back to search results

Crown of the Year (shortest version)

1943 , Filby (Norfolk)

Cat no. 1176

No video

There’s no web video for this work.

Please do get in contact to discuss other ways you could view this work.

The film shows the harvesting process and was filmed on Mr. C. Wharton's farm in East Norfolk

The film begins with a tractor ploughing the field and then a horse-drawn seed drill sows the field. The grain harvest is described in the commentary as the crown of the farming year. The uses of the crops are explained including a reminder that in wartime barley was used for making bread also. The farmer, called George Hodge in the film, explains how his farm has developed and runs through a few statistics; the farm is about 1,000 acres and employs 20 men and 12 women. In the next sequence a tractor-pulled self binder is shown cutting and tying the bundles of corn. The shocks are collected and stacked by women, some of who are in land girl uniform. Mr. Hodge explains that the wheat continues ripening in the shocks. In these scenes All Saints Church. Filby is visible in the background. Mr. John Hollis, an ex-East Coast fisherman, is shown out on the farm with a gun scaring the birds. The crop is loaded into a horse drawn cart. The farm horse is being ridden by a small boy. Next the farm workers are shown building a strawstack. After a panorama of the surrounding countryside, a tractor-drawn combine is shown harvesting and a tractor-drawn baler, driven by a land girl collects the straw. At one stage an industrial town is seen in the background. Other farm activities are shown. The film moves on to the harvest festival service in All Saints Church. This is inter shot with scenes, probably from another farm, showing harvesting of other crops, including potatoes. All machinery in this sequence is horse-drawn. The film moves back to Mr. Hodge's farm, showing ploughing in the stubble and lifting and topping the sugar beet crop.Mr. Hodge is shown doing his accounts, planning for the next year, in which he explains crop rotation, and the importance of food supply for the country during the war. In a conversation with his local adviser, Mr. Cock, he agrees to plough up more of the marshland in an attempt to increase the cultivation of wheat. The film ends with general farming scenes, illustrating he cyclical nature of farming.

Featured Buildings

All Saints Church, Filby; Stokesley Barns

Keywords

Agriculture; Farming; Harvesting

  • Production company : The Greenpark Unit of Verity Films Ltd

  • Sponsor : Ministry of Information

  • Camera : Raymond Elton

  • Camera : Reg Wyer

  • Director : Ralph Keene

  • Script : Ralph Keene

  • Commentator : Reginald Gamble

  • Commentator : Philip Robinson

  • Music : William Allwyn

  • Music : (Played by) The London Symphony Orchestra

  • Producer : Edgar Anstey (associate producer)

  • Sound : Al Rhind

Manifestations

Crown of the Year (shortest version)

  • Barcode
    INV384539
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    DV digital
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:03:52
    Modification Date
    10/05/2011
    Parts
    Reference
    709687
  • Activities
    Barcode
    INV229254
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Type
    master digital
    Dimension
    Duration
    0:03:52
    Modification Date
    27/01/2011
    Parts
    Reference
    700988
  • Activities
    Barcode
    INV301420
    Canonical Identifier
    B-8715
    Canonical Title
    Unknown
    Carrier Details
    Carrier Type
    16mm film
    Colour Type
    bw
    Dimension
    Has Image
    Y
    Has Sound
    N
    Identifier
    Image Polarity
    pos
    Modification Date
    26/01/2011
    Parts
    Reference
    700866
    Sound
    silent

Copyright restrictions apply.

Please see our terms of use. Films on this website are provided for personal viewing. Should you wish to use the films in any other way please contact eafa@uea.ac.uk

terms of use
The data for this page was generated on 07/05/2024 21:42:20+00:00. Click to regenerate this page .