Brighton Story (1955) | BFI National Archive

The Sussex skyline has changed dramatically since the making of this quirky and colourful yarn about a Regency-era 'ghost' (Alec Clunes - son of Martin) who returns to Brighton to explore his old haunts. Though 1970s concrete carbuncles have yet to make an appearance, the sight of daytrippers enjoying the seaside pleasures of ice-cream and candyfloss is as recognisable then as now, as is shopping for vintage treasures in the Lanes.
This video is part of the Orphan Works collection. When the rights-holder for a film cannot be found, that film is classified as an Orphan Work. Find out more about Orphan Works: ec.europa.eu/in.... This is in line with the EU Orphan Works Directive of 2012. The results of our search for the rights holder of this film can be found in the EU Orphan Works Database: euipo.europa.e...
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[@bbgunn917]

As a kid in London in the 70s, the train down to Brighton for the day was a treat my grandma took me on, with tea at Lyons. It was a hive of alternative creativity, loads of real artists. Biba started off there, as did The Body Shop and Neal's Yard. It stole such a place in my heart, that I bought my first home there in the 90s, beautiful Brunswick Square (actually a nightmare because of being Grade I listed, the crooked council forced you to repaint the facade every 10 years, using THEIR contractors at a cost of 100 thousand pounds!!!!) It was so stressful having that hanging over your head every decade that I moved. Like everywhere else it was soon ruined by property sharks, too many cars and rip off parking rules and all the soul evaporated. Thinking back on London my home town and Brighton my adopted home town and what they've become is a sort of grief.

[@vinegartom8380]

I was born in Brighton (Buckingham Road Maternity hospital, near the train station) in 1968. Went to primary School at Davigdor Road, them Somerhill School. When I was 25 years old I moved the States. I'm now 50 years old and writing this in Los Angeles, California. I now have a wife and three children and every three years or so, we go to the UK and I take my family back to Brighton to show them where I grew-up. I may live in the States, but I will forever be a Brighton boy....

[@DMWBN3]

Vinegar Tom I lived on Davigdor road and I'm more of a hove lad tbh. I was born in 1971, went to aldrington infants on Portland road. Then St. Andrews and on to blatchington mill. Still live in Hove. Shame how it's become a bit of a litter strewn, hen & stay weekends. On a good point, we have got in the Premiership, got an amazing football ground all to be proud of!!!

[@billymog]

My wife was born in the same hospital in April 68. I was born in Brighton and although it has its problems, its still a great place to live. Actually I live in Saltdean.

[@satindergrewal6593]

I went to Brighton for the first time in 2016 to celebrate my 30th wedding anniversary I can tell you I loved the place so much I did not want to leave Brighton

[@Surv1ve_Thrive]

Sussex by the Sea 🎵🌞🇬🇧👍

[@angiematthews8364]

@@DMWBN3 what a fabulous hit of warm fuzzy nostalgia..thanks so much for uploading ! I too went to Blatchington Mill (born 1965) and remember playing netball against Somerfield school. Such fond memories of my childhood in Hove and long summer holiday spent on the beach...ahhhh what a different world and place Brighton and Hove were back then. Sooo many memories ! I moved away in my early 20s and now live in London. Still miss beautiful Sussex and the sea though..🙁

[@senianns9522]

My dad taking us down to Brighton beach in the late 50's in his old Wolseley car! Somewhere near Blackrock was the preferred spot! Crusty ham rolls, oxtail soup in flasks! We had no money but the days were great! Simple but good family life!

[@Andrea-kx6dc]

Sounds lovely, thanks for sharing, from the U.S.😊

[@layde1]

What a wonderful, entertaining film. I just love seeing the old British way of life.🌷

[@tubecated_development]

Consumerism became everything. Fly tipping and US-style takeaway containers littering everything. And factory-fed chickenshit and factory-fed human shit in the rivers and brooks. “Little traffic disturbs the peaceful Green, and long may it remain so” 😂😂😂😂😂😂 England IS cars. The car-lovers paradise. 3 outside every house, throw the litter from the car-windows. Drive half a mile to the chip shop. Cars, like consumerism, became everything to the Modern Brit. Car-culture helped us consume olde England. The presence of them seen and smelled and heard everywhere. They take all of our money and all of our time. And we love them more than anything. ❤❤❤❤❤❤. And by the 1960s it was all over, so they are just now filling in the gaps. Subtopia. A vast junk heap.

