Biography of 'DALRYMPLE, J. Blake'

Filmmaker

J. Blake Dalrymple was born in Glasgow in 1912, the son of a highly successful Ayrshire coal-owner,

Blake Dalrymple’s first calling was to photography but in the mid-1930s he went into partnership with Jack Elder. Elder was interested in the making and promoting of film for use in education, this appealed to Dalrymple who had the disposable income to put into such a venture. Elder Dalrymple Productions set themselves up as "Scotland’s premier producers of educational, documentary, travel and publicity films". Indeed it was commissions for educational films that allowed Dalrymple to partake in his passion for travel and exploration.

In 1935 Dalrymple sailed to South America intending to make films on the Amazon. His time there was beset with problems - obstructed by customs, filming in torrential rain, sweltering heat, and dense vegetation amidst the revolutionary throws of autonomously governed states. The result was 6000 feet of uncensored film. A few years later he undertook a film-making tour of Baltic Europe making film in the Jewish quarter of Warsaw in the last years of peace.

Perhaps the most successful of Dalrymple’s filming tours began in October 1936. Accompanied by J. Stirling Gillespie, he set out to travel (and film) the length of Africa. With ‘From Cape to Cairo’ Dalrymple intended to make 50 educational films of animal, vegetable and mineral subjects, as well as studies of "human geography" on the continent. Film was shot of the daily life of African peoples from hut building to water collecting and of local wildlife. They filmed penguins, elephants, giraffes, baboons, and even snakes. Dalrymple and Gillespie got the first footage of a swarm of locusts passing through countryside and completely denuding it. Their pursuit of rhinos once found them surrounded by eleven awesome black and white rhinos. Dalrymple got the footage. All in all the tour secured 40,000 feet of film, resulting in 40 classroom films. On returning to Scotland, Dalrymple made a ‘driving’ film, and decided to use ‘Big Bertha’ the specially designed V8 Ford Sedan they had used in Africa, for a specially staged 'car smash'.

In August 1939 Dalrymple set out to sea again on a return visit to South America. However, a few days into the voyage the radio equipment refused to work and they were forced to make an unscheduled stop at the Spanish port of Vigo. As they came into the port they realised that many of the ships were flying swastika flags. While they had been out of contact, the Second World War had started. With the prospect of naval hostilities, it was deemed necessary to return home. Elder Dalrymple Productions operations were put on hold as both the company directors volunteered. Dalrymple served with the 11th Armoured Division and was awarded the Military Cross for work connected with the immobilisation of civil communications in Germany.

Elder Dalrymple Films were re-established after the war but made only two films. J. Blake Dalrymple emigrated to Rhodesia in 1950 where he formed Films of Africa with his brother-in-law Dick Peel for the production of documentary, training and advertising films mainly for black audiences. Around 1960, for Shell, he scripted, directed and photographed the award winning film 'The Captive River', the story of the building of the Kariba Dam. Dalrymple moved to Johannesburg to take over documentary producers Cineunion. They later became the Independent Film Centre.

Dalrymple is regarded by many as southern Africa's greatest documentary filmmaker. He became President of the South African Society of Cinematographers and the Motion Picture Producer's Association. He retired circa 1980.

(Thanks to Geoffrey Mangin, author of 'Filming Emerging Africa', for the information on Dalrymple post-1950).

Researcher: Ross Ferguson

Films associated with 'COCOZZA, Enrico'

23 hits

Asc Desc
	ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [0637] Add to my films A look at livestock farming in Scotland.		1937 silent bw
	BRAW LADS GATHERING [0767] Add to my films The historic flag of the Borders town of Galashiels is presented to the Cornet on the balcony of the burgh halls during the festival of the Braw Lads Gathering.		1947 silent bw
	FARMER'S BOY, the [2370] Add to my films Prospects for a young boy in farming are illustrated by activities on a farm throughout the year.		1938 silent bw
	GATEWAY OF THE EAST, the [0463] Add to my films An educational film, describing the dependence of Scotland's population on imports, and the importance of Leith Docks as "The Gateway of the East" in the export and import of goods to and from Europe.		1937 sound bw
	GATEWAY OF THE WEST, the [0474] Add to my films Loading and unloading of goods at the docks in Glasgow, oil tanks on the lower reaches of the Clyde and the liner "City of Dieppe" being towed down river.		1937 silent bw
	GOVAN FAIR 1947 [0013] Add to my films Coronation of the Fair Queen, with the procession and motorcade in Govan, Glasgow.		1947 silent bw
	GRAIN HARVEST [2172] Add to my films Part Two of the series "Agricultural Scotland", this film shows a field of oats being scythed to clear a path for the horse-drawn reaping and binding machines, and the threshing machine at work in the farmyard. [See also ref. 0652 for Part One].		1936 silent bw
	HARVESTS OF THE SOIL [0652] Add to my films A look at the harvesting of different crops, including early potatoes, tomatoes and other fruits.		1937 silent bw
	HEAVY INDUSTRIES [0500] Add to my films Steelmaking and shipbuilding on the Clyde, Glasgow.		1937 sound bw
	HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND, the [3301] Add to my films Tree felling, hunting and fishing in the highlands.		1936 sound bw
	INDUSTRIAL CLYDESDALE [1694] Add to my films Using diagrams, working models, and actual scenes, this film outlines the industrial development of Clydesdale, including its iron and steelworks, textile mills and shipbuilding.		1938 silent bw
	LAND OF THE WHITE RHINO [2175] Add to my films Shot during a Cape to Cairo expedition, October 1936 to January 1938, the film shows Blake Dalrymple and J. Stirling Gillespie being taken into the bush by Zulu tracker Charlie Ninela to film white rhino. [See also refs. 2176-2177, 2183].		1939 sound bw
	LIFE IN THE HIGHLANDS [0928] Add to my films A short educational documentary about rural crofting life in the Highlands, showing Highland scenery and crofters at their daily work; harvesting, shearing sheep, collecting peat and spinning wool.		1936 sound bw
	MARY GETS READY FOR SCHOOL [2771] Add to my films A young girl gets ready for school; the story carefully points out the importance of hygiene and diet in her routine.		1951 silent col
	PADDY'S MILESTONE [0916] Add to my films Ailsa Craig or "Paddy's Milestone" as the source of rock for the manufacture of curling stones.		1947 sound bw
	PERCHANCE TO SAIL [2365] Add to my films Drama concerning the yacht voyage by J. Stirling Gillespie from the West Coast of Scotland to Germany and Poland in 1936. The film includes actuality footage of both countries shot by Elder-Dalrymple Films at that time.	Onsite only	1946 sound bw
	RAW MATERIALS [0502] Add to my films A look at coal mining and iron works in Scotland, as suppliers to power stations and Clydeside factories.		1937 silent bw
	ROUTES AND CENTRES [0501] Add to my films A tour of the principal centres in Scotland for road and rail networks - Stirling, Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness.		1936 silent bw
	SAILING 1000 MILES UP THE AMAZON [0419] Add to my films A study of Northern Brazil and the course of the Amazon river filmed during 1935.	Onsite only	1936 silent bw
	SCOTTISH COASTS [0499] Add to my films Life along Scotland's coastlines, visiting the Solway Firth, Aberdeen Harbour, the river Clyde and Kyles of Bute.		1937 silent bw
	SNOW PLOUGH, the [1637] Add to my films A history of the snow plough from the earliest wooden wedge drawn by a man to the horse-drawn plough to the snow plough attached to a lorry.		1936 silent bw
	SOUTHERN UPLANDS [0630] Add to my films Introduction to the Southern Uplands of Scotland with footage of sheep farming, agriculture, fishing and textiles.		1940 sound bw
	TEXTILES [0662] Add to my films Comprehensive survey of Scottish textile industry, showing relation between centres of various industries, sources of raw materials and driving power for mills. Manufacture of tweed, linen, sailcloth from jute, and cotton and silk thread are covered.		1937 silent bw