Home movie of 1930s seaside holidays in Saltburn-by-the Sea on the Cleveland coast, North Yorkshire, and (probably) along the East Sussex coast, including Brighton. Includes footage of the well-known Pierrot performers Bert Grapho and Billy Jackson’s Jovial Jollies, who played the summer seasons in Saltburn from 1899 until the final performance in September 1939. This film is part of the Newcastle & District Amateur Cinematographers Association (ACA) collection. Two women and a man...

Home movie of 1930s seaside holidays in Saltburn-by-the Sea on the Cleveland coast, North Yorkshire, and (probably) along the East Sussex coast, including Brighton. Includes footage of the well-known Pierrot performers Bert Grapho and Billy Jackson’s Jovial Jollies, who played the summer seasons in Saltburn from 1899 until the final performance in September 1939. This film is part of the Newcastle & District Amateur Cinematographers Association (ACA) collection. Two women and a man stroll through the Italian Gardens in Saltburn-by- the-Sea. One of the women waves and mugs for the camera. The group play football and handball on a nearly empty Saltburn beach, the iron Saltburn Pier visible in the background. Portrait shot of one of the men, smoking a cigarette and holding the ball. He dodges and makes as if to throw the ball towards camera. Bert Grapho’s Jovial Jollies song and dance troupe entertain an al fresco crowd seated on deck chairs at their pitch on the sands at Saltburn. The audience watch the four female dancers perform leg kicks and dance (almost) in unison on stage, accompanied on piano by a man in Pierrot costume, probably Tony Spoors. One of the performers may be Mary Martin and the troupe includes Jean Atkinson. The next sequence was probably filmed along the East Sussex coastline, possibly at the seaside resorts of Eastbourne or Brighton. The camera pans along the length of a built-up coastline, grand buildings lining the seafront road. Overhead shot of a busy pier with a domed building. Pan towards a headland. On a beach, a barefooted man in a suit is hat-in-hand amongst onlookers as his colleague makes sand art, crafting an elaborate castle. “We Thank You” is sand sculpted in fancy letters on the beach. A small group (two women and a man) are strolling on a seaside promenade past a Victorian pier where banners advertise the Pier Theatre and the performers “Ant Honey and Anna”. General views of the pier. A soldier in uniform walks by. A woman walks through a sunny garden, smiling and posing for the camera. She plays with a pet spaniel and has a go at mini golf on the lawn. Portrait shot of the woman. She winks at the camera.