Jack Frost Strikes Again

Archive: Northern Region Film and Television Archive
ID No.: n/a
Title: Jack Frost Strikes Again
Date: 1947
Film-maker: Water Companies' Association
Colour: Black & White
Sound: Sound
Duration of complete item: 14 min.
Themes: Post-War Reconstruction

Summary:

An instructional film on how to avoid freezing water pipes.

Description:

This film, about avoiding plumbing disasters in winter, takes the form of a fictional story, in which the heroine and her fiancé (who, it is implied, cannot get a home of their own due to the post-war housing shortage) live with her mother. The latter’s ineptitude at DIY results in frozen pipes, and a salutary tale for householders everywhere.

Context:

The post-war reconstruction period, characterised by Sissons & French as the ‘Age of Austerity’, in many ways saw living conditions for the average Briton fall significantly below those which had prevailed during the war itself, as the country struggled to repay the colossal debts which had been incurred during the conflict. To make matters worse, the winter of 1946-47 was the coldest recorded in Britain’s history, which inspired this instructional film on how to avoid freezing water pipes.

Reference:

French, Philip & Sissons, Michael. Age of Austerity, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1963.