infoLast Shift (1976)
Amber Films (Producer)
17 mins, 16mm
Colour/optical
Documentary
Available as DVD
Adamsez, the well known bathroom ware manufacturers, went out of business in 1975. One of the casualties of the closure was a small self-contained operation housed in an ancient collection of buildings in Swalwell-on-Tyne, which was devoted to the manufacture of hand-made bricks. Here a handful of men produced high quality refractory bricks, via a process which seemed to have been untouched by the industrial revolution.
The brickworks having just closed and the owners either unaware or unconcerned, Amber simply employed the workers for a further week so that the processes could be documented. The film opens with the workers considering the fate of Darky, one of the factory horses, which sadly echoed their own predicament. The horse’s name led to objections from some on the left, when the film was first shown.
As with Amber’s other industrial documentaries, the group was advised on the importance of recording the disappearing work places by Tyneside social historian Stafford Linsley.
AMBER FILMS
Made with financial assistance from Northern Arts and Kodak Ltd.
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