British film (1970s?), where clues are found in old newsreel footage

In this film someone searches for something via secret clues that are left in black and white newsreels from the 1930s (such as, I think, “Hop Picking in Kent”). Each of the newsreels ends with the name of the next newsreel to find. I am not sure whether the protagonist ever finds what they want. It gets hectic and confusing…

I remember one scene: the archive where they look for the film is an old underground government bunker situated in the middle of London, near Hyde Park.

7 thoughts on “British film (1970s?), where clues are found in old newsreel footage

  1. I think the film was released at around the same time time as “Radio On”, another British film with a search theme…

  2. If anyone still wants to know the film is ‘Hidden City’ (1987) starring Charles Dance, written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff

  3. RandomMan
    I did indeed still want to know the name of the film, so thank you very much!
    As of September 2015 it is available on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-Qij8tcs70) and bears a Sundance Channel imprint.
    It is longer, more colourful, less frenetic, better acted and simpler than I remember it, and made later that I thought possible – I thought I knew where it was I saw it, and when I was there, but that cannot be true.
    It is still a very interesting film, and a bit on the edge – but less of a cult than I thought: Poliakoff’s Wiki page has it as, “much-lauded and now rare”.
    Regards and thanks again,
    Andrew

  4. Question asked October 2014. Solve confirmed September 2015. I don’t keep track of such things but I would guess that has to be some kind of record. RandomMan gets credit for the Solve.

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