This film is part of Rentals
Wheels of Life
Bonkers bikes promo. They don't make 'em like this any more... or do they?
Overview
This fun silent promo for Raleigh bicycles combines a splendidly silly story with ace footage of steel bike production. Our hero, an upright chap recovering from a nervous breakdown, recalls a dream about Sir Walter Raleigh (as you do...) and duly takes up cycling, putting himself on the road to recovery. Fascinating factory scenes showcase Raleigh craftsmanship.
The dream sequence follows the protagonist's viewing of Sir John Everett Millais' painting The Boyhood of Raleigh, which is held by the Tate. Wheels of Life combines (or collides) two common forms of promotional filmmaking: high-concept fantasy and nuts-and-bolts documentary of production processes. Both had been used for at least 25 years by the time this curio was made, and both are still used in today's digital advertising and 'branded content'. It's the fiction that tends to date, often seeming kitsch, while the actuality footage becomes more intensely fascinating with every passing decade. That's certainly the case here.
Related
Ideal Home Ideal Home
Advert 1961 31 mins Director: Graham Watts
An 'admag' adventure at the Ideal Home exhibition.
Star Impersonations Star Impersonations
Advert 1930 8 mins Silent Director: Harry Hughes
Five British film stars show a talent for mimickry in this quirky film magazine promotion.
Raleigh 'Raincheck' Advert Raleigh 'Raincheck' Advert
Advert 1976 5 mins
Send in the clowns! Raleigh demonstrates its latest cycle safety innovation in unconventional style.
Hercules: Lion Cubs Hercules: Lion Cubs
Advert 1956 1 mins
A pair of cheeky lion cubs star in this animated advertisement for the 'Finest Bicycle Built Today'.
The Program The Program
Biopic 2015 103 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Ben Foster is Lance Armstrong in this kinetic account of the cyclist who fell from grace, from acclaimed director Stephen Frears.
The Kid with a Bike The Kid with a Bike
Drama 2011 87 mins Director: Luc Dardenne and Jean-Pierre Dardenne
The Dardennes' powerful, award-winning drama tells of a troubled and volatile young teenager abandoned by his dad and 'adopted' by a hairdresser
Skid Kids Skid Kids
Action and Adventure 1953 49 mins Director: Don Chaffey
Young 'Swanky' Clarke, leader of the Burton Bullets Cycle Speedway Club, foils bicycle thieves on the streets of 1950s Bermondsey.
Raleigh 'Raincheck' Advert Raleigh 'Raincheck' Advert
Advert 1976 5 mins
Send in the clowns! Raleigh demonstrates its latest cycle safety innovation in unconventional style.
Hercules: Lion Cubs Hercules: Lion Cubs
Advert 1956 1 mins
A pair of cheeky lion cubs star in this animated advertisement for the 'Finest Bicycle Built Today'.
From Acorn to Oak From Acorn to Oak
Anthology 1938 5 mins Director: Montgomery Tully
A birthday card in film form, celebrating 50 years of the Dunlop pneumatic tyre.
Small Things Like These Small Things Like These
Drama 2024 99 mins
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.
Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Crime 2023 102 mins Director: Shujun Wei
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
The Critic The Critic
Period drama 2023 101 mins Director: Anand Tucker
Ian McKellen is in delicious form as London's most vicious critic, who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actor (Gemma Arterton).
Special People Special People
Comedy 2008 74 mins Director: Justin Edgar
Justin Edgar's pioneering feature comedy about a neurotic filmmaker enlisted to make a film with a class of wheelchair-users.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
What if unrequited love spanned the centuries? Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.