Early film of city makes for sell-out night

Sep 23 2008 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

THE North West Film Archive is holding another sell-out show this week.

Liverpool on Film 2, part of a programme to make its fascinating collection available to the public, is also one of the events marking the 80th year of the Woolton Picture House.

The screening on Thursday is another opportunity to see again several of the films on the big screen as they were originally intended – and to see others for the first time in 75 years.

Films to be shown will feature life in and around Liverpool from the earliest days of film-making in 1897 to the swinging 60s.

The programme will include the Lumiere Brothers views of the city and the river in 1897, the results of a stunning restoration of an early colour Pathe newsreel of sights of the city, and views of the 1932 Grand National at Aintree.

Liverpool’s relationship with the River Mersey is further illustrated with the maiden voyage of the MV Britannic in 1930, and the city’s need for post-war rebuilding is seen with developments of new housing in the 1964.

Also from the 60s can be seen the rebirth of local industries and the cultural highlights of the city.

The archive’s service manager Marion Hewitt said: “This is a great opportunity for the people of Liverpool to enjoy an evening with a difference.’’