Midland Journey (1947) | BFI National Archive

Majestically (and optimistically?) proclaiming in the opening credits “Distributed throughout the world” this promotional travelogue shows the sights of Birmingham and the Midlands with a sprinkling of one-liners from newsreel legend EVH Emmett. His arch commentary often takes an oblique approach to its subject and it’s unknown whether this sometimes eccentric film boosted visitor numbers to the Midlands. This film was made for The Travel Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with a view to encouraging visitors to come to the Midlands. It was part of a series called Travelling Around - other episodes featured Ulster, the Lowlands of Scotland and London. This video is part of the Orphan Works collection. When the rights-holder for a film cannot be found, that film is classified as an Orphan Work. Find out more about Orphan Works: This is in line with the EU Orphan Works Directive of 2012. The results of our search for the rights holder of this