Biography of 'Films of Scotland Committee'
Production and distribution organisation
The Films of Scotland collection comprises some 150 documentary films which chart the changing face of Britain from 1955 to 1982, produced under the auspices of the second Films of Scotland Committee established under the aegis of the Scottish Council for
Development and Industry.
Films of Scotland was born in the 1930s when Scotland hosted the 1938 Empire Exhibition. Walter Elliot, Scottish Secretary, was keen to see a series of films produced for screening to the millions of visitors expected, films that would reflect the upsurge of national feeling at the time. His decision to use the medium of film for this purpose arose from admiration of John Grierson’s pioneering documentary films DRIFTERS and NIGHT MAIL. Elliot formed a committee - Films of Scotland - whose purpose was to promote Scotland both nationally and internationally, depicting all aspects of Scottish life – social, cultural and industrial. Grierson was appointed as adviser for the production of a series of seven films that as a group would reflect the spectrum of modern Scotland and its people in a vivid and meaningful way and would form the centrepiece of the film programme for the Exhibition. The Committee stood down in 1939 having done their job.
At its re-establishment in 1954 membership of the Committee represented all branches of the film industry, tourism and local and national administration and manufacturing.
The collection represents one of the most coherent local and national film collections in the UK. Arguably it offers a different model for film studies from the usual sources and opens up the possibility of fresh material for a critique of the post-war British documentary. Grierson was a leading member of the second Committee producing several treatments for them, as well as his autobiographical film I REMEMBER, I REMEMBER (1968 ). The collection includes the little known early work of British film makers who moved from documentary into feature film such as Bill Forsyth, screen writing credits for novelists such as William McIlvanney and Alasdair Gray and music composed by Muir Mathieson and John Maxwell Geddes.
The extensive written archive of administrative records, production files, scripts, stills, marketing materials and programme booklets offer a discrete set of data on the infrastructure and distribution methods of a UK film agency, with evidence of audience and industry reception to the works both domestically and internationally in an era of transition from cinema-going to television viewing. These records can be consulted at the National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive.
Researcher: Janet McBain
Films associated with 'COCOZZA, Enrico'
GLANDLESS PUMPS FOR POWER PLANT [5894]Add to my filmsThe glandless pump manufactured by Weir's Pumps, Glasgow, is demonstrated and explained. |
1969 mute col |
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GLASGOW 1980 [0974]Add to my filmsA documentary on how Glasgow would look in the 1980's after the redevelopment of its traffic system and the construction of new housing developments, planned in the mid '70s. Relates to issues proposed in the Bruce Report 1945 - a plan for the complete deconstruction of the existing Victorian city centre in order to create an new 'healthy and beautiful city’ of modern architecture. |
1971 sound col |
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GLASGOW'S PROGRESS [1497]Add to my filmsRushes from an unfinished production intended as a sequel to GLASGOW 1980. [See also ref. 0974]. |
1978 mute col |
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GOLDEN THISTLE AWARD [2791]Add to my filmsClose up shots of the Golden Thistle award with its inscription "Edinburgh Film Festival 1970. Golden Thistle Award for outstanding achievement in the Art of Cinematography, Darryl F. Zanuck. Presented by Films of Scotland Committee". |
1970 mute col |
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GOOD SERVANT, the [2211]Add to my filmsThe story of the Clydesdale horse, from foal to champion at the Royal Highland Show. |
1958 sound col |
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GR STEIN REFRACTORIES [3589]Add to my filmsA description of the processes involved in the production of refractory bricks and their uses. |
1972 sound col |
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GRAND MATCH, the [3127]Add to my filmsThe 38th Grand Match of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club held on the frozen Lake of Menteith in 1979. |
1981 sound col |
