GPO Film Unit Movie Trailers
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Showing results: 1-60 of 63
Britain at Bay Trailer (1940)
31 July 1940
Wartime morale-boosting propaganda short, looking at the greatness of Britain and the efforts of all to preserve her power and integrity.
Christmas Wishes Trailer (1944)
01 December 1944
Animated short from Halas and Batchelor encouraging the British public to post early for Christmas.
Coal Face Trailer (1935)
03 June 1935
1935 documentary about the hard working life of Welsh coal miners.
The King's Stamp Trailer (1935)
28 June 1935
The production of King George V's Silver Jubilee (1910-1935) special postage stamp, and a brief dramatised history of the development of the penny post.
Daily Round Trailer (1937)
01 January 1937
“Catching up with gossip, inspecting new ducklings, clambering over gates, walking across meadows - the life of a postman appears idyllic, but this Devon postie has some startling ideas about improving efficiency.
Droitwich: The World's Most Modern Long Wave Transmitter Trailer (1935)
01 January 1935
The building and launch of a new long-wave radio transmitter - just as the TV age is about to be born.
Weather Forecast Trailer (1934)
01 October 1934
Short documentary about weather forecasting, emphasising the importance of the GPO's telecommunications systems.
Cable Ship Trailer (1933)
30 June 1933
A short GPO documentary showing how undersea telephone cables are repaired.
Granton Trawler Trailer (1934)
18 October 1934
Documentary following an Edinburgh fishing trawler, the "Isabella Grieg".
Rainbow Dance Trailer (1936)
01 October 1936
Rainbow Dance is a 1936 British animated film released by the GPO Film Unit. This is Lye's second film.
Trade Tattoo Trailer (1937)
01 September 1937
Trade Tattoo went even further than Rainbow Dance in its manipulation of the Gasparcolor process. The original black and white footage consisted of outtakes from GPO Film Unit documentaries such as Night Mail.
The Coming of the Dial Trailer (1933)
01 January 1933
A film made by the British General Post Office (GPO) in 1933, promoting the automation of telephone exchanges.
If War Should Come Trailer (1939)
17 September 1939
Produced shortly before the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, If War Should Come was one of the last films to be produced by the GPO Film Unit before it was re-named the Crown Film Unit and incorporated into the Films Division of the Ministry of Information.
Night Mail Trailer (1936)
13 January 1936
This documentary short examines the special train on which mail is sorted, dropped and collected on the run, and delivered in Scotland on the overnight run from Euston, London to Glasgow.
The Glorious Sixth of June Trailer (1934)
04 August 1934
How news of a general reduction in GPO charges was finally brought to parliament and the people, despite attempts by the country's enemies to prevent the announcement.
6.30 Collection Trailer (1934)
31 July 1934
Short documentary showing the workings of a large London sorting office.
Post-Haste Trailer (1934)
18 February 1934
Humphrey Jennings' first film as a director, a brief overview of the British postal service.
Love on the Wing Trailer (1939)
01 January 1939
Animation featuring dancing black and white shadows.
Gardens of the Orient Trailer (1936)
01 January 1936
This portait of life on the tea plantations is decidedly rosy – clearly, there are no exploited workers here.
Pett and Pott: A Fairy Story of the Suburbs Trailer (1934)
16 April 1934
The film, made to advertise domestic telephone sets, is based around two very different families. The Petts are conventional, happy and have children; the Potts are unconventional and unhappy, without children.
The Song of Ceylon Trailer (1934)
30 November 1934
Ambitious documentary chronicling the cultural life and religious customs of the Sinhalese and the effects of advanced industrialism on such customs.
On the Fishing Banks of Skye Trailer (1935)
06 September 1935
Short documentary about a trawler fishing for hake.
Health in War Trailer (1940)
01 January 1940
The organisation of medical services in Britain during the Second World War.
John Atkins Saves Up Trailer (1934)
01 January 1934
Combining a whimsical romantic tale, practical information about the Post Office Savings Bank, and a gently experimental film-making technique, this film entertainingly depicts some of the prospects opened up by having a savings account.
BBC: The Voice of Britain Trailer (1935)
28 July 1935
A behind-the-scenes GPO Film Unit documentary (directed by Stuart Legg) that races from studio rehearsals and newsrooms to control rooms and transmitters, weaving speeches, music, and outside broadcasts—featuring voices like H.
Mony a Pickle Trailer (1938)
01 January 1938
A brisk GPO Film Unit promo for the Post Office Savings Bank: pub talk and daydream vignettes tout penny-by-penny thrift, peaking in a playful Norman McLaren passage where household furniture springs to life—selling the idea that “many a little makes a lot.
Oh Whiskers Trailer (1939)
01 January 1939
Live action and animated toys are used to illustrate the importance of cleanliness and eating good food.
The Chiltern Country Trailer (1939)
01 January 1939
“The rolling hills and wide valleys of the Chilterns are given centre stage in this travelogue aimed at boosting tourism … The Chilterns are a range of rolling hills not far from Greater London; starting at the Thames in Oxfordshire and meandering in a north-easterly direction for nearly 50 miles, before having the good sense to stop short of Luton.
Travelling Post Office Trailer (1936)
01 January 1936
How the Post Office's night mail train from London to Aberdeen collects and distributes mail en route.
Spring Offensive Trailer (1940)
01 June 1940
Humphrey Jennings’s wartime short rallies Britain’s countryside, showing fields ploughed up from fallow, seed sown, and crops raised on once-idle land as part of the national push to feed the home front—an urgent, lyrical call to turn soil into sustenance.
Sixpenny Telegram Trailer (1935)
01 July 1935
Experimental GPO publicity film extolling the virtues of the telegram service.
The Story of the Wheel Trailer (1934)
01 January 1934
The history of wheels, roads and vehicles from cavemen to the coming of steam.
Locomotives Trailer (1934)
01 January 1934
A concise museum short that traces the evolution of the steam locomotive, using the Science Museum (London)’s model railway collection to chart design leaps from early pioneers to mainline express engines.
We Live in Two Worlds Trailer (1937)
02 January 1937
The author J.B. Priestley delivers a talk about cross-border trade and communications as a benign force, which he contrasts with the military preoccupations of individual nations.
Speaking from America Trailer (1938)
02 January 1938
How long-distance telephone calls are made, from the UK to the USA. We see operators, miles of wires, and the amplification of voice transmitted across the waters.
Telephone (Abstract) Trailer (1934)
01 January 1934
Encouraging the use of the telephone, showing how it is man's first recourse in emergencies.
Cargoes Trailer (1939)
02 January 1939
Shot in mid-1939 as S.S. Ionian (also shown as Her Last Trip), Humphrey Jennings’s GPO short follows the Royal Mail steamer on a last peacetime run through the Mediterranean—Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria, Haifa—under the gaze of the Mediterranean Fleet (HMS Barham, Malaya, Warspite).
London Can Take It! Trailer (1940)
01 October 1940
A tribute to the courage and resiliency of Britons during the darkest days of the London Blitz.
The Story of an Air Communiqué Trailer (1940)
01 November 1940
Sponsored by the Ministry of Information and shown as part of cinema programmes throughout the Second World War, this short film takes place halfway through the Battle of Britain and at the beginning of the Blitz, during sustained bombing raids on UK cities.
North Sea Trailer (1938)
07 March 1938
Drama-documentary, reconstructing a real incident in which a trawler got into difficulties in a North Sea storm.
Penny Journey Trailer (1938)
01 January 1938
As the subtitle of the film suggests - The Story of a Post Card from Manchester to Graffham - this journey is very much focused on the process of sorting, transporting and delivering the postcard in question.
Welfare of the Workers Trailer (1940)
01 January 1940
A story of sacrifice, in which organised labour voluntarily relinquishes hard-won workplace rights after being asked "to give up by choice what Hitler takes by force.
N or NW Trailer (1938)
05 February 1938
Correspondence between young lovers nearly ends in disaster through a mistake in postal district. Fortunately the GPO spots the error and all ends well, but with the moral that correspondents should get the address right.
Line to the Tschierva Hut Trailer (1937)
01 January 1937
Documentary about the construction of telephone lines.
How the Telephone Works Trailer (1938)
15 June 1938
Experimental animation produced by GPO to explain telephone systems to the public.
Spare Time Trailer (1939)
01 January 1939
Spare Time is a 1939 British film directed by Humphrey Jennings for the GPO Film Unit, and made for the 1939 New York World's Fair.
Myra Hess Trailer (1945)
02 January 1945
A concert short spotlighting Dame Myra Hess performing the first movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No.
A Colour Box Trailer (1935)
06 September 1935
Animated shapes dance to Cuban music. This was one of the first animations to be painted directly onto the film.
Message from Geneva Trailer (1936)
01 January 1936
This expository film shows the mood of European society on the eve of the Second World War while promoting the values of international cooperation.
How the Teleprinter Works Trailer (1940)
20 October 1940
A short film showing how the Teleprinter works.
Hop Gardens of Kent Trailer (1933)
23 December 1933
Picturesque Britain - as portrayed by the Travel and Industrial Development Association (TIDA) - looks delightful in this attractive short film.
Health of a Nation Trailer (1939)
01 January 1939
The picture shows the industrialization of England, and the measures taken to clean up afterwards: a lyrical counterpart of Men In Danger, and a contradiction.
Men in Danger Trailer (1939)
01 January 1939
Men in Danger is a documentary about health and safety in industry, covering occupational diseases and potential accidents.