[@donnarogers7732]

What a Sweet film. So glad it was refurbished for us to see today. Time waits for no man. Enjoy while you can.💚🇬🇧

[@Andrea-kx6dc]

Well said! ❤

[@talmadge1926]

I remember Laurence Olivier leading a protest to get kippers (smoked herring for the uninitiated) restored to the breakfast menu of the Pullman dining car on "The Brighton Belle" after they had been abruptly withdrawn (1960s). He launched an appeal in ringing shakespearian tones. And won! The kippers were restored. But even he could not save the much loved train with its 1930s carriages and it was taken out of service in the 70s

[@alanogilvie4504]

We grew up in Hove in the 1960s having moved from Glasgow via Bognor Regis. We moved South for health reasons as we all 4 kids struggled with bronchial issues in Glasgow. Dad contracted Polio in the early 50s too, so the South Coast was where we ended up. This is a lovely look back at a Brighton that has changed so much with the times.. I moved to California in 1985 and have lived there ever since..I haven't been back to Brighton since 2001 but it's still very much a part of me. One of my brothers and my sister and my half brother all still live there with their families so I'm joined at the hip with them all You can take a boy out of Brighton but you can't take Brighton out of the boy What a fantastic place to grow up in! ❤ Up the Albion!

[@thekarmafarmer608]

It was a really wonderful country back then. It really was a GREAT Britain. I miss these simpler times.

[@gerardmackay8909]

It was backward

[@freepeach9631]

@@gerardmackay8909ridiculous comment

[@CountryLifeEngland]

@@gerardmackay8909It was for women and Gays. Not anymore, I just love The Lanes now.

[@cambs0181]

If he found coming back to Brighton in the 1950s, don't know what he would think of it in the 2020s.

[@tubecated_development]

Do they still have running battles of mods and rockers? Or are people fat and pooing in Maccy D boxes on the beach? Or is everything just cars now….

[@jenniferyule8786]

@@clarevoyant6322 Full of crime and immigrants who don't want to be in England, they just want to be anywhere but where they are from so they don't give a toss. . It has no character anymore, no class. Nobody cares about their surroundings. But at one time, it was beautiful and less crowded and so very English.

[@lindabullen66]

I so enjoyed this, I used to go to St Margaret's primary school, lived at Norfolk Square. I live in Australia now, but Brighton will always be home. ❤❤

[@BantuEducation]

Wonderful nostalgic video of Brighton (and a few scenes of Hove, although not stated). I can almost see my self there on the beach. I was born in 1947 and lived in Hove until 1969.

[@Rustymouse]

Twas born here 1946, loved the beach in the 50's 60's . How do you do and pleased to meet you . (am still here in Brighton) I still go down to the beach late at night to the edge of the sea ,stars are out and sit on the stones (ouch) to listen to the lapping of the waves, so tranquil..

[@sandypompilii6901]

@@Rustymouse sounds wonderful

[@richardloring7545]

Italian cafe on front at Hove....lovely....my fave

[@annenunney9907]

I spent many days in Brighton when I was a child with my parents and brother always love Brighton

[@lolamarie3884]

I don’t know what it is about this but I come back to watch it, probably around 5 times now and I love it every time. It’s so poetic, beautiful AND entertaining

[@fairytaleworld777-v8]

Beautiful program!

[@londongirl1733]

Pre enrichment! Luverly 😢

[@skyebrackpool147]

My mum was born in the North Laines in 1955. So lovely to be able to see what Brighton was like in the 50’s . Thanks for posting.

[@supergran1000]

Same year as I was born! I might have met your mum. I also know a family called Brackpool. Unusual name.

