Still from Picturesque People and Pleasant Places in Holland via EAFA
United Kingdom
English
00:56:48
1410 ft
16mm
B&W
Silent
"A four reel film recording details of a motor tour undertaken by Eustace and Eunice Alliott through six of the twelve Dutch provinces" (EAFA Database).
"Mr Alliott responded by projecting yet another film, in colour, recording a visit to Holland, in which there were some excellent shots of Dutch scenery, including the gorgeous tulip fields. There were also many happy portraits of peasants and children in their quaint national costume." (Anon, Photographic Journal, 418)
[Information included on the EAFA database suggests that the film was partially shot using prismatic film which, when using red, blue and green filters on a Kodak A projector, a colour experience is possible. This includes the scenes of: Volendam, Marken, Alkmaar (lively cheeses), Sneek, Veere, Domburg etc.]
Anon. Photographic Journal. August (1934).
Institute of Amateur Cinematographers Collection, East Anglian Film Archive
"The first reel records details of the beginning of the Alliotts' journey in Scheveningen and their tour through the Dutch provinces of South Holland and Utrecht. Scenes comprise: sightseeing trips in The Hague, Delft, and Amersfoort, as well as views and people encountered on the road. Shots include men at work in the harbour at Scheveningen; activities on the beach at Scheveningen; sightseeing trips in The Hague to the Bosch, the ‘House in the Woods’ and the Peace Palace; street scenes alongside canals in Delft and Amersfoort; rural scenes on the road to Gouda and near Baarn. Keen to record details of traditional scenes, the shots in the film also focus on: a man on a barge at Bodegraven; a windmill near Utrecht with an extending walkway across the canal for pedestrians; houses at Spakenburg; and children in traditional costumes at Bunschoten and the Zuider Zee. The film concludes with shots of cattle being milked in a field near Baarn, the milk being transported on a small sailing craft and milk churns on small carts pulled by dogs in an unidentified Dutch town/ city. The second reel records details of their visit to Amsterdam and the beginning of their tour through the Dutch province of North Holland. Scenes include: sightseeing in Amsterdam, including shots of canals in the Achterburgwal and Oude Schans, the Mint Tower and flower market by Singel, men at work on barges and the variety of craft on the canals, concluding with a shot of the house owned by Rembrandt. Keen to record details of traditional scenes and shots of the unusual, the shots in the film outside Amsterdam also focus on: people in traditional clothing and activities in harbours. These sequences include: an encounter with four girls knitting while walking near Volendam and four younger children; women washing laundry close to open water, laundry hanging out to dry in a harbour; old fishermen who pose for the camera; boats being readied for sailing and a catch being unloaded; people walking along streets in Volendam and within its harbour; a catch of fish on a boat, some of which is loaded into baskets. The film concludes with a shot of locals, many in traditional clothing, going to church and leaving it. The third reel records details of their tour through the Dutch province of North Holland, including a visit to the Marken peninsula in the Markermeer. Scenes include: the boat trip to Marken; a harbour scene in Marken featuring an amputee at work; children in traditional clothing at play in Marken; the cheese market in Alkmaar; wooden clogs being loaded onto a barge in Alkmaar. The film concludes with a shot of cattle by a canal with a windmill in the distance in the countryside in Friesland. Footage at Alkmaar includes: the ancient bell tower and weigh-house; an aerial shot of the Alkmaar cheese market and pan shots over the town from the bell tower; porters and traders in the cheese market; cheese being weighed; a buyer examining cheese; a bargain being struck between seller and buyer; cheese and wooden clogs being loaded onto canal barges. The fourth and final reel records details of their tour through the Dutch provinces of Friesland, Gelderland and Zeeland. Scenes include: sightseeing trips; sights and problems encountered on the journey; observations of the activities and dress of local inhabitants. Shots include: the Watergate and canals in Sneek; traditional forms of dress observed in Sneek, Leeuwarden, Middleburgh, Walcheren and Veere as well as in Goes on the Island of Beveland; a traditional method of fishing on the Sneeker Meer; water traffic on a Friesland canal; the Nijmegen ferry; the Alliott car being winched out of a ditch after an accident; the boat on which the Alliott’s were travelling being towed to shore after its tackle broke; a congregation leaving a church in Veere; Veere harbour; a Dutch landlady. The film concludes with a final shot of a windmill and shots of the sea from the ferry" (EAFA Database).
Amateur Cinema