CROSSING THE GREAT SAGRADA

This film is held by the BFI (ID: 23258).

Synopsis

First of Brunel's burlesques. All parts played by Adrian Brunel.

 

Context

Although produced at a cost of £80, Crossing the Great Sagrada had a pre-release showing at the London Tivoli and ran at ‘hundreds of theatres throughout the United Kingdom’ (Close Up,October 1928, 44). Adrian Brunel, who had previously set up Minerva Films in 1920 with amongst others Leslie Howard, A.A. Milne and C. Aubrey Smith, produced, directed and starred in the film, which was the first of Brunel’s ‘inexpensive burlesques’ (Low,…

 

Analysis

As a spoof on popular travel films, Crossing the Great Sagrada highlights what it perceives as stereotypes of this genre. The ‘intrepid explorers – Holmes – Sweet and Holmes’ are immediately defined by their costumes. One is dressed in a fur coat and hat, another as a colonial figure all dressed in white, with monocle, hat and nose raised, while the third wears a kilt. The film depicts a rich, greedy benefactor, and gently mocks the grandiose nature of…

 

Works Cited

Brunel, Adrian, ‘Experiments in Ultra-Cheap Cinematography’, Close Up Vol. III no. 4, October 1928.

Brunel, Adrian, Film Production (London: Newnes, 1936).

The Film Society Programmes, 1925-1939 (New York: Arno Press, 1972).

Low, Rachael, The History of the British Film 1918-1929 (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1971).

 

Titles

  • CROSSING THE GREAT SAGRADA
 

Technical Data

Year:
1924
Running Time:
10 minutes
Film Gauge (Format):
35mm Film
Colour:
Black/White
Sound:
Silent
Footage:
935 ft
 

Production Credits

Production Countries:
Great Britain
Director
BRUNEL, Adrian
 

Countries

 

Themes

 

Genres