Escape

A holiday in Switzerland.

Laurie and Stuart Day holiday in Switzerland in 1947 in order to escape the austerity of post-war Britain. The film records visits to Lucerne, Meiringen, Andermatt and Brunnen. The holiday film begins and concludes with sequences primarily shot in England, primarily in Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent. The film begins with shots of the English countryside and contrasts the natural beauty of the land with the austere conditions of life in post-war Britain, notably drawing attention to public campaigns to save and grow food. Laurie and Stuart Day are busy weeding their vegetable garden. A young woman, who knows the Days, waves to them and stops to talk with them. The Days remark on her clothes, which she models for them and shows them a holiday brochure for Switzerland and a cook book. After she has gone, Stuart Day recalls pronouncements that a crisis will not arise and they resolve to travel to Switzerland. The holiday footage follows. The film concludes with Laurie and Stuart Day back at their home in Trentham. They dress in their new clothes, purchased on the holiday, and go out for a walk, where they meet a couple, who are tending their own vegetable garden. Laurie Day hands over a holiday brochure to the woman and a cookery book to the man. Returning home, the Days read a newspaper headline about a new crisis, which demands further and more austere remedies. Laurie and Stuart Day discard their new clothes and rush back to their vegetable garden, resolving to work. The holiday film begins with a shot of Stuart Day picking wild flowers in a Swiss field. A short sequence of shots of alpine landscapes and Swiss chalets follow. The remainder of the film records details of visits to towns, cities, beauty spots and tourist attractions in the Cantons of Lucerne, Bern, Uri, and Schwyz. Sequences in the film include: shopping in Lucerne; daily life in Meiringen, including a meeting with an old farmer; a coach trip to the Rhone glacier; visits to Andermatt and Brunnen, where Laurie and Stuart Day relax in a café, watch craftsmen at work and observe others at leisure; a boat trip from Brunnen to Vitnau, where Laurie and Stuart Day take a train to the Rigi, enjoy a meal, the views, observe the other visitors on the mountain and a storm on the lake; say goodbye to hotel staff.

Featured Buildings

Lichfield Cathedral Three Tuns, Red Lion Square, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent Schwanenplatz Tower, Lucerne Kapellbrücke [Chapel Bridge], Lucerne Wasserturm [water tower], Lucerne St. Leodegar im Hof [Hofkirche St. Leodegar, Church of St. Leodegar], Lucerne Swiss Reformed Church Meiringen Hotel Löwen, Andermatt Gasthaus Sternen, Andermatt Church of St Peter and Paul, Andermatt Church of St Leonhard, Brunnen Bundeskapelle [Federal Chapel], Brunnen Grand Magazin Leuthold, Brunnen Hotel du Lac Hirschen, Brunnen Hotel Goldener Adler, Brunnen

Keywords

Austerity; Britain 1947; Post-war continental tourism; Switzerland; Cable car; Lake Lucerne; Alpine scenery

Intertitles

This film was made in 1947 when rationing of food and clothes made life colourless and drab, when bought cakes were made of sawdust, and paratroopers baled out with what became our best step-ins! Laurie and Stuart Day present Escape if only temporarily from This England Other Eden Demi-paradise Church House Inn [Public House Sign] Closed. NO BEER [Notice on door] Sorry, No Cigarettes. [Notice shop window] No Fish [Notice fishmonger] Watch Your Meters You’ll save Electricity [Poster] Certificates National savings For your own sake SAVE [Poster] … and help our farmers. LEND A HAND ON THE LAND [Poster] Switzerland [Brochure] “There will be no FUEL crisis” Shinwell. “There will be no FOOD crisis” Strachey. “There will be no DOLLAR crisis” Dalton. Every chalet has its gay window boxes and neat wood pile. Spending a day in Lucerne (and “spending” is the right word!) Meiringen in the Hasli Valley. Within easy motoring distance is the Rhone Glacier beside the Furka Pass. Just below is the cheerful little town of Andermatt. At the Susten Pass a 12ft: mountain horn was echoing. Brunnen on Lake Lucerne On Sunday everyone flocks to the lake side. The little church is full to overflowing. Vitznau [sign] But the lake is not always placid. Swift storms blow up and as swiftly die The Crisis Break[s] [Sunday Express headline] £75 IS £35 […] PROFITS FROZEN [newspaper extract] RATIONS WILL SUFFER [newspaper extract] We’re up against it! WE WORK OR WANT WE WORK WE WORK THE END.

Other Places

Lichfield; Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent; Lucerne; Meiringen; Furka Pass; Andermatt; Susten Pass; Brunnen; Vitznau