As part of various projects we’ve being doing about our home town of Irvine, I’ve been doing lots and lots of research, and as well as getting overly excited about the Monorail (read about that here) I’ve been looking into the long history of the town.
Amongst many other things I’ve discovered for myself (I’ve only lived in the town 12 years, so maybe this is all old news to other inhabitants), is the below video. Which apart from being amusing due to the 1971 production values and a fairly clunky script (“Good Irvine milk”, “And good Irvine bottles”, camera cuts to production at the glass factory), is also fascinating, as many of the sights seen in the film were gone within a year.
The bridge featured in much of the early part of the film, was demolished and replaced by the shopping centre which now dominates the centre of the town, as were the streets that the main character complained that had probably not been changed since John Galt left.
I’m also not sure what to make of the main character rowing his way over from Canada, the fact that the main character is a recognisable scottish actor (weren’t any canadians actors available in Scotland?), or the slightly disturbing and creepy music and setting of the slaughterhouse featured later in the film, and hey those 70’s knitwear fashions.
Anyway, just something I found amusing and interesting, I present for your delectation, One Day in Irvine.
Oh, and a much later, Another Day in Irvine, made in 2014 comparing the town as shown in the original, and now.