[@janethammond5925]

What a delightful time capsule of how Britain used to be. Yet makes me want to weep for that reason. Today's generation does not realise what has been lost. 😢

[@WVgrl59]

And they will say the same thing to the Next Generation

[@Linda-io2ns]

​@@WVgrl59exactly

[@gerardmackay8909]

Life is infinitely better now by absolutely any measure you care to use. What are you seeing in this film that you think has been lost?

[@janethammond5925]

@@gerardmackay8909 While society is better off now regarding advances in healthcare, standard of living, technology (the last with mixed results) much seems to have been lost. Societal cohesion, low crime, pride in British culture and heritage, a sense of place in the world, safe streets and overall peace. Yes there were problems of different kinds but I think anyone watching this video senses that something precious has been lost. Just my opinion anyway.

[@gerardmackay8909]

@@janethammond5925 I understand how you feel but I still think nostalgia can be more a yearning for an imagined rather than real world. I’m 100% in agreement that technology is a mixed blessing (social media has enabled and encouraged some very self absorbed, narcissistic behaviour not to mention the sharing of extreme toxic views) but that 1950s ‘idyll’ was a time where so many of our current societal ills splashed across our media still existed (they just weren’t reported). Poverty and domestic violence were rife and women in particular had a rough time of it (rampant sexism, lower wages for the same job and very restricted access to the professions). Personally I’d hark back to the early 2000s not the mid 20th century because we had many of the advancements of a modern society but without the destructive poison of social media.

[@hettyjames5111]

Lovely movie. Thank you.

[@exanimo11]

Film

[@tintobrass532]

My home town of Brighton; what an extra-splendid video, really first rate!

[@carolwilkins7286]

How wonderful and nostalgic. I remember my sister and I practising our song to sing at the lido childrens' theatre, probably around 1957. Our grandparents had a beautiful house in Brighton, and we used to spend the school holidays there. I am off for a long weekend at the end of May with my daughter, such a wonderful place.

[@purplevamp666]

This was really lovely to watch. I was born in Brighton and still live here, never left and never want to This film is made well before I was born but there are parts that were around in my day x

[@carolinemcgovern8059]

Really enjoyed this. Thank you so much.

[@CassHoskins]

The Brighton my Mum and grandparents moved down from London to in the 50's. Over a decade before I was born, but has element I still remember from my childhood.

[@optimistnow7491]

Thank you BBC Radio Brighton x

[@marleytennant8018]

if you used to live here and this is what you remember, i would advise against coming back.

[@johnwheatley5641]

Just took my family there. My three-year-old daughter was so excited to see the beach so as soon as we checked in I walked her down to the beach. In that short walk we saw a homeless guy so drunk he was throwing up, then a guy shooting up heroin and through an underpass that stank so much of pee I was almost sick. Such a terrible waste of a once glorious city.

[@MichaelBarry-wj3ee]

NOW IT HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER BY PISSHEADS , JUNKIES AND BEGGARS ON EVERY CORNER

[@nigelmitchell351]

When our population was only 51 million......

[@1inchPunchBowl]

@@johnwheatley5641 Then we are happy for you to never return. You have no idea.

[@1inchPunchBowl]

In 1955? Its called progress.

[@PlanetaryCitizen]

It was interesting to see this. I've always liked Brighton. I live in St Leonards on Sea (after moving down from London 22 years ago). At one time this town was more popular with tourists and holidaymakers than Brighton. People used to come from all over Europe and Queen Victoria stayed here too. It was recommended by her doctors for health reasons. There is a statue of her in Warrior Square Gardens and the Victoria Hotel is still open to guests. She and Albert used to go to the opera house, which sadly is no more. As the town fell into decline, Brighton became the place to go.

[@dinahjackson8146]

DELIGHTFUL ! ❤

[@subbtopp]

aww thanks for that I live I brighton and it was strange watching this

[@jean-paul7251]

Real Britain before its people were betrayed by politicians

[@senianns9522]

I preferred by 20 in the 70's than being 70 in the 20's!

[@lunastargoddess1632]

And now, like Australia, its mini America. This is why we watch these old films.

