Oban, Scotland (1926)

Once a major fishing port, this clip features herring girls at work and traders bidding on the catch.

This extract comes from Claude Friese-Greene's 'The Open Road' - originally filmed in 1925/6 and now re-edited and digitally resto This extract comes from Claude Friese-Greene's 'The Open Road' - originally filmed in 1925/6 and now re-edited and digitally resto This extract comes from Claude Friese-Greene's 'The Open Road' - originally filmed in 1925/6 and now re-edited and digitally restored by the BFI National Archive. Britain seen in colour for the first time was heralded as a great technical advance for the cinema audience - now we can view a much improved image, but one which still stays true to the principles of the colour process.

The rather haphazard journey from Land's End to John O'Groats creates a series of moving picture postcards. Look out for shots containing the component colours - red and blue-green - such as when a little girl in a red coat and hat walks among peacocks in the grounds of a castle, and three girls with red curly hair pose by the sea at Torquay.

The car is a Vauxhall D-type - considered a sporty model at the time. A long-distance journey by car was a relatively new concept, with none of the amenities en route now taken for granted. The visit to a petrol station shows smoking on the forecourt: no health and safety issues back then! The travelogue ends with a series of recognisable London landmarks. Much remains the same - one major exception being the volume of traffic on the roads. (Jan Faull)

For more information about 'The Open Road' see http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/openroad/

To buy the DVD click here - http://www.bfi.org.uk/filmstore

You can watch the whole of 'The Open Road' and 1000 other complete films and TV programmes from the BFI National Archive free of charge at the new BFI Mediatheque - http://www.bfi.org.uk/mediatheque

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Open
• Road
• travelogue
• Oban
• Scotland
• Fishing
• Herring
• Girls
• Harbour
• Port
• Lighthouse

[ferrers88]

brilliant

[GYLEN1234]

Thank you for this posting. The town is still every bit as beautiful except not as peaceful.

[macdog11000]

very nice

[slessorpr]

My grandmother's family come from Oban & they were right proud of their heritage. My Dad visited once during the 2nd World War. He asked a local whether there were was a McInnes family in the town. The answer was, 'Now wd that be McInnes the baker, or McInnes the butcher, or McInnes the candle maker?'...Everyone was somehow related to the McInnes he found. Of course he never asked that question again...I guess McInnes must be about as common a name as Smith or Jones, in that part of Scotland.

[TNTBOXproducitons]

@GYLEN1234 i fucking hate it here its a total shit hole

[neilb229]

I agree, that's a disgrace. 

[BillDFC]

I was in Oban last week and amazed to find expensive, large private houses being built by Ganavan sands,

[DixieBanjo]

Back when you could still hear the Gaelic everywhere.

[3tangle3]

back when it was gaelic speaking aye

[piano1596]

I am from Oban, and live in Oban, and it's nice to see it's hardly even changed in nearly 90 years :D :) x

[Teetee33]

I've been to Oban and it's lovely. This film from so long ago captures that perfectly.

[ladikira86]

wow! this is really cool.....i had no idea color film existed in the 20's.