Animals on Film

Critters and blossoms of all colours, in Norfolk, captured on Super 8 colour Kodachrome by amateur filmmaker and naturalist Dorothy Maxey.

A rather different view of the world, as seen through the eyes of a poodle, as “Mimi” is taken for a walk by two ladies in their summer dresses.

No need to queue, and nothing to pay. All you need is a good pair of eyes ... because ‘everywhere is a wildlife park’.

It's nice to be beside the seaside, particularly if you're an elephant - meet some unusual visitors to Blackpool beach.

Whale stranded on the banks of the Tamar

There's a whole world in a drop of water - take a closer look through a microscope.

Possibly the cutest and quirkiest road safety film you are ever likely to watch, featuring a purely canine cast and a grocery shopping trip.

Bird fanciers and rabbit lovers unite to celebrate feather and fur

Norfolk’s Ornamental Pheasant Trust are devoted to preserving and breeding the world’s rarest and most beautiful pheasants.

An affectionate record of the nesting period of a female swan. Winner of the 'Home Movies' magazine amateur filmmaking competition, 1933.

A plethora of pets and their owners, the Parsons

Documentary about the work of The Pheasant Trust in Norfolk, and an investigation into Taiwanese practices to provide Chinese medicine.

A spot of mischief on Chimpanzee Island attracts a large crowd at Whipsnade Wild Animal Park in this home movie footage captured in the 1930s.

Dunstable Downs is not the usual habitat for roaming wallabies, unless, of course, you’re visiting Whipsnade Wild Animal Park in the 1930s.

Chimps take afternoon tea in this home movie, also featuring mammals, birds, and reptiles from all continents, resident at Whipsnade Zoo.

The Polgooth Inn St Austell has some unusual customers

Falcon flies for Great Torrington School

With petrol prices up and pollution levels rising, is it time to leave the car in the garage, forget the bus and instead rely on a different type of horse-power?

A chestnut mare and her frisky foal frolic about a paddock while there's an outbreak of tweed at a local 'cross-country' event

A unique two-day event in rural Suffolk, an opportunity for locals and countercultural types to return to rural community living.

This tender little film shows a new born foal exploring the world around it while its mother looks on

Everything you ever wanted to know about the equestrian set - but were afraid to ask - is explained in this fascinating short film

Eileen and her show horse take to the ring as sidesaddle falls out of favour

Spring in Derbyshire sees the High Peak Harriers take to the turf for racing at Flagg Moor.

Mrs Turkey goes on the warpath when her newly-hatched poults are threatened by the farmer and his dog

Join the girls and the boys, both young and old, of the equine set as they hunt with hounds, trot about gardens and attend gymkhanas

The stages of a pheasant's short life are shown in this fascinating film - from being an egg to its violent end on someone's dinner plate

A variety of wildfowl from across the world feature in this film of the Bentley Wildfowl Collection

A pet crow responds to its owner

A pigeon fancier from Plymouth talks about his sport

The bodies soon pile up when the lads of the Solihull Rat Club let their dogs loose on the town's infestation.

A summer's day, dogs and a book and the attention of a newsreel cameraman – what more could David Lloyd George (British prime minister 1916-22) possibly want?

Has raising money 'for old people' ever been more uncomfortable? Nicky Roberts plans to walk 13 miles with two ferrets down his trousers. He's surely risking more than a few nips!

A day at the races is not much fun if your mount is insisting on behaving like a crab! Karolie Kathleen Buckley (nee Kemmis) does her best in the Ladies Race but it's not enough to win.

Polar bears and big cats far from their natural habitat try to make the most of life in a West Midlands zoo.

24 April 1889 - a crime is committed against two animals and the repercussions reverberate into the next century.

Bears, tigers and elephants perform for the crowds in this compelling colour footage from the Christmas circus at Olympia.

Chimpanzees from one of London’s best-known circuses clown around for the Christmas audience at Kensington Olympia.

Illuminated carriages, exotic acrobats and boxing clowns all feature in this extended film of highlights from the Bertram Mills Circus at Olympia.

Elephants, acrobats, clowns and cowboys all feature in this highlights reel from the annual Bertram Mills Circus at Olympia.

Hair-combing chimps, performing elephants and a toothsome cheetah feature in this film of the Bertram Mills Circus.

Swoon at the costumes, laugh at the clowns and wonder at the elephants as the cast of the Bertram Mills Circus enter the ring for another stellar performance.

Follow the life cycle of the king of crustaceans in this quirky documentary by Bauhaus artist László Moholy-Nagy.

Wage war on the disease-spreading fly with this forthright public information film

An extraordinary film made by amateurs showing a wide variety of species of bees in close up feeding from an equally wide variety of flowers.

Stealing a sheep is not as easy as it might seem! They are hefty, unwieldy beasts as the desperate father with starving family discovers in this William Haggar production.

Captivating slow-motion and quadrupeds aplenty in this fascinating look at animal movement

All looks peaceful on the surface of this pond - but the depths below contain some fearsome creatures - though you need a microscope to see them

Don't climb into the bear pit, children! All the fun of the zoo, as Liverpool pupils visit the wildlife of Chester.

Bravura performance from some German Shepherds, who leap over high walls and through burning barriers at this demonstration in Roehampton.

Heads up, tails up, ears brushed? Furry frolics from London's Olympia, and a starring role for man's best friend.

An affectionate record of a family pet, Sparta the Springer Spaniel who leads a full and active life, but with plenty of cuddles from her family.

How to train your dog

Now don't laugh! A dog show is a serious matter for these young owners and their pets.

…and that is that. A playful animated meditation on our feline friends with some beautiful artwork.

An old-fashioned family day out at the zoo, but is it fun for all?

