They are postcards from the past, featuring scenes of Scotland which have long vanished into memory and the mists of time.
But each of the remarkable series of films has been watched millions of times after being made freely available by the British Film Institute (BFI) to view over the internet.
The BFI has revealed a top-10 list of the most-watched Scottish films from its Britain on Film Archive, which comprises a vast range of documentaries, home movies, news footage, forgotten TV programmes and government films from the last century.
None would be considered blockbusters and their music is far more peaceful than it is rousing, but they have found a ready audience at home and abroad despite seeming incredibly quaint to modern eyes.
READ MORE: That Sinking Feeling - The film that put Scotland on the map
Topping the bill is an educational documentary on the Granite City simply titled Aberdeen, which introduces viewers to the north-east metropolis as it was when it was filmed in 1970.
Back then the city’s oil boom was just beginning, and the documentary focuses more on its life as a port, its fishing industry, and as a holiday destination boasting long white beaches.
Aberdeen Harbour
Narrated by the clipped tones of actor Douglas Kynoch, the colour film shows bustling streets filled with vintage cars, fishing boats at work in the harbour and marvels at its impressive architecture for the Cities of Scotland series.
A familiar face crops up in number five on the list, with Sir Sean Connery narrating a short documentary about his home city Edinburgh, complete with a visit to his birthplace Fountainbridge, and the streets where he once worked as a milkman on a horse-drawn cart.
Online viewers have also sought out a film on the River Clyde, with an early travelogue which follows the watercourse from its source down through Glasgow to Greenock, Gourock and the Isle of Arran coming in at number 10.
Shot before Second World War, but released after the conflict ended, the film features holidaymakers packing on to the Clyde steamers which once thronged the river, and captures a time when going “doon the water” was many people’s holiday experience.
Other titles in the top 10 include a three-minute silent documentary of Glasgow’s Jamaica Street from 1901, Motoring over Ben Nevis, a five-day drive over Scotland’s highest mountain in a Model-T Ford from 1911, and Municipal Buildings, a film from 1922 looking at Glasgow Corporation’s work rehousing a population bursting at the seams.
Jamaica Street
Britain on Film, which is funded by the National Lottery, is one of the largest and most complex archival projects ever undertaken by the BFI.
Since it launched in 2015, it has recorded more than 75 million online views and has made more than 10,000 titles from 120 years’ worth of films available to the public for free, drawn from the BFI National Archive and regional and national archive partners from across the UK, including the Scottish Screen Archive.
Patrick Russell, senior curator of non-fiction at the BFI, said: “Britain on Film has completely transformed the British public’s access to the archives preserving UK film and TV heritage.
“This simply would not have been possible without funding from The National Lottery.
“Over 10,000 films from the archives are now available for everyone in the UK to enjoy – an astonishing range of content, from Edwardian tram rides to wartime public information, from quirky animations to thoughtful documentaries, forgotten feature films to home movies.
“Britain on Film explores a vast range of themes and maps the whole of the UK. We live in the moving image age and today’s audiences and filmmakers have so much to be inspired by as they explore this rich treasure trove from the past.”
READ MORE: Edgar Allen Poe film found in bargain bin
Comedian and amateur film historian, Paul Merton, who has supported the project, said: “Britain on Film is an ambitious project that has made the rich, unseen film history of the UK accessible to the whole nation.
“Whilst you or I may never have heard of them before… the films have captured the imagination of the British public.
“They are incredible and are a wonderful way to get lost in our history and heritage for an hour, or even a day.”
The films are free to watch at the BFI's website:
Sean Connery’s Edinburgh (1982), BFI
Aberdeen (1970), National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive
Great North of Scotland Railway Films (1963), National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel