This film is part of Free
Furnival and Son
Super location footage enlivens this drama-documentary on Sheffield's steel industry.
Overview
Returning to his native Sheffield, demobbed serviceman Sandy faces a dilemma... This steel industry drama-doc is laced with super location shots, but is mainly shot in a studio (with sound added later: Sandy's would-be 'Yorkshire' accent must be heard to be disbelieved...). This government sponsored short is ultimately less a documentary or drama than a parable of the recovering post-war economy.
Dodgy voiceovers aside, Furnival and Son is enjoyably cinematic - especially the shadowy camerawork and Elisabeth Lutyens' brooding score (with suitably brass-heavy themes). During the war the government's Crown Film Unit had developed 'story-documentary' as an effective medium for information and persuasion. Updated to peacetime, it's as much concerned with conflicted individuals as with group dynamics. Here the classical story arc first raises then resolves topical dilemmas: mass production contrasted with family-firm craftsmanship, the carrot of American investment meeting the stick of productivity pressures. The film's tribute to the 'smoke, dirt and hard work' of proud cities like Sheffield feels a tad patronising yet basically sincere for all that. This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.
Related
Pattern for Progress Pattern for Progress
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1948 42 mins Location: Ebbw Vale/Glyn Ebwy
The drama and spectacle of steelmaking at Ebbw Vale.
Steel Windows Steel Windows
Documentary 1970 7 mins
A window on to a futuristic vision of concrete, glass and steel.
Project Spear Project Spear
Industry sponsored film 1964 31 mins
At Rotherham a revolution in steelmaking has human consequences.
Consett Steel Consett Steel
Industry sponsored film 1967 26 mins Location: Consett
Sparks fly in an industrial film that captures the exciting visual drama of steel production in Consett.
The First Four Years The First Four Years
Industry sponsored film 1951 42 mins Silent
An industrial epic plays out in steelmaking South Wales.
End of a Line End of a Line
1975 13 mins Silent Location: Swindon
After a glorious history, Baldwin's iron and steelworks in Swindon, Staffordshire, faces closure.
The Queen at Sheffield The Queen at Sheffield
Documentary 1897 1 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
Sheffield gives the capital a run for its money with an impressive parade celebrating the monarch, a month before the Diamond Jubilee.
Special Olympics Special Olympics
Factual TV 1988 5 mins Location: Sheffield
Sheffield professional sportsmen train determined disabled adults to compete at the Special Olympics in this heart-warming short film. (
Women's Munitions Workers, Sheffield Women's Munitions Workers, Sheffield
Amateur film 1940 7 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
Highly-skilled women defy 1940s gender prejudices and produce munitions in one of Sheffield’s many wartime factories.
Wartime Events in Sheffield Wartime Events in Sheffield
Amateur film 1942 19 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
Military men and women from Sheffield put on a show from 1942-1947 in this patriotic compilation film.
Bus Strike Traffic Bus Strike Traffic
Non-Fiction 1959 9 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
A Sheffield bus strike causes traffic congestion in this film that shows the significant local impact that a workplace dispute can have.
Sheffield Peace March Sheffield Peace March
Amateur film 1936 7 mins Silent Location: Sheffield
As the rise of fascism casts a shadow over Europe, the people of Sheffield take to the streets to deliver a powerful message.
Wrong Bathroom Wrong Bathroom
Drama 2024 9 mins
A trans high-schooler is tempted by toxic masculinity in the boys’ bathroom.
We’ll Go Down in History We’ll Go Down in History
Documentary 2025 25 mins
Two years in the life of TRUK United FC, a beacon for positive change and trans inclusivity in football.
If I Make It To The Morning If I Make It To The Morning
Drama 2024 9 mins
A Chinese teenager dreams of living with her cool aunt in New York, until tensions boil over during a crab dinner.
Dragfox Dragfox
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2024 8 mins
A child struggling with their identity and a charismatic fox (voiced by Sir Ian McKellen) learn to embrace their differences in this heart warming stop-motion animation.
Wait, Wait, Now! Wait, Wait, Now!
Drama 2024 13 mins
A Maori and a Kiwi teen buddy up to raid their mum’s wardrobe and pucker their lips with red.
NGGAK!!! NGGAK!!!
Drama 2024 8 mins
‘I pronounce you wife and wife.’ A young couple design their perfect wedding online, but then mum dials in.