Fifty years Ago - The Evolution of Cycling

Series

Series Name
Eve And Everybody’s Film Review

Issue

Issue No.
535
Date Released
3 Sep 1931
Stories in this Issue:

Story

Story No. within this Issue
4 / 7
Summary
NoS Summary - Short history of cycling - old bicycles with their riders suitably attired.
British Pathe synopsis: "Taken with the assistance of the Cyclists’ Touring Club." Introductory intertitle reads: "Fifty years ago, wearing a bustle and a pained expression, Eve took a sedate front seat." Travelling shot of a couple in Victorian dress riding on an antiquated bicycle. The woman sits on the front part of the bike whilst the man pedals at the back. "Nothing strenuous about this for Eve - Adam did the pedalling." Closer travelling shot of the vehicle. "The "Sociable", when the forward young Misses of the day dispensed with the skirt." "Later came the high "ordinary." L/S of man riding a Penny Farthing type bicycle. "The "Whippet" followed." Moving shot of a man riding a "Whippet" bicycle. Travelling shot of the bike being ridden by a man in old fashioned costume. "Happy days, when modern traffic was an undreamed of horror." The cyclists (plus two women in strange garb riding a side by side tandem) arrive at a pub. They park their bikes. "If they cycled through London today..." High angle shot of these old fashioned bikes being ridden through a busy London street. Large crowd of people observe and follow the cyclists. "...it would drive them back to the country lanes, where, like old soldiers, they would fade away." Shot of the cyclists riding off down a country lane. By means of a camera trick they appear to disappear.
Keywords
Cycling
Written sources
Pathe Inventory File   Tin No.218
British Pathe Database 1997   Reference No.EP218 Used for synopsis
National Film Archive Catalogue
Credits:
Production Co.
British Pathe Ltd.

This series is held by:

Film Archive

Name
British Film Institute (BFI)
Email
For BFI National Archive enquiries:
nonfictioncurators@bfi.org.uk
For commercial/footage reuse enquiries:
footage.films@bfi.org.uk
Web
http://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web
Phone
020 7255 1444
Fax
020 7580 7503
Address
21 Stephen Street
London W1T 1LN
Notes
The BFI National Archive also preserves the original nitrate film copies of British Movietone News, British Paramount News, Empire News Bulletin, Gaumont British News, Gaumont Graphic, Gaumont Sound News and Universal News (the World War II years are covered by the Imperial War Museum).
Series held
View all series held by British Film Institute (BFI)
Name
British Pathe Ltd
Email
info@britishpathe.com
Web
https://www.britishpathe.com/
Phone
0207 665 8340
Address
3.29 Canterbury Court
1-3 Brixton Road
London
SW9 6DE
Notes
Pathe now also handles the Reuters Historical Collection, which includes the British Paramount, Empire British, Gaumont Graphic and Gaumont British newsreels.
Series held
View all series held by British Pathe Ltd

How to cite this record

'Fifty years Ago - The Evolution of Cycling', Eve And Everybody’s Film Review Issue No. 535, 3 Sep 1931. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/newsonscreen/search/index.php/story/332808 (Accessed 31 Jan 2025)