Ha'penny Breeze" Is a Feature Film Made in and About Pin Mill in 1949

Newsletter January 2015 Newsletter No. 28 Ha’penny Breeze "Ha'penny Breeze" is a feature film made in and about Pin Mill in 1949. It did the rounds of UK cinemas and its World Premiere was at the Ritz Cinema in the Buttermarket. The story is that David and Jonnie, 2 demobbed prisoners of war, return to David's home village. Jonnie is a keen yachtsman from Australia and David is a boat designer and heir to the famous old boatyard of Harry King & Sons at Pin Mill. They arrive to find that the village - and boatyard - have fallen on hard times. They persuade the villagers to help them renovate the fishing smack that David had designed and built before the war and convert it into a yacht. Then, by entering her into a yacht race, they hope to win orders and so renew the fortunes of the village. Several locals appear in the film and one IMT member can be seen playing a (then!) younger member of the King family. All aspects of Pin Mill are to be seen - as it was just after WWII complete with frequent visits to the Butt & Oyster! The sailing sequences involved several members of the PMSC quietly towing buckets to ensure that the hero wins! The quality of the film has recently been "enhanced". It is thoroughly entertaining, a good yarn and also an historic document - especially to us "Maritime Locals". Appropriately, we have arranged for a special showing of the film for Ipswich Maritime Trust members at the Pin Mill Sailing Club on the evening of Saturday 18th April, where one can enjoy the (hardly altered) ambiance of Pin Mill some 65 years after the film was shot. There will be a bar, wonderful views, and a “finger buffet" before the showing. Due to the limited capacity of the Pin Mill Sailing Club it will be necessary to book places to see the film. There is a charge of £5 per person for the film and buffet – more details will be sent out closer to the time, but put this in your diary, and if you are interested please call Geoffrey Dyball on 01473 214004 to book your place, or email [email protected] Some reviews of the film at the time: Fresh, uninhibited and disarmingly ingenious romantic drama … …backgrounds are both ‘Alanna’ c.1939, Pin Mill picturesque and authentic. Essentially English, good humoured and thrilling ….. The picture has much wholesome sentiment, a sly sense of humour and a number of realistic thrills. The yacht race is exceptionally well handled, with good scenic qualities. BREEZY, SALTY AND BUBBLING OVER WITH GOODWILL.IT SHOULD BE CORDIALLY RECEIVED. KINEMATOGRAPH WEEKLY A breath of sea air, in a new British film...of infinite charm, and its cavalcade of white sails, its men of the sea with salty aspect no studio could ever have given them, and a rollicking sea shanty which runs through it like a capricious breeze. WESTERN MAIL, CARDIFF Some facts about the film: - A film of many firsts. It was the first British film ever to initiate profit participation for its actors and principal technicians. A certain sum is paid up front during production. The rest is deferred till the film obtains a financial return. In this case the ‘certain sum’ up front was £10 a week each, including the director, writer and producers. - It was the first feature film of its director, Frank Worth, who was only 23 when he started it. - It was one of the first British feature movies shot entirely on location – including location sound – which in those pre-compact magnetic recording days, necessitated an enormous three-ton sound truck manned by four technicians to record sound. - With only sufficient resources to shoot but not to edit a complete postproduction, the maker had to seek a little further funding; so it was probably the first feature picture that overnight made film financiers of a milkman, an estate agent, a variety comic and a sympathetic old grandmother. - Even so the director and editor had to cut the film by night – dusk to dawn, rent of the cutting rooms was cheaper. It was the only way they could finish the film on its £16,000 budget. - The film needed music, but instead of simply dubbing some out-of-copyright recorded piece on to the soundtrack, the makers had the temerity to approach the man who was probably the leading writer of film music in Britain at the time, Philip Green, and ask him if he could write and record something original, but of course for very little reimbursement. Their cheek paid off, and Phil Green wrote a charming piece called after the film title Ha’penny Breeze. - Philip Green unearthed ancient folk tunes and village airs from the Pin Mill area and cleverly blended them into his score, which was played on a 100 year old concertina for the film soundtrack. Some local characters: A local boy during shooting Ha'penny Breeze Harry King – whose boatyard featured in the film Page 2 have a dominant ‘patrician’ culture to the 1930s.’ IMT membership subs. The essay was written as part of the History Department’s Module ‘Sea and Society since 1750’. The membership subscriptions for 2015 are now due. Many thanks to all those people who pay by standing order; it is appreciated as it makes the administration task much easier. The IMT has 302 Suffolk Museum of the members and a fantastic 71% pay by standing order, thank you. Year Awards event 2014 If there is a renewal form attachment with the email, or printout with this posted newsletter, then the membership subscription is due as our records 27 October 2014 do not show that it is paid by standing order. Although the Trust doesn't qualify as an Accredited We will be very happy to take your subscription Museum, our dockside window displays project a either very professional image, thanks to the hard work of the "window wizards", who devise and implement - by cash or cheque at one of the spring talks, or a rolling programme of exhibitions, with changes of - by posted cheque, or theme every six months. The window - from mid- November - features local boatbuilders and we - by bank transfer, or hope the one after that (May 2015) will major on - consider paying by standing order. the amazing architectural drawings and sketches by Edward Caley of the Ipswich waterfront made in All the details are on the renewal letter. We look 1837, years before the Dock and present Custom forward to your continuing membership. House were built! UCS - The Ipswich Maritime Trust Award In 2014 we inaugurated the sponsorship of The Ipswich Maritime Trust Award for the Best Essay in Maritime History, to be awarded annually. Caley drew all the waterfront buildings and quays from what is now Stoke Bridge right round to Cliff Quay: a complete panorama in minute detail of exactly what was there - and in a few cases, still is. The original drawings are in the Suffolk Record Office but the Trust has scanned them and we put 1/3rd size copies - plus a scale model of the then Custom House - on show at the Suffolk Museum of the Year Awards ceremony hosted by Lesley Dolphin of BBC Radio Suffolk at the UCS building on The photo above shows Dr Harvey Osborne, Senior 27 October. The full-size drawings will be in our Lecturer in History, and the 2014 winner Heather window display next summer. Gittins. The title of the winning essay was: ‘Assess David The Trust aims to be present - and visible - at Cannadine’s argument that seaside resorts in events of this sort and is grateful to Ben Bendall general had aristocratic origins and continue to who put this display together. Page 3 Des Pawson also displayed an excellent collection of items from his Museum of Knots and Sailors' Ropework. Richard Watkinson Museum News Window Museum 11th display A CELEBRATION OF LOCAL YACHT AND Present day boatyards keep alive these skills from BOAT BUILDING the most traditional wooden boat building, to the most modern, as well as a unique combination of the two in the case of Spirit Yachts, in their premises on the ‘island site’, in Ipswich dock. It is hardly surprising that they were chosen to provide James Bond’s yacht for the film ‘Casino Royale’, as seen in the large photograph in the display. Unfortunately Daniel Craig seems to have preferred mooring this beautiful Ipswich-built yacht in Venice rather than Ipswich dock – maybe next time! Meanwhile earlier this year Russian Fedor Konyukhov rowed solo across the Pacific in a specially rowing boat built by Demon Yachts of In past centuries Ipswich and its river were famed Harkstead throughout the world for the innovation and Along the front of the display is placed a selection quality of its ship building, both for wartime and of such boatyards, past and present, large and peaceful trading purposes. This is well documented, small, all contributing to our unique maritime celebrating such famous names as Slade (designer history. When you look at the yachts and different of Nelson’s Flag ship HMS Victory), and Richard types of sailing craft now moored in the dock, it is Gower (designer and builder of the revolutionary worth appreciating that a quite remarkable number ship Transit). Ipswich’s reputation for quality and of their design features, now copied world-wide, skilled shipbuilding had already been established in were invented and developed here. The world of past centuries such that many of the Admiralty- yachting owes a great debt of gratitude to such commissioned wooden warships were constructed local innovators as Austin Farrar, some of whose here for a time, until the plentiful supply of oak work is featured in the display.

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