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GREAT MILL RACE, the [0921]Add to my filmsDramatised account of a race between an unscrupulous modern woollen mill and a traditional mill to make up a garment from original fleece to finished article. |
1975 sound col |
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HAND OF ADAM [2246]Add to my filmsMade to celebrate European Architectural Heritage Year. A detailed study of the architectural works of Robert Adam. |
1975 sound col |
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HEALTH OF A CITY [2241]Add to my filmsMade to commemorate the centenary of the appointment of the first Medical Officer of Health for Glasgow, it highlights their work in housing, schools and hospitals. |
1965 sound bw |
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HEART OF SCOTLAND, the [0912]Add to my filmsThe history and industries of Stirlingshire. [Treatment by John Grierson] |
1962 sound col |
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HEBRIDEAN HIGHWAY [2212]Add to my filmsThe story of the car ferries to the Hebrides. |
1966 sound col |
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HIGHLAND CAPITAL [2213]Add to my filmsInverness as a focal point for Highland life past and present: from St. Columba and King Bruce to the Loch Ness Monster and the World Pipe Band Championships. (20 mins) |
1968 sound col |
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HIGHLAND CRAFTS [2914]Add to my filmsTraditional craft work in the Highlands and Islands. |
1973 sound col |
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HIGHLAND FOLK [2238]Add to my filmsFolk traditions in the Highlands, highlighting the Folk Museum of Kingussie. |
1962 sound col |
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HIGHLAND HOLIDAY [2698]Add to my filmsSome of the attractions offered by the Highlands to the holiday-maker, from sand yachting at Dunnet Bay, to skiing on the Cairngorms. |
1972 sound col |
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HIGHLANDS [2756]Add to my filmsThe industries of the Highlands featuring the Invergordon Smelter and Ben Cruachan and Dounreay Power Stations. |
1971 sound col |
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HOLIDAY SCOTLAND [2631]Add to my filmsA scenic tour of Scotland taking in the Borders, Highlands and the Hebrides. |
1966 sound col |
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HOLLOW MOUNTAIN, the [2214]Add to my filmsThe building of the Ben Cruachan pumped-storage hydro-electric scheme. (15 mins) [See also ref. 2790]. |
1966 sound col |
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HUGH MacDIARMID: No Fellow Travellers [2688]Add to my filmsMade to commemorate the 80th birthday of the late Hugh MacDiarmid, the poet speaks about his life and work in conversation with his son Michael Grieve and fellow poet Norman MacCaig. (30 mins) |
1972 sound col |
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I REMEMBER, I REMEMBER [2232]Add to my filmsA personal account by John Grierson of a life spent in documentary film-making, including his early life in Stirling. |
Onsite only |
1968 sound bwcol |
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IF ONLY WE HAD THE SPACE [2101]Add to my filmsMade to demonstrate how improvements to Glasgow city tenements could be made with the aid of Home Improvement Grants. |
1974 sound col |
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IN GOOD HEART [2215]Add to my filmsThe story of the farming year in Scotland, told through the eyes of four farmers in the Highlands, the Borders, Ayrshire and Angus. (21 mins) |
1961 sound col |
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IN GREAT WATERS [2242]Add to my filmsThe fishing industry in the Shetlands, Western Highlands and Outer Hebrides. |
1974 sound col |
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INVERGORDON SMELTER, the [2216]Add to my filmsThe conception and construction of the aluminium smelter at Invergordon. |
1972 sound col |
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IONA - DOVE ACROSS THE WATER [3068]Add to my filmsThe island of Iona is glimpsed in summer and winter, through the lambing and harvest seasons, from sunrise to sunset. |
1982 sound col |
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ISLAND OF THE BIG CLOTH [2622]Add to my filmsThe story of Harris tweed and of the life of the islanders who produce it. |
1971 sound col |
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ISLANDS OF THE WEST [2692]Add to my filmsA portrayal of the scenic beauty of the Hebrides. |
1972 sound col |
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ISLE OF RHUM [2587]Add to my filmsA study of the animal and plantlife on the island of Rhum, and a history of the island's Kinloch Castle. Also features activities such as deer-stalking with Rhum ponies and the work of the Nature Conservancy wardens in protecting the natural heritage of the island. |
