THE ALEXANDER ARCHIVEHitler
at Nuremberg, King George V at Liverpool’s Sefton Park, the Queen
and Prince Philip in New Zealand - it’s incredible to believe that
all this was shot by just one woman on a cine camera more than 80
years ago.
Social
tapestry
After
the death of her fiancé in the First World War, Marjorie
Alexander bought a Kodak cine camera and continued filming throughout
her life. Born
and raised in Heswall, Wirral, Marjorie led a privileged life that
took her and her camera all over the world. Now,
for the first time ever, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ have exclusive rights to broadcast
her amazing footage. As a whole, it forms a rich social tapestry,
spanning four generations. Voyage
of discoveryThis
unique collection was nearly lost forever. After years spent forgotten
in an attic, the entire collection including the camera and projector
almost ended up in car boot sale. Thankfully,
film collector Steve Bate rescued the archive and embarked upon
a voyage of discovery as he watched footage spanning back as far
as the 1920s. Long
forgotten eraThe
quality of the footage is of an amazing standard when you consider
the fact that this was a hand held camera without a tripod. The
camera needed to be wound up which gave enough power to shoot only
29 seconds of film each time. What
began as a hobby, became a lifetime's work and now provides an extraordinary
insight into life in the North West in an era long forgotten. | 
ÌýÌýInside Out - North West: Monday 23rd October, 2002
ÌýÌýREALPLAYER REQUIRED
