Tomorrow's Saturday
UK, 1962
Director: Michael Grigsby
Language: English
Colour: Black and white
Runtime: 18 minutes
Short synopsis
'Thank God tomorrow's Saturday' being the motto of the film, it depicts a 'typical' weekend for the people of Blackburn in the 1960s.
Long synopsis
It's Friday in Blackburn and the women in a textile factory are busy organising the work of the loud machines that surround them. As one of the workers puts on her jacket the noise of the machines winds down and the other women follow suit, one of them sighing, 'Thank God tomorrow's Saturday.' The film cuts to scenes of children running through the streets merrily screaming as they approach the horse-drawn ice-cream cart.
But the weekend is not all fun. Tomorrow's Saturday takes us through a variety of activities that make up a 'typical' weekend for the factory workers of Blackburn. Women do their domestic chores - visiting the launderette, mopping hallways, cleaning windows and shopping - but also find time to relax and chat on the street and watch the boys play football.
Crowds are heading toward the football ground and later at the pub, the community gathers to enjoy drinking and songs.
All these activities take place against the backdrop of the factories that dominate the skyline, and are accompanied by a soundtrack of unsynchronised sounds - snatches of dialogue, the children's screams, radio news, the pub songs or barking dogs.
Background information
About the film
Tomorrow's Saturday was filmed over the course of two summers in 1959 and 1960. The crew worked in their spare time and, true to the values of Free Cinema, did so with limited resources and borrowed equipment. The film was completed with the help of a grant from the BFI experimental film fund and had its first public screening at the National Film Theatre in the winter of 1962.
About the film-maker
Michael Grigsby began his career in television and formed his independent filmmaking group Unit Five Seven in the mid-1950s. Grigsby explains, 'my driving force for the last 20 or so years has been trying to find a way, through films, to give a voice to the voiceless.' His key concern has always been to let people tell their own stories in a natural way and, equally, to let the audience engage with the stories on their own terms.
Grigsby's principled filmmaking has won him many awards, including a BAFTA for Lockerbie: A Night Remembered, and he continues to produce documentaries.
Teaching materials and additional materials
The teaching materials have been developed by practising teachers to provide a springboard for your own work with your students. Feel free to use and adapt them appropriate to your students' needs.
The additional materials, provided by the film-makers, can be used to develop your work with the film and deepen students' understanding of the process of film-making.
