19 reviews
"The older order changeth, yielding place to new."
A time capsule that reveals what the wrecking ball in 'Withnail & I' was busy tearing down. I wonder what contemporary audiences made of it.
The end credits state that the production dates from 1967 not 1969, only deepening the sense of dislocation that permeates this documentary, which shows the remnants of Victorian London being swept away wholesale by Sixties developers. The faceless modern buildings being erected at the time have themselves now been woven into the fabric of London (I think one shot is of the then new, but empty-for-years Centre Point).
James Mason is our unlikely guide, and notable in his narration is both a lament for the old and lost, and the sensible reminder that it was mostly pretty dreadful in the past, that the new is the conduit for improvement.
The film wisely opts to focus on the smaller scale details: The public urinals (Peeing is something of a repeated theme), a street market, a rail yard, a cemetery, a ruined music hall, a single house, a deli, an eel and mash café, a Sally Army hostel, and then adds colour to these locations by including characters for whom (in every sense) time is running out: Street buskers, market traders, the on-their-uppers flotsam for whom meths drinking has actually become an option. Hearing them speak, we hear the reality of being down-and-out at a time when National Assistance and the National 'Elf could not be relied on to turn lives around. It's the old story, rents go up, poor people suffer. Times change.
And for the average Eastender, scraping a crust from selling on street markets, or another long-gone trade? Popular and bustling Mark's deli has disappeared into oblivion, following the Grand Palais Yiddish Theatre, which leads onto another aspect inadvertently captured in the timing of the film: Demographic replacement. Look at the faces of the elderly in the Whitechapel slums, or the kids in the Tower Hamlets playgrounds, and what do you see? Something you would never see today.
Today, Jewish life is all but driven out from Spitalfields and Brick Lane. There is a scene towards the end where a man in a wide brimmed hat repeats that he had tried to improve things for himself, but it hadn't worked out. He then proceeds sings a moving hymn, in Yiddish, which for me was the most poignant of all the individual voices on camera, heard over scenes of children's faces and the wrecking ball pulverizing bricks and mortar, confirming, as the final sequence playfully suggests, that the End Is Nigh, but no-one cares.
Note: One great song made famous in the 1930's by Leslie Sarony plays over an earlier scene of derelict Victorian graves and statuary, entitled 'Aint it Grand to be Bloomin' Well Dead?"
- jebediah-72668
- Aug 22, 2018
- Permalink
Where to see this film.
This is a good film to see if you're into this sort of thing: history, local culture, hidden meanings and so on. A number of people he mentioned the difficulty in accessing the film, but it can be seen at the British Film Institute on the Southbank for free, six days a week in their Mediatheque. It's well worth a visit as you can see other similar movies too, grouped by genre, location and so on. As i happens, the St. Etienne film, 'Finisterre' (2006?), was based on this film i think. It can also be seen a the BFI! Enjoy... It says I need to write some more to submit. The narration is really well done, and creates a sinister feel. However in this viewer's opinion it's perhaps a little overblown: the images and interviews speak for themselves, and don't need the colouring of his style of narration. Londoners will enjoy drawing parallels between the London of the film and the city of today, and I suppose that's one of the most enjoyable aspects of watching the film 40 years on - the opportunity to identify consistent London themes that run and run regardless of the particular fashions and stylings of the time.
Unique images of a lost London
Should be seen by anyone interested in the Britain of the past
In stark contrast to the colourful, "swinging" imagery of 1960's London we are all too familiar with, The London Nobody Knows, displays the dying, decaying underbelly of old Victorian values, practices and architecture. We are shown proto-delboy's hawking goods in now-dead street markets. Bizarre buskers and street performers act out their defunct acts to grey, bewildered onlookers. Old forgotten men pay 6 shillings a week for bed and breakfast in Salvation Army hostels, the memories of the war lingering in their haggard faces.
