This amateur short drama tells the story of a Newcastle money collector who is conned by a wily thief. The film was produced by Hugh Kelly with the ‘beginners’ unit’ of Newcastle and District Amateur Cinematographers’ Association (ACA). Title: Move Maker Ten Best Three Star Rating Title: Newcastle & District ACA Presents Title: The Gift Credits: The Players Collector … Roy Kirby Collector’s wife … Clare Kirby The film opens with a panoramic shot across foggy terraced streets of...

This amateur short drama tells the story of a Newcastle money collector who is conned by a wily thief. The film was produced by Hugh Kelly with the ‘beginners’ unit’ of Newcastle and District Amateur Cinematographers’ Association (ACA). Title: Move Maker Ten Best Three Star Rating Title: Newcastle & District ACA Presents Title: The Gift Credits: The Players Collector … Roy Kirby Collector’s wife … Clare Kirby The film opens with a panoramic shot across foggy terraced streets of Newcastle upon Tyne looking towards cranes down by the river. A white Ford car drives up an empty residential street, parks, and a money collector in a smart suit gets out and locks his car door. He rings the bell at a house. An elderly woman in colourful flowered dress answers the door. The collector checks his ledger. The woman hands over money and the collector records this in his large ledger. He continues up the street and collects money from another elderly woman. Close-up of him placing the notes in his pocket. A montage of shots shows the collector knocking and ringing bells at a succession of houses, and recording cash in his ledger. He continues to place the notes in his pocket as he works his round. Back in the car, he opens his briefcase. The camera pans from rolls of bank notes on the car seat to the collector’s calculations of cash on a bank deposit form, dated Friday 3 Sept 1976. Close-up of bank rolls and cash bags. He places the cash in a blue bag. Rolling down his car window he squints up at a blackened church clock tower, the time twenty past three. He tries to start up the car, but the ignition doesn’t work. He checks the car battery. He can’t fix it. He asks for help from another driver parked on the street. Spark plugs are wired up to the battery and the collector gives a thumbs up when his car now starts. The collector thanks the man who has come to his assistance. The clock now reads twenty six minutes past three. The money collector drives off through the residential streets of Newcastle. Close-up of the collector’s face as he waits for a red traffic light to change.  The traffic lights change to amber and he moves off. Travelling shots from the car are intercut with close-ups of his face as the collector drives through various city streets. Close-up of a Barclays Bank sign. The collector drives up to the bank and runs up to the door with his blue money bag. The door is closed. He’s too late to deposit the money. He checks his watch Shot of a deco clock on top of a factory tower. The time is now nearly quarter to four.  Frustrated, he gets back in his car. He drives away. His car heads off on a road towards the suburbs. The collector’s wife looks out of a window of a 1960s semi-detached house. The money collector arrives in the drive. His wife comes out of the house to greet him, smiling widely. The couple hug. Night falls. A bedroom light is switched off at the money collector’s house. The collector’s car sits in his drive. A dog barks in the distance. Suddenly, a gloved hand tries the car’s door handle, which opens. The car lights come on. The car is backed out of the drive. The collector’s bedroom window remains dark. Two pints of milk stand on the doorstep of the collector’s home. He opens the door, dressed in casual clothes, yawns and picks up the milk. He is shocked to discover his car missing, the drive empty. Placing the milk bottles back on the doorstep, he rushes down the drive, looking up and down the street for signs of the car. There’s no sign of it around this 60s estate. He thinks, and has flashbacks of the cash bags on his car seat. He runs back to the house and his wife rushes out, also checking up and down the street. Inside the house, the collector races into the dining room and checks in a drawer, where he is relieved to find the large blue bag of cash is there. His wife runs back to the house. Close-up of 999 being dialled on the phone. The collector’s wife rushes into the dining room and tells him something. He places the receiver back on the hook and runs out. He discovers the car parked on a road on the edge of the estate. He gets into the car. The keys are still in the ignition. The collector shakes his head. He looks around the car and finds a note addressed to “The Car Owner”. He opens the envelope, which contains some cash and a note. He reads the note, which says: “Sorry had to take car. My wife was about to have baby and I was desperate to get her to hospital.  I enclose money for petrol used and hope you will accept gift of 2 tickets to theatre, for your trouble. Thanks for your help!” The collector smiles and imagines a woman cradling a new born baby. Close-ups of a baby follow. His wife is on the doorstep as the collector drives the car back into the drive. He locks the car and shows his wife the note as they go back in the house, closing the door behind them. General view of the Theatre Royal in Grey Street, Newcastle, which advertises The Black Mikado. Sometime later that night, the collector and his wife arrive back home after a night at the theatre. She finds the door unlocked. Entering the house, and turning on the lights, they look around but can’t see anything amiss. The collector scratches his head. Close-up of a tell-tale scrap of blue money bag sticking out of a drawer. The collector pulls out the bag and finds a note. The note reads: “Thanks for your help!” The money, of course, is gone. Title: The End