The Port of London

1924 | 11 mins (extract)

The opening sequence with scores of shipping clerks and managers working round the rotunda in the main offices seems strangely reminiscent of Metropolis and a reminder of manpower necessary in a world without computers, faxes and modern technology. The river seems almost unchanged though, if anything today's vessels seem smaller especially when we see rare footage of the ocean-going liners of the era. It also includes probably the earliest film records of some of the great docks of the Thames including King George V and Royal Victoria and Albert.