BFI

Presenting the rugged landscapes of one of Britain's most picturesque counties, 'Coves and Caves' offers a valuable glimpse of 1920s Cornwall. Focusing upon the magnificent caves the county has to offer, the film goes from exploring their mysterious, dark interiors to exposing the impressive coastlines on which they lie. It even playfully suggests a mysticism surrounding these areas, pretending that the women so obviously planted by the filmmakers are in fact mermaids. The film also captures village life, presenting Cornwall as a peaceful place to live yet populated by an array of amusing local characters.

'Coves and Caves' was the fourth in a series of travelogue films entitled The Beauty of Britain (1920). Although this film lacks credits, the series is known to have been shot by Claude Friese-Greene, and is in many ways a dry run for his more celebrated The Open Road (1924).

Christian Hayes

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