The House That Junk Built (1963)

Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire. Once the mayor of Mablethorpe, 85 year old Bill Brownlow spends his retirement raising money for old folk. We see him walking around the streets pushing a pram called “Sally - the Junkman’s Friend“ which he fills with junk. He wears a tailcoat and top hat so cuts a dash. He visits a man who gives him a bird cage and an old heater. Narrator tells us that the Queen herself has donated half a tea set when she heard his motto: “What is useless to you is useful to me“. Various shots of Bill’s front garden, his “junk yard“, which has loads of bric-a-brac and bits of furniture stacked up. He is a kind of rag and bone man I suppose. Women pick up various items and enquire about prices. Precursor of the garage sale and later, car boot sales I guess although Bill is doing it for charity. Bill has so far raised enough money to buy eight bungalows. C/U of a sign which reads “ Brownlow Bungalows“. Predictably, soundtrack is the theme from “Steptoe and Son“ - a nice littl
Back to Top