Public Information Films (PIF) - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Alf · 10th Jan 2008, 10:30 pm

....of the late sixties/seventies, can anyone remember the one about Reginald Molehusband and his attempts to reverse park? It seems that film has gone missing. I got thinking, would anyone have any old 405 videotapes, or early seventies with it on

?

SWB 18 · 10th Jan 2008, 11:49 pm

Hi,

I think you might mean these films http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/15656...2/Product.html

Over 4 hours of them to bring back some more memories.

Phil.

adrian · 11th Jan 2008, 5:30 am

Another PIF that seems to have gone AWOL (but not from my memory) is 'Don't Bank Your Fire In Foggy Weather'.

Certainly, when I was a young-un in the late '60's there were still many houses in our part of 'oop north' that had coal-burning hot-water boilers and fireplaces for heat. 'Banking' the fire at night made sure it didn't go out and could be revived quickly in the morning but it did produce a lot of thick smoke - leading to smog in foggy weather.

ekcopyephilips · 11th Jan 2008, 1:43 pm

They used to scare me as a kid.

I remember the one where a woman had a party and as she looked round her empty lounge before turning the light off a stern male voice told us the "this was the last time she will ever see this room" - cut to a shot of a lit cigarette falling out of an ashtray and down the back of her sofa. Along the same theme there was one where some kids were cold so lit a gas fire using matches and didn't quite put them out properly and burnt the house down.
Wasn't there a scary chip pan fire one too ? They all seemed to involve warning us about fires.
Also the stupid old woman on a three (soon to become two) legged stool changing a light bulb, that fell to bits and sent her crashing into a massive glass display cabinet.
It was all very sinister in th 70's. It's quite shocking we're all still here.

Mike Burton

Tom_I · 11th Jan 2008, 3:08 pm

An appeal was put out about a couple of years ago for the Reginald Molehusband PIF, but as far as I know no copy has been found.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4700772.stm

It's astonishing that something which was shown so often, and is remembered by so many people, should have been lost. The original soundtrack exists, but not the video. BBC Breakfast found the original actor and the original car, and re-made the film, but it's not the same with Reginald looking 40 years older. You can see the re-make here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4770268.stm

To this day, whenever I see someone making a pig's ear of reverse parking, I still say (or at least think) "Come on Reginald".

Tom

10th Jan 2008, 10:30 pm	#1
Alf Hexode Join Date: May 2005 Location: Wigan, Greater Manchester, UK. Posts: 479	Public Information Films (PIF) ....of the late sixties/seventies, can anyone remember the one about Reginald Molehusband and his attempts to reverse park? It seems that film has gone missing. I got thinking, would anyone have any old 405 videotapes, or early seventies with it on?

10th Jan 2008, 11:49 pm	#2
SWB 18 Pentode Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Midlands, UK. Posts: 181	Re: Public Information Films (PIF) Hi, I think you might mean these films http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/15656...2/Product.html Over 4 hours of them to bring back some more memories. Phil.

11th Jan 2008, 5:30 am	#3
adrian Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Tampico, Mexico Posts: 40	Re: Public Information Films (PIF) Another PIF that seems to have gone AWOL (but not from my memory) is 'Don't Bank Your Fire In Foggy Weather'. Certainly, when I was a young-un in the late '60's there were still many houses in our part of 'oop north' that had coal-burning hot-water boilers and fireplaces for heat. 'Banking' the fire at night made sure it didn't go out and could be revived quickly in the morning but it did produce a lot of thick smoke - leading to smog in foggy weather.

11th Jan 2008, 1:43 pm	#4
ekcopyephilips Hexode Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK. Posts: 440	Re: Public Information Films (PIF) They used to scare me as a kid. I remember the one where a woman had a party and as she looked round her empty lounge before turning the light off a stern male voice told us the "this was the last time she will ever see this room" - cut to a shot of a lit cigarette falling out of an ashtray and down the back of her sofa. Along the same theme there was one where some kids were cold so lit a gas fire using matches and didn't quite put them out properly and burnt the house down. Wasn't there a scary chip pan fire one too ? They all seemed to involve warning us about fires. Also the stupid old woman on a three (soon to become two) legged stool changing a light bulb, that fell to bits and sent her crashing into a massive glass display cabinet. It was all very sinister in th 70's. It's quite shocking we're all still here. Mike Burton Last edited by Mike Phelan; 26th Aug 2008 at 4:09 pm. Reason: Replaced missing apos

11th Jan 2008, 3:08 pm	#5
Tom_I Heptode Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: North Herts. UK. Posts: 549	Re: Public Information Films (PIF) An appeal was put out about a couple of years ago for the Reginald Molehusband PIF, but as far as I know no copy has been found. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4700772.stm It's astonishing that something which was shown so often, and is remembered by so many people, should have been lost. The original soundtrack exists, but not the video. BBC Breakfast found the original actor and the original car, and re-made the film, but it's not the same with Reginald looking 40 years older. You can see the re-make here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4770268.stm To this day, whenever I see someone making a pig's ear of reverse parking, I still say (or at least think) "Come on Reginald". Tom