Cinematic Era: 1951 Vintage

Fertilizer factory operations, agriculture.

The first Finnish 35 mm color short film from May 1951, directed by Felix Forsman and produced by Felix-Film. It was commissioned by Paulig Oy to celebrate the company's 75th anniversary. It is a large-format commissioned film of its time, and no expense has been spared. The story of Finnish coffee begins in 1756 and continues with carefully dramatized episodes to 1951. The film ends grandly with the Paulig March, written by Uuno Kaila.

A Swedish short drama.

A report on the cultural life in Macedonia shown through the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the Macedonian National Theater, concerts, the puppet theater, the Theater in Strumica, the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra and the performance of the choir of the Cultural and Artistic Community "Vlado Tasevski" for the railway workers on the occasion of October 11th.

This documentary shows the fishing grounds of the far north. It provides an insight into the hard and dangerous work on a fishing trawler ; laying out and hauling in the fishing nets, processing the fish on board and storing it in the cold store.

A short film about the museums at Bygdøy in Oslo. ***** Oslofilm was a series of public information films about life in and around Oslo, produced between 1940 and 1980. Funded by the state, the films offer valuable insight into postwar Norwegian society. A wide range of Norwegian filmmakers contributed to the productions, resulting in a rich variety of styles and expressions. Several of the films also possess notable cinematic qualities, standing out as more than just informational material. The Oslofilms represent a unique and important chapter in Norwegian film history.

The rural French Canadian way of life is observed on l'Ile-aux-Coudres, an island in the St. Lawrence River. The farmer grows food on his land. His family, from son to grandfather, gives him a helping hand. On Sunday, he rests and attends church with the other villagers. Many picturesque scenes of the coutryside and of the harvest are shown. The monument on the site of Jacques Cartier's landing and worship on his second trip up the St. Lawrence is also shown.

BAFTA-nominated documentary short commemorating the Catholic Holy Year of 1950.

An industrial epic plays out in steelmaking South Wales.

A educational film from the Norwegian traffic police. ***** Oslofilm was a series of public information films about life in and around Oslo, produced between 1940 and 1980. Funded by the state, the films offer valuable insight into postwar Norwegian society. A wide range of Norwegian filmmakers contributed to the productions, resulting in a rich variety of styles and expressions. Several of the films also possess notable cinematic qualities, standing out as more than just informational material. The Oslofilms represent a unique and important chapter in Norwegian film history.

Radio is one of the most important communication technologies ever invented and has been a vital tool in helping Australians overcome the tyranny of distance both nationally and internationally.

Christianity as seen through the world's great artist accompanied by Schubert's Ave Maria. A Castle Films release.

A BAFTA award nominated documentary depicting the history of motor racing between 1902 and 1914.

A BAFTA award nominated Russian animation about the antics of two young foresters.

Studies of a number of the ballet paintings by Edgar Degas (1834-1917): “The Ballet Class”, “Coryphee Resting”, “Ballerina and the Lady with the Fan”, all from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and “On Stage”, “Dancers Practising at the Bar”, and “Pink and Green” from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A woman who abandoned her husband and her young son to lead a better life ends up, years later, in a hospital operated on by her adult son.

"Red and White Azaleas" (alias "重訂今生未了緣"), a Hong Kong film produced by the Red and White Film Company, was released in 1951.

Under the sign of the swastika, it was, amongst other things, turned into a naval base, it got heavily destroyed in two waves of attack in April of 1945 by British bombers. After the war, Heligoland was made available as bombing training ground for the English army by the West-German government. Seven young people occupied the isle and began to repair the emergency shelter for sailors who got in danger. This and further major actions eventually ended the bombing exercises. Back then, the watchword was: “Heligoland to the Germans! “ – “Heligoland for peace!”

A film showing icelandic farmlife with elements of icelandic folklore mixed in.

Paging all parents! Need some post-war childrearing advice? Then this is the film for you. It was an instalment in the Your Children series of films produced between 1945 and 1951, dealing with various facets of children's health - in this case, the importance of play to both mental and physical development. The surprise is not that much of it has amusingly dated – of course it has – but how much still feels enlightened and applicable today.

