TIMEREEL RELEASES 2 NEW FILMS about Life in the 1930s: Rags and Riches & A Time Gone By

Economic slumps, European banks collapsing, sovereign debt crises and a coalition government making unpopular cuts...haven’t we been here before?

75 years ago, 200 men marched from Jarrow to London demanding work. It was just one event in an extraordinary decade.

“The parallels between what was happening then and what is taking place today are extraordinary”, says Director and Producer Andrew Gray, “while we were editing this production I was viewing clips of Stanley Baldwin telling the nation that we had to ‘pull together’ to tackle the economic Depression. Lo and behold, the evening news on TV had the PM delivering the same message!”

The parallels do not stop there; as well as widespread anger at public sector pay cuts (for which city bankers received the blame) there was controversy over plans for a new London airport and a protest march by angry Muslims against the publication of a book. European immigrants were blamed for taking jobs, employers were accused of ageism against women and even the contentious subject of euthanasia reared its head.  A Coalition Government had been formed to tackle a financial crisis of global proportions; its leader, Ramsey MacDonald, was accused of selling out on his own party.

Having trawled through hours of newly digitised archive footage, Timereel has created a two part production examining the decade in which our grandparents’ generation lived. Rags and Riches and A Time Gone By give an overview of life during a tumultuous decade, largely seen through the eyes of the capital city.

London was insulated from the worst of the Great Depression, and during the 1930s it doubled in size on the ground. Despite the economic hardship there were cars, televisions and glamorous fashion.

“There are some real gems in both films”, says Andrew Gray, “and selecting my favourite is really quite difficult. Perhaps it’s the plan for an airport above King’s Cross station. Then again, Bernard Shaw telling the news cameras not to worry about Hitler is pretty entertaining.”

Economic hardship may have formed the backdrop to the era, but there are plenty of lighter notes throughout the production. The inventor whose machine reads the morning newspaper at breakfast and school lessons on how to use a telephone are just some of the light hearted moments in a fascinating look at an era that has much in common with our own.  

Rags and Riches and A Time Gone By each run for 60 minutes and will be released on 8th November at www.timereel.co.uk and at selected Waterstones and HMV.

Timereel has a fantastic selection of nostalgia DVDs, all based on original archive footage; perfect gifts for Christmas.  All orders are dispatched within 48 hours.

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For all press enquiries; including DVD review copies, film stills, Timereel spokesperson interview requests - please contact:
Lisa Tyrie, Timereel Studios, 3 The Close, Norwich NR1 4DH Tel: 0844 556 3501

Notes to editors:

About Timereel Studios
Timereel Studios is a film production company based in Norwich.  Using original archive footage, much of it that has never been seen before, Timereel Studios creates unique and evocative films showing how the lives of ordinary people were affected by extraordinary events. 

Added on 30.10.2011