HUGE ATTACHMENTS

Well done John, you get the prize for sending the largest email ever. Something huge, congratulations. Obviously you don't bother to read the blogs, or either of the pages detailing how to submit information. And you've never seen my pleas to NOT send large emails as I live in a small valley deep in the countryside in Umbria, Italy where broadband and other sophisticated methods of communication are not available. Therefore not only do you bung up my complete system, which attempts to deal with six other businesses, but also the small part that I have on the main server.

Then I have to communicate with them to chuck out your email, that neither they nor me can read, and to do so I have to find passwords, logins etc etc, fill out forms etc etc and write to you, all of which wastes about an hour or more of someone's time that could be better spent loading pictures on ReelStreets, lying in bed or eating pizza.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T SEND EMAILS WITH HUGE ATTACHMENTS

Best wishes to you all, I'm off on holiday now for six weeks to Argentina and Uruguay. Who knows, I might find some real streets there.

John Tunstill

angry silence

Have sourced another location for above film, it is called Horton Road, West Drayton, Middlesex.
Towards the end of the film Michael Craig is looking for two youths who beat up Richard Attenborough, he finds them in a derelict area.
This area is Horton Road, where he chases up onto waste ground, is an area then known as Sabey's tip, a worked-out gravel pit, turned rubbish tip, now unrecognisable as it is a golf course, the scene on top of the tip where Michael Craig has just knocked one of the lads down is interesting, as the Gas Works in the backgound is the one in Uxbridge, (now completeley demolished) which was used as a backdrop in Wrong Arm of the Law, I have checked with an ordanance survey map and it is correct, cannot justify though as the area is now completely unrecognisable apart from the lay of the road, however the shot of Michael Craig riding away is
positive, just look at the house to confirm.

....................absolutely!

Area was one of our playgrounds as children, now completely revamped with golfing area and industrial units.

Will send seperate photos Individualy in a few emails so not as to clog up system, all will be titled angerysilence1, angerysilence2, etc..

Also in pipeline A lot of scenes from Wrong Arm of the Law, if no one has claimed rights yet.
Best Regards
Brian

...............not so far, we've got the "thens" in stock, so a few "nows" would really be something
.........thanks again
............John

GREAT DAY

Hello

Can anyone say where the opening shot of GREAT DAY 1945 was filmed?

I believe it was in the High Wycombe area.

................Have you made all the normal searches? IMDB, BFI, Rotten Tomatos, the film by name, the studio, the actors etc etc?

John

pics for reelstreets

Everyone

PLEASE read the instructions for sending photos:
either on the public page "now photos"
or on the subscribers page "submit information"
...............or my computer will become blocked with huge files containing, no doubt, wonderful photos, which I can't view.

Thanks
John

Station Locations for the Angry Silence

John
I believe the station at the open and close of the Angry Silence is Willesden Junction, having cross referenced with the film and a signalling plan of the station I'm almost sure the scenes where the chap alights and departs are Willesden Jcn. Willesden Jcn was a 2 level station with High level platforms for trains to Acton and Broad Street and Low level platforms situated on the LNW mainline from Euston to Watford and beyond, the Low level platforms were demolished in 1962 but the high level section of the station still remains.

The station also shown in "School for Scoundrels" was Hertford East which is still open, I've included a link with some quality shots of the station and its platforms which should compare well with stills from the film here
I hope this helps your quality site in some small way.
Simon

Far from the Madding Crowd

Hi John,

My mother was brought up in Bloxworth House in Dorset which was used as Bathsheba Everdine's (Julie Christie's) house in John Schlesinger's film of Far From the Madding Crowd.

..............also Gold Hill in Shaftesbury was used in the film, the steep street from the Hovis adverts.

I visited the house at the time of the filming and have some prints of the house together with the fake walls and other items which were constructed.

..........excellent

I could scan these prints and submit them to the website if you were interested. I don't have any NOW shots in contrast but I do have shots of the house in the 1930s. Of course the house is private property (not mine) and the current owners would not welcome tourists trespassing on their land in order to take views of the house.

...........this would be wonderful, yes please.

Are you interested?

............is there pasta in Italy? Yes, YES, YES..........................PLEASE!

I am jealous of your pleasant life in Italy. I lived in Torino and Milano from 1977-99 and I miss Italy every time I eat and every time I drink.
Nick Dawson

............you'll have to come and visit, see www.villamoscatelli.com and www.lapreghiera.com

.............Best wishes

..........John

whistle down the wind

Hi John,

I check the site regularly to see what, if any new, photos have been added. It seems that there's not been too many updates lately.

..............this is true, and in various places on the site I apologise for my tardiness.

