Knees Up, Mother Brown (1964) | BFI National Archive
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- 70 is definitely the new 20 in this heart-warming portrait of the Darby and Joan Club for elderly people in the Stepney Green area of east London. Sprightly septuagenarian Annie Wood heads to the club every Wednesday and Friday to meet her equally fun-loving friends, Lilly, Maud and Sarah - but not before downing a swift half in her local pub. All four women are surely worthy of 'national treasure' status.
The Darby and Joan Club was established to provide entertainment, social activities and support for Britain's elderly. The first club opened in Streatham, south London in 1942 and was staffed by the local Women's Voluntary Services (WVS). It was a successful and much-welcomed enterprise and many more clubs were opened across the UK.
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Anyone watching December 2024. What a lovely old film, I'm from Stepney and I'm 68 now I just loved watching that .
I'm 62 year old Anglophile from across the pond.
Great film lovely people and really well made.
I am 70, from Lisbon, Portugal
Bless you
I'm younger but love seeing these kind of movies.
Wouldn't it be great to go back in time for a night out in an East end pub like this.
Happy Xmas to you
@redstar1223 ❤️
It reminded me of my childhood, seeing elderly ladies like this, all dressed up, always smart as they could be. Difficult lives then, but they always had a laugh and were cheerful and talkative. Hard times, but look at the friendships there.
❤ could still be happy with out much I can remember a lot of these times .people were more friendly .
@@sylviastepney441 I believe so, too. There was a feeling of caring in our community, everyone making sure each were doing all right. In illness, people helped, the sat in vigil with neighbours before a death, they attended funerals, fed children and basically were good people. It is going now, all of that. After this generation, I don't think families will care for their own elderly anymore. It's sad and very worrying. Society as we knew it is eroding, fast.
I love these old london ladies. They were born in the 1880s and 1890s and must have had a terribly hard life with two world wars and the great depression in between. Despite all these hardships they still managed to retain their cheerfulness and humour. It is sad to think that they are no longer with us.
They are much younger than that. They are in their seventies in the sixties. They just look older than we do today.
@@2SugarbearsCould be right there, football players from the sixties and fifties also look like they could be almost grandads whilst in their twenties.
Yet, the hardships of war and muscle work certainly made their marks (no washing machines yet, and someone had to bring up the coal for the stove, and even a push bike was a luxury. And medicine was in it's basics too.)
Well said. Today's lot cry over a broken fake nail nowadays.
No Cockneys left now sadly
@@2Sugarbears Mate, if you are in your seventies in the nineteen sixties then you were born in the eighteen nineties. How can you say that they are much younger?
I was fascinated by the fact that the Darby and Joan Club enabled them all to earn extra money. Two hours work if they wanted it...per day...'clean work' so they were happy with that. Painting toys! This was such a great place for them.
All for the handy sum, then, of fifteen bob! A kid today, seeing seventy five pence laying on the pavement, probably couldn't be bothered to stoop and pick it up. A different world, long gone.
Yes, I was thinking what a good idea that was. I don't see why we couldn't do that now, I'm sure there must be places that would outsource work. Not only does it provide company and a little extra money, but provides a sense of purpose, people generally want to feel useful.
@@HilaryB.sadly no painting of toys goes in anymore - everything is made in China
People say oh the good old days were great, but I look at these women and they are really elderly at 70, today 70 is not that old and women look really different, much younger, I'm 71 and I wear modern clothes, makeup and have many interests, I think these poor women had very hard lives, they had been through a war, brought up families under very hard cicumstances, and worked their fingers to the bone to survive, I wouldn't go back to those days, we see them through rose tinted glasses, I agree that today's world is messed up, and dangerous to live in, and the cost of living is through the roof, but there is a lot to be thankful for also, I don't think of myself as old, just a girl who has lived a little, bless them all where ever they are.
Clearly there were issues with dental care yes it prob was a hard life and most lived rough no doubt😔
Life has definitely got better but unfortunately people are miserable and unhappy.
@@claudiafahey1353Ohh Claudia,what a mean spirited,nasty ,judgmental and hateful comment -Whatever happened in your life to make you this cruel and shallow? Those ladies comments radiated warmth and kindness ,yours coldness and misery…
you are a woman not a girl.
