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Title: HIS CRUMBLING WORLD

Reference number: 7208

Date: [1950/1]

Director: [filmed by W.S. Dobson (Tertius)]

Sound: silent

Original format: 16mm

Colour: col

Fiction: non-fiction

Running time: 15.26 mins

Description: A short film about the daily life of an old farm hand, as he tries to repair the decaying remains of the old estate on which he lives.

Shotlist: credit: Amateur Cine World Silver Plaque 1950 & title - During his four score years "Old Will" has seen the estate on which he has toiled, fall into tragic ruin and the other members of this once happy, busy community are scattered to the four winds. He alone is left, fortified by his loving memories to strive with all his remaining strength to stem the onrush of decay in "his crumbling world" (0.33) shots of landscape and ruined house (0.59) shots around cottage and garden (1.15) Old Will looking out of cottage window (1.33) int shots of fire and range (1.41) exts - Old Will shaking doormat and polishing door handle (2.22) cooking bacon and eggs and sitting eating at table (2.51) chickens in yard (2.57) places bread bin outside front door and sets off down the road (3.33) shots of walking by river (3.48) picks rusty can from water and buries it (4.19) walks towards ruined mansion house, finds dead lamb (4.58) shots inside house (5.11) unearths picture of house from rubble and shakes head sadly (5.34) more shots of ruined building (5.48) walks down to shed and gets roll of fence wire (6.38) repairs broken wooden fence and burns old posts (7.10) shots of landscape, leaves, clouds, broken gutter (7.38) starts to snow and Old Will returns indoors (7.52) sequence of brief shots of rain falling on puddles, stone, fence etc. (8.17) comes back out and resumes work on fence (8.44) sits down beside ruins to eat lunch (9.29) gathers together branches of rose bush (9.38) flashback to shots of young boy tying up same rose bush, but with roses in bloom (9.59) back to shots of Old Will and bush, then continues eating his lunch (10.27) more shots of ruins, then Old Will leaves house (11.09) shots of sheep in field (11.19) Old Will talking to a shepherd with crook and sheep dog (11.41) more shots of fence-mending (12.15) looks at his fob-watch and sets off (12.20) drinks cup of water from burn and sets off from ruins (13.19) returning along river-bank (13.53) walking back along road with telegraph poles to house (14.25) ints lighting fire in range (14.38) exts ruins at sunset (15.00) ints at night - Will reading by gas lamp (15.06) ext dark sunset shots (15.26)