[@ObsoleteOddity]

@@senianns9522 You add this ridiculous comment on most of these vintage documentaries.

[@senianns9522]

@@ObsoleteOddity Just keep following!

[@ObsoleteOddity]

@@senianns9522 I don’t follow, I just observe your non-humorous behaviour, which you obviously think it’s quite witty.

[@johnparnell8571]

The street scene at 12:16 is Lewes Crescent, immediately west of Brighton Marina. Apart from the presence of more cars, the road and its buildings looks much the same today as it did in 1955.

[@Gman-j6p]

What a contrast to today.

[@gerardmackay8909]

It was 70 years ago what do you expect?

[@loocmay]

@@gerardmackay8909 for them not to have had uncontrolled mass immigration from the most dangerous and filthy parts of the world imposed upon them, their decedents, their beautiful civilisation and their superior societal structure.

[@supergran1000]

Delightful little oddity. Made in the year of my birth, it was lovely to see the Brighton of my youth.

[@trevorpole6736]

That was a very enjoyable film Micko. It showed a lot of Brighton , and brought back many memories of when I was a Boy.😁😁😁

[@michael-gs6kh]

During the 50's my parents bought a little 2 bedroom cottage in Queens Place (off the London Rd) it cost £3,000 pounds!

[@clivebaxter6354]

How much now?

[@clearlake3492]

I tried - and failed - to get my head around the idea that Martin Clunes' son appeared in a 1955 film about Brighton, as the blurb indicates. The reality, of course, is that Alec Clunes was Martin's dad

[@phillipcharlesashwood1850]

BFI please ammend this, thank you.

[@seanrm]

Maybe Martin is a time traveller and Alec is, in fact, his son.

[@sarahlouise7163]

ohhh! i see the likeness! and i hear similar voices too

[@Undermarysmantleforever]

Simply lovely 🌟

[@janicechapple6058]

What a lovely video it is how I remember it.

[@chrisnieto5547]

Interesting perspective. They should do a film of him coming back Now!!!

[@john-h4k6m]

they should do one in 2055 to celebrate another hundred years passed

[@mrb257]

Brilliant!Great Britain then!

[@Steven_Rowe]

I was 2 in 1955 but clearly remember going to Brighton 8n thr summer of 56. I 2anted sand but got pebbles, i also remember have fun rides on a tra8ns that were made for young children and r8ng8ng the bell. Went back in 2010, so busy and crowded and Britain ruined by cars.

[@bedcurt]

I like that he’s looking for the chain pier, just think the gap 1896(when it collapse)-1957 is less than from 1957 to now, change happens

[@wadesaleeby2172]

Merry ole Englad how I love thee!😍😊🤗

[@abcxyz8787]

It's funny to see a past within a past. We accompany someone who's supposed to come from the 19th century (?) into the "present" (the 50s), and we're looking at this from almost 100 years later. The people in the 50s look at him as someone from the past, as we're looking at them.

[@DianeConsidine]

Lovely.

[@midecarter]

Great little film. The comments here are amazing. The ghost is bemoaning the changes in Brighton in 1955. The comments are bemoaning the changed since 1955. We need a ghost from medieval England to really get the message home that ‘things change’. Idealising the past is dangerous.

[@ObsoleteOddity]

Remembering the past fondly is not idealising it, it is important to remember our history and much more importantly, our culture. Of course, things change, but the negatives far outweigh the positives - People are bemoaning the loss of how England was, precisely, because that is the case.

[@camspks]

Charming

[@melvyntee]

Wonderful

[@nrw34260]

In the 50s, we had an arch by the boating pond by the West Pier and used to paddle in the paddling pool on the other side of the pier.

[@susanfarrell5118]

oh my I was 5years old when this was made and living in Brighton too.

[@malcolmturner214]

Awww the good old days , long gone unfortunately 😢😢😢

[@susanyates4233]

Alec Clunes was Martin`s Father. He has a beautiful voice and you can see Martin in him.

[@jacqueline4905]

Lovely thanks ❤

[@juneseghni]

6:31 is that the old Open Market? So bustling, unlike today.