They were happy though with next to nothing & tough.
Such a truly delightful film of a lost type of Londoner. What is so lovely is how cheerful and upbeat they all are, especially given the hard lives they had, undoubtedly, endured.
And they were so natural and confident
It’s all relative it amazes me how people now think there lives are hard.
They tell us it’s “white privilege “ now .. sad really .
Its called a mask
They lived through world wars and depression. They get up and socialize,not sitting home alone.My grandmother is 102 and is the same.Helping others by deed or a friendly chat.
I was born in 1960 ...there were lovely ladies just like these everywhere..I loved Saturday shopping with my mom and nan...and delighted in listening to the banter and laughter of the ladies and gents who were working the market stalls...sadly those days will never return
We have no markets left now . Not the normal Sunday, Saturday markets . Gone just like all our decent pubs
Yes I was born in 1960 the same year, and feel the same as you we our blood brothers and sisters miss those days my gran mum and dad Kev East Devon
I was born in 1933, so these are the old ladies of my era. Salt of the earth! The streets are just as I remember and played in.
Wow I'd say you have some amazing stories from your life.
😢so sad, those days gone forever, my mum and dad are turning in their graves, I'm glad they are not here to see what their east end has become 😥
What a beautiful film. Thanks and appreciation. Got a bit emotional watching this. These people were the salt of the earth. They lived through nightly bombings by the nazi where thousands were killed every night. they lived in poverty too. and yet somehow their inner strength and sense of community got them through. Tough people with warm hearts. And those ovely London women of that geneartion, keeping it all together heroically. God rest them all. Thanks again,
What would they think of things today 😢
This moves me to tears. The sweet innocence of these ladys back then in their advanced years enjoying very simple small things with much enthusiasm and joy. Each of their faces demonstrates what must their hard lives had endured but the children in their souls nevertheless shined through their laughter and smiles. They turned simple things into their happiness dispite living effectively what was national poverty. This quality of human endurance is not particularly visibile today.I wish they were still alive to help us value all we have now that we take for granted and which they could only dream about one day they might have had for themselves. I sincerely hope and pray they are happy now as ever they were. This is such valuable footage and should be treated as heritage film. Irreplacable memories preserved.
It really moved me to i agree with all you wrote
Exactly well said. They had food a nice cup of tea and the occasional treat. They were happy with living a simple life. Too shame we don’t have the same mindset today.
"the children in their souls..." Beautiful.
Yes it did bring a tear bless them,rest in peace ladies x
@2Sugarbears Agreed, and we all have one.
Not a plastic shopping bag in sight. Wonderful days!
no we have delicious micro plastics in our fruit and veg, cull'd you believe it !
Or any trees or greenery. A great time to be alive
Don't know when I last heard that old London accent.
Recognise the Accent as my mother was born in Stepney Green and I remember Christmas parties in 80's and my nan and aunt's spoke like that. My Nan, twin brother and Mother are buried in St.Patricks cemetery behind Leyton tube station. Cause I got a bad leg I live in midlands now but I don't think I'll ever see East London again. Only 50 but medical problems. Maybe I'll go back for a day on a coach. Couldn't be on the tube with my leg. God bless the real East End. Merry Christmas.
We should bring this back for the elderly and provide companionship and support. You can’t underestimate the strength of friendship
Would not be allowed we have to be solitary creatures now and wait for our universal basic income
They still have senior citizen clubs and day trips for them &lunch but i know what you mean peoples attitudes are different now
They are all forced into nursing homes now unfortunately 😢
yes also of light work for some spending cash. it makes you feel you have a place in the world.
It exists. Age UK does amazingly well!!
God bless these lovely old ladies. X
And gentlemen xx
My late Grannie would have loved to have watched this.
She said she was sad that our lives were going to be so much worse than her life.
She’d say they were very hard times but people worked together and looked out for each other
If one person or family were suffering then the community would band together and help them out.
She could go out and not lock her doors as no one stole in those days.
It was hard work and little pay and they did suffer, but people cared for one another and looked after any people who were elderly or widowed.