Written by Bolton-born artist and art critic, Geoffrey Fletcher, based on his own book of the same name, he illustrates a world that is fundamentally changing. A mournful tome to the decrepit, and disappearing 19th century city. James Mason narrates; he informs of historical anecdotes, and guides us through the multitude of eccentrics, losers, and hopeless characters cluttering the streets, and displays their almost archaic interests and habits.
The London Nobody Knows is a perfect artifact of a Britain before the almost complete Americanisation of its streets, industries and culture, that as to come in the late 1980's and throughout the 1990's. Like the Free Cinema movement of the '50's (headed by the likes of Lindsay Anderson), and the British transport film, and GPO documentaries, this represents a view of a very different, almost alien Britain to the one we live in now. Beautiful, horrifying, insightful, strange, and even emotional. A film that should be seen by anyone interested in the Britain of the past.
www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com
Written by Bolton-born artist and art critic, Geoffrey Fletcher, based on his own book of the same name, he illustrates a world that is fundamentally changing. A mournful tome to the decrepit, and disappearing 19th century city. James Mason narrates; he informs of historical anecdotes, and guides us through the multitude of eccentrics, losers, and hopeless characters cluttering the streets, and displays their almost archaic interests and habits.
The London Nobody Knows is a perfect artifact of a Britain before the almost complete Americanisation of its streets, industries and culture, that as to come in the late 1980's and throughout the 1990's. Like the Free Cinema movement of the '50's (headed by the likes of Lindsay Anderson), and the British transport film, and GPO documentaries, this represents a view of a very different, almost alien Britain to the one we live in now. Beautiful, horrifying, insightful, strange, and even emotional. A film that should be seen by anyone interested in the Britain of the past.
www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com
- tomgillespie2002
- Jun 13, 2011
- Permalink
Wonderful film of Geoffrey Fletcher's book.
If you enjoy the "off the beaten track" walks and can see beyond the banality of an everyday street, "The London Nobody Knows" is for you. Based on Geoffrey Fletcher's book of the same name, it follows a path round London's more seedy and incongruous locations. Despite being made in 1967 many of the locations visited still remain today, while some are sadly gone forever. This film makes a viewer want to go out and explore their own "town/city nobody knows" and realise that there is always a lot more around them than first meets the eye. Narrated and presented by James Mason, this film really should be seen by fans of Psychogeography.
- DavidDevant
- Sep 26, 2003
- Permalink
A documentation of London at the cusp of the changes that revolutionised London in the late 1960's
A brilliant and pretty obscure look at the flip side of swinging sixties London. Narrated by a rather sardonic and sometimes scathing James Mason, we are taken on a tour of the underbelly of London. The film is artfully edited and offers straight factual history with real life characters/ street performers/ vendors who seem very unaware of the camera. The documentary has extremely surreal and quite tragic scenes by turn and encapsulates a London undocumented in the media of the time. The film is too short and could easily have been extended to a series of particular areas of London. The film has occasional screenings in art-house cinemas and should be seen by anyone interested in the history of London and documentary makers.
The London Nobody Knows
I watched this slightly off beat documentary many years ago. A nostalgic trip of a forgotten London.
Made in 1967, it was before my time. Much of this London was gone by the time I visited the city for the first time in the mid 1970s.
James Mason is slightly uncomfortable as a presenter. Who cares, it is his silky voice that we want. He is also a Yorkshireman, then again the documentary is based on a book by a Lancastrian.
Mason starts off in a decaying music Hall theatre that was once home to the likes of Marie Lloyd. Haunted by Dr Crippen's wife that he murdered.
Mason hoped that the theatre would be pulled down rather than it continue to rot. It eventually did get knocked down.
I hoped that such a cold hard hearted view would continue. Mason flip flops too often. Such as when he gazes at St Paul's Cathedral and then looks at all the post war reconstruction. Most of it was horrid in his opinion.
There were buskers which was seen to be a dying breed in the 1960s. Now it is a growth industry in modern London.
