Peas and Cues (1930)

This classic film from the long-running 'Secrets of Nature' series shows the birth, life and reproduction of sweet peas - as shown via an enthralling combination of close-up and time-lapse photography, occasionally interspersed with stop-motion animation, narrated by a somewhat florid commentary that has dated rather more noticeably than the still-astonishing images. (Michael Brooke) This is one of nineteen complete films included on the BFI DVD 'Secrets of Nature: Pioneering Natural History Films': http://filmstore.bfi.org.uk/acatalog/info_16864.html

More information about early British natural history filmmaking can be found on BFI Screenonline: http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/1272207/index.html

All titles on the BFI Films channel are preserved in the vast collections of the BFI National Archive.

To find out more about the Archive visit http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections