British Pathe

Various versions of this documentary were made. We currently hold three versions - see other records. This version is more complete that "Revised Version" but the "Short Version" has a different end sequence. Some material shot in 1953 and some in 1961.

Opening title reads: "Pringle of Scotland...

Various versions of this documentary were made. We currently hold three versions - see other records. This version is more complete that "Revised Version" but the "Short Version" has a different end sequence. Some material shot in 1953 and some in 1961.

Opening title reads: "Pringle of Scotland Present The Cashmere Story - Produced by Associated British Pathe."

01:08:40 C/Us of Cashmere goats. Narrator recounts the "legend of Cashmere" over shots of mountainous landscapes. L/S of mules laden down with bundles of wool being led along a country road. M/S of the mules arriving in a village or town. Men untie the bundles of wool and place them on the ground. A man checks the quality of the wool. Wool is piled up.

01:09:43 M/S of a bundle of wool being transported by an Indian rope railway. Panning shot of landscape. M/S of water buffalo or similar animals pulling along carts. Two men load sacks of wool onto the back of a lorry. Man counts the bundles. Stamped on the side are the words: "Produce of Tibet - 1st White Wool."

01:10:38 L/S of the lorry being driven away from the camera. L/S of Tibetan mountains contrasted with L/S of Scottish landscape. Various scenic views. Narrator says of Scotland: "for nearly 200 years the knitting industry has led the world." L/S of a Pringle mill in Hawick.

01:10:58 Various shots of the picturesque countryside of Scotland. Interior. Knitwear designer Otto Weiss places knitted sections of a jumper on a female model. She is dressed in just a bra and a skirt and separate pieces for each front and the collar are draped around her. C/U of the model as the collar is altered. A fake button front is pinned to the jumper (these shots are actually out of sequence.) A woman assists and a man makes notes.

01:12:11 L/S of men at work in the wool mill. "Knitting machines" are seen in operation. Various shots of men at work and of the machinery used. Narrator states that the workers come from families who have worked in the industry for generations. "They have an inbred pride in their product which is peculiarly individual to them something which, like the fine cashmere thread - is dyed in the wool."

01:12:32 C/U of the cashmere being "knitted" on the machines. Narrator describes the features of a Pringle sweater (the beautiful tight rib at waist, cuff and neck). C/U of group of women at work "barfilling" - transferring the rib-waist to the points on the bars - which calls for very nimble hands.

01:13:07M/S of a man picking up a cone of wool then placing it on the machine. C/U of the "knitting machine" in operation. Extreme C/U of the side seam being made. Narrator points out the hallmarks of a "fully fashioned garment."

01:14:13 High angle shot of women at work on the seaming or linking machine. This is a highly skilled job: "Not a single stitch may be dropped, or a ladder or drop-stitch would result. That's something they'd be ashamed for you to find in a product of this mill." Good C/U of the process.

01:14:44 Narrator points out that despite the modern technology, the hand of a craftsman is indispensable. We see a man "tickling over the stitches" - altering stitches to meet the needs of an exacting design. C/U of the hand-knitting machine. Various shots of men at work on the machines. C/U of several small shapes knitted up.

01:15:26 M/S of two elderly men "scouring" the fine cashmere garments to remove the spinning oil. They stand above tubs of hot water and move the garments around. They are then rinsed in specially softened water. The "milling" process is seen. This makes the cashmere soft. Worker pulls out a piece of cashmere to check it - not ready so puts it back.

01:16:17Moth proofing process is shown. A large amount of pink cashmere is fed into a machine full of heated water. L/S of men fitting the cashmere sweaters onto wooden boards so that they dry into the correct shape. A trolley of the wooden boards is wheeled into the "boarding house" to dry in carefully regulated heat.

01:17:31 (What was originally Reel 2 begins here - now all in one reel.) M/S of a woman laying out a "golfer" cardigan. She marks the sweater with chalk and then cuts out the neck of the jumper then cuts a straight line down, making the sweater into a cardigan - amazing! Another jumper has a pocket marked out then cut.

