Set up in 1977, the North West Film Archive preserves moving images made in or about Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Cumbria and offers a variety of access services to users in the public, academic and commercial sectors.
This film is part of Free
Bubbles
Watching the soaps in Salford, the "birthplace of a billion bubbles".
From the collection of:
Overview
A child's simple amusement leads us to the "birthplace of a billion bubbles", otherwise, and less romantically, known as the Irlam Co-operative Wholesale Society soap works in Salford. Here we see the workers and the processes behind the product that creates the bubbles that so captivate a little girl. This is a delightful promotional film for an essential everyday household item.
The preservation of this film was funded by a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
Related
Watch for free
Shuttered Windows Shuttered Windows
Charity appeal 1934 8 mins Location: Southport
Windows of opportunity: how a charity aimed to improve the lives of blind and partially sighted people.
Watch for free
Time Time
Documentary 1978 4 mins Location: Salford
When you're waiting for the emergency call, time goes by so slowly...
Watch for free
Preston Ladies Football and T.A. Volunteers Preston Ladies Football and T.A. Volunteers
Amateur film 1945 11 mins Silent Location: Preston
Playing the beautiful game - the ladies from Lancashire demonstrate their skills.
Watch for free
The Lancashire Way The Lancashire Way
Advert 1948 4 mins Location: Nelson
A tribute to Lancashire, land of industry, leisure, sublime landscape - and laundry detergent
Watch for free
A Mosque in the Park A Mosque in the Park
Documentary 1973 54 mins Location: Brentford
An insightful and understated television documentary following the lives of four Muslim families in Brentford, Manchester and Harrow.
Watch for free
Manchester Ship Canal Manchester Ship Canal
1962 11 mins Location: Salford
Tugs and pilot draw a cargo-ship along the Manchester Ship Canal to the Port of Manchester, 36 miles inland.
Watch for free
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Watch for free
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Watch for free
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Watch for free
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Watch for free
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Watch for free
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.