8mm Forum: Night Mail

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Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on May 29, 2014, 06:48 PM:

Night Mail (1936, GPO Film Unit)

(1x600’, Derann Film Services, Sound, Black and White)

Here’s something a little special: how talented filmmakers started with a pretty utilitarian topic and made a celebrated film out of it. “Night Mail” was originally intended to be a promotional film for the Royal Post’s services, but almost 80 years later it’s considered a classic. It went all the way from basically a public service ad. about people delivering mail to the kind of film people watch in film study class to see how it's done.

This is sort-of a railroad film, yet sort-of not one. Yes, there are trains: powerful and fast ones too, but it’s really about the men who delivered the mail from London to Scotland and what their jobs were like.

The film is set out on the line as well as within the postal facilities themselves. The main focus of the film is the Postal Special, a fast express train that carried no paying passengers, just hundreds of bags of mail and the postal workers who processed it enroute. Much like the opening of “Castaway” three quarters of a century later, nobody here is committing the sin of turning their backs on time. Everything is about keeping schedule and dramatic tension is mostly called “delay”. At one point The Special is halted waiting for another train to arrive to exchange mailbags. A very managerial looking man in a suite asks “Where’s that Holyhead job?” in a way that is not exactly a question. We flash to an empty platform and then the delinquent train slowly steams in. For people who have had jobs and bosses, it’s almost an uncomfortable moment: good for a brief release of adrenaline!

-The Postal Special continued on to Scotland four minutes late!

Inside the train we spend some time with the postal staff. They spend hour after hour late at night sorting letters for distribution to various local post offices. This is maybe a hundred men on their feet on a swaying floor putting envelopes in pigeon holes at an hour most people are sound asleep. My knees hurt just thinking about it! It gets interesting when they are ready to drop some off. You see, they didn’t just stop the train, carry a mailbag over to a building, unlock the door and put it inside. No, they hung it outside the train and it was snatched by a net at speeds up towards 100 MPH. At the same time a similar scheme caused a bag of local mail to be swept up and come hurtling inside the train (stand back!)

It’s important to bear in mind that these lives were lived almost 80 years ago, and the world has changed. For example, there is a scene where a track gang has to step back for the Postal Special to come blazing through. The men step back from the track with their shovels and picks and pass a bottle among themselves as the train roars past. It goes without saying that this probably wasn’t Pepsi: just an example of how this film looks back into a world both better and worse, but certainly different from today.

The movie ends with a sense of victory as daylight breaks and the train coasts towards journey’s end, on time. All the effort has been rewarded and a great achievement has been made, until they have to do it all again tomorrow night.

Like many 600 footers this is great for a one reel show, when you don’t have the time or energy to put together an entire program and just feel like watching a film. It’s certainly not for everyone: the younger the viewer the less likely to be well received. However, for somebody who is sensitive to what it represents as a document of days long past it should be both interesting and entertaining.

Derann’s 600 footer runs a little soft in focus here and there, and since mine is tinted a little blue I suspect it’s printed on color stock. It does have moments when it has that great look of contrasty black and white. The sound is a little muddy, but considering the state of the art when this one was made, that’s more than understandable.

"-and none will hear the postman's knock without a quickening of the heart, for who can bear to feel himself forgotten?"

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on May 29, 2014, 07:29 PM:

Thank's for that really excellent review Steve. I have not seen Night Mail in decades, but I remember the impression it made on me when they showed it on BBC TV. A very interesting film, and a case book on how to make an absorbing documentary film. It should be mandatory viewing in any film class.

Posted by Paul Mason (Member # 4015) on May 30, 2014, 05:41 AM:

Enjoyed your review Steve. The seemingly authentic scenes on board the travelling post office were filmed in the tiny GPO Film Unit studio in Blackheath. It's also available on dvd from Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Mail-DVD-Geoffrey-Tandy/dp/B000WM9WKU

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on May 31, 2014, 01:42 AM:

Excellent review Steve, I bought a print from Derann years ago and still have it. Its a most interesting film of a time long gone.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on May 31, 2014, 05:30 AM:

Thanks Guys,

I came pretty close to calling this one a product of British Transport Films until 1) I watched it again and 2) I found out that BTF wouldn't be founded for another decade. I enjoy those too.

The mistake is natural: what's good about this is good about many of them as well.

This compares nicely to the Austin produced film "Men Who Work" about a shift at the Longbridge car factory. My only question is why is it so enjoyable after a long day at work to sit and watch other people working?

-at least at my job I can sit down!

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on May 31, 2014, 01:51 PM:

I have one with reasonable print and sound that was a PM Films release. Derann did re-release a few of their 600' films (e.g. 'The Wicked Lady') so they may have got the 'Night Mail' master from them.

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