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Holmes (Burton)Seeing London (ca. 1920s)

Tour through central parts of London.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Holmes (Burton)
Sponsor: N/A
Audio/Visual: Si, B&W
Keywords: London; United Kingdom; Travelogues

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: jafran - - May 15, 2006
Subject: Seeing London is excellent
Post World War I silent film. Very well filmed. Not only do you get to see many places in London, but get the feeling of people of a long gone era.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - August 29, 2004
Subject: Where's the London Eye?
Nice overview of 1920's London, starting with the Parliament buildings, then going around to St. Pauls Cathedral, the Tower of London, and downing street. The film promises we'd get to see royalty too, but all they could nuster was a VERY low ranking Duke. Otherwise, pretty randy!

Reviewer: Steve Bell - - February 11, 2004
Subject: A Londoner's View
As a born and bred Londoner, I though I'd add my thoughts about this very worthwhile 15 or so minutes.

The primary thing that strikes me is how *little* has changed during the last 80 years! Most of the places shown look identical today. Sure there's probably a few high rise offices blocking some of the views shown in this film, but nothing is unrecognisable.

I wish I could have been there in 1922 to help them write the captions! "The Towers of Parliament" - what? Though they're right about 'St. Stephen's Tower' being the correct name for what most Londoners would now call "Big Ben"

A glaring omission is Buckingham Palace and the Mall. There's no Horse Guards Parade either, even though the film makers were only a few hundred yards away at St. James' Park! Incidentally, I think most of the "colonials" of 1922 would have called Buckingham Palace "The Centre of the British Empire" rather than 10 Downing Street (which I notice is of course ungated in this film - I remember the gates first being put up.)

One strange thing is to see Admiralty Arch being described as "new" - now that sounds odd! Admiralty Arch is the gateway between The Mall and Trafalgar Square.

There's nothing wrong with this little film at all, if you're not British though, take a few of the captions with a pinch of salt, and if you're planning on visiting London, much of this will still look just the same - even down to the model of the old gate in Fleet Street over one of the shops.

Steve Bell.

Reviewer: cashel - - December 1, 2003
Subject: vanished glory
b/w and silent and made aprox. 1922..We see a London that is no longer and can join the many who lament the later war destruction and the modernisation vandalism..However delight in the city vistas. the street scenes with the londerners, the motor buses..Visit #the first large american store in london#...Attend a baseball match with us army playing us navy and viewed by king george v and queen mary. Note the title #the royal party are kindly disposed but puzzled # Then are the tourist,s sites-downing street, the abbey,bank of england ..enjoy

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