They’d have get togethers around each other’s houses, or hire the village hall and have dances.
She so missed that era
Wonderful, you just don't see these type of old ladies now ...
That's because they are all forced and stuffed into nursing homes.
same look but aged 90 today
@unigateman I just don't think you see them... Used to see these types of old ladies all the time in the 70s and 80s but not anymore...
No we are all out at work trying to make up the pension deficit.
@carolynnilsen9270 doubt it... More likely sitting at home stuffing their faces
I’m American, not British but Happiness is universal. This brought me so much joy!
A good old knees up warms up the cockles of your heart ! Bless these wonderful people. I was brought up by lovely people from Stepney who really knew the meaning "life is what you make it" they were such a grateful warm hearted bunch of people who were handed a rotten hand in life but never moaned. Shame on Tower Hamlets Council who broke up and moved an entire generation on people for GREED!
Whoever filmed this just did a excellent job
I thought this was a Ronnie Barker sketch when I first looked at the still image caption for the video ... wonderful old film. Shockingly I realised this was the era of my childhood ! My granny never left the house without a hat replete with hat pin and a large shopping bag. Nobody over 60 had their own teeth back then and outside WCs were normal. My god how the world has radically altered in just 50 or so years.
All the old East end Live in Mercer Spain now 🇪🇸 then the outhers moved into the East end
This has made me laugh and cry all at the same time . These are real women 💛
God bless them the old mums.
A glimpse of a long gone and, in my opinion, much better world than the one that we live in today.
Yeah, this was intriguing to watch. Couldn't stop watching until it was over!!
Agreed
Yeah, much better. Scarlet Fever and Measles sorted the wheat from the chaff early on
@@duncefunce1513 At least we had vaccines that worked.
@@anthonygee2441 heh heh. I can't fault you there
Cinematography skills. No fancy filters, no effects. Just angles, lighting and TALENT
But what about the painting scene at 3:34? It didn't look like there was any paint on the brushes
And Kodak or Agfa film to develop afterwards
That was brilliant. Back in the days when we still had proper community and neighbourliness. I would always be sent to the shops to ‘run errands’ and was always told to “look in or old Mrs xx and see if she needs anything on the way”......... days of decay , slums and STILL with bomb damage evident, but bloomin’ ‘ell didn’t we have fun!
And to think that they were all born in the 1800s and came through two world wars. Bless them all ❤
It is a great shame that there is nothing like this for old people nowadays
how about for anyone ? and why should they be segregated? Or do you prefer them to be far away so you cannot be reminded of your mortality?
It is fab to be reminded of the uks social past. How sad the community feel today is no more.
I have no words,this touched my heart
I’d echo that!
Beautiful. What we’ve lost cannot be underestimated.
We know what we have lost as we are surviving not living in a different world under commie rule 😊😊😊😊
These old girls got on with life despite poverty & adversity! They felt no sense of entitlement & just got on with life. It's etched in every line of their lovely faces....God bless 'em!
its great that they are inspiring but how about an alternative for 'old girls'? Older women?Much older women? women over....same goes for old boys.It others people so we cannot relate our humanity to theirs as much as using words like 'snowflake' does.
After my grandpa was widowed he joined a local Darby and Joan club. One day we came home to find an elderly lady wandering about on the landing. Grandpa had brought her home with him. He died aged 80 a few years later whilst on a dirty weekend in Accrington. He was 80 years old bless him.
He was lucky, he had a warm house to live in and family around him. The (mostly) ladies in this film would be widows, probably war widows at that, and most likely lived in cold damp low quality housing.
I am sorry but the way you talk about him thog he was much loved of course, is patronising.Why does he need to be blessed for enjoying a dirty weekend? why shouldnt he? Or was it seen as disgusting for an older person to have sex?
How the world has changed and some say not for the better? I see this and long for those years where we looked after each other and spared a thought for others. wonderful uplifting video
a wonderful, moving film. survivors of two world wars. may they live on in eternal memory.
I love seeing the old folk of this generation.They had a start in the very different Victorian/Edwardian and pre war world,so different from the 1960s,and were the ones to witness the biggest changes.I just knew people like these as a little boy in the 70s and 80s when they were very elderly.
