His majesty the baby.

Date:
[between 1930 and 1939]
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Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

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Credit

His majesty the baby. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). Source: Wellcome Collection.

About this work

Description

This short film is an appeal for donations to Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital. It begins with a mother-to-be imagining life after her new baby is born. There are scenes in the hospital with the proud parents. In the second part of the film, the actress Miss Jessie Matthews, who was very well known at the time, appeals to the viewer for charitable donations for Queen Charlotte's Hospital, renowned for its excellence in obstetrics. At the time of the film, most babies were born at home and there were concerns about infant and maternal mortality. The National Health Service which granted free ante- and post-natal care was still many years away (1948). 2 segments.

Publication/Creation

[Place of publication not identified], s.n.], [between 1930 and 1939]

Physical description

1 encoded moving image (06:47 mins) : sound; black and white

Duration

00:06:47

Copyright note

The Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust

Terms of use

Some restrictions

Language note

English.

Creator/production credits

No production credits apart from the opening intertitle explaining "Miss Jessie Matthews has kindly consented to appear by courtesy of The Gaumont British Picture Corporation Ltd".
Title song His Majesty the Baby composed by Mabel Wayne (1904-1978) and written by Neville Fleeson (1887-1945) and Arthur Terkel (dates unknown). Song publishing Warner Chappell Music Ltd and Carlin Music.

Notes

Please note that the audio is very soft and indistinct in places.

Contents

Segment 1 The film begins with a mother-to-be imagining life after her new baby is born. She proudly presents her new baby to her family and friends. In hospital, she drifts off to sleep. Meantimes as she is having her baby (not shown), the father-to-be makes a telephone call from his work in a factory to the hospital: he's advised to visit her later. He goes home to change before visiting the hospital, clutching a bunch of flowers. A light-hearted scenario follows featuring the two parents and their new baby. In the ward, the Sister explains to the couple that they were lucky to have space for the mother-to-be as they are now full. Next there is a short sequence showing women being turned away from the hospital (although emergencies are always accommodated). Time start: 00:00:00:00 Time end: 00:05:06:06 Length:00:05:06:06
Segment 2 Cutting away from the proud father to Miss Jessie Matthews, spokeswoman for Queen Charlotte's, she makes an appeal for funds over images of doctors being trained in a lecture theatre, a laboratory where testing is taking place and images of healthy babies held by a nurse. At the end of the film there is an intertitle outlining where donations should be sent. Time start: 00:05:06:06 Time end: 00:06:47:07 Length: 00:01:41:01

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