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One of a group of seven documentaries produced by the Films of Scotland Committee (set up in 1937), under the supervision of John Grierson and made for screening at the 1938 Empire Exhibition held in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow. The Committee was charged with the task of producing
a series of films on Scottish life. The group of seven titles was much
publicised at the time, the subject of comment in newspapers and on radio. Years
later film industry observers hailed the project as unique in film history and
successful in every way.
From the perspective of contemporary filmmaking, the stilted narration and conversation that follows seems naive, amusing even, in its rigidly formal and overtly forced manner. The presenter, Sir Ian Colquhoun of Luss, Chairman of the Fitness Council, betrays a distinct artificiality, of
the sort that Harry Enfield lampooned so well with his 'Mr Cholmondley-Warner' sketches.
Kenneth Broom
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Complete film (10:38)
