Sidecar Boat (1960)

M/S of a man climbing astride a motorbike; attached to the bike is a sidecar with a young woman sitting in it. They are parked outside a row of houses in a suburban street in Romford, Essex. C/U of the couple as the man starts the motorcycle; M/Ss as they drive off, and then from a moving vehicle in front of them as they drive along. M/S as they come up a road; the man hand signals to turn left and they turn off towards a bridge leading to a lake. As they turn we see that the sidecar is shaped like a boat. M/S as the motorbike drives into view and comes to a halt on a muddy track next to the lake; the man gets off the bike and goes round to the other side to help the woman out of the sidecar. He is wearing a raincoat, wellington boots, leather gloves and flat cap; she wears red trousers, brown jumper and a cream scarf tied at the neck. C/U of the couple as she climbs out then M/S as they lift the boat off its wheels and set the boat down - the woman is wearing extremely impractical high-heeled shoes! M/S of the man as they put the boat down on the water. C/U of the woman smiling. M/Ss of the man as he walks off to take off his raincoat; the woman standing by the boat as the man walks into shot now dressed in a grey suit. He helps her into the boat and holds it steady; she sits down in the back set and he climbs into the front. C/U as the man settles in his seat and starts to drive off. M/S as the boat moves along towards us; C/U of the couple as the woman waves to someone on the bank; M/S of a young man fishing who waves back. C/U of the couple in the boat moving along and the man driving. M/S of the couple in the boat as we pull back from them quite quickly - the woman is smiling to camera all the time. Note: much of the unintentional humour (for me) comes from the fact that the man looks very much like a deadpan Harry Hill. Documentation on file includes newspaper cutting, brochure and correspondence from Canterbury Sidecars Ltd of South Ockendon, who manufactured the vehicle. FILM ID: A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT’S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES. FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website.