John Grierson Movies

1935 documentary about the hard working life of Welsh coal miners.

A silent film by John Grierson. It tells the story of Britain's North Sea herring fishery.

Ambitious documentary chronicling the cultural life and religious customs of the Sinhalese and the effects of advanced industrialism on such customs.

Norman McLaren was a cinematic genius who made films without cameras, and music without instruments. He produced sixty films in a stunning range of...

An overview of the shepherd's life during the lambing season.

Animated shapes dance to Cuban music. This was one of the first animations to be painted directly onto the film.

Grierson set out to make "propaganda," and this film--with it's voice-over proclaiming the great value of the British industrial worker, without a...

A short GPO documentary showing how undersea telephone cables are repaired.

Short documentary about a trawler fishing for hake.

“Catching up with gossip, inspecting new ducklings, clambering over gates, walking across meadows - the life of a postman appears idyllic, but...

Legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock pays tribute to the "father of the documentary", John Grierson, exploring what made his work so...

Marionette parody of Cherry Kearton.

The history and modern day industry of Stirlingshire, Scotland.

Documentary about shipbuilding on the Clyde. In 1960, Glasgow and other towns and ports on the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland, were still...

The life and work of the documentary pioneer.

Story of salmon fishers and the methods they use; captures the migration of salmon up a Highland river for spawning.

Smog was the deadly downside of Britain's industrial might, as this powerful and revealing documentary spells out. In 1937, coal was Britain's...

Drama-documentary, reconstructing a real incident in which a trawler got into difficulties in a North Sea storm. Released 7th March 1938.

Marionette parody of Charlie Chaplin.

Short documentary about British education in the late 1930s.