GPO Film Unit

Documentary following an Edinburgh fishing trawler, the "Isabella Grieg".

An impressionistic portrait of the BBC.

Animated shapes dance to Cuban music. This was one of the first animations to be painted directly onto the film.

“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... The inimitable Richard Massingham, a doctor turned actor and filmmaker, co-directed this film, and appears in it as the testy Mr Proctor. This film was produced by John Grierson, often hailed as the father of British documentary. It was made for the General Post Office (GPO) Film Unit, one of the most remarkable creative institutions that Britain has produced. It provided a springboard for many of the best-known and critically acclaimed figures in the British Documentary Movement.” - BFI

Animated short from Halas and Batchelor encouraging the British public to post early for Christmas.

Ambitious documentary chronicling the cultural life and religious customs of the Sinhalese and the effects of advanced industrialism on such customs.

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.

1935 documentary about the hard working life of Welsh coal miners.

Short documentary showing the workings of a large London sorting office.

A tribute to the courage and resiliency of Britons during the darkest days of the London Blitz.

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.

Rainbow Dance is a 1936 British animated film released by the GPO Film Unit. This is Lye's second film. It uses the Gasparcolor process.

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...

A short GPO documentary showing how undersea telephone cables are repaired.

Shows the production of the London telephone directory.

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.

Animation featuring dancing black and white shadows.

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.

A film made by the British General Post Office (GPO) in 1933, promoting the automation of telephone exchanges.

Shows the workings of Britain's Air Post service.