Sid James narrates Look at Life - The Market

[theonlyantony]

Love this+love Sid. this is quite clever. it's an inclusive outlook albeit framed in a mildly colonial and definately Commonwealth way.Yet it preaches tolerance to the unconverted at a time when race riots in London were a very recent memory andTheNationalFront were starting out.It's a simple yet clever way to say we can all live side-by-side and mix too.It is up to us to make Trumpton a good place to live,but we must do this each day.Citizenship requires daily input.It is a total state o'mind.

[TheMG63]

Can't we have a video involving England where we don't have some clever dick thinking he knows what being English means - which no doubt results in a load of civic bollocks, whereby we are robbed of a unique identity because they think it's a one-size-fits-all identity applicable to anyone born here. Would these paragons of virtue deny, for example, the Chinese people living here the right to see themselves as ethnically Chinese, born here or not? Being English I'm used to their hypocrisy.

[jazzmanzoot]

Sydney was South African ! ?

[67psych2]

Wonder if Sid 'Turned On' & hung out on the scene man!!

[kaptainkarnage69]

"In a street market near where there's coloured people living, they have special green groceries with all the things they used to get at home."

[spiccybaby]

We were broke back then, which is what people forget.

[NIETZSCHEAN14]

This England CAN be brought back, BUT the true English people are going to have to get mentally tough and support leaders who are loyal to their race and nation and willing to send ALL the non-Whites back to their racial homelands. Do not waste your time telling me I am a nasty racist and non-Whites can be English - garbage! That is as stupid as saying an Englishman can be Chinese. The working-class English have been betrayed by the ruling-class. Who asked you if you wanted multi-racialism?

[NIETZSCHEAN14]

@NIETZSCHEAN14. I made the previous comment before I saw the non-Whites in the film. THIS is not the England that I want brought back. I demand a White England - a true England. Also, Sid James was a Jew, (real name, Sid Cohen) so, of course, he is going to be promoting multi-racialism, as Jews always do (except for in Israel - hypocrites).

[ant18]

@NIETZSCHEAN14 Your England and Englishness is a bit confused Nietzschean - not surprising given your very un-English name. Can you give us a bit more of what you mean by Englishness? an island I might add which has pretty much always been 'mongrel'. Even your dubious construct of the working class (white) English is a relatively new construct - no more than 300-400 years old. The proletariat is a product of capitalism.

[ant18]

......The 'white' coloured peasants, serfs, poor etc. prior to that would have been made up of many European and non-European nationalities. I can give many examples but suggest a single study which may surprise you, others here - that is Peter Linebaugh's 'The London Hanged', in which you'll find that at least 10% of the population of London in the late 1790's were 'black', had 'black' coloured skin (discounting other non white/black, Irish, Indian, Chinese, Jewish, Russian etc. etc.).

[ant18]

So there's some very real likelihood that there's some 'non-white', 'non-English' blood running through those thick veins of yours. Take a deep breath.....

[ant18]

.....where are we going to send you?

[TheMG63]

@ant18 Here we go again, the English are a mongrel nation. Tell me, can you name any people on Earth who are not made up of several different tribes of people? (hang on while the silence deafens me). In our case they were people of the same ethnic, Northern European make up, along with similar cultures, so trying to use the mongrel nation theory as proof that multiculturalism has always existed in England is rather fanciful, seeing as it doesn't fit with the modern usage of the term.

[keywestWTF]

and not a burkha in sight ...

[wwwhatsup]

Prince Monolulu at 2.36 !

[mcs32jr1968]

I'm a Yank that just loves these type of nostalgic films, but what I have to say is, no offense, but Brits your country is done...liberal policies coupled with corruption and the influx of cheap labor has changed your country forever. Soon the Union Jack will be replaced by the Crescent of Islam. Thanks to Youtube for providing a window to the past that most of don't even remember or had the opportunity to appreciate. The only constant in life is change. Deal with it.

[stripetuffy]

@mcs32jr1968 Up your's yank..you still think you won the war, your war's coming good luck....

[mcs32jr1968]

@stripetuffy you need to expand on exactly which war we in the US will supposedly be fighting...we are already tapped out with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan so we are no shape to take on any more conflicts...be specific next time...

[MeBenHalpin]

What year was this.