01:18:15 L/S of women at work on linking machines. C/U of garment having ribbing attached at the neck. C/U of woman working at a ribbing machine. M/S of women sewing on the ribbon-fronts of the "golfer" cardigans. Narrator talks of the personal pride the women have in their work. C/U of middle aged woman sewing a ribbon-front on to a cardigan. M/S of women at sewing machines making button holes. C/U of the sewing machine as a buttonhole being made. C/U of woman concentrating on her work.

01:19:14 C/U of woman using a sewing machine to stitch on buttons. She is very fast. C/U of the process. Princess Margaret (not seen) was impressed by this process when she visited the factory.

01:19:23 High angle shot of large number of women sewing on name tags by hand. C/U of elderly woman sewing on a label, pan down to the label. C/U of another jumper being hand finished. M/S of a young girl and an elderly woman working side by side hand sewing. L/S of women double checking the sweaters, C/U of woman doing same.

01:20:21M/S of a steam press being used to finish off the jumper. A tape measure is used to check the size of the jumper then it is folded up. M/S of the stock room where garments are sorted and labelled for despatch. C/U of a pile of jumpers of various colours. Camera pans along the piles of jumpers - lots of nice colours.

01:21:12 L/S of a group of workers standing together in an office. Manager Director William Mactaggart (sp?) performs quality checks on the garments. The men around look closely at some sweaters and one is laid out on the table to be measured.

01:21:29 Domestic interior - woman stands in a bathroom setting pouring washing powder into the sink. Narrator tells the audience how to care for Cashmere. Great shot of the woman's hand as she puts it into the water and jiggles it around to disperse the soap flakes. She puts her Cashmere sweater in the sink and gently squeezes it. Another "underwater shot" showing the jumper being gently squeezed in the water. High angle shot of her hands in the sink as she washes the jumper. She gently squeezes the suds through the fabric.

01:22:08 C/U of the woman's face as she concentrates on the washing. C/U of her hand turning on a tap. She tests the water and begins to rinse the jumper. Various shots of the rinsing process. She wraps the jumper in a towel then stretches it out flat on a table. She measures it to check that it is still in shape.

01:23:22 Aerial shot of Edinburgh Castle - aircraft moves around and away from the castle. Various shots of Edinburgh city centre - a statue, shopping streets, view from the castle. Two women are seen walking around part of the castle. C/U of the women - wearing Cashmere jumpers of course. They admire the view from the castle. Shot of the view from the castle. The two women walk towards the camera.

01:24:17 M/S of Scottish Pipe Band walking towards the camera playing the bagpipes. Various shots of the band and of the Changing of the Guard at Edinburgh Castle. Guard takes up his position in the sentry box, camera pans to show the two girls smiling. M/S of cannons - two Scottish soldiers walk past.

01:24:52 Carlton Hill - L/S of pillared construction which look like an old temple on the hill. A model wearing a red Cashmere jumper and patterned skirt walks towards the top of the hill. Low angle shot of the columns. Nice pan down to reveal another model posing by the columns. The models join each other and the one on the higher step helps the other up by holding her hand. The narrator describes their jumpers and describes the girls as: "students of history and style." Lovely C/U of the two girls looking at each other and smiling. Low angle of "two other ambassadresses from Harwick" who model their outfits whilst standing beside the columns. C/U of the two women smiling, one unbuttons her jumper.

01:25:49 L/S of two women standing beside the Forth Bridge, one of the women wears rather fetching black striped trousers. C/U of one of the models who wears a blue Cashmere, C/U of the other model who wears pink. A boat called "Mary Queen of Scots" passes the camera. C/U of churning water.

01:26:16 "Colourful and varied as a list of cocktails the range of Cashmeres can fill every hourglass to the brim, spilling cheerfully into the evening or the night." states the narrator over shots C/U of a soda siphon as soda is poured into a glass. M/S of a couple sitting at a cocktail bar, another woman joins them. C/U of one of the women who wears a beautiful Cashmere sweater with scalloped neck. She is a total glamour puss, as is her friend who wears a "quietly appealing twin set". Good M/S of a cocktail waiter shaking a cocktail. He hands it to the gentleman who passes it to one of the women. Great M/S of the two girls drinking their cocktails (although one looks like a half a lager!) They chat and smile. Ends with a M/S of them sitting at the bar.

Note: great fashion shots and nice commentary. According to paper records the man in the bar is Bill Rodgers.