreation of early motoring - man walks with flag in front of early motor car. Stills of various early cars. Still of William Richard Morris. Still of the Morris family. C/U of father. List of names on papers, C/U Morris' name. Exterior of house in terraced block. C/U front door (No. 16). C/U street sign - James Street. (This is the Morris home in Oxford). Interior of kitchen. Camera walks out through back door. Still of Morris on bicycle. Bicycle leaning against wall. Still newspaper advert - "W.R. Morris, Practical Cycle Maker". Next advert shows the inclusion of new partner - Cooper. Still early motorised bicycle. Lots of early motorbikes lined up. Still - exterior of shop of The Morris Motor Bicycle. Still of Oxford Garage. Stills of Oxford. Still of The Morris-Oxford light car. Newspaper clippings. Stills of early factory. Stills and newspaper clipping to show start of World War One. C/U Kitchener recruiting poster - Your Country Needs You. Men on boats and trains going off to war. Women making munitions and shells. Dawn breaks.

Car production in factory. Men work with hammers nailing together wooden parts of car bodies. Man spray painting car body. More factory scenes (Making the "Bull Nosed Morris") Lots of cars lined up in the factory. Lots of men working on cars. William Morris working at desk. Stills of other makes of cars. Newspaper clippings. More great factory scenes. Lorry drives along road. Advert on side reads "Lucas Lamps & Horns - King of the road".

01:21:43 C/U hands fastening headlights to car. Massive pile of tires. Man fixing tyres onto wheel. Men pour out molten metal in foundry. Lots of shots of men putting together car parts. Factory scenes. Interesting to see the move to production lines happening. Morris lorry drives out of factory, above the door is a big sign saying "Morris". Lots of lorries coming out of factory. Still Herbert Austin. Crowded street - possibly people walking in to work at factory. Factory scenes. Early production scenes of M.G. cars (MG - Morris Garages). Man sitting with female companion in early MG outside factory. They pull away. Car racing scenes, MG's in action - great advert on bridge as cars pass beneath "Pratts At All Events". Man waves chequered flag. (Can't identify any of these racing scenes - no shotlist). Exterior of the M.G. factory at Abingdon, Oxfordshire. MG on cross country race in snowy weather. Man climbs into seat of racing MG. Car drives across salt flats at high speed as if on attempt to break land speed record.

Lots of cars in street scenes of 1920's and 1930's. Cars drive out of factory gates. Austin Seven on the road (the early one). C/U sign on gates "No Men Wanted". Exterior shot of Ministry of Labour office with men standing in crowd outside. Car out of factory (The One Hundred Pound car). View of couple driving car. Car driving up bumpy hill. Advert - "Over 100 miles per hours and 100 miles per gallon on the £100 car". Various bigger cars. Sign - "Morris Distributor - Sales and Service". High angle view of petrol station forecourt. Wooden crates marked up - Chile, Dublin, Auckland, Calcutta, Vera Cruz, Capetown - More Morris' For Export. Crate lifted onto ship.

01:26:20 High angle street scene. Traffic scenes in various places (last shot appears to be Bond Street in London). Still William Morris and Leonard Lord. Moving assembly line in factory. Men at work in factory building cars. Overhead lifting systems. Great car building scenes. Exterior High Court. C/U hands counting money on table, placing notes into wage packets. Newspaper advert - "Over 10,000 Morris Cars Sold In One Month!". Busy roads, lots of cars. Traffic jams. Stock exchange scenes. Early teleprinter machine working. Still of Riley and Wolsey cars. Exterior factory. Interior Austin cars in factory. More car production scenes. The 1,000,000 th car being made. (One Millionth).

Adolf Hitler gives speech. Troops marching. Bofor gun (anti-aircraft gun) fired. Aircraft dog fights. Plane being built. Bombed factory. Tanks being built. Celebrations of VE day. Winston Churchill gives "V" sign from balcony to vast crowds below.

Post war car production scenes in factory. (William Morris - became Lord Nuffield). Prince Philip (Duke of Edinburgh) presents Lord Nuffield with Variety Club Golden Heart award. Lord Nuffield returns to seat as people sing "For he's a jolly good fellow". Cars crated up for export. Tractors in storage yard by railway line. Tractor being used in field. Newspaper headline from Daily Mail - Morris-Austin Merger. High angle shot of massive factory site. Lorry carries two Mini bodies past factory with Austin sign on the side. Alex (Alec) Issigonis and other designer looking at plans in design room. C/U hands of Issigonis as he draws design for Mini. Large drawing office. Great tracking shot across drawing office, lots of men and drawing boards. Large office with lots of men working at desks.

01:32:05 High Angle shot of large drawing office. Computer printer produces information. Man removes print out. Man looks at electronic equipment. Lighted panel showing work on assembly line. Operator at desk looking over electronic controls for production line. View of production line through window. High angle shot of production line. Production shots in factory. Man working at car (Girlie - Glamour - calendar on wall). Mini on production line. Austin body lifted up. Various parts of the production process. Wheels fitted, engines checked. Machine tools being used. Lathes being used to make parts. Engines and crank shafts being made. All filmed really nicely to jazzy soundtrack. Man rubs down car. Minis are painted, partly by men with spray guns and partly by automatic machinery. High angle shot of lorry production line. Tractor production line. Massive wheels hanging from roof. Tractor wheel lowered down and fitted into place with hydraulic tightener. Tractor driven off track. Tractor stored outside factory. Woman fills mini up with petrol in factory. Car driven onto rollers to be checked. Cars stored outside factory, great shots of cars. Aerial shots of factory site, it looks massive. End Titles - An Associated British Pathe Production.