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Pauline first started filmmaking in 1968, through the course of her work as a professional dancer. She first worked as a Tiller Girl (1953-1955) and later, worked with other troupes. Pauline danced professionally between 1953-1968; her career included stints at the London Palladium, at The Talk of the Town and she appeared in television shows, adverts, and worked as an extra in films. She performed in Royal Variety performances in 1953, 1958 and 1963. It was with one her dance troupes that she went on tour in Asia in 1968. On this trip she purchased her first cine camera on the advice of her father and travel companions, buying a Canon 318 Super 8mm camera for £29 on which she had to pay £19 return duty when she came back to the UK (Shand, Ryan; Roberts 2009). Footage recorded during this trip can be seen in On Tour Japan (1968 and 1980), Japan (1968 and 1980) Kyoto (1968 and 1980) Travelling East-Bangkok (1968 and 1980).
Pauline has been involved in filmmaking for over twenty-five years as a member of several cine clubs including the Hoylake Photographic Society (Cine arm) (1968-1973) and Preston Movie Makers / Preston Cine Club / Preston Cine and Camcorder Club (1973-present). She has been a member of the IAC from 1977 and in 2009 remained the active representative for the Preston Cine and Camcorder Club at the IAC.
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Pauline’s introduction to the cine club scene when she was 32 came about shortly after her family’s move from London to Hoylake in the late 1960s. She recounts going along to an exhibition event of the Hoylake club with her mother and approaching the (female) secretary about membership – and coming away feeling like she had been trying to put her off joining - telling her ‘it’s not a social club’ and that there were not many members her age (Shand, Ryan; Roberts 2009). Unperturbed, Harrison joined the club with enthusiasm and was an active member there until her marriage to Brian Webster Harrison (1939-2000) in 1973. She describes how she found the club environment helpful for learning new skills and gaining experience. On marriage she moved with her husband to Preston, and there - after some trepidation – due to the club’s formidable reputation, joined the Preston Cine Club. It was not until 1980 that she revisited recordings made during her tour in the Far East, reworking the material filmed twelve years before with the benefit of the filmmaking knowledge she had accrued over this time.
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A keen advocate for sound in film, Pauline took great care in the painstaking compilation of the soundtracks that accompany her many works – she notes how her membership of the IAC brought the benefit of rights clearance for sound used in amateur film, an invaluable resource for her own filmmaking (Shand, Ryan; Roberts 2009). Her work reflects the development of personal interests and one in particular that she shared with husband - a passion for vintage cars. A Dream Comes True (1974), a collaboration between wife and husband charts the restoration of a Morris 8 car by the couple, with some interesting technical transitions employed by Pauline in the edit. Her connections to the Tiller Girls dance troupe is similarly captured in Tiller Girls Centenary (1986) where she cleverly employs various techniques in narrating the text, with title sequences, use of photographs and other imagery supplementing the non-diegetic soundtrack and adding context to the stories told on screen. Subtle unintrusive editing and use of visual cues is particularly successful in A Rose for the Queen (1977) which, through a simple linear narrative, makes use of the opportunity to capture royalty on screen.
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As part of the Preston Cine Club Pauline also contributed to community focused content; Preston (1988-1991), Royal Visitors (1981) and Jubilation 1977 among them.
On cine club production she says:
‘well, I mean you should have a director and a producer, and all the things that the professionals do...but I'm afraid at Preston, we sort of all muck in together’
(Shand, Ryan; Roberts 2009)
Her work also includes a number of more documentary style texts, including End of an Era (1982) that captures the final round of milkman Jack Shaw and his horse-drawn milk cart before he hangs up his reins. A Monumental Task (1985) takes a similar approach, seeking to capture the craft of the stone mason at work carving headstones.
Pauline’s work exhibits a strong sense of authorship, an innovative and technically skillful application of sound technologies and a seamless editing style that gives a polished finish to her work. This finish is summed up in her own words:
'we all strive to be professional standard...well I think that’s what we try to do’
(Shand, Ryan; Roberts 2009) (54:31)
Pauline Harrison’s films are retained within the collection of North-West Film Archive under collection 2331. The 88 items within the group also include films produced by her mother and father in the 1940s and 1950s (Cecil Joseph Scott (1909-1983) and Ena Esmé Potter (1909-2001)).
Selected Filmography
On Tour Japan (1968 and 1980)
Japan (1968 and 1989)
Kyoto (1968 and 1986)
Travelling East-Bangkok (1968 and 1976)
A Dream Comes True (1974)
Jubilation (1977 and 1978)
A Rose for the Queen (1977 and 1978)
Care (1977-1982)
Preston (1988-1991)
Royal Visitors (1981)
End of an Era (1982)
Monumental Task (1985)
Bibliography
Interview with Pauline Harrison, Preston Movie Makers. Ryan Shand and Les Roberts, 4 November 2009, Preston. University of Liverpool, 2010. Held by North West Film Archive.
1939 England and Wales Register
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995
England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005
England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
Norfolk, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938
UK, Phone Book Indexes, 2001 and 2003
Southport Visitor, 24/01/86, p.9
John Wright, ‘Club Commentary’, Movie Maker v.18 n.10, October 1984,
Pauline Scott from Kings Lynn, Manchester Evening News, 04 April 1961, p.6
https://tillergirls.com/the-tiller-girls/
Handwritten notes provided by Pauline Harrison dated 24/07/2024.
Thumbnail image: Screen still from On Tour, Japan (1968). All images courtesy of Pauline Harrison and North West Film Archive.