"We have in the past, offered subscribers £10 for each photo submitted of previously unidentified sites and locations. As we have a wealth of material already waiting to be put on the site, this offer is currently suspended, to give us a chance to catch up!"
...............and in another place, on one or more of the sites, I explain that I build houses, www.propertiesumbria.com, run a country house, www.lapreghiera.com, organise villa rentals, www.villamoscatelli.com, weddings, www.weddingsumbria.com, run a soldier business, www.soldierssoldiers.com, a postcard business, www.cartolinetunstill.com, a tourist site for visits to Umbria, www.lifeinumbria.com and a site about the curiosities of the English language, www.tunstillsdislexicon.com. So I keep fairly busy, and often have to concentrate on the business that make a lot of money in order to support those that don't.

.............as for recent films, "The Magnet" and "Never Let Go" went up last week, and in the last six months or so there have been about a dozen others, with another twenty or thirty "pending".

So, I've got plenty of excuses, but I really do appreciate your point, and can only apologise again, not only to you, but all of you out there who have submitted something that needs to go up on site, but so far hasn't appeared.

Last year, I submitted all the 'then' photos for 'Whistle Down The Wind' that you currently have displayed on the site.

............yes, January 2006, thankyou, and here a further apology is due because we have never acknowleged your fine effort in pulling all these stills. Because you were able to do that we then instituted a small reward for such efforts, a £10.00 thankyou or a subscription. I will tell my techie to put up the acknowlegement at once.

Last summer I visited several of these locations and shot the 'now' photos which I submitted to you in August.

.............yes, they arrived on the 3rd September, and have been in the file waiting to be loaded. Also in late July we received the photos which I have attached.

Unless I'm not looking at the right page it seems my 'now' submissions have not been posted. Are you just having backlog issues or am I not looking a the right film list page?

...............yes, again, you're correct, and the backlog, which was almost "terminal", is slowly being resolved.

A useful addition many web sites incorporate to their home page is a 'new additions' or 'latest updates' button that would provides a quick way to check to see what has been added recently.

................yes, there are so many "tweaks" that one can do to improve, but first one needs the technical skill and then one needs the time. During the last three months we've been creating some fancy system ( and here Terry and/or Mike, my techies could explain) to make everything easier to load, to find and to process.


Anyway, enough whining, you really have a great site.

...............no, no, your points are valid, but "so much to do, so little time"

Thanks for writing, we'll blog this letter to explain to all the others out there that with success, over THREE MILLION, come the problems of scale. I thought that this would be a gentle little site for film nutters like me. But, as you can see, once one has a tiger by the tail, one can't let go.
Best wishes
John

.............and returning to the film;

Keith and Mary Hall, who still live in the village, (Mary was in the film) also took part in a more recent TV series about country doctors, Michael Sheldrake was in the series called "Born and Bred".

Miss Barton was the original school mistress and the kids in the film were the local children, not imported actors and received 10/- ten shillings, fifty pence, a day. Mary Hall received £1.00 a day, and had to look after Hayley Mills. Haley often comes to Umbria /Tuscany and eats at one of our local restaurants. The film was premiered in Burnley and all the children were invited to attend.

Were you Richard one of the children in the film?

Genevieve

Your Picture Ref : ge102 Old shack Garage
The shot shows a wooden garage, which in fact was an old transport cafe, frequented by the drivers from the sand and gravel works in other shots, it was directly opposite, the location and was about half way between Staines and Colnbrook on the old Stanwell Moor Road, sadly all gone now due to M25, positive location as my friends and I used it as a cup 'o' tea stop on our way to and from Laleham Park, Staines where we went regulary on our bikes for fishing and swimming.
Regards Brian Duffy

Hue and Cry

That’s great – thanks John and David, I’ve been trying to track down that block for years.

All the best

Dave

Hue and Cry

Jon I must apologise in my exitement I typed down the wrong address it should be IVERNA GARDENS/ IVERNA COURT W8 off of Wrights La David


So, there we go.........the culprit!!!
Still, all's well......................as they say
We'll correct the address on site
Thanks to everyone
John

Last Tirade

By the way, this last tirade against the lazy and the slothful was prompted by pic 22 from the Magnet. You'll know why when you see it.

John T

Would-be Sleuths

Hi would-be sleuths

Several of you have asked to be allowed to concentrate on specific films in order to be able to concentrate on taking the "now" pics, and earning yourselves a plethora of ten-pound notes.

To all of you I gave a time limit. Some of you have complied, and some of you haven't yet got round to pulling the digits out and putting the digitals into the camera. So, sorry, time's up, all deals are off. You know who you are, hang your heads in shame for not only breaking your promises to me but also for standing in the way of others who perhaps could have done the job in half the time. Yes, yes, yes, no time, too busy, Christmas, New Year, snow, and all the other excuses.

