The London Nobody Knows

[Mark J D]

Another movie worth looking out for is
Sparrows Cant Sing 1963
A lot of that movie was filmed around the E1 area, you do see Commercial Street, Wentworth and Goulston street.
I’m sure the eagle eyed amongst us would spot other areas of interest.
It was on YouTube a few years back, unfortunately it’s not now.

There are location stills analysed and traced here:

https://www.reelstreets.com/films/sparrows-cant-sing-2/

M.

[Mark J D]

Buck's Row appears in a 1020s film 'Lights of the City' or something? I may well be wrong.

Do you mean this one?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lights_of_London_(1923_film)

M.

[Losmandris]

I love the London nobody knows. I think I remember seeing as a kid on BBC 2 maybe? I managed to get a copy off the internet and it now a bit of a prized possession. Always watch it when I am feeling a little bit home sick. As someone who lived in London for quite a while there are so many places I either recognised or lived by!

If you can't get hold of a copy of it and just happen to be on the south bank one of the days you can watch it at the BFI in the media-tech centre! Loads of other old films available on there too. Lots from London at the turn of the century. I can highly recommend it, just turn up and book a slot! Coincidentally I took my wife there on our first date and we watched the London nobody knows together. She was living in Camden at the time, so was really cool to see what it looked like in the 60s, very strange to see the roundhouse in its original form as we both knew it as a music venue. Also very cool to watch it at the BFI as Mason practically walks past the place at some point.

I always find it fascinating watching that film how grimy all of London's building were. Anyone have any idea when they were cleaned up? Was this something that just happened organically or was there some kind of local authority? led campaign

[Dupin]

Until I was 12 I actually thought Manchester and its statues were made out of a special black stone. The cathedral was black, prince Albert was black, well no, his memorial was, and the Alfred Waterhouse town hall, amazing inside, outside: black.

In 1956, the Clean Air Act established smokeless zones in which only smokeless fuels could be burned. In less than twenty years the air became much cleaner, devoid of the smoke that had blackened the stone buildings and statues of the UK's cities.

In 1964 a noble Lord who had recently returned from a jaunt to Paris reported to the House on how wonderfully it had been spruced up. Although there were no votes in it, it is possible that this attention did have a follow on, since during the 1970s and 1980s, stone cleaning raced across Britain: London, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Sheffield, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.

[Losmandris]

Until I was 12 I actually thought Manchester and its statues were made out of a special black stone. The cathedral was black, prince Albert was black, well no, his memorial was, and the Alfred Waterhouse town hall, amazing inside, outside: black.

In 1956, the Clean Air Act established smokeless zones in which only smokeless fuels could be burned. In less than twenty years the air became much cleaner, devoid of the smoke that had blackened the stone buildings and statues of the UK's cities.

In 1964 a noble Lord who had recently returned from a jaunt to Paris reported to the House on how wonderfully it had been spruced up. Although there were no votes in it, it is possible that this attention did have a follow on, since during the 1970s and 1980s, stone cleaning raced across Britain: London, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Sheffield, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.

Thanks for the response Dupin. It always had me wondering and your answer makes total sense. Amazing how the same building can look completely different once they have been cleaned up. Just goes to show how polluted these cities must have been!

[C. F. Leon]

"The days are long gone when you could walk around wearing a flat cap and a walking stick, nowadays them kids would be robbing him, before beating him to death with his flat cap!"

Realize that's there's a film crew of SEVERAL people with him, and no doubt someone made an initial contact with the owner/resident for permission (and the individual that we see may have been an actress for that scene).