Secrets of Life: Films
The educational film is for those who wish to learn, the Secrets of Life is designed for those who wish to relax. But the Secrets reach those whom the educational film can, at present, never touch. They widen the outlook of very ordinary people who take a char-a-banc ride to Scarborough, who hike out of Glasgow, who paddle at Margate or keep a bowl of gold-fish in a London flat. World Film and Television Progress, Vol. 3. No. 3 (1938)
Below is a list of all the Secrets of Life films produced between 1934 and 1950. Unlike the Secrets of Nature films, most of these are still unavailable to view online. Where more information about an individual film is available, click on the title to find out more.
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| Roots | 1934 |
| The Warblers | 1934 |
| Butterflies and Nettles (The) | 1935 |
| Baby On The Rocks (European Buzzard) | 1935 |
| He Would A Wooing Go (The Frog Life History) | 1935 |
| Mixed Bathing | 1935 |
| Thistledown (The Thistle) | 1935 |
| We Are Seven (A Family Of Great Tits) | 1935 |
| Living Lies | 1935 |
| White Flies And Tomatoes | 1935 |
| Wake Up And Feed (Feeding Time At The Zoo) | 1935 |
| A Queer Diet (How Plants Feed) | 1935 |
| Hedgerow | 1935 |
| Home From The South | 1935 |
| Lupins (Life Cycle Of A Plant) | 1935 |
| The Cabbage | 1935 |
| Looper Caterpillars | 1935 |
| The Blow Fly | 1935 |
| Nursery Island (watch) | 1936 |
| London Visitors (The Blackheaded Gull) | 1936 |
| The Green Plover | 1936 |
| Home In The Valley | 1936 |
| Community Life | 1936 |
| Life In The Balance (Interdependence Of Pond Life) | 1936 |
| New Generation | 1936 |
| Ravenous Roger | 1936 |
| Safety First (Self Defense By Plants) | 1936 |
| The Sawfly | 1936 |
| The Tawny Owl | 1936 |
| Ebb Tide (watch) | 1936 |
| Fish Face | 1936 |
| Rock Pools (Life On A Rocky Shore) | 1936 |
| The Town Owl | 1936 |
| Home Life In The Marshes (Inland And Shore Builders) | 1937 |
| Kings In Exile (King Penguins) | 1938 |
| See How They Run | 1938 |
| Far And Wide | 1938 |
| Queering The Pitch | 1938 |
| The Catch Of The Season | 1938 |
| Why A Sponge | 1938 |
| Perky Cockney (The London Sparrow) | 1938 |
| Home In The Heather | 1938 |
| Living In London | 1938 |
| Over And Under | 1938 |
| Swan Song | 1938 |
| The Tough ‘Un (watch) | 1938 |
| Three Wicked Sisters | 1938 |
| Babes In The Wood | 1939 |
| Shadow In The Stream | 1939 |
| Two Little Orphans | 1939 |
| Father Of The Family | 1939 |
| Ducks And Drakes | 1939 |
| House Painter | 1939 |
| Old Blue (Life Story Of The Lupin) | 1939 |
| Water Baby | 1939 |
| Hereford Herd (Hereford Pedigree Cattle) (watch) | 1940 |
| Wisdom Of The Wild (watch) | 1940 |
| Down Sommerset Way | 1942 |
| U-Boat In The Pond | 1942 |
| Climbers | 1942 |
| On The Heath | 1942 |
| On The Moor (Dartmoor) | 1942 |
| Once We Were Four (watch) | 1942 |
| Over The Downs | 1942 |
| Overlooked | 1942 |
| Singing While They Work | 1942 |
| There’s Nothing New | 1942 |
| A Queen Is Born | 1943 |
| By Rocks And Marsh | 1943 |
| Tree Triumphant (The Apple Tree) | 1944 |
| Kew and Me | 1944 |
| Tongues And Tails | 1944 |
| Polly All Alone | 1944 |
| Memories (Gilbert White’s Home) | 1944 |
| Paws And Claws | 1944 |
| Fresh As A Daisy | 1945 |
| Strife In The Hedgerows (Hedgerows In Spring) | 1945 |
| The Pest (Crop Pests) | 1945 |
| King Of The Forest (The Oak Tree) | 1945 |
| Sally The Sparrow | 1945 |
| Seashores (Underwater Life On The Seashore) | 1945 |
| Fast And Slow | 1945 |
| On The Beach (Starfish And Lugworms) | 1946 |
| A Visit To Farne Island | 1946 |
| Home Of The Sea Birds | 1946 |
| The Willow Tree | 1947 |
| The Country Comes To Town | 1947 |
| The Rock Pool | 1949 |
| Some Flowering Plants (watch) | 1950 |
Sources:
- Mary Field, ‘”Secrets 1919-1940”’, Documentary News Letter (1941) 2, pp. 3-6.
- Jlewis, ‘A Shortie Checklist: British Instructional, Gaumont-British & Rank’, TCM Message Board, 15 June 2017, https://forums.tcm.com/topic/139415-a-shortie-checklist-british-instructional-gaumont-british-rank/
