National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales preserves and celebrates the sound and moving image heritage of Wales, making it accessible to a wide range of users for enjoyment and learning. Its film collection reflects every aspect of the nation’s social, cultural and working life across the 20th century, giving a fascinating insight into Welsh filmmaking, both amateur and professional.
This film is part of Free
Pink Shirts
Catapult-wielding democrats take on wader-wearing fascists in this ‘Plas Newydd’ drama filmed by the Marquis of Anglesey.
From the collection of:
Overview
A ‘Plas Newydd’ drama with a (tenous) 007 connection - it was scripted by travel writer Peter Fleming, brother of James Bond creator Ian Fleming! A detective posing as a footman infiltrates the ‘Pink Shirts’ (satirising Britain’s Blackshirts) and plots their downfall. They must have had a ball, the family, friends and staff of the 6th Marquis of Anglesey, pretending to be fascists (waders came in useful here) or defenders of democracy armed with a catapult and drawing pins.
‘Plas Newydd’s gardens and outhouses offered excellent locations for the various cinematic dramas which the Marquis, and his eldest daughter Caroline, produced over a period of years. ‘Pink Shirts’ – which Peter Fleming scripted and also took part in – satirises Britain’s fascist Blackshirts, a colloquial name for the stewards Oswald Mosely (founder of the New Party and the British Union of Fascists) employed to police marches and rallies. Others taking part included Angus Menzies (family friend, playing ‘The Times’ reading footman), the Earl and Countess of Pembroke (i.e. Sir Reginald Herbert and his wife Beatrice Eleanor Herbert, sister of the Marquis) and sons, and the Marquis and his children.
Related
Crosstrap Crosstrap
Drama 1962 62 mins
Stuck out in the country, two rival gangs fight it out with increasing savagery.
Good-Time Girl Good-Time Girl
Crime 1948 92 mins Location: Islington
Find out what happens when a good girl goes bad in this controversial post-war Brit noir thriller starring Jean Kent.
Trapped by the London Sharks Trapped by the London Sharks
Comedy 1916 83 mins Silent
Nefarious nightclub hosts blackmail a drunkard into fleecing their customers
Dear Murderer Dear Murderer
Drama 1947 94 mins
A frosty Greta Gynt goes head to head with jealous husband Eric Portman in this pitch-black British noir.
Enemy Enemy
Thriller 1976 60 mins
Frightening events unfold that may or may not be figments of Marigold’s imagination.
Trapped by the Mormons Trapped by the Mormons
Drama 1922 92 mins Silent
Unscrupulous criminals in the Manchester suburbs abuse the Mormon faith to lure young women away from their families.
Plas Newydd, Anglesey Plas Newydd, Anglesey
Home movie 1924 10 mins Silent Location: Plas Newydd
Three loyal labradors - Brandy, Biscuit and Bran – are solid members of the dog fraternity that is part of life at ‘Plas Newydd’.
Little Boy's Dream Little Boy's Dream
Home movie 1937 6 mins Silent Location: Plas Newydd
What dreams may come when a treasured possession is aggressively broken? Unfinished drama starring Anglesey’s Earl of Uxbridge as a poor boy.
Plas Newydd - tennis, boating and backgammon Plas Newydd - tennis, boating and backgammon
Home movie 1933 15 mins Silent Location: Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll
Tennis, boating and bathing is provided for the August socialising of royals and aristocrats at Plas Newydd, seat of the Marquis of Anglesey.
Lost Mother April 1925 Lost Mother April 1925
Home movie 1925 5 mins Silent Location: Plas Newydd
A dog does what dogs do in this drama created by the 6th Marquis of Anglesey, featuring a lost mother, two frightened daughters and a faithful, if slobbering, hound.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.