HOME MOVIES: 1930s

Genre: home movie

Year Published: 1930s

Format: 16mm

Description: One of two stunning 16mm home movies shot by Ward Harris in the 1930s, this color film shows scenes of the U.K. including Scotland as it appeared before WWII. Harris was an Edison Mimeograph dealer in San Francisco in the late 1920s and an avid collector of things related to Thomas Edison. His famous collection included phonographs, batteries, light bulbs and other electrical equipment including Edison toasters, etc. and was so large that at one point an inventory revealed it had 50,000 items. Unfortunately with his death in the 1950s the entire collection was dispersed. This film and its companion are the only ones of a series of films made by Harris that apparently survived. This is a silent film but we have reason to believe that Harris originally narrated the films, perhaps even using Edison Ediphone to record his narration. The film begins with shots of the London-based ocean liner "The Duchess of Atholl" which was sunk by a U-boat in 1942. Four crew members were lost and two crew members and two passengers were injured. Harris' trip however, made before WWII was apparently uneventful, and after a bunch of shipboard antics (2;41) including a pillow fight contest on a beam, the ship arrives in Belfast, Ireland (3:53). At around 17:10 the film starts coverage of Scotland. At 26:34 a traverse of Loch Lomond is made by a paddle wheel steamer vessel, apparently the Mercury. According to a website, The paddle Steamer Mercury was launched on 16 January 1934, she was capable of carrying 1861 passengers at over 16 knots and she cost around £46,000 to build. She was not as fast as expected but her trial speed was considered good enough for her new owners to accept her. She was fitted with two masts, cabin class and third class restaurants, a tea room and a smoke bar. Her capacity made her popular with her owners as a ferry connecting with the railway services from Greenock to Gourock, Wemyss bay, Dunoon & Rothesay. In the last season before the war she also took turns with Caledonia on the Greenock-Arran and Kyles of Bute services. With the outbreak of war she was requisitoned and was sadly lost on minesweeping duties in 1940. We could use the help of some UK folk to identify other sights in this film!

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