Nancie Miller (NM-95-014)

Little Women Poster. RKO Pictures, Morgan Litho Co., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In May 1992, Nancie (Agnes) Miller responded to Annette Kuhn’s call for 1930s cinemagoers in a Glasgow local radio broadcast with a letter setting out a brief history of her cinemagoing years. Towards the end of 1994, she was contacted with an invitation to take part in Cinema Culture in 1930s Britain; and on 17 February 1995 gave an interview at her home in Knightswood as part of CCINTB’s fieldwork pilot.

Mrs Miller was born in Glasgow’s South Side in 1920 and had lived in the city all her life aside from service in the Women’s Land Army during WW2 . One of two children, her father had worked on the Carlisle--Glasgow railway before she was born but was unemployed throughout her childhood; her mother worked as a cleaner. On leaving school a few weeks before her fourteenth birthday, Mrs Miller found work in the post room of a local ironmongery firm whilst acquiring office skills at night school.

Through her interview Mrs Miller often touches on how her younger years were affected by her father’s joblessness, stressing her keenness to make the most of the educational opportunities that were available to her. She talks about her teenage cinemagoing and names some regular haunts and favourite film stars—her top favourite being Robert Taylor. Towards the end of the interview she recollects people and events at some of her office jobs and tells the interviewer about why she decided to join the Land Army.

Interview audio (audio file only)
Interview transcript | Listing of cinemas, films and stars mentioned
Documents, Memorabilia and Related Links
Glasgow home page
Scan of letter (NM-95-014PL001)
Wellington Palace, Glasgow (scottishcinemas.org.uk site)
'Terrible waste of a brain'(News & Blog area)
'The clothing aspect'(News & Blog area)

 

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