Charley Says... The Best Public Information Films In The World [1970] [DVD]

Do you know the only way that it's acceptable to mix cross-plies and radials? Why you shouldn't gloss paint polystyrene tiles? The wrong way to plug an electric drill into the mains? Where the phrase "do you want to see some puppies" originates from? How to use a Pelican crossing? What Pelican stands for (PEdestrian LIght CONtrolled. Incidentally the ones with the bike symbol are called Toucan cos TWO CAN cross. True)

There are numerous appearances from celebrities of the day including Jimmy Saville and the cast of Dads' Army. Slightly more interesting, to me at any rate, are the appearances by future celebrities. Half the adult cast of Eastenders is there including Gillian Taylforth in a drink driving ad she seems not to have heeded. You also get to see Roy Evans being creamed by a Mk2 Cortina.

It's a Mecca for 1960s and 70s car spotters, you could be forgiven for thinking you're safe as long as you stay away from Austin 1100s and Ford Cortinas. The street scenes and fashions will jog a few memories too.

The tone of these films is patronising at times, it's a good demonstration of how attitudes have changed. I think perhaps a few patronising messages on Stranger Danger, road safety etc might be appropriate today. You can actually see the tone changing over the couple of decades covered by the films.

My children both love these films, they also love the 1970s cartoons like Paddington, Roobarb etc that I bought "for them". Maybe these simpler images are more suited to children's tastes. I was a little taken aback when one of them asked why you were supposed to label the dead bodies you leave outside your nuclear shelter but I suppose it's a reasonable question.

If you're buying this you should buy SHUT IT!- The Music of The Sweeney which will bump the order up to free postage levels. The Sweeney CD is another thing that won't disappoint you if you like the look of it.

In all seriousness this is a wonderfully nostalgic look back at these films, which were once commonly screened on TV and really only highlighting basic common sense. Cheaply made using many famous faces, they were almost mini dramas with stern voiceovers and dramatic accompanying music getting louder as the danger becomes more apparent. They have slipped almost out of people's memories as they only tend to be screened very late at night now just before closedown, and modern PIFs tend to be less dramatic. Some of the PIFs on this disc are also much older and would have been screened in cinemas before films rather than shown on TV.

PIFs have a cult following as retro TV nostalgia, and this collection is a fine tribute to them.

It’s the sort of thing you watch shouting out “I remember this!” over and over again. There are some great classics on here, the “Charley Says” ones are probably the most memorable, followed by Tuffy and how to cross the road, Rolf Harris telling us to learn how to swim and the cast of Dad’s Army teaching us how to use a Pelicon crossing. (I also learnt this stood for PEdestrian LIght CONtrolled crossing) And of course not forgetting the amazing side-burns of Alvin Stardust! “You must be out of you tiny minds!”

Buyer beware though, as other reviewers have pointed out, the construction of the DVD doesn’t allow for easy navigation around the clips and at a running time of over two hours it’s a bit lengthy to watch all in one go. Also, as much as I enjoyed watching some of these again I do question the regularity that one would watch such a film.

One final note of disappointment I have to mention is that even though there are over 150 classic clips they managed to miss off one I particularly remember. Where was the iconic clip of Richard O’Sullivan (?) directing a film in the street where the car overtakes the bike? “You’re meant to overtake her and wave, not knock her off her bike!”