Ian Ferguson

Between the Tides

Between the Tides is a 1958 short documentary directed by Ralph Keene for British Transport Films.It is a study of the animal and plant life of Britain's shores. The film show the fascinating and colourful marine life of shoreline and rock pool, filmed in the inter-tidal zone of a typical and attractive rocky shore of southwest England. The amazing diversity of creatures must be seen to be believed; periwinkles, top-shells, starfish and lump suckers, the self-concealing flatfish, the gaper and razor fish and the commuting and breeding seabirds. Beautifully photographed in glorious Technicolor by resident cameraman Ron Craigen, the film was awarded fifteen international film honours, and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.

Coaching Holiday

A short film focusing on the account of a coaching tour told by the driver, who attempts to try to create a happy atmosphere and cement friendships.

The Travel Game

A light and somewhat satirical look at the problems and pleasures of Continental holiday travel. A passenger on the Hook Continental Express from Liverpool St. imagines the possible destinations of his fellow passengers.

Journey Into Spring

Journey into Spring is a 1958 British short documentary film directed by Ralph Keene, and made by British Transport Films. The film -- partly a tribute to the work of the pioneering naturalist and ornithologist Gilbert White (1720-1793), author of The Natural History of Selborne -- features a commentary by the poet Laurie Lee, and camerawork by the wildlife cinematographer Patrick Carey. The journey suggested by the title is through time rather than space. In fact, two such journeys are made: the first back to the eighteenth century to pay tribute to the work of White, and the second studies the changing natural landscape near White's home town of Selborne in Hampshire between a typical March and May. It was nominated for two Academy Awards -- one for Best Documentary Short, and the other for Best Live Action Short.

Lancashire Coast

The holiday attractions of the Lancashire coast, including a beauty contest in Morecambe, Southport flower show and Blackpool Fun Fair.

Holiday

Lively holiday in Blackpool, with jazz accompaniment.

Yesterday's Britain: Highlands

Three short films from the Fifties, offering an insight into day to day life amongst the beautiful scenery of the Scottish Highlands. 'Heart Is Highland' (1951) calls in on the local gamekeeper, nurse, newspaper editor and bus driver as it tours from Inverness to Kinloch Rannoch. 'Wild Highlands' (1959) discovers the wildlife populating the Ardnamurchan peninsula on the Argyll coast, and 'Highland Journey' (1957) journeys by coach and steam train from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye.

The England of Elizabeth

A romantic overview of England in the Elizabethan Age.

Any Man's Kingdom

A documentary showing aspects of long-disappeared rural life in Northumberland in 1953.

North to Wales

A British Transport Film.

Round the Island

The pleasures of sailing off the Isle of Wight are described by Uffa Fox, while Ralph Wightman tells of the peaceful life of its farms and villages.

Yorkshire Sands

Light verse and gay music make their own comment on the holidaymakers of the Yorkshire coastline. Between Tees and Humber thousands each year enjoy the sea and the sands, the funfair and the ballroom: for a row or romance, there's something for each!

Cine Gazette No. 14: Do You Remember?

The operation of the London Transport central Lost Property Office at Baker Street. Collected in BFI's "London on the Move."

Capital Visit

A school journey through the city of London as seen through the eyes of the children and their teacher.

The Peak District

The Peak District waits invitingly within a sixty-mile reach of half the population of England. To this green centre of a great industrial area, the first of the National Parks, holidaymakers come throughout the year to enjoy a wide variety of scenery and of pastimes. Some visitors come to glide, others to go ‘caving’ or climbing, boating or fishing. The lovely surroundings vary from the windy flat tops of heath with their rocky outcrops to the lush, sheltered dales of the Manifold, the Derwent and the Dove; from the simple stone cottages of the quiet villages to the historic architecture of Ashbourne, Bakewell and Buxton, and the great houses of the past like Chatsworth and Haddon Hall.

The Heart of England

The Cotswolds are the largest areas of Britain, stretching over a hundred miles from Chipping Camden to the city of Bath.

East Anglian Holiday

A tour of East Anglia, with its waterways and low-lying country.

Highland Journey

From Glasgow or Edinburgh, Scotland may be explored by train or long-distance coach, and this film includes a coach tour from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye. The route taken meets the Highlands at Killin, and then goes over Rannoch Moor and through Glencoe to Ben Nevis, the entrance to the Great Glen. Here we meet the West Highland railway line, and follow it on its journey through the Bonnie Prince Charlie country to Mallaig. Returning to the Great Glen we rejoin the coach route out through the Glen Foyne and Glen Shiel to the Kyle of Lochalsh, and take the ferry over to Skye.