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Aberdare Boys’ Grammar SchoolPast Student Association History |
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Past Student Association Film Society
Programme Card, 1949
Reproduced by kind permission of Rhondda Cynon Tâf Libraries
Long Tom Evans was a leading light in the Film Society and was the man behind its formation. He always used to tell a story about the night when the Society showed a film to an audience which included as special guests the headmaster, his wife and the School Governors. The organisation that supplied the club with its films had to make a last-minute substitution of the film that the club had requested for that evening. Unfortunately, the club committee had no time to review the film before the showing to the assembled guests. It turned out to be steamy French film, well steamy for the late 1940s anyway, and Tom and his committee sweated buckets whilst the assembled guests watched it in stony silence. The committee members spent an uncomfortable night before school opened the following day, but fortunately they all retained their jobs! Perhaps the distinguished guests were more interested in the film than their expressions indicated!
The Society was relatively short-lived and lasted from 1949 until about 1951. Attendance at the film nights was never good, and the Society made financial losses in each year. These losses were made up by the PSA parent body following the reports submitted at each PSA AGM by the Hon. Secretary. The PSA committee commended the Film Society for the quality of its films, but the Society itself eventually had to call time on its activities.
‘Fric-Frac’ was a French comedy of 1939.
‘Le Quai des Brumes’ (Port of Shadows), 1938, directed by Marcel
Carné. It is a film about an army deserter who finds love and trouble (and a
small dog) in a smoky French port city. The film is rated as a French classic, with
visually stunning photography. It is readily available on DVD and Blu-ray.
‘A Night at the Opera’, (MGM, 1935) is a comedy that was a smash
hit at the box office. It too is available in the above formats.
The documentary ‘North Sea’ is currently (2013) available
in the BFI DVD compilation ‘We Live in Two Worlds: The GPO Film Unit Collection
Volume 2’.
The film ‘Servant of the People’ was probably the 1947 documentary about
Parliamentary procedure and tradition, told as part of the of the story of a new Member
of Parliament after his election in 1945. It was narrated by John Snagge, and directed
by John O. Douglas.