Spare Time (1939)
- Directed by
- Humphrey Jennings
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Rated
- 14
- Rating
- 6.4 of 10 from 14 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A short documentary showing workers from coal, steel, and cotton industries in four British towns during their time off. It captures ordinary people at leisure in the late 1930s.
observationalgentlenostalgicquietgroundedeverydayhistorical
What happens
Spare Time is a 1939 British film directed by Humphrey Jennings for the GPO Film Unit, and made for the 1939 New York World's Fair. It is 15 minutes long and documents the leisure activities of workers in the coal, steel, and cotton industries in Sheffield, Bolton, Manchester and Pontypridd. Commentary is provided by Laurie Lee. Time Out calls it "A touching, troubling encapsulation of 1930s Britain." Spare Time was the subject of one of a set of ten postage stamps produced by the Royal Mail in 2015 to commemorate British cinema classics, including four from the GPO Film Unit. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
North to Wales (1965)
Coal Face (1935)
Night Mail (1936)
Country Town (1943)
Industrial Britain (1932)
Island People (1940)
Listen to Britain (1942)
The Saving of Bill Blewitt (1936)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.