Detail
Collection Sonny Hanson
Summary
A collection of films by Ashford resident 'Sonny' Hanson and member films of the Ashford Film Society. The films include a series of fictional works, as well records of local industries and events.
| Collection ID | 176 | Reference code | K 000324 / 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Sonny Hanson | ||
| Dates | 1930s - 1960s | ||
| Production | Hanson, ‘Sonny’. (John Hanson Richardson) Deceased (1901 - 1986) Asfhford Film Society | ||
| Materials | FILM 16mm 9.5mm | ||
| Access status | Contact Screen Archive South East for details | ||
Description
The Sonny Hanson film collection contains a range of films filmed by Ashford resident John Hanson Richardson, who was more commonly known as 'Sonny' Hanson. His interest in amateur film-making began in the 1930s - he made films both independently and as a member of The Ashford Association Film Society. Screen Archive South East holds examples of both. Amongst the independent films are the documentary-inspired films Watery Trail: River Medway (1938) and [Ashford Railway Works: Local Industries and Farming] (ca. 1947). There are also more personal films which record hobbies and holidays. These include [Along the Rauma Railway in Norway] (ca. 1931), [Motor Club Events] (1938; 1939) and [Miniature Railway] (ca. 1967). The films are typically well-made and titled, and are illustrative of an amateur film-maker who was not only enthusiastic towards the craft, but who was also highly skilled.
The films of The Ashford Association Film Society which form part of the Sonny Hanson collection also demonstrate skillful amateur work. Sonny Hanson alternated his role between cameraman, director and scriptwriter in the Society's productions. They are all silent fictional films and include Mrs Newlywed's First Dinner (1940s), Cinderella. A New Version of an Old Story (1948?) and The Magician's Wife Makes The Christmas Cake (late 1940s). The films are typically extensive works of fiction, which utilized the talents of amateur enthusiasts both in front of and behind the camera.
Films in this collection:
Showing 1 to 15 of 20 results.
[Along the Rauma Railway in Norway]
| Date | [ca. 1931] | ID | 746 |
|---|
An amateur film-maker records his travels through Norway on the Rauma Railway. Sights captured on camera include a wildfowl hunt with gun-dogs, interior shots of the Oppdal Hotel and Trondheim Cathedral, as well as footage of the journey itself as the train passes through villages, towns and countryside.
Building of Penlee Point on Canterbury Road
| Date | [ca. 1939] | ID | 762 |
|---|
This film charts the building of a large detached house on Canterbury Road near Ashford, from the laying of its foundations to the nearing of its completion. All of the work done on the house is manual. The film also includes aerial shots of the plot and surrounding land.
[Workmen’s Lunch Break; Building at Penlee Point (?)]
| Date | [ca. 1939] | ID | 745 |
|---|
A single, brief panning shot of male workers taking a break, sitting on the ground outside some wooden huts.
![A Still from [Motor Club Events] (1938-1939)](/wp-content/uploads/films/761/image_a_thumb.jpg "[Motor Club Events] (1938-1939)")
[Motor Club Events]
| Date | 1938; 1939 | ID | 761 |
|---|
Members of the 'Ashford Kent Motor Club' are filmed at various events during 1938 and 1939. Amongst these are a motorcycle hill-climb at Brook, a speedway competition on a rural track, and The Dunlop Trophy Trial which takes place in the Kent countryside. There is also footage of a black-tie dinner and a filmed reconstruction in which a father responds to the birth of his baby son.
Watery Trail: River Medway
| Date | 1938 | ID | 763 |
|---|
This well-made amateur film with intertitles chronicles the River Medway, tracing it from its source at Turners Hill to its mouth at Sheerness, capturing the places and industries which line its banks.
[Wartime at Home]
| Date | [ca. 1940 - 1943] | ID | 749 |
|---|
A compilation of seemingly staged footage, filming people visiting a family home during the Second World War. Two young children playing in the pond, and a young soldier courting his sweetheart, are amongst those visiting the house's garden.
Mrs Newlywed’s First Dinner
| Date | [ca. 1940s] | ID | 758 |
|---|
Made in the late 1940s this humorous amateur fiction film depicts a young wife who decides to cook fresh fish for dinner. After a series of culinary disasters she admits defeat and buys fish and chips from the chip shop.
[Horse-drawn Fire Engine]
| Date | [ca. 1945] | ID | 744 |
|---|
A pair of newlyweds are paraded through a town centre, borne on a vintage horse-drawn fire engine.
[Ashford Railway Works: Local Industries and Farming]
| Date | [ca. 1947] | ID | 751 |
|---|
An extensive record of Ashford's industries and manual workers in the immediate post-war era, including Ashford Railway Works and Ashford Cattle Market.
The Last Chord: The Life Story of a Merchant Seaman
| Date | [ca. 1947] | ID | 754 |
|---|
A fictionalised account of the life of a young merchant seaman, which includes footage of his wedding. The crew of the RNLI lifeboat 'Charles Cooper Henderson' rescue him after he is shipwrecked, causing great relief to his wife and child. The poetic images were originally edited to a classical score; a similar score has been reinstated for the online version.
[Two of A Kind]
| Date | [ca. 1947] | ID | 755 |
|---|
An amateur fiction film concerning a case of mistaken identity. A middle-class couple go to a fancy-dress party where the theme is 'tramps'. Meanwhile, two real-life tramps utilize the couple's empty house, an act which causes confusion when the party ends and the couple return home.
![A still from '[Face Make-Up]' (ca.1947) showing make-up being applied](/wp-content/uploads/films/748/image_a_thumb.jpg "[Face Make-Up] (ca.1947)")
[1. Screen Test. 2. Face Make-Up]
| Date | [ca. 1947] | ID | 748 |
|---|
Two films photographed by 'Sonny' Hanson for the film-making arm of The Ashford Association Film Society. The first film contains the screen tests of male and female amateur actors; the second records an actress having her make-up applied.
Chance in a Lifetime
| Date | [ca. late 1940s] | ID | 756 |
|---|
A fictional film made by The Ashford Association Film Society which tells the changing fortunes of two bricklayers. The changes are caused by ill-health and by betting on the football pools and horse-racing.
The Magician's Wife Makes The Christmas Cake
| Date | [ca. late 1940s] | ID | 759 |
|---|
A magician's wife uses her husband's magic wand to help her remedy the mistakes she makes, and to overcome the obstacles she encounters, when making a Christmas cake. The film uses reverse-motion and trick editing in its portrayal of magic tricks.
[St John's Ambulance Brigade]
| Date | [ca. late 1940s] | ID | 760 |
|---|
A young girl is inspired to volunteer for the St John's Ambulance service when her father is injured falling from a tree. Adult St John Ambulance workers are also briefly filmed providing first aid to the victim of a motorbike accident, and to an injured miner. The sequences are all staged for the camera.
Showing 1 to 15 of 20 results.