The Rank Organisation’s Look at Life series was a concise, bright and fondly-remembered ‘cine-magazine’ that ran in Odeon and Gaumont cinemas from 1959-68 and which, before the main feature, presented cinemagoers with myriad aspects of British life in the sixties. Over 500 Look at Life films were made, and this first collection, including many films that have remained unseen since the 1960s, features 54 films on the theme of transport.
A cursory glance at the subjects on offer gives an idea of the breadth of the films, to wit: In the air – travelling on a Britannia airliner from London to Tokyo, Swiss glacier pilots, gliding, ‘trolley dollys’, pedalling in the air and hot air balloons; On the roads – a coach tour of Italy, training police drivers, traffic control in Germany, scooters and the Motor Museum at Beaulieu; On the rails – the centenary of the London to Portsmouth line, modernisation and branch lines; On the water – the hovercraft, The Queen Elizabeth, oil tankers, an underwater sightseeing bus, icebreakers, tugs and catamarans.
If you want to wallow back to England in the 60s,this is the 10 minute shorts we use to show on Odeon and Gaumont Cinemas in between the 2nd feature and main picture. ... more >
If you want to wallow back to England in the 60s,this is the 10 minute shorts we use to show on Odeon and Gaumont Cinemas in between the 2nd feature and main picture. They were colourful, beautifully photographed and had excellent music background. Most of all they were informative and educational. It is fun seeing a less crowded country with everybody smiling, smartly dressed and white people outnumbering the people in the streets. Policemen in uniform smartly dressed directing traffic. O for those loverly days. An excellent series. < less
