Dymchurch Pirates (1964)

Dymchurch, Kent.



Various shots of men dressed as pirates are seen in a small old fashioned boat which flies the Jolly Roger. Group of men dressed in red uniforms - soldiers of another era. The soldiers are inspected, gunpowder is loaded into a musket. Shots are fired out to sea. The pirates approach the shore with barrels of "smuggled rum". One of the pirates is the local vicar - Mr Meredith - he plays the character of Dr Syn the pirate.



Various shots of a parade through the town where the townsfolk dress as pirates. Men carry barrels of rum on their heads.



Narrator observes how nice it is that the whole village "gets together like one happy family really enjoying itself with home-made fun, a rare thing in these days of ready made entertainment".



Note: this is apparently a re-enactment of a scene in a novel but the novel is not named - any ideas?



Cuts exist - see separate record.



Note from website user: The event taking place is based on the story of smuggling pirate Dr Syn. The series of books seven in all were written by Russell Thorndike, actor and writer from the 30's. The event still takes place in Dymchurch bi-annually over the August bank holiday and the next one is due in 2004.



Disney made a film in the mid 60's loosely based on the books, after the first film was made in the late 1930's.
FILM ID:301.08

A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT'S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES. http://www.britishpathe.tv/

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT http://www.britishpathe.com/

British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website. https://www.britishpathe.com/