[@TS-1267]

... Martin Clunes looks like his Father, same Lugs...🙏💃🕺🎶🍻

[@caroletomlinson5480]

He is Time. “In a couple hours, I shall make you high tide again.” And he marches on.

[@rexel666]

Lovely! Now, what better after a little spot of tiffing than a leisurely stroll to Duke's Mound, for some cottaging?!

[@dannywhite3538]

Lol such fun to be had and all for free, and their used to be a tea van in the evenings, long time ago now,

[@Milarkimilarki]

cottaging indeed yuck

[@paulyflyer8154]

Ha before we were impoverished and culturally enriched.

[@goldkhw]

1955, and no one is skinny. They must have all taken advantage of some of the newly available food after the Rationing. Up until 1954 when I left England, we were all still skinny because of the rationing.

[@jenniferyule8786]

But now all the children are fat. I was born in the 60s and a fat child was an oddity back then.

[@john111257]

Awesome

[@DMWBN3]

Funny he calls it a city, 50+ years before it became a City 🌃 I got many fond memories of playing in the paddling pool. Family friends used to have a novelty shop almost opposite. Happy days....... I'm still here, proud Brighton life resident.

[@lindasands1433]

In those days we still had steam trains. Not sure why that train was shown

[@TrueBrit1]

That surely has to be Martin Clunes' grandfather? Looks very alike - weird! I used to work next to the church at 5:22 in the early 2000s. I used to walk through there to get to the office next door. I was surprised to walk past Virginia Woolf's grave there. I like Brighton, but it's odd to see how little it has changed in 60 odd years. It looked old and a bit run down then, as it does now, but I guess it should be expected as much of it is now old. Nice quirky place, even if it does cost £5 Billion to park your car for 3 hours.

[@greghill7759]

The preface gets it back to front. The Regency character is Alec Clunes, who was Martin Clunes's father.

[@TrueBrit1]

Yeah, you're right. He looked old for 43, which was his age at the time according to wikipedia. He died of lung cancer in 1970 at 57. He was a great Shakespearian actor apparently, comparable to Geilgud.

[@Mrghostly1]

Alec Clunes was Martin Clunes's father.

[@johnmcmicking395]

I think you'll find that Alec Clunes was Martin's Father, not his son ... .

[@sarahlouise7163]

a house on wheels! 😆 a mechanical mosquito!! 😁 martin not only looks like his dad, he sounds like him!

[@saucerman110]

Don't think that Alec Clunes would want to see what Brighton is like now. So much has changed, and yes, for the worse, mind you, so has the rest of the world, changed for the worse, and it seems it will carry on like this, and we have no hope with the young generations now, too much crap feeding in the universities, schools etc. Oh well as they said in DAD's Army, WE'RE DOOMED

[@tondehaan8252]

nice shop at 16min..

[@brucass93]

So cute

[@rayviews6911]

I hope I have not got this wrong , but the boy singing “if you were the only girl ..” looks like Chis Farlow aged maybe ten . Chris did used to sing with his mother around their piano I believe . Of course he became a great rock star in later years . Apologies to Chris Farlow who I have great respect for if I got this wrong .

[@chriselawrence]

well spotted

[@supergran1000]

I think it's uncannily like him, although I can't find any photos of Chris as a boy. He was 15 in 1955, but could have been a late developer!

[@eamonnevans8005]

Do anyone have a time machine, please!?

[@montyf2165]

Indeed, and I would buy a one way ticket.

[@thevintagecut1145]

💙

[@gtavmj-1852]

It's 2024, and things have gone very much down hill from these times... this piece was beautifully written, and at least a hint at those times.... I think they would be HORRIFIED to see everyone now walking around alone staring at their mobile phones with hardly any community spirit.... and the sea polluted tonthe point its dangerous to enter it...Big companies and corrupt politicians are responsible for most of it... and its about to get even worse.

