Public Information Films Puns

I'd say the most shocking one for me was one that randomly popped up on TV in the early 90s. There I was, happily watching fun adverts such as Shake & Vac, that dancing VHS skeleton or the like, when suddenly, on pops this cute little kid messing around with an iron near her plastic doll, and the iron falls and - in slow motion - sheers off half the doll's head! The camera then zooms in on this melted, mangled half-head and a deep voice warns gravely that irons are not toys.... aaaand back to an advert of the colourful ices you can make with a Mr Frosty. Levity, levity, HALF A DOLL'S HEAD, levity. Scarring stuff.

For those who want a blast from the past, here is a compilation of some traumatic classics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j4NStSMCLs

Hi All,

Does anyone have any collections of UK public information films, preferably 60/70/80s. I know there are loads on YouTube but it's variable quality and mostly unordered or categorised. I recall a couple of VHS tapes from the late 90s which I'm sure I had at the time. Anything you have would be gratefully received. Thanks.

-Zel

If you own a TV, you’re probably familiar with public information films (PIFs) and public service announcements (PSAs): short films produced by the government to tell you to install a smoke alarm, put litter in the bin, wear your seatbelt, stop trying to race the train at railway crossings, etc. It’s very much a niche interest, but there are plenty of PIF enthusiasts who celebrate these films as a sort of obscure art form. Some of them are hilarious, some are like tiny horror movies. (If you’re interested, have a look at r/pifsandpsas.)

Many PIF enthusiasts enjoy modern takes on the genre, and there are gems from all over the world. However, there was a sort of Golden Age of PIFs in the UK from the ‘60s to the ‘80s during which a number of especially good films were produced by the Central Office of Information. Plenty of people in the UK remember these films nostalgically, even those who aren’t dedicated PIF enthusiasts. Among the most famous PIFs of this era is “Reginald Molehusband.”

The Worst Parker in Town

If ever you hear someone harping on about how young people these days don’t know how to do anything, you can always remind them that back in 1967 the British Government had to make a short film explaining how to parallel-park your car. Reginald Molehusband, our hero, was hilariously incapable of parking his Austin 1100. As the narrator explained:

>This is the story of Reginald Molehusband, married, two children, whose reverse parking was a public danger. People came from miles just to see it. Bets were laid on his performance. What he managed to miss at the back, he was sure to make up for at the front. Bus drivers and taxis changed their routes to avoid him. Until the day that Reginald Molehusband did it right. Not too close, far enough forward ... come on Reginald ... and reverse in slowly ... come on ... and watching traffic ... and park perfectly! Well done Reginald Molehusband, the safest parker in town.

Unlike many PIFs at the time, “Reginald Molehusband” wasn’t grim or shocking – it was cheerful, silly, and fun. And the approach worked. The film became a classic and was broadcast over and over during the ‘60s and ‘70s. Reginald Molehusband became a nickname for bad or over-timid drivers. Decades later, people still thought fondly of the character.

So of course, when BBC Magazine arranged a festival of public information films to mark the 60th anniversary of the Central Off

I have very distinct memories of watching a really disturbing public information film in a school assembly when I was a kid. No-one I’ve spoken to about it remembers it, and I cannot find a single reference to it anywhere online, but I’m sure I’m not making it up. I have vivid memories of seeing it (and of the months of nightmares that followed) and have been searching for it for about 10 years now. Two more famous PIFs I can find online - ‘Apaches’ and ‘Building Site Bite’ -are pretty similar, but not the one I’m thinking of.

I watched it when I was at primary school, so this would have been at some point in the mid-2000s, maybe around 2006. It was definitely played on VHS and was probably from the 1970s or 1980s (I have no basis for this other than judging from the googling I’ve done, all the properly terrifying PIFs were from the ‘70s).

It was a film for kids about not playing on building sites. There was a group of children – one was a girl and the rest were boys; I remember being annoyed by it at the time – and a dog (I think) playing hide and seek on a building site. The girl runs around the site to find a place to hide and steps near a pit of cement. The ground under her feet gives way and she falls into the cement-pit and drowns. When the other kids can’t find her, they give up and go home. The next day at school, their teacher takes the register, calls the girl’s name and is met by silence. I also have memories of a shot of the girl’s face sticking out of a block of cement, but I think I might have imagined that bit myself.

Does anyone else remember this or know where I might find it online?

I'm writing a book about public information films and I need opinions from the public. If you're interested in helping out/giving your opinions please fill out the questionnaire here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScCBRumu9LkgXiC8OdBhbUl0J5G0dQsADIdhyIee_DYHOGm0g/viewform?usp=sf_link

If you need more info, comment below or email thepifbook@gmail.com.