Wakefield, 1965, City of Possibilities

This film, The City of Wakefield, was made in 1965 by Wakefield Amateur Cine Club. It's a right little charmer, giving the viewer a chance to explore the city at a fascinating moment, as old and new style began to clash in the postwar period.






We see new housing estates, blocks of flats and old people's homes, alongside new shopping centres, schools and offices. Traffic islands are spoken of as if from a Kipling poem. The old folks in the home look terrified to be on film. Shop windows a series of museum pieces.






The narration is so posh it makes John Betjeman sound like Stanley Holloway. But, like the old new cars on the empty roads, that all adds to its charm.