John Grierson Movies

This documentary short examines the special train on which mail is sorted, dropped and collected on the run, and delivered in Scotland on the...

Grierson set out to make "propaganda," and this film--with it's voice-over proclaiming the great value of the British industrial worker, without a...

Animated shapes dance to Cuban music. This was one of the first animations to be painted directly onto the film.

Ambitious documentary chronicling the cultural life and religious customs of the Sinhalese and the effects of advanced industrialism on such customs.

1935 documentary about the hard working life of Welsh coal miners.

Filmed in Uganda, Man of Africa was assembled by legendary documentary producer John Grierson. The film depicts the mass migration of the Bakija and...

Drama-documentary, reconstructing a real incident in which a trawler got into difficulties in a North Sea storm. Released 7th March 1938.

A silent film by John Grierson. It tells the story of Britain's North Sea herring fishery.

Trade Tattoo went even further than Rainbow Dance in its manipulation of the Gasparcolor process. The original black and white footage consisted of...

Humphrey Jennings' first film as a director, a brief overview of the British postal service.

The Brave Don't Cry aspires to the "feel" of a documentary, right down to the deliberate absence of background music. A mine in Scotland falls victim...

Documentary following an Edinburgh fishing trawler, the "Isabella Grieg".

Seeking her long lost uncle, Ada Shore arrives at Skerryvore University to find him working under another name as the Gate Keeper. Ada is mistaken by...

The life and work of the documentary pioneer.

When Canada entered World War II, the National Film Board suddenly had an urgent new mission—and hundreds of women stepped forward, helping to...

Short documentary showing the workings of a large London sorting office.

An impressionistic portrait of the BBC.

Norman McLaren was a cinematic genius who made films without cameras, and music without instruments. He produced sixty films in a stunning range of...

Short documentary about weather forecasting, emphasising the importance of the GPO's telecommunications systems.

A boy pursues his ambition to be a jockey