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It's a Problem

A lovingly put together montage of post-war holiday outings from the early 1950s from around the country, including some fine shots of Tilbury Docks, and ending up at Anglesey.

Amateur film 1953 14 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for Yorkshire Film Archive

Overview

A headache for our free and easy middle class couple needing to choose a holiday destination as we leave the post-war austerity years behind. Bringing together film excerpts from several of their holidays from the early 1950s, Betty and Cyril Ramsden piece together a witty film of the places they like, and those they are less fond of. Along the way are wonderful shots of Tilbury Docks and a packed Scarborough, before they settle for a farming holiday in Anglesey.

Betty and Cyril Ramsden, prominent members of Leeds Cine Club, began making their large collection of films in 1945 and continued into the mid-1960s. Their film collection was made the subject of a BBC/Open University television programme, Nation on Film (2006). This film won a Certificate of Merit from Leeds Camera Club. Cyril had a dental practice in Headingley. They usually filmed their holidays, often with Betty providing the cinematic eye behind the camera. Here Cyril examines his maps, while Betty feeds the cows. The film is typical in showing the fun the pair always seem to have whatever they are doing, and of how they invariably join in with whatever is happening wherever they happen to be.

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