Cockneys born in the 1880s and 90s. Fascinating.
These ladies remind me of my grandmother, she was a hard-working coal miner's wife from the North East of England. When my grandfather died she joined the over-sixties and the WRVS. She was tea total but that didn't stop her from enjoying herself. She took part in all the activities and loved entertaining and dressing up. She was a beautiful lady who I remember with deep love.
My granda worked "doon the pit" as well and my grandma worked in the bus canteen. They had the time of their life when they retired, moved out of a rented crumbling terraced house into a council bungalow and joined the over 60s club. They were so busy, my Mam joked we had to make an appointment to see them!
@@janespond922 They were honest hard-working people in those days. My grandmother did all her cooking on an open range. She baked her bread in the oven attached to the range There was no hot water on tap in those days, the water came from a set pot in a cupboard attached to the range. She had four tin baths to fill for my grandfather and his sons when they came home from the pit, then she would wash their clothes, clean their boots and put their dinner on the table. It must have been a tough life for the women in those days. When I stayed at my grandparent's house when I was a child I had to go to bed with a candle, as there were no lights upstairs and gas lamps downstairs. The toilet was an earth closet across the street from the house so we had to use chamber pots that were under the bed. When my grandmother eventually got electricity she wouldn't use it and continued to use candles.
Nice old film. The D&C Club in Stepney seemed safe, cosy, and cheerful. Nothing quite as depressing than loneliness when we grow old.
I love that quote about keeping your troubles to yourself and not making other people miserable by complaining all the time. The polar opposite of most people's attitudes today.
The polar opposite, as you say. Today being a victim is a coveted thing. Shameful.
That quote stood out to me also.
...Meghan Markle comes to mind!
@@jorybennett5932 She has a personality disorder, that's the difference... neither is she old or struggling to make ends meet...
So true !
Wonderful film...miss these old ladies from my childhood in the 60s ...people seem lonelier nowadays
All the ladies remind me of my Nanna. I was shocked at how old they all looked though. I'm nearly 74 and really don't look anywhere near as old....but then I realised, I'm fortunate not to have lived through two World Wars as these sweethearts did.
Climbing up all those stairs with buckets of coal. Handwashing clothes and drying them on lines outside etc. Tough when you are getting on.
Vain spiteful comment to make Dee.
Just plain unnecessary.
@@kellyedey8573 no it wasn’t.just a truthful observation!
This made me tearful. I look upon life today and it's just awful.
The ladies in this video would have been adults during world war one, and would have also have been through the blitz of world war two, fully experiencing the death and misery of both world wars. The great depression of the 1930's probably made no difference to their lives, as from go to woe, they would have led a life of struggle and hardship on a daily basis. However, because they never knew any different, and no one ever told them, they just got on with things day to day without hardly a murmur and lived truly good lives. I knew many like this when I was a boy in the 50s and early 60s, they would share what they had with you and were never afraid to let you know if you did anything that they considered to be wrong. The salt of the earth. They were the generation who gave birth to the soldiers of the two world wars, brought them up and watched then go and die and/or come back maimed in mind and body. However, today, they are a truly forgotten generation, a generation who we owe so much to - so sad.
Fun fact. My grandmother always used the phrase "Knees Up Mother Brown" as a euphemism for a yearly gynecology exam. I didn't understand back then that it was a song of the time, but now I can't see that song title without thinking of that...
😂
sadly all those wonderful women are gone now proper people.
Proper old school nice to watch...hope they all rest in peace ✌ 🙏
Those ladies reminded me of my great grandmother ( Belle Reilly) . She was such a sweet old dear,so kind to me and my 3 brothers. She would have been 73 when this film was made so approx the same age as many of the old dears in the film.
This marvelous film has left me in floods of tears , what has happened to us ? Somehow this epitomizes us more than all the scenery and the blooming fuss and trial over a sycamore tree , more than big ben and parliament , more than the changing of the guard, they didnt have a pot to piss in and look at them . Smile on ladies you done us proud .
