Several reviewers have pointed out how many of the locations and rituals portrayed in Norman Cohen's 1967 documentary have now vanished for ever. The Bedford Theatre in Camden High Street, once Britain's oldest music-hall, has now been torn down and replaced by an anonymous office-block. The Round House, once used as a train shed, now operates as a performance venue. The Victorian slums around Camden have now been torn down and replaced by anonymous- looking tower blocks. The old gas-lamps (and the lamplighter who went round each night), if they exist at all, are simply there to attract tourist photographers. And rarely do we ever see a horse and cart plodding along the streets.
On the other hand there are some rituals that continue to flourish. The street-markets are still vividly alive, even though the customers are far more multicultural than they were nearly half a century ago. The Salvation Army plies its trade, and poverty is still rife throughout the city; beggars line the streets, just as they did a century and a half ago. Buskers still ply their trade in the streets (try going to Covent Garden to find out), even though their acts are different now. Watching THE London NOBODY KNOWS is an experience in savoring change and continuity.
James Mason looks faintly uncomfortable as a presenter, his shiny shoes and expensive cap contrasting with the genteel poverty of many of London's citizens. Sometimes he fluffs his lines; and we wonder why more of the people around him do not stare when they see the presence of an international celebrity within their midst. On the other hand his narration is but a peripheral presence in a documentary that packs so much visual incident into its 40-minute or so running time that it could easily have been extended into twice its length.
On the other hand there are some rituals that continue to flourish. The street-markets are still vividly alive, even though the customers are far more multicultural than they were nearly half a century ago. The Salvation Army plies its trade, and poverty is still rife throughout the city; beggars line the streets, just as they did a century and a half ago. Buskers still ply their trade in the streets (try going to Covent Garden to find out), even though their acts are different now. Watching THE London NOBODY KNOWS is an experience in savoring change and continuity.
James Mason looks faintly uncomfortable as a presenter, his shiny shoes and expensive cap contrasting with the genteel poverty of many of London's citizens. Sometimes he fluffs his lines; and we wonder why more of the people around him do not stare when they see the presence of an international celebrity within their midst. On the other hand his narration is but a peripheral presence in a documentary that packs so much visual incident into its 40-minute or so running time that it could easily have been extended into twice its length.