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HMV gramophone factory - Film 34718

4,149 views · Published 16 January 2013 · 8:35 · Indexed 22 October 2026

Channel: HuntleyFilmArchives · 2013 · People & Blogs

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Amateur home movie
The HMV gramophone factory and the processes involved in producing records and manufacturing gramophones.

Exterior shot of the famous art deco HMV building in Hayes, Middlesex with a steam train passing by in the foreground. Dozens, possibly hundreds of workers walk to the building. Camera tilts up to show the scale of the building. Elevator doors open and a close up of legs walk out.  Montage of shots from the roof of the building showing a panorama and the company's 'His Masters Voice' sign. Two men wearing suits walk towards the camera and both doff their hats to the camera. A man sets up a gramophone record cutting lathe. Musicians including a pianist, strings and brass play together and the sound is recorded onto the gramophone record master. We see a master record being produced and coated in metal. A man pushes a sheet of rubber though a machine.  From the other side of the machine emerge blocks of rubber.  These rubber blocks are piled and stacked by two men while a third man comes over to load the stacks onto a trolley.  Round shaped discs of the rubber, possibly shellac, are produced and flattened into gramophone shaped discs onto which the master copy is imprinted via a pressing machine. Chinese women pack the records into boxes. An open top van with the words 'his masters voice' painted on its side pulls away carrying dozens of boxes.  A man wearing a Homburg hat talks directly to camera. Montage of shots of industrial processes, machines rotating and handles being turned. The various stages of production involved in manufacturing a gramophone are shown, including the assembly of the case and the soldering of electronic components. A large hall containing hundreds of gramophones are tested by workers. The finished product is loaded into a container.  The containers are loaded onto a van.

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