How lovely to watch.
after fighting in ww2 they have EARNED their senior citizens club
These would have been WW1 vets if they were over 70 in the 60s they were born around 1890 and were already in their 50s by ww2 - but ww1 was maybe more brutal even than ww2 so they were a tough generation indeed!
These ladies would have been middle aged during the 2nd war, if they did war service it was in things like the WRVS on the home front. Many were spinsters or been widows from their 20s because their boyfriends and husbands were killed in the first war.
Bless 'em all!
@@Bongwater33 Yes look at how few men there were.
As a younger man, I managed to visit every pub in South Central Manchester City. There were quite a few pubs like the one where the old lady was enjoying her pint. Since then, such pubs have either been knocked down or turned into plastic palaces for young yobs.
Oh my word..... I love these ladies! What lovely personalities and smiling honest faces they have, I would've loved to have met them all. An era of hardship indeed but these people put the Great in Great Britain and represent the hardiness of our folk by just getting on with it in life no matter what life throws at you. They've all been through the wars and still, they do not grumble. I hope they're all enjoying a drink wherever they are in the afterlife. ❤️🏴
Great lessons in this video. Biggest lessons for me: Stay active and enjoy and life.
Although there was a lot of poverty, what shone through was the warmth and sense of community that sadly appears long gone. This was apparent in all corners of the UK.
I'm imagining how bemused and bewildered they must have been by swinging 60s London, which was just around the corner.
Enjoy it watching. People were more contented. In those days.
Interesting and astonishing that our Queen was reigning then.
Fabulous film recording social history
These women wern't afraid of hard work and getting their hands dirty,They had nothing in their purses but had alot to offer
Very nicely put mate
Good night ladies, good night sweet ladies, good night good night.
T.S. Eliott Edward. Nor often remembered these days.
This is a fascinating snapshot of our elderly citizens who were the backbone of the UK back in the day. Thank you fir uploading.
I loved this film- so very nostalgic and, I don't know why, but I miss those grubby old, empty streets! Life was simplistic and people were innocent and ignorant- less contention, perhaps. There was nothing pretentious about these folk and everyone seemed equal... However, they still had their grief and many suffered in silence. I like to think that sometime in the future, people will understand and respect those old lifestyles which, until recent times, had probably existed for hundreds of years. What have we become? Knowledge,, wealth, convenience, luxury and more freedom have come at a price... and probably a price worth paying yet I miss that simple world I used to live in...
You definitely stood up when they came in the sitting room in the 60s 70s !
I love this video. My granddad used to perform for the old folk, he was old himself bless him.
So incredible to see such marvellous community spirit and well being for the elderly way back in the 60s..wonderful seeing how much fun and companionship they were having during those golden times - in my mid-50s I’m really enjoying some solace and peace in my life after a very hectic 30s and 40s but I wouldn’t rule out joining a similar local community group if I reach my 80s/90s..thank you to all those wonderful people for being an inspiration to me 🙏🙏🙏 God bless them all 🥰
They were essentially more INNOCENTS than we are ,this was their main source of HAPPINESS ,,,,🎉🎉🎉
I was born in 1980...why do I wish,I'd been born back then...
Quite simply brilliant!!! 😢 happy tears and very fond memories thank you xxxx
I swear that was Les Dawson on the piano at 5:44! Lovely.... took me right back to what might look like the 'bad old days' but which were very good indeed! Bless them all. We won't see their like again.
Ah bless them all!
I was 2 ..but seeing these elderly ladies of my time growing up just makes me feel the warmth of those days ..my nan was 62 when she died early ,70s but with the perm hair she looked older as all those women did back then but that proper cuddly nan look..even my parents who have both passed since and when I see couples now in their 80s shopping together reminds me of mum and dad .But that look is very rare now.
I was in Stepney today. I was thinking take any of those old dears there today and theyd wonder what their fathers brothers and kids died fighting for
It's lost on people today.
They fought to stop their country being invaded by hostile foreigners .
O , hang on ...
@@rogerlegends166 : Are you being serious? If you knew anything of the history of Stepney you'd know that it has always been the home of immigrants.
They're still about, they just live out further east now. My old man was born Stepney, I grew up in East Ham, and now my kids have grown up in Essex about 25 miles away from where their grandad was born. So it ain't like it's all lost.
