James McKechnie

James McKechnie

Birth : 1911-04-08, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Death : 1962-05-07

Profile

James McKechnie

Movies

Fully Fitted Freight
Narrator
An express freight train links manufacturers with their customers at the other end of Britain.
A Short Vision
Commentator
"Wild creatures flee in terror as a strange missile flies overhead. As it passes over the sleeping city, the world's leaders and wise men look upwards. The missile explodes, destroying humans, wild creatures and the Earth itself. A Short Vision became one of the most influential British animated films ever made when it was screened on US television as part of the popular Ed Sullivan Show. Although children were advised to leave the room while it played, it still caused outrage and alarm with its graphic representation of the horrors of nuclear war.
Scott of the Antarctic
Surgeon Lt. E.L. Atkinson R.N.
The true story of the British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his ill-fated expedition to try to be the first man to discover the South Pole - only to find that the murderously cold weather and a rival team of Norwegian explorers conspire against him
Bond Street
Inspector Yarrow
Charts the events occurring during a typical 24-hour period on London’s thoroughfare Bond Street. Linking the four stories together is the impending wedding of society girl Hazel Court and Robert Flemyng.
The Years Between
Richard Llewellyn
Michael Redgrave, Valerie Hobson, Flora Robson and Felix Aylmer star in this moving and sophisticated story of love and loss set against the backdrop of the Second World War and based on the play by Daphne du Maurier. After hearing news that her officer husband has been killed in battle, Diana Wentworth forges a new life for herself, becoming an MP and learning to love again. Then, out of the blue comes the shattering news that her husband is not dead after all.
Caesar and Cleopatra
2nd. Centurion
The aging Caesar finds himself intrigued by the young Egyptian queen. Adapted by George Bernard Shaw from his own play.
Painted Boats
Commentator
In this modest drama, set during World War II, two rival boat families battle it out for supremacy.
Oko I Ucho
Narrator
Four types of visual interpretation of four songs by Karol Szymanowski. Polish words by Julian Tuwin, English translation by Jan Sliwinski.
A City Reborn
Commentator
Scripted by poet Dylan Thomas, this affecting docu-drama recalls the incendiary bombing of Coventry on 14 November 1940. The film focusses on reconstruction and morale: we see the city's rebirth through the eyes of a young local couple planning for their future, and an engineer interested in the new housing drive. This is one of several 1940s films introducing cinemagoers to the good old 'prefab'.
Two Thousand Women
Jimmy Moore
During the Second World War, three downed English airmen hide out with women's internment camp in France.
San Demetrio London
Deckhand
British drama documentary from 1943, based on the true story of the 1940 rescue of the tanker MV San Demetrio by parts of her own crew after she had been set afire in the middle of the Atlantic by the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer and then had been abandoned. When one of the lifeboats drifted back to the burning tanker the day after, and found that she still hadn't exploded, they decided to board her and put out the fires. Eventually, they managed to start the engine again and decided to try to reach Britain against all odds.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Spud Wilson
General Candy, who's overseeing an English squad in 1943, is a veteran leader who doesn't have the respect of the men he's training and is considered out-of-touch with what's needed to win the war. But it wasn't always this way. Flashing back to his early career in the Boer War and World War I, we see a dashing young officer whose life has been shaped by three different women, and by a lasting friendship with a German soldier.
These Are the Men
Commentator
Anti nazi short.
Good Health to Scotland
Himself - Commentator
A British documentary on the good health of the people in Scotland.
A Romance of Engineering
Himself - Commentator
Production of steel components at William Beardmore & Co's Parkhead Forge, Glasgow. Made for screening at the 1938 Empire Exhibition.
Sport in Scotland
Commentator
An overview of sports played in Scotland, including the benefits to its citizens and the facilities used.