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Portraying a vivid view of Devon in the 1920s, this travelogue begins with placid views of a sleepy fishing village, including scenes of an empty harbour and locals strolling peacefully through the winding streets.
But any sense of peace is soon undermined by a vibrant street fair, where local characters gather - for reasons unexplained - in fancy dress, ranging from African natives to a human elephant. One man attends to a strange humpty-dumpty doll in a pram, while a pair of children appear as the archetypal contented elderly married couple, Darby and Joan. This injects a sense of fun to the otherwise tranquil atmosphere, as well as revealing an intriguing local custom of the time. Shifting tone yet again, the film returns to landscape views, though this time investigating notably more dramatic scenes of waves crashing violently against rocky cliffs. Remarkably, the film manages simultaneously to capture tender moments of serenity, with silhouetted figures staring longingly out to sea. Christian Hayes
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Complete film (7:39)
