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Title: HUGH MacDIARMID: No Fellow Travellers

Reference number: 2688

Date: 1972

Director: d. Oscar Marzaroli

Sponsor: Films of Scotland and the Scottish Arts Council

Production company: Ogam Films

Sound: sound

Original format: 16mm

Colour: col

Fiction: non-fiction

Running time: 25.35 mins

Description: Made to commemorate the 80th birthday of the late Hugh MacDiarmid, the poet speaks about his life and work in conversation with his son Michael Grieve and fellow poet Norman MacCaig.

Edinburgh Festival 1972 - tribute to MacDiarmid.
The Festival of Celtic Poetry - Rotterdam 1973.

For other films about Hugh MacDiarmid see also refs. 0537, 1823, 6220. See also ref. T2310

See production file.

Credits: treatment & comm. w. Douglas Eadie
ph. Martin Singleton
ed. Brian Crumlish
comm. s. Tom Buchan
sd. rec. Alex Brown.
camera Martin Singleton.

Shotlist: group of writers in Milne's bar in Edinburgh discussing MacDiarmid's poetry (0.54) stills of MacDiarmid from childhood to adult with v/o giving brief biographical information (2.01) MacDiarmid in sitting room with Norman MacCaig being interviewed by his son Michael Grieve - discussing his nationalism and his choice of MacDiarmid as a pseudonym (5.37) panning shot of Border? countryside with v/o of MacDiarmid reciting one of his Scots poems (6.15) writers in Milne's bar discussing his poetry (7.36) MacCaig and MacDiarmid in sitting room discussing MacDiarmid's the definition and function of a modern poet (10.47) various shots of archive footage and stills - shipyards, demonstrations - with v/o of MacDiarmid reciting 'A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle', moving onto shot of MacDiarmid in armchair reciting poem (12.40) panning shot of MacDiarmid sitting room - books, illustrations (13.46) shot of MacDiarmid and his wife Valda walking their dog up a country lane moving onto shot of Valda gardening in their cottage with v/o by Valda discussing their life together including long shots of deserted cottage and surrounding landscape with MacDiarmid v/o reciting poem (18.43) brief archive footage of shipbuilders working on construction moving onto shots of MacDiarmid's cottage in Biggar, Lanarkshire with v/o giving biographical information (19.41) MacDiarmid reciting poem with shots of books on library shelves (22.18) writers Milne's bar, Robert Garrioch at the back (23.21) MacDiarmid in armchair reciting poem interspersed with still of him as a younger man finishing on scene of coast with landscape on the horizon (24.57) ecs (25.35)