Painted Boats

The film takes place on the canals of England. The events happen during the Second World War. Two families live on the water. They work the long boats that carry freight. There is rivalry between the two families. Mary grew up inside this life. She cannot imagine a life on dry land. Ted wants to marry her. But he wants to get off the water. What the two of them want does not match. The film shows the daily work in detail. Loading and the passage through locks are shown. The sequence in the tunnel stands out. A narrating voice runs alongside the story. The film is put together like a documentary. Jenny Laird and Bill Blewitt appear in the sixty three minute film, a British production Charles Crichton finished in 1945.