London Scenes, c. 1960
16mm film Black & White Silent c.1960 6:16
Summary: Hyde Park, Speakers' Corner, various street scenes and the Victoria Embankment
Title number: 1504
LSA ID: LSA/1998
Description: Opening shot shows a Salvation Army band playing, followed by a male speaker in uniform. An apartment block with railings is directly behind him. A drum is banged and we next see a women reading from the Bible. The Salvation Army flag blows in the wind, trees in the background. A woman in Salvation Army uniform smiles and laughs, Hyde Park behind her. A heavily bearded man wearing a cap and jacket stands atop a podium in Speakers' Corner. A man in a white shirt and glasses, his short slightly open, gestures and shouts aggressively. A huge bald man talks next, surrounded by a curious crowd. The next speaker we see is also a huge bald man, but he is shirtless and totally covered in tattoos. Men in suits stand around and laugh; one takes photos. A large poster reads 'Communist Party - For Peace and Socialism'. A man with a moustache stands with a flag behind him, gesturing furiously. We next see a black man on a podium, flags either side of him. Two men stand either side of a board on which is written 'Church of God Community Centre, 385 King's Road Chelsea, Sun at 11 & 6.30'. An elderly woman wearing a patterned blazer shouts from a podium, a crucifix in front of her. A middle-aged black woman in a white hat stands at another podium, on which is written 'The world for Christ, complete deliverance crusade'; a white man in a suit stands next to her. Someone holds up a banner reading 'Flee from the wrath to come'; another reads 'The end is at hand'. An angry-looking white man in a long coat holds a banner that reads 'Behold, now is accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation' whilst shouting and waving his fist. A large group kneels in a circle to pray. Another man on a podium, dressed casually, shouts and points. Another man stands under a flag with the CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament)/peace symbol on it. Shot from a low angle, a black man in a pale grey suit gestures, clouds above him. An old man in a cap waves his hand. A very old man sits in a chair next to a board with 'God' written on it. Crowds walk through the field. A young man leans over a podium with 'London Anarchist Group' written on it.
A miniature train carries families and children. We see a fountain, then families relaxing on deck chairs by the boating lake in Hyde Park. A woman lies in the sun, barefoot. Now in a market, a young black woman in a white dress walks up to a stall. Now on a cobbled street, the camera pans right to follow a fashionably dressed young Asian woman who wears cat-eye sunglasses. A white woman sits on a park bench in the sun painting her nails. Now on a busy high street, the camera follows a young black woman who carries a shopping bag. A young white woman leans on the Victoria Embankment, looking into the river, as a London bus drives past behind her. The camera follows another black woman along a high street, then two white women as they ascend a metal staircase on the South Bank, from where they can look across the river to the Houses of Parliament. Three middle-aged white women sit on a bench in the sun. A woman in a short-sleeved shirt walks down a street with a younger girl. Crowds walk along the South Bank, and families sit in the sun in the park, some on deck chairs. We see shots of Hungerford (Golden Jubilee) and Waterloo Bridge., with road and river traffic. Cleopatra's Needle on the Embankment is shown, water from the Thames splashing against the stone below.Swans relax on the Thames shores. Trains cross Hungerford Bridge and barges sail below it.
Keywords: London; Hyde Park; Speakers' Corner
Locations: United Kingdom; England; London; Hyde Park; Speakers' Corner; River Thames; Houses of Parliament; South Bank; Victoria Embankment; Waterloo Bridge; Hungerford Bridge
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