More public information films: deadly fridges, further education and Thelwell's horses

A few more stills from public information films of the sixties and seventies. These ones are perhaps better described as illustrated rather than animated, though - there's not much movement in them, and rather more emphasis on still images. All of them can be found across the two Charley Says DVDs.

First up is Children and Disused Fridges from 1971, discussed in this BBC article.

"To you, it's just a worn out fridge..."

"...but to a child, it's a caravan..."

"...a ship..."

"...a castle..."

"...even a bed..."

"...and a deathtrap! Air-tight and impossible to open from the inside."

"Don't let an old fridge be a new danger to children. Take off the door or smash the lock, or better still ask your local council to take it away or tell you how to dispose of it..."

"...before it kills a child."











This film is titled College of Further Education. I have no information on it besides that, unfortunately.


"When you leave school, you'll want to direct your footsteps towards a worthwhile career."

"But suppose you haven't the qualifications?"

"You may think a dull, dead-end job is your only choice - but it isn't."

"There are colleges of further education, and you don't have to have qualifications to get in - but you'll have them when you come out."

"Take your first step towards a brighter future: see your careers teacher now."









And finally, Beware Horses. This film has almost no animation at all - the horse's eye opens at the start, one shot has animated exhaust coming out of a car, another has a man's arm bobbing up and down as he signals, and the final shot has the man nodding his head - but beyond that it consists of still images brought to life with pans and zooms. I'm posting these stills mainly for fans of legendary cartoonist Norman Thelwell, who provided the artwork. I believe this is the closest thing to an animated project that he ever worked on.




"Oh, motorists, it's dangerous passing nervous beasts like us..."

"Flapping canvas..."

"...brakes that squeal..."

"...a careless movement of the wheel..."


"The noise and lash of all this speed my terrify the quietest steed!"


"For faster travel, I've been rejected - it wouldn't really feel dejecting if men would, sometimes, feel remorse and spare a thought for me, the horse."


"To all our riders on the road, use signals of the highway code. Slow in advance and drive with care..."


"...please don't cause a sudden scare!"

"We ask your help..."

"...we ask your care..."

"...go slow near horses everywhere. Flesh and blood like you we are; but we're outside, not in the car."