BFI

This film, about the need to wear protective gloves and knee pads, uses colourful cartoon graphics and a humorous soundtrack as an effective reminder to National Coal Board employees of safety guidelines that they already know, in an entertaining and non-patronising manner.

The first half of the film has the 'deep joy' of Stanley Unwin's 'Unwinese' comic dialogue, which explains in his inimitable style why protective equipment should be worn. Married to the soundtrack is the equally freewheeling style of George Dunning's animation, using vibrant colour washes and thick lines which deliberately boil on the screen due to the variation from frame to frame, something mainstream animation tries its hardest to avoid.

The second half of the film, featuring striptease by a buxom blonde who has own use for the safety equipment, comes almost as a reward for the attention of the audience to the first half. More amusing than titillating, a subtle change in Dunning's animation style is also noticeable. Where the first half featured thick black outlines to the figures, here these lines are almost completely absent with only colour washes used to represent the female form.

Jez Stewart

*This film is included in the BFI DVD compilation 'Portrait of a Miner: The National Coal Board Collection Volume 1'.

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