Piccadilly Circus: 1947 - a photo on Flickriver

Piccadilly Circus: 1947

            This is an anonymously published postcard showing the view in Piccadilly Circus looking east towards Coventry Street with Shaftesbury Avenue on the left. This is July 1947 and the people of London are well supplied with west end entertainment, a time to forget about rationing and austerity for a little while. At the London Pavilion, the 25-year-old silent docudrama, “Nanook of the North” made by Robert J. Flaherty in 1922, played there from 21st July until 21st August. The film is now considered a masterpiece of documentary film making although some scenes were staged, it tells the story of an Eskimo/Innuit family in northern Canada and their struggle to survive. For light relief the theatre goer could go to the Palladium where Tommy Trinder starred in a Gay Musical called "Here, There and Everywhere" which ran from 2nd April until 3rd January 1948. Another Musical, this time described as a Musical Romance was playing at the Hippodrome in its third year, Ivor Novello’s “Perchance to Dream” ran from 21st April 1945 until 11th October 1948. At the Leicester Square Theatre for just one week, the British made film “So Well Remembered” was shown, starring John Mills, Martha Scott and Patricia Roc, the film was based on James Hilton’s novel about life in a northern Mill town. The last film advertised is “The Hucksters”, an American film starring Clark Gable, Deborah Kerr, Sidney Greenstreet and Adolphe Menjou, it was Deborah Kerr’s first American film which portrayed the American advertising industry. The advertisement for “Bile Beans”, just under the sign for “Votrix Vermouth” was a regular in this spot until the early 1950s. “Bile Beans” were a laxative/Tonic and came in the form of a gelatine pill, much like the old cod liver oil pills that were handed out at my primary school. The Bile Bean Manufacturing Company set up the firm of C.E. Fulford Ltd to manufacture the pills in Leeds at the turn of the century, it was run by an Australian and a Canadian who claimed that there was an Australian plant in the ingredients which did the trick, but it was later discovered that the pills contained Liquorice, Rhubarb, Cascara and Menthol. I don’t know, it probably did work. There is an advertisement on the Shaftesbury Avenue side of the London Pavilion for “Swallow Raincoats” whose catch phrase was “Fine in the Rain”. The company was based in Birmingham and from the early 1930s until the early 1990s manufactured Men’s, Women’s and Children’s raincoats. They were contracted at the end of WW2 to supply raincoats for the servicemen and women who were being demobilised, their adverts of the time state that there may be some shortages due to the contract. It looks like in 1947 they were back on track. 
Best viewed with the zoom feature.
   

Taken in: United Kingdom / England / London / Soho (show map)

Taken on: July 1, 1947

Tags:

Piccadilly Circus

Coventry Street

West End

Rationing

Austerity

London Pavilion

Docudrama

Nanook of the North

Robert J. Flaherty

Documentary

Eskimo

Innuit

Northern Canada

Palladium

Here There and Everywhere

Gay Musical

Tommy Trinder

Musical Romance

Ivor Novello

Perchance to Dream

Hippodrome

Leicester Square Theatre

So Well Remembered

John Mills

Martha Scott

Patricia Roc

James Hilton

Novel

Northern Mill Town

The Hucksters

Clark Gable

Deborah Kerr

Sidney Greenstreet

Adolphe Menjou

American Advertising Industry

Bile Beans

Bile Beans Manufacturing Co Ltd

Votrix Vermouth

Laxative

Tonic

Gelatine Pill

Cod Liver Oil Pills

C.E. Fulford Ltd

Leeds

Liquorice

Rhubarb

Cascara

Menthol

Swallow Raincoats

Fine in the Rain

Birmingham

WW2

Contracted

Servicemen

Sevicewomen

Demobilised

London

1947

1922

1948

1945 « less

Sets appears in: • Piccadilly Circus

Groups appears in: • London buildings • City of Westminster more » • Lost London • United Kingdom Social History to 1989 • VINTAGE ENGLAND - EPHEMERA • United Kingdom postcards • PICS & FACTS • Old London • PLANET EARTH BACK IN THE DAY • Old Pictures and Post Cards of People and Places • Sign of the Times (All Types of Signs) • 5000 views • The Good Old (UK) Days. • PLANET EARTH VINTAGE ADVERTISING • London Vintage Postcards • Vintage Piccadilly Circus « less

Stats: 9,692 views / 2 comments

Link to this photo view:
Link to this photo large view: