Town Criers’ Contest (1948)

Unissued / unused footage - dates and locations may be unknown / unclear. Cuts from newsreel story 48/70 - Town Criers’ Contest in Lyme Regis, Dorset. Shots of crowds sitting in deckchairs and watching the contest while we hear a crier in action. C/U of toothless Town Crier shouting his speech, wearing a kind of fabric Father Christmas hood on his head (he looks very funny and has reduced this cataloguer to tears of laughter, but that might have more to do with my state of mind than his). General view of crowd applauding. Brief C/U of man (guard of some kind?) asleep in a deckchair. Another crier in action. M/S of crowd applauding and getting up as if to go home. C/U of woman with handkerchief over head - looks like a roasting hot day. C/U of boy with fingers in ears. Several more shots of criers ringing bells and yelling. C/U of man watching and laughing. L/S of crowd applauding. Cataloguer’s note: I think these town criers are very funny. FILM ID: A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ.