Astor Home Movies No. 1

Astor family and friends at play, from boating on the River Thames to fishing in Scotland and riding at Cliveden.

The Astor family and many of their friends - ranging from Kathleen Kennedy (socialite and sister of JFK) to Joyce Grenfell (niece of Nancy Astor) - enjoy the pleasures of tennis, horse riding, shooting and boating in these sometimes fragmentary films. The films were shot over two decades and offer are a captivating glimpse of upper class life in the first half of the 20th century, despite appearing here out of chronological sequence.

Among the many figures appearing in these films are Waldorf, 2nd Viscount Astor, his wife Nancy, and their five children: William (Bill), Nancy (Wissie), David, Michael and John Jacob (Jakie). Also appearing are Wissie's husband James Ancaster, Joyce Grenfell, her husband Reginald and brother Tommy Phipps, and Mr and Mrs Bernard Shaw.