Meet Larry the Llama and Joey the Boxing Chimp from Belle Vue Zoo. But what is The Clutching Hand? Find out more...

Earth to earth, ashes to ashes - children from a Cumbrian family organise a dignified end for a small creature.

Have a doggy treat - and meet some very well groomed visitors to Blackpool.

A ‘Khedda' – the practice (now banned) of trapping and taming wild elephants using already tamed elephants – is here recorded in detail by the fascinated film-maker.

The birdlife of Northumberland's Farne Islands comes under the spotlight in this pioneering documentary from the Secrets of Life nature series.

Innocent bunnies face an onslaught of badgers, bombs and birds of prey in this black comedy masquerading as a nature film.

Rise and shine! Newark market calls with a seductive array of produce.

Colour footage from the Bertram Mills Circus’ winter base in Ascot showing training for the Christmas show at Olympia.

A summer of shows – Rumney Horse Show Society's Show, Vale of Glamorgan Agricultural Show, Usk Farmers' Club Show – and a visit to Bristol Zoo where children ride on an elephant.

The Cox family, from Warwickshire, visit Whipsnade Zoo where they commune with a parrot. Once home, their beloved dog, Smut, is given a bath in the garden.

The Beast of Bodmin - A pet puma takes its owner for a walk in Barnstaple, Devon

A dog does what dogs do in this drama created by the 6th Marquis of Anglesey, featuring a lost mother, two frightened daughters and a faithful, if slobbering, hound.

An eccentric dog-loving grocer leads the chase to reclaim a stolen pedigree poodle in this madcap canine comedy

An intriguing look at the training of police dogs, climbing up ladders blindfolded and rescuing documents from wounded soldiers.

Helpful and humongous Great Dane Juno helps out with housework, does some shopping and chomps cream cake in this cheerful kids' film

The Ocean Coal Co. employed not just miners but also shepherds, as evidenced here. Tom Jones of Treorchy protects the company's assets above ground with care and great skill.

Watch these men in wellies and waders as they attempt to remove five-thousand bream from a small lake in Sussex - in a single day!

Members of the Complete Angler Fishing Club of Eastbourne enjoy some angling action on a lake at Turner's Hill near Crawley

A rascally sheepdog redeems himself when he goes to the rescue of two children trapped in an old Cornish tin mine

Wildfowl and wallabies in the wild, exotic animals in the office

The British are crazy about their animals: Molly drinks tea with her chimps, Sylvia dyes her tiny poodle pink and Malcolm sings to his pigs.

Sink or swim as Rub and his chums are set adrift

Brighton's crowds thrill to the sight of Billy Smart's Circus parading through their town in this film from the 1950s

Enjoy this heartwarming film about neglected horses, ponies and donkeys being re-habilitated at 'Cherry Tree Farm' in leafy Surrey

Cowboys, Carnivals and Mayors on the slide appear alongside the most beserk and hilarious donkey race you'll ever see in Sussex

Enjoy a day-trip 70s style as we join the Mitchell family on their big game safari at Longleat - with lions, baboons and giraffes doing the splits

Beer Billy

Mute swans at the Abbotsbury Swannery have something to say

The successful return of Peregrines to the North Cornish coast

Indian Elephants descend at Friary Train Station and walk the streets of Plymouth

See a baby owl learning to fly, as an amateur filmmaker introduces us to some of his animal and avian acquaintances.

Cubs come out to play at Paignton Zoo

Tiger cubs from Chessington Zoo take a break from it all

Oh to be Ginger Tom the cat and while away the hours!

The do’s and don’ts of pet care explained by a cute cartoon guinea pig created by celebrated British animator Sheila Graber.

Meet a puppy dog in a “warm, hairy world” who would like you to cater for his every need.

A gallop through the do’s and don’ts of pet care narrated by a plump pony with personality.

A young girl takes on the Desmond Morris (or perhaps Johnny Morris) role for this enchanting film of a family birdwatching in their back garden.

Here's a good way to work up an appetite - a boy goes out and about at the zoo.

Mingo, Jerry and Thea: names of the dogs or people seen? Either way, they will be connected, for sure, with Isla Johnston of Bryn Mêl, Glyngarth, Anglesey, who shot the footage.

The metamorphosis of the eating machine which is the caterpillar, into an Emperor Moth, revealed in all its detail and presented in 15 minutes.

Mucking out the loft, the serious business of setting the racing clocks, the anxious wait for the pigeons return home, and finally, a beer.

The quirks of a whippet race, with novices in winklepickers learning from the old hands, all fully elucidated in broad West Yorkshire dialect.

A spirited crime-busting yarn for dog lovers everywhere, as man's best friend proves his worth

Explore London Zoo with one of its greediest residents, Sally the sparrow.

Close-ups of wild birds in their natural habitat to inspire wonder in cinema audiences worldwide

Gardener’s nightmare: a kitten at large in a flower bed!

William Lloyd Ellis of Pwllheli celebrates daughter Fiona’s love of horses in this compilation showing her on seaside ponies and trekking.

The two children seen here could not have been happier if their two, newly-acquired white rabbits had been pulled out of a hat!

Life at Parsonage farm includes courageous cats, cute kittens, sweet Shetland collies, appealing puppies and kids in the kitchen.

It’s summertime and it’s fun for the Pym children - Michael and Frances – to play on the duck house and pick daisies.

Arnold William Pym’s entrancing shots of Parsonage Farm’s animals: goat kids encounter a cat, and a cat is fazed by a chick!

Reflective items in the home spark the interest of a budgerigar.

Three loyal labradors - Brandy, Biscuit and Bran – are solid members of the dog fraternity that is part of life at ‘Plas Newydd’.

Delightful rescue yarn with a smart dog and horse working together to save a young girl from drowning in Bognor.