[@Linda-io2ns]

And in 50 years time, people will be saying, I wish it was like 20.24 again, and so on and so on,

[@Linda-io2ns]

Every year Brighton beach is crowded, hundreds of swimmers, what are you talking about, I live opposite Brighton beach, I should know, we are so lucky, would you like to live somewhere like Russia, under a dictatorship, the russian people would love to be us , living in a democracy, or what about a third world country, we don't realise how very very lucky we are

[@gs425]

Sounds of a steam train, view of an electric Brighton Pullman lol

[@devoradamaris]

🤲👑🤲

[@donnarouse9432]

Where I am from in wisconsin the name of the town was called brighton beach

[@tammiep9628]

I believe you’re thinking of Brighton Beach in the US by New York city

[@christinebull2949]

I can't help but think..is he a relative of Martin Clunes..?

[@discobean54]

Oh to be the confused young youth aged 22 having been born and raised in Surrey with only this Brighton your only thrice seaside excursion experience in childhood-- transitioning from London to NYC and visiting Brooklyn's Brighton Beach in 1973... should you find a comparable experience my dear young lad??? No, no you don't! You stay on the train a bit further to Coney Island and your life is forever changed.

[@toodie535]

Martin even walks like his dad

[@makeminealargecognac]

alec clunes was not the son of martin clunes. he was his dad. lol

[@anastasia10017]

is that Martin Clunes father narrating ?

[@vvoodee]

Don't you mean Alec Clunes was the father of Martin?

[@ajs41]

Before everything went to the dogs.

[@lesleyscott938]

Lovely to see this Brighton is horrible now and more like a rundown tip compared to the 1950s 😢

[@stud105]

Nonchalantly Fat shaming the poor lad 15:10

[@paulchance3766]

Are ye' coming back in 2055 ?🧐🤨

[@intranix]

Is that a helicopter at 17:28 ? seems unlikely (but possible) in 1955?

[@supergran1000]

Looks like it, Adam.

[@gary108]

No it was just a mechanical mosquito

[@Firebrand55]

That was a Bell bubble-canopy chopper made famous in the MASH tv series; used extensively in Korea.

[@DMWBN3]

Well is was not CGI. It's a shame where you see the marines at the end the arches have been allowed to fall into disrepair & need millions for the renovation.

[@Okton3]

I keep getting flashes of Robert shaws voice in the narration (quint/jaws) I know his son is in brighton

[@johnbrighton8241]

Yes, Brighton has changed. A Marine Parade in a pitiful state, and the West Pier murdered in the sea. Brutalist architecture. I do not want to be a ghost in 50 years time - but this is still Brighton, and a lot of what I see in this gem of a film remains. And I am deeply offended, being gay that a homophobic remark is allowed here. Further down referring this city to be Sodom.

[@clivebaxter6354]

Stop moaning you old Queen

[@neilfurby555]

Alec Clunes ...father of Martin, not son.

[@Kousaburo]

The past is a foreign country. The present is also a foreign country, haha. There's no England now.

[@tomwotton9]

Man from the 1800’s “So young persons still journey to Brighton, dressesd like infedels but no matter.” Me “You should see what there wearing nowadays!”

[@dstanl]

I lived in Bournemouth then moved to New Zealand. Went back 30 years later. Big mistake.

[@rapman5363]

Pip Pip Cheerio Bob’s your Uncle

[@billycashin]

15:09 oof

[@markofsaltburn]

Propaganda and nostalgia were so much better in those days.

[@clivebaxter6354]

Hijab free!

[@Linda-io2ns]

There was all nationalitys in England, especially London at this time, what are you talking about

[@chubeye1187]

Grim time

[@emilyfralick4719]

Where are all the black people

[@alanknight1927]

I'm not sure I'd describe the Pavillion's interior as 'elegant'. Deranged, certainly. Garish, hallucinatory, vulgar and over-opulent all spring to mind. I'm not saying I don't LIKE the interior. But it's in quite appalling taste. Alec Clunes vaguely resembles his famous son. It's the VOICE that really gives it away though. Lose the strangled mid century tone and that's Martin Clunes speaking.

[@pllat0scave]

in all honestly ,, dares someone to suggest, we have it better today ?

[@randomvintagefilm273]

Terrible choice for the thumbnail, those two look dead!