|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
In 1952 the Glasgow Corporation housing department attempted to sell some of its council houses on the Merrylee estate. This triggered protests and in response, the left wing amateur 'Dawn Cine Group' made a film about the Glasgow housing crisis entitled 'Let Glasgow Flourish'. The film illustrated the continued problems of overcrowding and poverty in the inner city and recorded the protests calling for more new houses. The film shows scenes of rundown housing, children playing on the streets, shipyard workers on the Clyde, as well as a dramatised road accident, and protest marches. ‘Let Glasgow Flourish’ was made to offer a contrasting view of the housing situation to that provided by the Glasgow Corporation Housing Department. The Corporation produced promotional films which presented a positive image of urban development in the city such as the film 'Progress Report No.2' (1948) which described the new housing estate at Pollock in glowing terms. The Scottish Screen Archive holds several films that highlight the experience of inner city life in Glasgow as well as films from a left wing perspective, including ‘Clyde Film’, made in the 1985 by young people as the first generation to be brought up in the new peripheral housing developments around Glasgow. A critique of 'Let Glasgow Flourish' amongst others, and an analysis of the issues is offered in the book ‘Film, TV and the Left in Britain 1950-1970’ by Bert Hogenkamp. |
|