The Portuguese in 16th century India plot to take over the country.

The American Petroleum Institute presents an inspiring tale of man's history taming nature through ingenuity and invention, culminating in the modern American farmer, who relies on the oil industry to fuel his machinery.

Experimental film by Elwood Decker. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

A summit of physical training coaches.

Suggested music to be played during film : “Concerto Grosso” by Ludwig van Beethoven. With John Markopoulos, Maria Markopoulos, Andrew Markopoulos, Elaine Markopoulos and others. Filmed in Toledo, Ohio. ( This film contains footage from Jackdaw and Christmas U.S.A. Preserved by Temenos, Zurich & New York.

A Terrytoons cartoon released 23 May 1951.

Filmed record of a burlesque performance.

1951 Indian Film

A short black and white film from James Broughton with Kermit Sheets in a Chaplinesque role.

Early abstract 3D film by animation master Norman McLaren.

Frightening civil defense procedure film aimed at Cold War-era elementary school students.

US Navy training film. An animated look at regulations through the ages.

Part of BFI collection "London on the Move."

A home movie from 1951 called Autobiography, shot by Belson and Smith in Belson’s North Beach apartment, depicts the classic Beat pad with Smith and Belson’s paintings on the wall, a 16mm projector, and appearances by filmmakers Hy Hirsh and Chris Maclaine and poets Philip Lamantia, Weldon Kees, and Gerd Stern.

Mannerheim's life stages.

Both the son and the father become infatuated with a girl, and each tries to attract her attention in their own way. After a series of adventures and numerous conflicts, the girl finally marries the son.

A BAFTA Special award nominated documentary presenting some of the demonstrations in use at Princeton University for research into perception. Shows distorted rooms, rotating trapezoids and size-likeness demonstrations.

Betty Page dances teasingly.

This is the story of Mike Hanlon, a high school football player and a boy of pleasing personality. Mike wants friends but instead of trying to make friends with individuals, he concentrates on becoming friendly with a certain group of boys. However, each time he approaches them, he is re- buffed. He feels left out. His coach notices this and explains to him that cliques always exist and that there are several ways that those left out might react. Mike decides to make friends with individuals and is on his way to social maturity.

A look at Greece in the 1950s.

The toys build their own house. They are hindered in their work by the carefree Puppet. Despite this, a beautiful and functional house is built. Only then does the unbearable Puppet undergo a metamorphosis, and he fails to understand that one cannot live without work.

The story of a ship's arrival, unloading and departure from the Port of London in 1951, and all the life of the docklands and the river. Made for the Festival of Britain.

A promotional film Naši zubi (Our Teeth, 1951) was directed and written by Stjepan Velić, shot by Zdravko Mihelčić, backgrounds were drawn by Miroslav Bobuš, and Bogoslav Petanjek as the main cartoonist and animator. Some sequences of this film depict struggle of white blood cells with black bacteria, which, like an organized army, penetrate the body through damaged teeth. Some solutions for this film were made largely under the direct influence of Walt Disney’s film Vaccination, which features quite a few similar scenes. Naši zubi has had great success with young audiences because of its cartoonish charms, which was achieved without neglecting the basic, educational goal.

Documentary showing the lives of the Swedish footballers who have moved to Italian clubs.

A romantic musical that imagines what might happen when American sailors land in the Philippines.

A pseudo-documentary depicting the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts, in which the Idyllwild Youth Chorus take a retreat in order to craft a ballad about their school and the various arts it helps to cultivate.

Following one of their usual violent fights, the cat thinks he has killed Little Roquefort, and buries him, with a lot of sadness, in a flower pot. The mouse is not dead, of course, and he returns to frighten the cat, and does so to the point he thinks the cat has died. He hasn't and when the cat makes a comeback, they are both scared of each other.

The connection between clockmaking and the Black Forest is explored.

It has a tourist focus. It includes a series of landscape prints of regional life.