I won't be writing to ask for your help, nor will I offer an exclusive on any films in future. I will of course always let you know, if you ask, before you go on a sleuthing expedition, what shots we have in stock waiting to be loaded.

And as for those folk who have definate knowlege of specific film locations, but either can't, or won't, write it down for the benefit of the rest of us..................well, words don't escape me, but, rather than offend the delicate ears of the rest of you, I'll say no more.

There are always those who give, and never count the cost, and those who moan that they never receive.

The Magnet is coming up soon, really super outdoor shots of Liverpool, Wirral, Merseyside etc, from 50 years ago when one of the Fox brothers was a kid. Much like the rest of us.

Ciao, from bright sunny Italy,

John Tunstill and the Team

Goldern Goose - Just a Reel Streets thought

Could the file of the Golden Goose pic fg 004, be Shad Thames?
Compare the crane scafolding in Long memory pic lm 001 and the notched/un-even wall & a square mark, about a metre up. Callan pic ca 032 has the same bad wall and the remains of a coping stone that square mark.
Could it be? .....Naaaa.LBB.

Brian
Think we'd have to view the building from the Tower Bridge side to be sure, however, a good guess, we'll blog it.
Thanks John

Hue and Cry

Hello there

I just had a go at getting onto the message board to post a message/question on ‘Hue and Cry’ but couldn’t logon with the details (although they get me onto the site without a problem).

..................techie Mike, this is for you.

My question is about the pictures hc006 and hc007 – I was thrilled to see the modern day views of this block as I have been looking for it for many years (in my quest I discussed the location directly with Harry Fowler by mail and Douglas Slocombe on the phone but neither could remember where the block was).

..................yes, we have constantly found this. Obviously the film actors get up at the crack of dawn, are whisked away to somewhere, are made to go through their paces, and are driven off again. And all of this 50 years ago!!!! No wonder they don't remember!

Based on the details I went to Airlie Gardens to find the block but it wasn’t there – is there a chance that this is a misprint?

...............Not a misprint, but a claim by David Neicho, one of our regular contributors. I'm sending him a copy of this email so that he can help.

I walked all round Airlie Gardens (there only appears to be one Street of that name) and there are no block resembling the one in the picture. If you or the person who took the photo can suggest anything I’d be very grateful.

..............Over to you David.

I think the site is fantastic by the way.
All the best Dave

...........Glad you like it. The Magnet, shot in Liverpool and New Brighton is going up next.
............Best wishes
..........John Tunstill

Ian Richardson dies

Actor Ian Richardson, renowned for his chilling portrait of Machiavellian chief whip Francis Urquhart in 1990 political thriller House of Cards, has died at the age of 72.

Richardson died in his sleep at his London home in the early hours of this morning.

His death came as a shock as he had not been ill and was due to begin filming his next role in TV show Midsomer Murders next week, his agent said. Richardson's portrayal of Urquhart was best remembered for his oft-repeated quote: "You might very well think that - I couldn't possibly comment".

His numerous television roles included Porterhouse Blue in 1987 and the TV adaptation of Tinker, Tailor Soldier, Spy.

Richardson also appeared in BBC2 drama Gormenghast.

Most recently he was the narrator in Sky One's Hogfather and he also had roles in ITV's The Booze Cruise episodes and in BBC1's Bleak House.

The Fast Lady

Hi,
I think the location for the High Street scene in the Fast Lady is the newer high street in Beaconsfield. The film was shot at Beaconsfield Studios, and the same high street was used by David Lean in Brief Encounter.
Peter Cain

Peter
And you've only just joined.
But I can't agree, I've been there and couldn't make it fit.
But you try, and maybe earn a tenner
Best wishes
john Tunstill

Assignment Redhead

G'Day John,
I am a researcher on Australian Radio Shows from the 1920's to 1960's. "Dossier on Dumetrius" was an Australian Radio Serial of 104 episodes written by Lindsay Hardy and based on his book "Requiem for a Redhead" which is also the basis for "Assignment Redhead". I would like to get a copy of the movie. I am not a film collector so I doubt I would have any films you are after, but happy to view your list just in case. I can trade copies of the radio serial or purchase the movie.
Ian

That's interesting info Ian, thanks, we'll blog it.
Regarding the copies of films, I can send you my wants list, but cannot sell films. Copyright, piracy etc. And I can't afford to give them away, as requests come in on a daily basis. So hopefully you'll find something to tape off TV, copy from a friend or buy second-hand. Who knows, if you make an appeal on the radio, you too might be overwhelmed with people wanting to trade old movies. Best wishes John Tunstill