Same with the homeless. On the up since 1979. Although it was notable that the homeless and the underclass were always present in London. Mason talks to people living in a Salvation Army hostel, they were the elite of the poverty class.
The documentary is also whimsical. There is a sketch about egg breaking, there are the market traders with their patter and plenty of eels.
It is dated, it is about London that was disappearing. Mason acknowledges that some aspects of Victorian London was ghastly.
Made in 1967, it was before my time. Much of this London was gone by the time I visited the city for the first time in the mid 1970s.
James Mason is slightly uncomfortable as a presenter. Who cares, it is his silky voice that we want. He is also a Yorkshireman, then again the documentary is based on a book by a Lancastrian.
Mason starts off in a decaying music Hall theatre that was once home to the likes of Marie Lloyd. Haunted by Dr Crippen's wife that he murdered.
Mason hoped that the theatre would be pulled down rather than it continue to rot. It eventually did get knocked down.
I hoped that such a cold hard hearted view would continue. Mason flip flops too often. Such as when he gazes at St Paul's Cathedral and then looks at all the post war reconstruction. Most of it was horrid in his opinion.
There were buskers which was seen to be a dying breed in the 1960s. Now it is a growth industry in modern London.
Same with the homeless. On the up since 1979. Although it was notable that the homeless and the underclass were always present in London. Mason talks to people living in a Salvation Army hostel, they were the elite of the poverty class.
The documentary is also whimsical. There is a sketch about egg breaking, there are the market traders with their patter and plenty of eels.
It is dated, it is about London that was disappearing. Mason acknowledges that some aspects of Victorian London was ghastly.
- Prismark10
- Aug 9, 2022
- Permalink
A must see for anyone interested in the gritty historic fabric that was London in the sixties.
A thought provoking and funny (at times) documentary. James Mason makes the narration of the documentary all the better.
In this production you see facets of London life long since forgotten. Street markets and their entertainers, residential slums, you witness the toughness of what it is to be homeless in a time where financial aid was not available as easily as it is today.
The scene of the egg breaking plant was strange at first but it does show the strange sense of humour that people had in this decade. The vibrant mix of people that occupy London is shown fully in the short fifty three minutes.
It can be rather sad at times to see people at their lowest but gratifying to see some of those people trying to make their lives a little better in any way they can.
James Mason makes a valid comment on the new buildings sprouting in and around London and makes the point that the demolition of old buildings is something that should not be mourned as the same fate awaits the new buildings in years to come.
I think in this he meant to say that change is inevitable and can be for the good sometimes. Overall I think the production was excellent, I give it ten out of ten.
In this production you see facets of London life long since forgotten. Street markets and their entertainers, residential slums, you witness the toughness of what it is to be homeless in a time where financial aid was not available as easily as it is today.
The scene of the egg breaking plant was strange at first but it does show the strange sense of humour that people had in this decade. The vibrant mix of people that occupy London is shown fully in the short fifty three minutes.
It can be rather sad at times to see people at their lowest but gratifying to see some of those people trying to make their lives a little better in any way they can.
James Mason makes a valid comment on the new buildings sprouting in and around London and makes the point that the demolition of old buildings is something that should not be mourned as the same fate awaits the new buildings in years to come.
I think in this he meant to say that change is inevitable and can be for the good sometimes. Overall I think the production was excellent, I give it ten out of ten.
I remember it well
- malcolmgsw
- Nov 9, 2022
- Permalink
A fascinating, fantastic piece of work
Factual. This is really a film version of a guided walking tour around some arcane bits of London in 1967. James Mason plays his part very well, but the script and the locations the film makers dig out are what make this such a valuable document. Just about all the places this film mentions are massively changed / disappeared now. You'll do well to ever see this film 'though - it's a real rarity.
Compelling in places where James Mason features ...but uneven and too 'Trippy' in others !
A rewind to a 60's London that has almost been forgotten
An excellent and all too short documentary on post-war London. Made in 1967 and narrated by James Mason, it shows the side of 60's London that most commentators either conveniently forget or more likely are blissfully unaware of.
