This film is part of Free
The Story of Our Food Supply
The original foodie city: from bustling Bermondsey Wharves through Smithfield and Billingsgate to London's street markets and general stores.
Overview
Striking aerial views of the docks between Tower Bridge and London Bridge set the scene for this examination of the capital's imported foods. Flat-capped stevedores and Thamesside cranes unload items which public health inspectors sample and scrutinise for signs of decay. They check food vendors too: the wholesale markets at Billingsgate and Smithfield, grocers and trader's stalls on Southwark Park Road and a milkman delivering by handcart. Look out for the hygiene item rendered from some rotting inedibles!
Bermondsey Borough Council was a pioneer in public health education in the period before the NHS, and produced a number of public information films like this one in their efforts to inform and educate the local population. Films were shown in schools and clubs, as well as on the streets and in the borough's public spaces via a cinema van kitted out for mobile exhibition. Much of the film's contemporary interest lies in its presentation of the working city before containerisation of cargo closed the central docks and Billingsgate Fish Market relocated from the City of London to the Isle of Dogs.
Related
Shirley Schools Shirley Schools
Documentary 1929 24 mins Silent Location: Bermondsey
The care and education of Bermondsey's orphans and abandoned children - before the introduction of the welfare state.
Morgan's Wall Morgan's Wall
Documentary 1978 51 mins Location: Battersea
Murals around London, notably Morgan's Wall in Battersea, painted by local artists.
Help for Russia Help for Russia
Documentary 1941 12 mins Silent Location: Bermondsey
"Your money means death to Nazism": Bermondsey holds a great parade in aid of Russia during WWII.
Public Health Service Public Health Service
Documentary 1931 14 mins Silent Location: Bermondsey
White-coated scientists, doctors, chiropodists, dentists, and midwives unite in their mission to eradicate disease and ignorance from Bermondsey.
Tower Bridge Road Market... Tower Bridge Road Market...
1931 5 mins Silent Location: Bermondsey
Scenes of thronging street life and market trading along Tower Bridge Road, Bermondsey Street and Southwark Park Road.
New Perspectives: La Haine New Perspectives: La Haine
Short documentary 2025 4 mins
Charlie Hammersley, a student from Northumbria University, explains how Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film holds up a mirror to society.
Dreamers Q&A Dreamers Q&A
Inside Film 2025 30 mins
The film-makers behind a haunting tale of love and community within a UK immigration detention centre visited the BFI Southbank to discuss their film.
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 50 mins
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation at BFI Southbank, discussing the making of One Battle After Another.
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.