Biography of 'ELDER, John C'
Teacher and film-maker
Born 1902, Elder was a time served marine engineer, poster artist and craft teacher. He had a keen interest in the making of film, making interest travel and propaganda films for Pathe and Gaumont, and was a founder of the Scottish Educational Film Association. The Glasgow Corporation Education Department released Elder from teaching duties to supervise the technical side of the experiments they were carrying out on the value of film as a visual aid in the early 1930’s.
With J. Blake Dalrymple he formed Elder-Dalrymple Productions, producing the Carrick series of classroom films. In 1939, Elder represented Britain at an international film festival in Rome with his film Spring in the Fields. It was Scotland’s first home produced educational product to gain note on the international scene.
After naval war service Elder re-established his company as Elder Film Productions, "Producers of educational, documentary, publicity, general interest and theatrical films. Newsreel and television representatives."
In 1948 Elder and his wife Isabella travelled to Denmark to study the Danish film making industry at the Nordisk studios. They hoped to make film that would be taken up by the Children’s Film Foundation. Elder retired to Helensburgh where he died of a stroke.
See also ELDER, John C., DALRYMPLE, J. Blake and GILLESPIE, James Stirling
Researcher: Carolyn Young
Films associated with 'COCOZZA, Enrico'
AERIALS OF THE CLYDE AND DUMBARTON [2382]Add to my filmsAerial views of Glasgow, Clyde shipyards and Loch Lomond.(Please note that some of the images in this film are reversed horizontally) |
1958 silent col |
||
AMONG THE HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS [2747]Add to my filmsKittiwakes, guillemots, cormorants, puffins and razorbills are some of the seabirds featured in this educational film. |
1948 silent col |
||
AMONG THE HILLS [1763]Add to my filmsThree children on holiday trace the River Clyde from its source at Little Clydesburn to the sea. |
1949 silent col |
||
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [0637]Add to my filmsA look at livestock farming in Scotland. |
1937 silent bw |
||
AT THE CATTLE MARKET [2748]Add to my filmsTwo young boys watch cattle and pigs being auctioned at a livestock market. |
1948 silent col |
||
BRACKEN MENACE, the [6704]Add to my filmsWest of Scotland Agricultural College study into combating bracken growth which hinders crofters by subsuming much of their land. |
1947 silent bw |
||
BRIDGE TOWN, the [1676]Add to my filmsA look at the river Clyde, its bridges, ships, and buildings and traffic along its banks. |
1956 silent col |
||
BUILDING OF A SHIP, the [10027]Add to my filmsThe construction, launch and testing of the tanker Harold Sleigh, built by the Blythswood Shipbuilding Company for Golden Fleece Petroleum Products of Australia. |
Onsite only |
1952 sound col |
|
BY BUS TO THE HILLS [1759]Add to my filmsA group of children join a bus tour party at Edinburgh for an outing to Tweedside. They visit Peebles and Neidpath Castle in the Borders, and finally trace the Tweed to its source on the same hill as the source of the Clyde. |
Onsite only |
1950 silent col |
|
CAR JOURNEY, a [1264]Add to my filmsA boy and his uncle are given a lift home. The film shows how roadbuilders overcome obstacles with bridges, level crossings, ferries etc. |
1948 silent col |
||
CITY SIDELIGHTS NO. 1 [0379]Add to my filmsOne of a series of five magazine films of Glasgow, including street scenes, contemporary fashion, sweet making, a game of football, and Christmas Eve festivities. |
1958 sound bw |
||
CITY SIDELIGHTS NO. 2 [0123]Add to my filmsA look at some of Glasgow's interesting and historical sites, in particular Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. The film also includes scenes of the Scottish Flyweight Championship at Paisley on 17th January, 1951. |
1952 sound bw |
||
CITY SIDELIGHTS NO. 4 [0330]Add to my filmsOne of a series of five magazine films of Glasgow. Includes footage of macaroni and semolina being made in a Glasgow factory, students work at the Scottish Hotel School and trams around Trongate. |
1958 sound bw |
||
DAY ON THE SANDS, a [2745]Add to my filmsTwo boys playing on the beach at Oban where they build a sandcastle, find a starfish and limpets and go out in a fisherman's boat to catch lobsters. |
1949 silent col |
||
DOMESTIC SCIENCE AS A CAREER [2766]Add to my filmsStudents at work on the various courses available at the Glasgow and West of Scotland College of Domestic Science. |
1938 silent bw |
||
DOWN TO THE SEA [1271]Add to my filmsAt Clyde docks three children watch the handling of cargo and movement of ships, coasters, tugs, tankers and liners. They board a ship and watch the crew at work. |
1950 silent col |
||
FISHERMEN [9858]Add to my filmsFishing boats sailing from Dunure in Ayrshire, with young boys being shown various jobs on deck by the crewmen [probably material for an educational programme about fishing]. |
Onsite only |
1946 silent bwcol |
|
FLYING ABOVE THE CLOUDS [1272]Add to my filmsTwo boys are taken on a flight from Renfrew airport. They are shown how the flight instruments work. The trip takes them over the Clyde estuary. |
1941 silent col |
||
FOLLOWING THE RIVER NO. 2: THE MIDDLE STRETCH [2366]Add to my filmsFrom the Falls of Clyde, two children follow the river into the wider Clyde valley visiting fruit farms and passing the Carron Grain Mills, a power station and the Popinjay Hotel. |
1955 silent col |
||