1970 sound bwcol |
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JON SCHUELER: An Artist and his Vision [3272]Add to my filmsAmerican artist Jon Schueler speaks directly of what Mallaig and the Sound of Sleat means to him as a painter. (30 mins) |
1972 sound col |
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KEEP YOUR EYE ON PAISLEY [2233]Add to my filmsThe town of Paisley, its industries and people. |
1975 sound col |
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KIND OF SEEING: The Colour of Scotland, a [2234]Add to my filmsThe colours and shapes of the Scottish landscape. |
1967 sound col |
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KING AND THE WHISKY, the [2007]Add to my filmsA history of the Port Edgar "George IV Old Scotch Whisky" distillery at South Queensferry. (15 mins) |
1965 sound col |
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KINTYRE [2767]Add to my filmsScenes of life on the Mull of Kintytre including shots of holiday makers and local inhabitants. Shots of farming, fishing and mining at the Argyll Colliery and general views of Campbeltown. |
1955 sound col |
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KIRKCALDY [2266]Add to my filmsGuided by a cartoon disc jockey, the film looks at the Fife town of Kirkcaldy. Its townspeople tell of their town, their attitudes to it, its oddities, pleasures and problems. |
1975 sound col |
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LAND LIVED IN, a [2217]Add to my filmsCastles and country houses in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. |
1957 sound col |
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LIFE IN THE ORKNEYS [2009]Add to my filmsLife on the Orkney islands seen through the eyes of a mail boat skipper, a farmer and a civil air-service pilot. Film includes brief shot of German fleet in Scapa Flow prior to scuttling in 1919 and an aerial shot of the Churchill Barriers. |
1957 sound bw |
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LINE TO SKYE, the [2260]Add to my filmsMade as part of Ross and Cromarty's campaign to have the Inverness to Kyle railway line kept open, the film features the stations, and landscape along its route. |
1973 sound col |
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LIVING IN SCOTLAND / SMITHS IN SCOTLAND, the [2231]Add to my filmsAn expression of the point of view of English men and women who have made their homes north of the Border. |
1966 sound col |
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LIVINGSTON - A PLAN FOR LIVING [2228]Add to my filmsA young family take a look round the new town of Livingston to discover what it has to offer. |
1976 sound col |
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LIVINGSTON - A TOWN FOR THE LOTHIANS [2219]Add to my filmsMade to promote Livingston New Town, its housing, industries and schools. |
1969 sound col |
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LOCH LOMOND [2250]Add to my filmsThe animals and lives of the people through the seasons on the shores of Loch Lomond. |
1967 sound col |
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LOTHIAN LANDSCAPE [2258]Add to my filmsThe towns, castles and farmland of East Lothian. |
1974 sound col |
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MACKINTOSH [2226]Add to my filmsThe life and work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. |
1968 sound col |
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MAKE WAY FOR STEEL [2244]Add to my filmsThe construction of Ravenscraig and Gartcosh steel works. |
1966 sound col |
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METAL IN HARMONY [2239]Add to my filmsHow the aluminium industry was established in the Highlands. |
1962 sound col |
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MOTOROLA SILICON CHIP MANUFACTURING [4410]Add to my filmsWomen working in the Motorola Silicon Chip factory. |
1980 mute col |
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MURCHISON PROJECT, the [3124]Add to my filmsA study of the stages of development of the Murchison Project set up between British and Norwegian businessmen and Conoco to build a new North Sea oil rig. |
1980 sound col |
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NEIL GUNN - LIGHT IN THE NORTH [0589]Add to my filmsNeil Gunn, the Scottish novelist, talks to George Bruce about his life and work. |
1972 sound col |
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NEW DAY [0307]Add to my filmsLife in Glenrothes New Town as seen through the eyes of a miner and his family. |
1959 sound col |