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Day in Liverpool

Metropolis meets Merseyside, as this city-symphony inspired film portrays a city thriving with modernity.

Travelogue 1929 33 mins Silent

Overview

Merseyside's metropolis is cast as a modernist masterpiece in this portrait documentary from 1929. Rather than focussing on any of its inhabitants, the film is a day in the life of the city itself - though capturing all the innovative perspectives and breath-taking views must have taken many weeks and much careful planning.

Inspired by the great European city symphonies of the 1920s, the film is a polished and innovative piece of filmmaking rather than an avant-garde classic like Ruttman's Berlin: Symphony of a City (1927) for example. It was paid for by 'The Liverpool Organisation' - a body formed by the city council and local industries to promote the area as a hub of industry and commerce - and was a rare venture into live-action filming for pioneer British animator Anson Dyer.