Released on 15 November, Stop! Look! Listen!, the latest volume in the BFI’s DVD series of films made by the Central Office of Information, takes a look at health, welfare and safety messages for the public - many of which may be familiar.
Cautionary tales, motherly advice, celebrity appearances and shock tactics have all been utilised by the COI over the years to prevent us from being: killed on the road; burnt to death; abducted by strangers; crushed by tractors; drowned at sea and more.
This DVD includes a selection of some well-known short public information films and commercials. For today’s viewers, they offer a fascinating prism by which to survey changing government concerns and priorities.
Highlights include: Mind How You Go (1973), with green cross code advice courtesy of Valerie Singleton; Drive Carefully Darling (1975), starring Frank Bough and a stellar cast of ‘numskulls’; Apaches (1977), massacre on the farm from John MacKenzie, director of The Long Good Friday; Betcher! (1971), in which a young Keith Chegwin takes on a cycling challenge; Never Go With Strangers (1971), sinister stranger danger advice for children and Twenty Times More Likely (1979), where Gillian Taylforth’s first love ends tragically. Look out for these additional famous faces when they were much younger!: Michael Palin, John Challis, Colin Baker, Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, Dick Emery and Reg Varney.
