The Yorkshire Film Archive collects, preserves, and shows film made in, or about Yorkshire. Our collections are non-fiction, dating from the 1890s to the present day, and providing a rich and visually compelling record of all aspects of lives, cultures, landscape, industries, major events and everyday activities, many of which are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
This film is part of Free
Emily Jane
Out on the wiley, windy moors, by rundown stone cottages, the bonneted Brontë sisters feed their imagination, and Emily (aka Ellis Bell) dreams of meeting her Heathcliffe.
From the collection of:
Overview
This is a splendid documentary about Emily Jane Brontë, made on location by dedicated Leeds amateur filmmaker Jack Eley. With Jack’s typically enlivening commentary, it shows where the Brontës lived, settings for Wuthering Heights, fascinating historic items and period re-enactments drawn from the life of the sisters and their brother – with the hooded figure of Heathcliffe haunting the moors.
John (Jack) S. Eley was a major player in the very active Leeds Cine Club in the 1950s and ‘60s. He liked to make well-crafted documentaries like this one (made with the help of the Brontë Society and the Yorkshire Arts Association), with other films on Rupert Brooke and John Ruskin. His friend and fellow filmmaker Gordon Riley filmed Jack making the film, behind the scenes, for ‘The Shooting of Emily Jane’. The personnel playing all the characters in the film aren’t known, although Jack’s wife Gladys and daughter Sue are among them. A wonderful tour of the area seen in the film, including Top Withens, the possible location of Wuthering Heights, is provided by Brontë enthusiast Helen Broadhead.
Related
Watch for free
Mining Review 25th Year No. 9 Mining Review 25th Year No. 9
1972 10 mins Location: Mayfair
A painterly profile of County Durham's brilliant miner-artist Tom McGuinness.
Watch for free
Figures in a Landscape Figures in a Landscape
Documentary 1953 17 mins Silent Location: St Ives
A poetic portrait of sculptor Barbara Hepworth and the otherworldly Cornish landscapes which inspired her.
Watch for free
Dancers Dancers
1978 29 mins
Impressionistic portrait of life as a dancer in London’s Ballet Rambert.
Watch for free
Giacometti Giacometti
Documentary 1967 14 mins
Spend a few intense minutes with Giacometti in his Paris studio and see him at work on his striking sculptures.
Watch for free
Portrait of David Hockney Portrait of David Hockney
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1972 13 mins
Filmed at the time Hockney was painting Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy, this compelling study concentrates on the textures and light which surround the artist in his home and studio.
Watch for free
Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt
Documentary 1984 61 mins
Discover the 'name behind the hairstyle', in this essential portrait of the bard of Salford, aka John Cooper Clarke.
Watch for free
Methodism in the Dales Methodism in the Dales
Travelogue 1949 28 mins Silent Location: Calver
A tour of chapels and Methodists, past and present, in the northern counties of England.
Watch for free
The Shooting of Emily Jane The Shooting of Emily Jane
Amateur film 1980 23 mins Location: Stanbury
An intriguing film of an amateur filming a documentary about Emily Brontë on location, up on the Yorkshire moors, and editing it in his home.
Watch for free
A Bronte Christmas A Bronte Christmas
Documentary 1980 14 mins Location: Haworth
Richard Whiteley joins children on the Worth Valley Railway Santa’s Special, while the Haworth Town Band sing On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at.
Watch for free
Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
Home movie 1970 3 mins Silent Location: Haworth
Station to station by steam locomotive on the Keighley and Worth Valley ‘heritage’ railway.
Watch for free
Yorkshire Tour No. 2 Yorkshire Tour No. 2
Documentary 1972 25 mins Location: Bridlington
Having given up the ghost as Martin Hopkirk, Kenneth Cope provides the banter as we tour Yorkshire, while maverick show jumper Harvey Smith helps decipher the Yorkshire ethos.
Watch for free
Push and Pull Push and Pull
Non-Fiction 1968 7 mins Location: Keighley
The age of steam lingers on as the `Worth Valley Railway Re-Opening Special' pulls into Keighley station, and hardly an anorak in sight.
Watch for free
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
Watch for free
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Watch for free
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Watch for free
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
Watch for free
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
Watch for free
The NHS75 Celebration The NHS75 Celebration
Short documentary 2023 3 mins
Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.