[Problembeing]

Awww, "Coloured People", gotta love that old school racism before the days of it becoming institutionalised :')

[keywestWTF]

@Problembeing How is 'coloured people' racist? Would using the word 'black' be less racist? What is the difference?

[ProperStuff]

@keywestWTF ...It's not racist calling me coloured...the only thing i used to find funny is...if you look at a white man he consists of more colours than any other race.

[Problembeing]

@Problembeing 'coloured people' has not been an acceptable term for YEARS.  Where have you been living, Epsom??

[NIETZSCHEAN14]

@Problembeing. You talk about institutionalized racism, but Blacks have their own group in the police; their own music awards, and their own history month. Whites have none of this! Yes, there is institutionalized racism - against Whites! Now you can tell us all how the English are so evil because of slavery - BORING. There is NO living Englishman who owns slaves! Also, the Ottoman Empire took up to one million slaves from Eastern Europe! Blacks have no monopoly on the pain of slavery.

[Problembeing]

@NIETZSCHEAN14 Get over yourself.

[NIETZSCHEAN14]

@Problembeing. That is a very weak response. You did not even address my points (lol). This exchange is over.

[Problembeing]

@NIETZSCHEAN14 I really don't understand why you take such offense over a very simple observation, it was almost embarrassing to have to reply.

[Problembeing]

"DON'T FORGET, THERE'S ONLY ONE TOSSER!!"

[oo1ooo1oo]

Bless Sid James - who else would you want to get to say: "Portbello Road"

[fodsaks]

0:43

Two and nine for a pat of butter?

[indrapat]

I am looking for a similar rank movie trailer about long distance lorry drivers in britain ,think it was called "On the move".I saw it in the early 70's and i am interested in it as my father is in it.

[MisterDogshit]

In all honesty, all the places shown look like shit holes!

[Ropponmatsu2]

Supermarkets, immigration, the idea that the government could grant you a license for life to run a market stall....And then RESPECTED it rather than try and fiddle their way around it...

I miss the England where you were allowed to say you didn't like certain things, because you knew that they might lead to problems....And you had the freedom to try to explain why.

Ah well. "Its a good job we don't all like the same thing. Otherwise there'd be no progress, would there?"

[charlesfrith]

Notice how Sid refers to people as citizens before they were rebranded consumers.

[cosycleaner]

Look at Life theme takes me right back to the days when seeing a film in colour was a treat but even TV in B&W was great (sigh).

[MsPeperonata]

Wonderful! A link for this is now on the "Save the Portobello Road Market" site on Facebook so this will get a lot more views from now on! The Portobello Road sequence starts at 3:30.

[shoeman747]

once upon atime

[collingwoohoo]

classic

[uncleambient]

Sid was King, Carry On Films were hilarious, still are: great days

[sammipink]

i really miss our old style england. it was great when i was growing up many many years ago. Still love the markets even today although there not like they used to be, they seem smaller now. My grandchildren love coming with me up to walthamstow market even now

[ukfordfan]

I well remember these Look at Life films shown here in New Zealand, usually in the first half of the programme, before the main picture. Fantastic! Todays multi theatre abominations just can't compare...

[HectorsHouseMusic]

5.13 Nice to see David Cameron before he went to Eton there.

[bilbobagins1951]

we did not have much cash put we were better off as a nation those were happy days ?????

[TumblingDice1972]

fantastic,loved every minute of this,love sid james,he was the gaffer,this is the britain i remember as a small boy,great memories,great times

[djbethell]

It's really not that different to be honest, still rubbish everywhere.

[armjos1]

the england i knew and loved as a kid,but no more

[djbethell]

Yeah, before the bloody BNP stuck there orr in.

[grai]

Immigrants especially highlighted as a novelty!

how times change

[staypress]

we r the novelty now

[weerobot]

What amazing film.

[klacha]

I miss the England I never knew

[amarone1956]

I miss the England I remember.

[funkg]

what year was this?

[j43ms]

my guess would be around '59-'60. sid james is playing on his "wide boy" persona from the hancock series

[dermot51]

in real life he was very well spoken well thats why they all it acting

[j43ms]

that's what i all it, too.

[dermot51]

missed the C, i know

[j43ms]

sorry, i was just being a smart-arse!

[grai]

he was actually Jewish and from South Africa!

the East end wide boy persona was a bit of a put on