Mechanical Maids

Eve Askquith proves that women are just as capable as men when it comes to motor cycle racing.

The early scenes in the film are shot in an empty stadium, suggesting that these scenes had been specially staged for the film. The woman motor cyclist who is the subject of the film, Miss Eva Askquith, is seen in leathers putting on her helmet. She makes mechanical adjustments to her motor cycle and can be seen mounting her bike. There are some men in the background, one of who appears to be wearing some sort of medal around his neck. Eva races around the track and there follows a slow motion sequence. The next scene shows Eva with her dog and a bunch of flowers. There is a shot of the stadium and the crowd. A car pulls a rake over the track; a man is raking manually. Mechanics make adjustments to their motor cycles. A man is depicted getting into his leathers and putting on his helmet, before another shot of Eva Askquith getting ready for the race. The rides are shown on the start line and then there follow shots of the race. Incomplete: the film doesn't show the finish.

Keywords

Motorcycles; Motorbike racing; Women

Intertitles

This is an age of mechanical proficiency for the fair sex - Eve today doesn't mind sidestepping the milliner for robot like creations like this. The average girl's acquaintance with a motor cycle rarely exceeded the pillon seat - now she wants the whole machine.Forty-five miles an hour whilst the going is good. Slowing down the picture 8 times makes one 8 times more determined not to try this tricky track racing. Then there's the air - here's a lady who has just broken the world's women's height record. Mechanical maids they may be - but not when the job's over. Preparing the track, and tightening the spring barriers before a race. It's essentially a man's sport - that's why women are going for it. Miss Eva Askquith. The Start. Cries of 'They're off' answer for both the start and the finish. Sportsmanship is the ideal of the tyred age.

Background Information

This film came to the Archive with some other films of Norwich. Therefore, we assumed that it was shot at the Firs Stadium on Cromer Road, Norwich. However, many people have informed the Archive otherwise and we have some information that it was filmed on one of the Northern circuits. Eve and Everybody's Film Review was a silent cine magazine aimed at women. Made by Pathe it ran from 1921 - 1933. The producers of these cine magazines usually sought out unusual occurrences about which to film. (See D. Cleveland, East Anglia On Film, Poppyland Publishing, 1987.)