BILL BARTLETT, a great Dorsetman, passed away in late July 2011.
I was privileged to shoot an interview with him at Eype on the Dorset coast about his involvement with the Symondsbury Mummers – how the tradition was revived in 1950 and particularly about the film of the Mummers made by the late Peter Kennedy in 1952.
Dope Under Thorncombe is a feature film about drug smuggling in West Dorset.
It was shot in the late 1930s, mostly at West Bay and along the coast, though some scenes were filmed inland, such as the gunfight at Eggardon Hill.
The producer was Bridport man Frank Trevett, who inspired his friends and family to act in many roles, on screen and off, to splice together his vision.
There is a glamorous heroine, a handsome hero, an evil gang boss from London, rough matelots, caddish behaviour, a chase, a kidnap…
For many years Dope Under Thorncombe survived as a treat for the descendants of those who made it, watched on special occasions in a mood of excited nostalgia.
Then a copy was passed to the Dorset rural media charity Trilith by Frank’s son, the late Rex Trevett (famous as Bridport’s Mr Music as a musician), and then Rex’s sister Vivien Smith provided the original black-and-white silent film. At which point Trilith director Trevor Bailey sensed a very special opportunity; to commission a score to go with Dope Under Thorncombe and present the newly enhanced film to the wider world.
Dope Under Thorncombe from James Harrison on Vimeo.
“Silent films and music to reflect and enhance their mood always went together,” said Trevor. “Here was a chance to show how the imaginative efforts of a group of friends all those years ago could inspire modern creativity.”
Trevor commissioned the composer Rachael Leach to write a score, which was premiered live earlier this year at Bridport Arts Centre and rapturously received.
Among the comments – Brilliant. Fantastic. Wonderful. Yes, yes, yes.
Now there is one final chance to see Dope Under Thorncombe with live performance of its music at Burton Bradstock Village Hall, 7.30pm, 24 April. To book tickets call 01308-897214.
Vivien Smith will give a short talk about how the film came to be made and the memories that her family and other local people have of their roles.
There will also be a full supporting programme of other Dorset archive films from the Trilith collection.
There were 157 people in the audience at Bridport Arts Centre, 83 of whom filled in questionnaires and this is what they said:
Really good. A joy to watch and listen to.
Excellent.
A great historical document.
(On the importance of saving and exhibiting old films) Very important indeed!
Great fun!
Good to see the films giving us the opportunity to realise how people lived many years ago.
(On the music) In keeping if a little loud. I was delighted that Dope Under Thorncombe had been resurrected. I first saw it in about 1939.
Very enjoyable evening. Fascinating films and local history.
To have live music and the composer here was wonderful.
Thank you. A great evening. Wonderful work you do.
Marvellous music. Great fun.
Hooray!
Music brilliant. Complemented film so well. So important to keep these old films ‘alive’! Well done.
A really informative, lively evening!
Great!! We need more of this kind of ‘living archive’.
Carry on the good work.
A brilliant performance. Well done.
The film could have been made for the music!
Very entertaining. Thank you.
Excellent score. Great musicians.
Musical accompaniment was a bonus!
The music not only enhanced the film, but could have stood alone as a piece in itself.
Very enjoyable. Thank you.
More Reels to your Spools. A great asset to Dorset especially Amplion.
Great evening – good to see a large audience at the Arts Centre with an old-to-young mix. Music and performers excellent. Please continue funding Trilith.
An excellent evening. Most enjoyable.
Brilliant.
Interesting and historical. First half was a little too long.
Great fun and important stuff!
Wonderful. What a fantastic evening and well done to the funders for supporting a brilliant project!!
Fantastic music – really loved it.
Brilliant!
A very worthwhile thing to do!
It was fantastic.
(How well did the music enhance the film?) Yes, yes, yes.
I wish we could see more of the same.
Absolutely fascinating.
Better than the new animations.
Keep going.
Excellent musicians.
Excellent entertainment – more of the same please.
Music was fantastic – well done. It was perfect!!
A great evening – hope it can be repeated and publicised more widely. A real one-off.
Super to see some local footage – excellently presented and very affordable. Thank you.
It was very, very good! I loved the extra parts. My name is actually Jill Hoskins (nee Trevett).
Keep it up!
Highly entertaining. Surprisingly well made film with quality acting.
Wonderful evening.
Music too loud.
Other films very interesting too! More please…?
We have greatly enjoyed any Trilith showings we have attended – please go on collecting and preserving all this terrific social history.
Would have liked a simple list of films showing and more info about the film-making and makers (where poss!)
Amazing how it made the film really exciting.
Trip down memory lane. Narrator excellent.
A good evening.
Dates at the end of the films would be good!
Let’s hope there will be more in future.
COMPOSER Rachel Leach has created a dramatic score to bring to life a silent film made in Bridport in the late 1930s.
Dope Under Thorncombe, a melodrama based around West Bay, was made by local people under the direction of amateur filmmaker Frank Trevett.
His daughter, Vivienne Smith, pictured with the camera that captured the story, handed the film over to rural media charity Trilith for safekeeping.
Trilith’s Trevor Bailey said: “It was shot on 9.5mm film, the amateur’s favourite film choice in the 1930s. It was an amazing project for local people to take on and has been crying out to be given its own special music and to be seen more widely.”
The film receives its musical premiere at Bridport Arts Centre on February 11 at 7.30pm.
Mrs Smith, who lives in Bridport, said: “My father bought the cine camera when my brother, Rex Trevett, was born and that was in 1933 for filming the family. Dad was very keen on his hobbies – he’d throw himself with much enthusiasm into any hobby.
“He liked using his cine camera and thought he’d like to do something different to filming the family.”
Thriller writer Andrew Spiller, who lived locally, offered to write the story, which is about dope smuggling under Thorncombe Beacon. Frank Trevett, who was a hairdresser, enlisted his family and friends for the starring roles.
“They did it purely for their own pleasure, their own enjoyment,” Mrs Smith said.
“They would be so thrilled to think that it is going to be seen. Dad would be so pleased, they all would be, that it hasn’t been lost and forgotten.”
Rachel Leach previously worked with Trilith on a ‘radio ballad’, which combined music and the memories of people who worked in Dorset cinemas in their great days.
She has worked with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Aldeburgh Festival, Glyndebourne Opera, Opera North and many others. Her music has been performed at major venues and she has created music for children and for BBC broadcasts.
West Dorset District Council and the PRS Foundation have funded Trilith to commission the music.
A live performance of the score and film can also be seen at Burton Bradstock on April 24. A recorded version at Eype Centre for the Arts is due to be staged on March 6.
The project has also seen the creation of a website that includes photographs and interviews with local people by journalist Margery Hookings. This will be officially launched later in the year.
Funding for this part of the project came from the new Digital Film Archive Fund, administered by South West Screen.
Trevor Bailey said: “The aim is to draw the website’s visitors from initial interest in the place or in the arts to fascination with films and vice versa. In tourism terms, it will promote the idea of coming to see where the film was shot.”
Tickets for the live premiere cost £6 and can be obtained from Bridport Arts Centre online at www.bridport-arts.com or by calling the box office on 01308 424204.
Note: 1) This is a lightly edited version of a press release issued by Trilith.
2) After the performance at Bridport Arts Centre, the editor of this site (Jonathan Hudston) will be looking to record interviews with members of the audience, to gather reaction to the show. So, if you go, and you’d like to have a chat afterwards, I’d be very pleased to meet you.