Richard Massingham

To the Rescue

Comedy of the theft of a poodle by a villain and the chase after him.

Introducing the New Worker

Showing the importance of a thorough induction.

What a Life!

Two men, worn down by their dismal daily existence, decide to take action.

Handkerchief Drill

A husband sneezes inconsiderately all over the place, until his wife has had enough and leaves him.

Thirty Miles an Hour

Short road safety film.

Facts and Fancies

Describes the many by-products resulting from the carbonisation of coal.

Post Haste

A brief documentary about the history of the Royal Mail.

Agricultural Holiday Camps

The effortlessly comic abandons the stress of his city job to work on a farm.

In Which We Live: Being the Story of a Suit Told by Itself

Government information film on how to get maximum wear from a man's suit, narrated by one such suit in the form of an autobiography.

Coughs and Sneezes

This film explains how sneezing in public can spread disease, and shows how using a handkerchief can stop it.

Influenza

Public health film, warning of the dangers of this airborne disease through sneezing.

Health in Our Time

Shows how hygiene can change the course of history and how it was a decisive factor in Britain's World War II victory. Commentary by Dr. Charles Hill.

Tell Me If It Hurts

A short comedy about dentistry by the doctor and (at this point) amateur film-maker Richard Massingham.

The Cure

Richard Massingham directs and stars in this medical short about a man going to any lengths to cure his lumbago.

Pedestrian Crossing

Richard Massingham gives a comic demonstration of how to cross the road.

Jet-Propelled Germs

Another of Richard Massingham's films about the dangers of sneezing and germ transmission, and what to do with used handkerchiefs

Pool of Contentment

A secretarial pool dream of the ideal civil servant to be their boss.

Moving House

Richard Massingham's 'Uncle Bob' character helps his family move house.

The Five-Inch Bather

A man extols the enjoyment that can still be had in a bath restricted to the wartime allowance of five inches of hot water.

Warning to Travellers

Advice for post-war British holidaymakers on how to comply with new Treasury legislation on taking money abroad, presented in comic style by Richard Massingham.

Watch Your Meters

Richard Massingham stars in an educational short about ways of conserving household energy.

Turn the Key Softly

A bitter burglar, a prostitute and an elderly shoplifter spend their first day out of jail.

Will Any Gentleman...?

A trip to the theatre changes a meek bank clerk's life, as he undergoes hypnosis and leaves without being woken up. Suddenly, he believes he is the world's greatest lover and becomes a terrorizing Casanova.

What's In a Number

National insurance made amusing by the eccentric Richard Massingham.

The Silent Order

Filmed shortly after World War II," The Silent Order" records the lives of Trappist monks living inside the 12th-century Monastery of the Holy Cross, Roscrea, County Tipperary, as they quietly go about their business as farmers, scholars, artists, and writers—evoking 10 centuries of a shifting social, political, and religious landscape in the heart of Ireland. 

Playing in the Road

A road safety film on the dangers of playing in the roads of London in 1947.

High Treason

Men from Scotland Yard and military intelligence build a dossier on a sabotage ring.