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Crofters (1944)
 

Synopsis

Warning: screenonline full synopses contain 'spoilers' which give away key plot points. Don't read on if you don't want to know the ending!

Achriesgill, a crofting community in Sutherland. Mail van arrives from Lairg carrying mail, people and stores. Shots of Mrs MacKay, the shopkeeper, and her husband, delivering to distant crofts in his van. Shots of schoolmistress, minister and district nurse. Derelict crofts contrasted with modern, solid two-storey houses. Crofters get together to gather sheep from the hills. Men and dogs drive flock into pens. Sheep are hand sheared, the fleeces are rolled up and stored. Cows are herded to grazing ground after milking. Women carrying water from a spring in buckets. Women washing clothes in wooden tubs, gathering eggs, and cleaning oil lamps. Peat is cut and stacked until required in the home. Shots of a crofter working as a ghillie for a tourist. Shots of others working on the roads under government contracts. Boat repairs. Lobster fishing in a small boat. Sheep are gathered in again and dipped, hay being cut with scythes. The hay is gathered up and built into haystacks.