@@freebornjohn6876 Dear oh dear, another deluded lefty in denial about the ethnic cleansing of Cockneys from London.
What a lovely little film. I can remember both my Nans looking just like the ladies shown. My one Nan had very long hair and used to wear it in two plaits wrapped around her head!
Makes me remember my childhood..those old ladies of the 60s-70s were pure gold...they all got so used to having almost nothing that when they did get a tiny something it was like winning the lottery for them..we can learn an awful lot from these wonderful old girls..if we only realised it..oh and by the way for any young people 15 shillings is 75p....for five days work painting toy heads..bless em..
Do you know, I really enjoyed watching this, God love them, those ice creams brought back memories ❤
Heartwarming times, hard but people just got on with it and made do! Better times!!
Ty so much for uploading this...i miss the old gals of that era, you can see the hard lifes they came up in there faces and it makes me sıck to see whats happened to the uk now as they dont appreciate how good and easy things are now...thanks again this made my day.❤
Beautiful 🥰
Absolutely amazing. My parents are that age now and they look so much younger and healthier. Hard, hard lives people had.
they're having a ball on the merry go round!
What a wonderful film seeing these lovely London women getting through a hard life with such grace and fun
Well that put a smile on my face x
How delightful to stumble across this film. The Ena Sharples lookalikes of this world, sans dentures. These people had stamina and resilience, two qualities in short supply in 2024. You just can't beat being a member of a club to give you a sense of belonging and for companionship, even today. Shits and giggles for oldies, yes!
To think all these old people are now no more but this videos helps their memories live on forever, thank you
what a great snapshot of Londoners a year after I was born. they lived through two world wars, very likely lost friends and family in both.
Being born in 64 in Coventry I just have memories of the last bomb sites being rebuilt that we still see here in London on this film.
God bless them all. I wonder what they'd make of the state of this country now in 2021
Maureen from Barnsley gave us a good clue.
I think we all know what would be though of the tra8tors that have very successfully ruined a wonderful culture and communities rich in its OWN CULTURE! NEVER FORGET THEIR FACES!
My mum was from Stepney Green, Musbury Street and Bromley Street. When she gave Birth to me we lived in Ellingham Road, E15 and in early 80's we' d get on tube to Leyton stone I think and we would go to Southend. Me my brother and sister but can't remember if my youngest sister was born? But I loved Southend. Remember coming back and Two tubes were lined up together and we walked through both of em to go up steps outta the station. If I could go back to that day now I would. Merry Christmas.
This was filmed over 20 years after the blitz and the damage is still there - I was 8 at the time and can remember playing on the bomb sites
Marvellous little slice of life that film ,giving a good insight into the post war elder generation. I'm struck by how similar the women are to the old ladles I grew up knowing in the 60s and 70s in my hometown 500 miles from London in rural Perthshire. Only difference is the accent.
Have a cry in bed alone, I do this.good advice.
The opening music was also used for the 1960s BBC Radio adaptation of "Doctor in the House", starring Richard Briers.
wonderful old film, Much respect to the lady's and gents of days gone by
People certainly look a lot younger today which is not surprising when you see the childhood some of these elderly people had to endure. Spitalfields Nippers was an eye opener
True , I am 70 and I know that I am not like the 70 year old's that were around when I was a child in the 50's . We obviously had it so much easier in that decade . They new how to be proper O A P 's , like the original old people in Coranation St . Perhaps it is a style that i should cultivate ?
This was my dads era❤ god bless them😊
Thank you so much for posting this. I could write forever about these ladies and their surroundings. Suffice to say when I walk in Stepney, Poplar, Mile End, Bromley By Bow, Mile End, Plaistow etc despite the areas having little or in some cases almost no evidence of these fine peoples' era, I can still sense their presence all around me.
Great film god rest all their Souls
My gran was of these ladies generation. Lovely people.
And now in the 20's the old folk wont come out scared of being mugged
And the young folk won't come out, scared of a virus. Back in those days they would have had to get on with it and work,or starve.
Such marvellous ladies ❤
Bless them all, bless them all ❤