CALLING ALL CARS

GB
1954
44mins
Dir: Maclean Rogers
Starring: Cardew Robinson and Adrienne Scott

In search of romance, two young men follow two young women to Dover and the Continent beyond

This short comedy is something of a curiosity. It isn’t funny at all and is a strange mixture of semi-documentary about the port of Dover and the frolics of two young men and their old taxi cab, given a ridiculous voice-over by Spike Milligan. The documentary-style footage showing the construction of Dover’s new car ferry terminal is of interest as it shows railways in their simplest form – hand pushed tippler wagons on very basic track. A steam crane is also visible in one shot of the quayside.

This is how railways truly began and, as shown here, how they often continued long after the introduction of the locomotive. Men at work constructing Dover car ferry terminal push some tippler wagons along the most basic of track.
This steam crane is another form of rail-borne equipment that is often overlooked
Although we don’t get to see a train, the BR standard-gauge network also puts in an appearance. This is Marine Parade in Dover, looking very neat, with the gates leading into the Eastern Docks lying straight ahead.