`Lost` footage of Sean Connery`s first ever screen appearence rescued and restored

The Edinburgh News has reported that footage of 1950s life in Rose Street which is claimed to show the first screen appearance of a young Sean Connery has been rescued from obscurity.

The silent footage by acclaimed Scottish filmmaker Margaret Tait gathered dust in an outhouse in Orkney for decades, but has now been restored to its former glory by experts.

The director and producer always insisted up until her death four years ago that the man delivering coal was in fact Sir Sean - less than a decade before he landed the coveted role of Ian Fleming`s James Bond.

The reel has sparked great excitement among movie enthusiasts, with film chiefs hoping to show the footage at the Edinburgh International Film Festival next year.

The black and white footage from 1953 shows the seedier side of Rose Street, which is now renowned for its line of popular pubs. A child dances to an accordion player as she waits for her father in the pub, while a man shuffles into a shop to buy contraceptives.

But it is the prospect of a young Sean Connery making his undistinguished cameo in the movie which has caused the most anticipation for film buffs.

Experts at Scottish Screen, who have restored the film, remain uncertain about the young man`s identity, but the filmmaker herself was always adamant it was Sir Sean.

The 40 discarded film reels were unearthed by Mrs Tait`s husband, writer Alex Pirie, in an outhouse the filmmaker used as a studio in Finstown in Orkney.

Now, Scottish Screen has launched a campaign to raise £50,000 to complete the clean-up in preparation for a possible viewing at the Film Festival.

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