GALASHIELS AND BRAW LADS GATHERING [0766]Add to my filmsThe festival of the Braw Lads Gathering in the Borders town of Galashiels; the historic flag is presented and then carried on horseback through the town. |
Onsite only |
1952 silent bw |
|
GATEWAY OF THE EAST, the [0463]Add to my filmsAn educational film, describing the dependence of Scotland's population on imports, and the importance of Leith Docks as "The Gateway of the East" in the export and import of goods to and from Europe. |
1937 sound bw |
||
GATEWAY OF THE WEST, the [0474]Add to my filmsLoading and unloading of goods at the docks in Glasgow, oil tanks on the lower reaches of the Clyde and the liner "City of Dieppe" being towed down river. |
1937 silent bw |
||
GOVAN FAIR 1947 [0013]Add to my filmsCoronation of the Fair Queen, with the procession and motorcade in Govan, Glasgow. |
1947 silent bw |
||
GOVAN FAIR 1952 [0053]Add to my filmsOfficial ceremonial opening of Old Govan Fair, Glasgow. Coronation of the Fair Queen by Mrs Singleton, wife of George, the director of the Vogue Cinema. |
1952 silent bw |
||
GRAIN HARVEST [2172]Add to my filmsPart Two of the series "Agricultural Scotland", this film shows a field of oats being scythed to clear a path for the horse-drawn reaping and binding machines, and the threshing machine at work in the farmyard. [See also ref. 0652 for Part One]. |
1936 silent bw |
||
GRAND UNION CANAL [0108]Add to my filmsMap of canal routes from London to Birmingham and the industrial north. The film shows canal barges loading and unloading at docks. |
1938 silent bw |
||
HARVESTS OF THE SOIL [0652]Add to my filmsA look at the harvesting of different crops, including early potatoes, tomatoes and other fruits. |
1937 silent bw |
||
HEAVY INDUSTRIES [0500]Add to my filmsSteelmaking and shipbuilding on the Clyde, Glasgow. |
1937 sound bw |
||
HEWERS OF COAL [2381]Add to my filmsA group of boys intending to be mineworkers are given a short course of instruction explaining the elementary principles of coal mining and simple geology. |
Onsite only |
1939 silent bw |
|
HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND, the [3301]Add to my filmsTree felling, hunting and fishing in the highlands. |
1936 sound bw |
||
HONEYMOON CRUISE NO. 1 [0415]Add to my filmsA cruise from Oban to Staffa, Iona and Mull. |
Onsite only |
1938 silent bw |
|
HONEYMOON CRUISE NO. 2 [0260]Add to my filmsFilm highlights the scenic beauty of the Highlands on the Oban to Inverness steamer route. |
1935 silent bw |
||
ISLES OF YOUTH, the [1641]Add to my filmsA tour of the Western Isles and Highlands of Scotland including a visit to Iona and views of the island of Staffa. |
1944 silent col |
||
LIFE IN THE HIGHLANDS [0928]Add to my filmsA short educational documentary about rural crofting life in the Highlands, showing Highland scenery and crofters at their daily work; harvesting, shearing sheep, collecting peat and spinning wool. |
1936 sound bw |
||
MARY GETS READY FOR SCHOOL [2771]Add to my filmsA young girl gets ready for school; the story carefully points out the importance of hygiene and diet in her routine. |
1951 silent col |
||
MUNGO'S MEDALS [2102]Add to my filmsAn illustration of the efforts made to rehouse families from sub-standard tenement flats in Glasgow, and to alleviate the housing shortage in the city. |
1961 sound col |
||
NETTING SALMON [1794]Add to my filmsFishermen netting a fish and making ready for the next catch. |
1936 silent bw |
||
ON THE FARM [3082]Add to my filmsChildren holidaying on a farm. Feeding various farm animals. Potato harvest and storage, and, later, corn harvest. |
1950 silent col |
||
PADDY'S MILESTONE [0916]Add to my filmsAilsa Craig or "Paddy's Milestone" as the source of rock for the manufacture of curling stones. |
1947 sound bw |
||
PAISLEY PATTERN [2761]Add to my filmsA promotional film on the re-development of Paisley and the new housing schemes under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act. |
1960 sound col |
||
RAILWAY JOURNEY [0835]Add to my filmsA steam train journey from Glasgow to Oban in the Highlands. |
1947 silent col |
||
RAW MATERIALS [0502]Add to my filmsA look at coal mining and iron works in Scotland, as suppliers to power stations and Clydeside factories. |
1937 silent bw |
||
RIVER CLYDE, the [0398]Add to my filmsFollowing the River Clyde from its upper reaches down to the Firth. |
1937 silent bw |
||
ROAD THROUGH THE SUNSET ISLES, the [0196]Add to my filmsA hiking holiday through the Hebrides, exploring Lewis, Harris, the Uists, Benbecula and Barra. [Jack Elder is one of the two hikers] |
1937 silent bw |
||
ROUTES AND CENTRES [0501]Add to my filmsA tour of the principal centres in Scotland for road and rail networks - Stirling, Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness. |
1936 silent bw |
||
SAILING 1000 MILES UP THE AMAZON [0419]Add to my filmsA study of Northern Brazil and the course of the Amazon river filmed during 1935. |
Onsite only |
1936 silent bw |
|
SCOTTISH COASTS [0499]Add to my filmsLife along Scotland's coastlines, visiting the Solway Firth, Aberdeen Harbour, the river Clyde and Kyles of Bute. |
1937 silent bw |
||
SKYWAY AMBULANCE [1269]Add to my filmsA boy becomes ill during a visit to the Western Isles, the Skyway ambulance is called and the boy is taken quickly to a hospital in Glasgow. |
1947 silent col |
||
SNOW PLOUGH, the [1637]Add to my filmsA history of the snow plough from the earliest wooden wedge drawn by a man to the horse-drawn plough to the snow plough attached to a lorry. |
1936 silent bw |
||
SOUTHERN UPLANDS [0630]Add to my filmsIntroduction to the Southern Uplands of Scotland with footage of sheep farming, agriculture, fishing and textiles. |
1940 sound bw |