Gpo Film Unit Movies

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

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.

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.

Trade Tattoo went even further than Rainbow Dance in its manipulation of the Gasparcolor process. The original black and white footage consisted of outtakes from GPO Film Unit documentaries such as Night Mail. Lye transformed this footage in what has been desc...

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

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

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

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

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...

Humphrey Jennings' first film as a director, a brief overview of the British postal service.

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

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.

Short documentary about a trawler fishing for hake.

Animation featuring dancing black and white shadows.

This expository film shows the mood of European society on the eve of the Second World War while promoting the values of international cooperation. Using the Swiss office of the BBC as an example, the film describes the functioning of radio and presents the po...

Short documentary about weather forecasting, emphasising the importance of the GPO's telecommunications systems.

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

As the subtitle of the film suggests - The Story of a Post Card from Manchester to Graffham - this journey is very much focused on the process of sorting, transporting and delivering the postcard in question.

Shows the production of the London telephone directory.

A brief documentary about the history of the Royal Mail.