Look at Life was a regular British series of short documentary films of which 507 were produced between 1959 and 1969 by the Special Features Division of the Rank Organisation for screening in their Odeon and Gaumont cinemas. The films always preceded the main feature film that was being shown in the cinema that week. It replaced the circuit's newsreel, Universal News, which had become increasingly irrelevant in the face of more immediate news media, particularly on television with the launch of ITN on the Independent Television service, which began broadcasting in parts of the United Kingdom in 1955.
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Episode 1
View of Marrakesh, men riding on donkeys whilst commentary describes the position of Marrakesh CU of a camel. Camels being led: the market place: Arabs meet to talk or to drive a bargain: commentary gives a brief history of Marrakesh
Episode 2
Looking at the stars from the astrologer’s, the astronomer’s and the radio-astronomer’s point of view.
Episode 3
Shows how hypnotism has developed from being a stage entertaiment to being a useful tool in the hands of the doctors.
Episode 4
No overview available.
Episode 5
No overview available.
Episode 6
No overview available.
Episode 7
No overview available.
Episode 8
Dogs as pets, including the Queen’s corgis, and as working dogs - gun dogs, sheep dogs, guide dogs, police dogs and guard dogs. Also shows breeders, veterinarians, the People’s Dispensary
Episode 9
Supermarkets contrasted with London street markets.
Episode 10
Present day methods to prevent crime often employ mechanical means to give warning.
Episode 11
No overview available.
Episode 12
No overview available.
Episode 13
A look at the cosmetics industry.
Episode 14
Travelogue - Berlin. Panning aerial shots: the Mayor’s offices: Emperor William Memorial Church (94): Willy Brandt, Mayor of West Berlin, arriving in London on April 21st 1959 for discussion
Episode 15
Operation Noah’s Ark’ devoted to rescuing animals from an island which was flooded by the Zambesi river.
Episode 16
Travelogue of the River Thames. Shot of: Big Ben: the Embankment: people boarding a pleasure boat at Westminster: people buy tickets: the steamer sets off: the Houses of Parliament
Episode 17
Coffee bars and their clientele.
Episode 18
A trip around the Chelsea Flower Show.
Episode 19
A look at the tradition of Derby Day.
Episode 20
A look at the financial institutions of London, including the Royal Mint.
Episode 21
Looks at the development of the Saunders-Roe SR.N1 hovercraft, the first full-size experimental model, and its maiden flight across the English Channel. Includes an interview with Christopher Sydney Cockerell, inventor of the hovercraft, who demonstrates his original model made of tin cans, and Peter Lamb, test pilot for the hovercraft.
Episode 22
A look at the advances in coach travel.
Episode 23
The St Lawrence Seaway and its impact on Canada.
Episode 24
A look at the motor racing industry and the part played by British cars and British drivers.
Episode 25
No overview available.
Episode 26
The violin making industry in Mittenwald in the Bavarian Alps.
Episode 27
Explores the internationally famous formation team and their aerobatic daring in Hunter jets.
Episode 28
A day in the life of a guardsman.
Episode 29
Just four men, Swiss glacier pilots, have mastered the art of landing light aircraft on the glaciers and snowfields of the Alps, rescuing injured or stranded climbers in situations difficult to
Episode 30
The Royal Agricultural Show and the agricultural industry.
Episode 31
Every fortnight the liner the Queen Elisabeth has to be completely restocked and this is a mammoth housekeeping operation which has to be completed in 48 hours.
Episode 32
The possibilities of the construction of a Channel Tunnel.
Episode 33
The annual trip to the hop fields in Kent by people living in the East End of London.
Episode 34
A film of a pony from the time it is rounded up in the forest until, with its young rider astride, it enters for the high spot of the pony-riding year.
Episode 35
The sport of gliding.
Episode 36
The collection of refuse and its disposal.
Episode 37
A survey of all that dancing involves from teenage rock ‘n’ roll sessions to exhibition ballroom dancing.
Episode 38
The British Army on the Rhine.
Episode 39
A tour of Fair Isle, in the Shetlands, where live three times as many men as women.
Episode 40
Dealing with the professional work of Vincent Hitchcock, the British bullfighter; shots of him training and in action.
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