British Pathe

Promotional film made for Pye Telecommunications.

Documentary begins with sequence showing colleges of the University of Cambridge. Good views of college buildings and courtyards with students wandering through the grounds. Kings College and King's College Chapel. Christopher Marlowe is mentioned...

Promotional film made for Pye Telecommunications.

Documentary begins with sequence showing colleges of the University of Cambridge. Good views of college buildings and courtyards with students wandering through the grounds. Kings College and King's College Chapel. Christopher Marlowe is mentioned in the commentary as a former student at Corpus Christi college. C/U of his gravestone. Emmanuel (sp?) College is shown, John Harvard took his degree here and part of the college was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Various shots of the college architecture. Cloisters of Queen's College are shown, clock tower and sundial. One of the most greatest Renaissance Humanists attended the college - Desiderius Erasmus. Visitors are shown around the college courtyards. The Great Court of Trinity is shown - personalities connected with Trinity are mentioned on the soundtrack: Bacon, Newton, Byron, Thackeray, Tennyson, Walsingham, Walpole and Rupert Brooke. Panning shot and C/Us of the courtyard buildings. St John's College is shown and famous students are mentioned: Wordsworth, John Colenso - the English Bishop of Natal and the astronomers Sir John Herschel and John Gooch Adams.

The Cavendish Laboratory is then featured. Baron Rutherford worked here unlocking the secrets of the atom. Its name commemorates the eighteenth century scientist Henry Cavendish, himself a Cambridge man, who anticipated the work of Coulomb, Faraday, Ohm and others on electricity. Various shots of the exterior of the Laboratory and various men in white coats. C/Us of laboratory machinery inside the building. Scientists at work. Joseph Black is another scientist mentioned by the narrator.

L/S of street in Cambridge. Large van with the "Pye" logo on front and side passes the camera. L/S of Pye Telecommunications factory. C/U of the sign above the door. M/S of Pye TV van passing the camera. Narrator tells the story of Pye's innovative work in the engineering field.

Various shots of Pye factories and buildings, television transmitter mast, Pye lorry etc. Radio taxis. C/U of taxi stopping in front of the camera. Driver gets out and opens the door for his passengers. Man pays the taxi driver. C/U of driver being paid. He climbs back into the car and there is a C/U of him operating the "radio telephone" inside his cab. He holds up microphone to speak to the control room before he sets off. C/U of the controls for the unit. C/U of the aerial on top of the cab. Camera pans down to show sign over a garage. Interior of garage - control centre for the radio cabs.

C/U of an elderly man standing in front of a bookshelf consulting a book. It is George Trevelyan, former Master of Trinity and now a famous historian.

M/S of the Queen Mother, then Vice-Chancellor of the University walking through a University courtyard. She is attending to receive an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (sic). Various shots of procession and crowds. Prince Philip received a similar honour. M/S of Sir Winston Churchill walking past applauding crowds as he attends to receive an Honorary Doctor of Literature degree.

Field Marshal Smuts and the Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Tedder were both honoured by being the University's Chancellor at various times. Various shots of ceremonies involving the two Chancellors and the crowds which gather to see them including guests having tea on one of the college lawns. Dr Albert Schweitzer is awarded an honorary doctorate.

Narrator states: "Leaders of many nations - on both sides of the Iron Curtain - have paid visits to Cambridge University." Various shots of Prime Minister Tito visiting the University. Tito gets into his car.

Traffic problems of Cambridge are discussed. Lots of people cycle past the camera on a busy road. M/S of large number of bikes lined up. M/S of another area of parked bicycles. "...the bicycle is the natural means of getting about" to avoid traffic congestion.

Various shots of student's rag procession collecting money on Poppy Day. Floats, parades, students in fancy dress, collecting tins, balloon seller etc. Costumes include "Frankenstein's Monster, a Red Indian, men in drag as veiled belly dancers, etc. C/U of money that has been collected inside a bowl or chamber pot. M/S of men in grass skirts doing a Maori war dance. Man on a unicycle pedals past the camera. Students attempt to launch a model rocket then have to put out the flames which ensue. Night shots of the "Granta Ball" of 1949 when Granta celebrated its Diamond Jubilee. Various shots of attendees in fancy dress costumes. All sorts of strange goings on are seen. Before they can enter the ball, pieces of metal are split in two with a welding torch. C/U of student dressed as Harpo Marx. Guests entering the ball are sprayed with disinfectant from a hand pumped spray by a man dressed as a footman. Guests pass a small fountain. High angle shot of the revellers. C/U of some of the dancers, their feet, tables being moved. Party goers sitting down to eat at a table in the middle of the dance floor. Man wheels a small tricycle through the dancers. Woman takes a bath on the dance floor. Revellers (including Harpo) take an axe and hacksaws to a piano. Great party!!!

Various shots of the Cambridge rowing team. C/Us of one of the rowers. Various shots of the college crews practising on the River Cam. Shots of the great Oxford Cambridge boat race on the Thames. Various views of the teams rowing and of spectators. Nice shot of people punting in Cambridge. Moving shots from a punt. Glamorous woman lazing in a punt being propelled by a boyfriend. High angle shot of punts moving along the river.

Note: documentation file exists - commentary, shot list etc. See other version which has much more footage of telecommunications nature, less of student activity.