A strange documentary nonetheless. I never had James Mason pegged as one to go wondering around the back streets of Spitalfields (where, then, some were still alive who could remember the Ripper murders....), old theatres in Camden, and Salvation Army hostels interviewing the unfortunates there.
A must-see if you have any liking of London history and the 60's in particular. Watch and see the past once more, and learn how much has changed, and how certain modern preoccupations (how areas improve and sometimes gentrify) remain with us still today. Very hard to believe today that some parts of London were so different in character a mere 40 years ago.
A strange documentary nonetheless. I never had James Mason pegged as one to go wondering around the back streets of Spitalfields (where, then, some were still alive who could remember the Ripper murders....), old theatres in Camden, and Salvation Army hostels interviewing the unfortunates there.
A must-see if you have any liking of London history and the 60's in particular. Watch and see the past once more, and learn how much has changed, and how certain modern preoccupations (how areas improve and sometimes gentrify) remain with us still today. Very hard to believe today that some parts of London were so different in character a mere 40 years ago.
Forgotten places, forgotten people
- enochsneed
- Aug 26, 2010
- Permalink
dated yet wonderful
this film is essential for anyone with a love of London. it explores some areas which were a bit down at heel at the time and are now rather better off... touring the capital from the Roundhouse in Camden down to the Thames (and an 'Egg Breaking factory'), through The Bedford Theatre and into the markets in Edgwarwe and Islington, it shows a London that has largely now gone, or else been gentrified into something else. James Mason's commentary is interesting, tho quite (accidentally) amusing at points, as is the shock on the street market shopper's faces at seeing a star in their midsts. this was screened as a companion piece to Finisterre at the ICA in London - a great double bill... difficult to find, but there are copies to be found out there on DVD.
- wilkinson-5
- Mar 28, 2006
- Permalink
Essential Time Capsule
I caught this (2022) on UK's wonderful, free Talking Pictures channel. It's from 1967 BTW not 1969. All reviewers here comment fully on its thoughtful, gritty, sad look at the underbelly of London.
There's an obvious and unavoidable nostalgia at viewing this sort of work, even though much of the human conditions here are dire; if only London has "improved" from those 1960s days-sadly not.
I like James Mason's neutral commentating.
Good to view as a companion piece to the ITV series "Disappearing London" from 2006/7 fronted by the Madness member Suggs.
There's an obvious and unavoidable nostalgia at viewing this sort of work, even though much of the human conditions here are dire; if only London has "improved" from those 1960s days-sadly not.
I like James Mason's neutral commentating.
Good to view as a companion piece to the ITV series "Disappearing London" from 2006/7 fronted by the Madness member Suggs.
- nigel_hawkes
- Aug 8, 2022
- Permalink
Not So Swinging London
- BinkieHuckaback
- Dec 16, 2021
- Permalink
Mason Takes Us on a Tour
Like most films of the sixties, we begin with the then obligatory shot of the Post Office Tower.
The title of Jeffrey Fletcher's original book was deeply ironic since, as earlier viewers have already observed, from the moment this film hit screens it became as much a piece of history as the bygone world whose passing narrator James Mason laments; recalling the era when older residents of Spitalfields still remembered Jack the Ripper and the sixties destruction of Victorian London which began with the destruction of the Euston Arch was already well advanced (and has continued to this day).
Recalling that the East End of London in the sixties "is still recognisable as the world of Sickert", Mason seems genuinely concerned with the problems of the locals. While making no secret of his disdain for modern architecture and admitting that "most Victorian architecture was pretty hideous", he still hold out the hope that the sixties development of London was finally going to rid us of the Dickensian squalor the film sometimes graphically shows (such as a couple of winos fighting over a bottle of meths). But that was before a certain Margaret Thatcher became prime minister, and her political heirs continue to be determined turn back the clock even as I write.
