Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Made In Dagenham

My wife watched this movie on DVD the other day and said there were a few old trucks to keep an eye out for. Set in 1968, and telling the story of the women machinists at Ford's Dagenham plant in England going on strike to achieve equal pay with the men, there are a lot of street scenes suitably 'dressed' with period vehicles. Period cars and footage inside the plant abound but there are some good commercials to keep an eye out for.

Off the top of my head I spotted, among others, a Leyland FG 'three-penny bit' furniture van, TK Bedford, Thames van and a great shot of a 'Sputnik' Thames Trader prime mover and car transporter combination turning a corner. There was also a Bristol double-decker in the background and a SWB Bedford bus (possibly on a TJ chassis?) that featured prominently as it carted the ladies around the country. These were all 'live' and not archive footage (film was shot last year too).

One of my beefs with these 'period' shows, particularly American ones, is you rarely see more than just cars and utes/pick-ups in street scenes. There's rarely a truck making a delivery or a long-distance haulier passing through town or out on the road. To see the effort made in this English film was quite gratifying. Check it out.

I also recommend the Catherine Cookson film The Round Tower. Local lad starts a transport business with a Dennis if I recall correctly and later has a fleet of Fodens. Quality viewing!

No comments:

Post a Comment