Screen Archive South East is a public sector moving image archive serving the South East of England. The archive's collections of magic lantern slides, films, videos and associated materials capture the many varied aspects of life, work and creativity from the early days of screen history to the present day and serve as a rich and invaluable historical resource.
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Outing to Longleat Wildlife Park
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
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Overview
This lovely film from John Mitchell starts with the family's Morris Marina being loaded up for the trip to Longleat. Soon we see giraffes, camels, baboons and elephants running wild amongst the cars. Then we're in the big cats compound, though the lions and cheetahs look a bit sleepy. Later in the day the family samples the funfair - Mum plays the slot machines while the kids go on various rides like the Astrobounce. We end with donkey and llama petting and ice-creams for all.
Film-maker, John Mitchell, was a member of the Brighton & Hove Photographic Club. He made several vibrant film portraits of Brighton and Hove and Sussex in the 1960s, primarily focusing on visitor attractions. Other films show excursions to London and to other locations including the Farnborough Air Show, The Bluebell Railway and the wildlife animal parks at Longleat and Bentley. Unusually, this film is made with two cameras, as we see John filming and re-loading his camera when the film runs out. He also creates comic moments by speeding up the action in places throughout the film.
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