The title of Jeffrey Fletcher's original book was deeply ironic since, as earlier viewers have already observed, from the moment this film hit screens it became as much a piece of history as the bygone world whose passing narrator James Mason laments; recalling the era when older residents of Spitalfields still remembered Jack the Ripper and the sixties destruction of Victorian London which began with the destruction of the Euston Arch was already well advanced (and has continued to this day).
Recalling that the East End of London in the sixties "is still recognisable as the world of Sickert", Mason seems genuinely concerned with the problems of the locals. While making no secret of his disdain for modern architecture and admitting that "most Victorian architecture was pretty hideous", he still hold out the hope that the sixties development of London was finally going to rid us of the Dickensian squalor the film sometimes graphically shows (such as a couple of winos fighting over a bottle of meths). But that was before a certain Margaret Thatcher became prime minister, and her political heirs continue to be determined turn back the clock even as I write.
- richardchatten
- Sep 24, 2022
- Permalink
A Tour of Forgotten London ... or is It?
Several reviewers have pointed out how many of the locations and rituals portrayed in Norman Cohen's 1967 documentary have now vanished for ever. The Bedford Theatre in Camden High Street, once Britain's oldest music-hall, has now been torn down and replaced by an anonymous office-block. The Round House, once used as a train shed, now operates as a performance venue. The Victorian slums around Camden have now been torn down and replaced by anonymous- looking tower blocks. The old gas-lamps (and the lamplighter who went round each night), if they exist at all, are simply there to attract tourist photographers. And rarely do we ever see a horse and cart plodding along the streets.
On the other hand there are some rituals that continue to flourish. The street-markets are still vividly alive, even though the customers are far more multicultural than they were nearly half a century ago. The Salvation Army plies its trade, and poverty is still rife throughout the city; beggars line the streets, just as they did a century and a half ago. Buskers still ply their trade in the streets (try going to Covent Garden to find out), even though their acts are different now. Watching THE London NOBODY KNOWS is an experience in savoring change and continuity.
James Mason looks faintly uncomfortable as a presenter, his shiny shoes and expensive cap contrasting with the genteel poverty of many of London's citizens. Sometimes he fluffs his lines; and we wonder why more of the people around him do not stare when they see the presence of an international celebrity within their midst. On the other hand his narration is but a peripheral presence in a documentary that packs so much visual incident into its 40-minute or so running time that it could easily have been extended into twice its length.
On the other hand there are some rituals that continue to flourish. The street-markets are still vividly alive, even though the customers are far more multicultural than they were nearly half a century ago. The Salvation Army plies its trade, and poverty is still rife throughout the city; beggars line the streets, just as they did a century and a half ago. Buskers still ply their trade in the streets (try going to Covent Garden to find out), even though their acts are different now. Watching THE London NOBODY KNOWS is an experience in savoring change and continuity.
James Mason looks faintly uncomfortable as a presenter, his shiny shoes and expensive cap contrasting with the genteel poverty of many of London's citizens. Sometimes he fluffs his lines; and we wonder why more of the people around him do not stare when they see the presence of an international celebrity within their midst. On the other hand his narration is but a peripheral presence in a documentary that packs so much visual incident into its 40-minute or so running time that it could easily have been extended into twice its length.
- l_rawjalaurence
- Dec 14, 2015
- Permalink
One-of-a-kind documentary
I really enjoyed seeing this one-of-a-kind documentary that looks at a forgotten London circa 1967, presented by James Mason, no less. Our Hollywood star tours around various derelict sites, many of them ripe for demolition, and reminisces about the old days of Victorian music halls, egg-breaking factories and the like. We see the grim face of poverty, meths-drinkers brawling in the street, and plenty more besides. This is a documentary all about character with London itself being the character. It has wonderful touches of surreal humour as befitting the era of Eric Sykes and the Pythons, and the footage is quietly awesome.
- Leofwine_draca
- Dec 14, 2022
- Permalink