NEWS: Text taken from University of Cambridge Website: Unseen for 80 years, a wartime film. 'THE NEW SCHOOL' starring #PeterCushing has been tracked down through the determination of Homerton #archivist, #SvetlanaPaterson. Filmed at #Homerton,
which was then a teacher training college, the film was made in 1944 to
highlight plans for an overhaul in the education system. It follows an
idealistic trainee teacher, played by #YvonneRory, as she studies at Homerton, learns to manage classroom discipline, and enjoys building a first connection with a pupil.
THE COLLEGE had been aware of the existence of the film for many years,
owing to still photographs taken at Homerton and held by the archive.
But the film itself was feared lost, with appeals to the #BritishFilmInstitute and the Peter Cushing appreciation Society sadly, yielding no results. Svetlana
has maintained ‘the search for the lost film’ as a side project for
much of the past decade. But this year saw a breakthrough when she
received a DVD of the film from Yvonne Rory’s extended family in
Scotland. Not
only did this allow Svetlana to view the film for the first time, but
it was the first clue that an original film reel must have survived long
enough to be transferred to the relatively new technology. A few months later she made contact with the immediate family, now living in #Devon, who had inherited a film reel among their late father’s belongings. “Yvonne
Rory died young, and it appears that her widower asked the Central
Office of Information for a copy of the film after her death,” says
Svetlana. “Without that, there might not have been a surviving copy.”
ABOVE AND BELOW: HOW PCASuk PCASuk reported on the search for the film back in 2017 '#THROWBACKTHURSDAY:
VERY INTERESTING evidence has come to light of a film that Peter
Cushing appeared in the 1940's. THE NEW SCHOOL, in pre production
titles, The New Teacher, was made in the UK by the UK government's CROWN
FILM UNIT and mostly shot in Yorkshire and at the Homerton Collage,
Cambridge . There are several pieces evidence, that appear to indicate
that this was a public information film, popular at the time, and before
the advent of mass broadcasting television in the UK. For the first
time, we are presenting here a cover from the shooting script, a
photograph of the crew on location at Homerton Collage, along with it's
Crown copyright reverse side. We are working alongside a partner
interest in finding out more about this 'unknown' addition to the
Cushing filmography, and will keep you up to date, with any further
developments and finds. Many thanks to S. Paterson for their keen eye
and assistance. - Marcus (April 27th 2017)
ABOVE: HOW Peter Cushing looked back in 1944!
THE FILM appears never to have been shown to a contemporary audience,
perhaps because its vision for post-war education clashed with the
reality. But it has solid cinematic credentials, with not only Cushing’s
involvement, but also a musical score by the well-known film composter #BenjaminFrankel, and provides a fascinating insight into the educational ambitions of the 1940s.'
Plans were afoot for Homerton to screen the film in the spring of 2022, but ' as with many things over the last tw years, the Covid situation, has put the premier screening back to later this year. Be SURE, as soon as I have the detais, I will share them here at PCASuk - Marcus
Many thanks to Svetlana Paterson!
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