A brief History: Handkerchief Drill
This short film made by Richard Massingham’s Public Relationship Films for the Ministry of Health in 1949 was the last in a series of four films. The first three episodes were Coughs and Sneezes (1945), Influenza (1946) and Jet-Propelled Germs (1948).
Essentially a filmic extension of the public information or propaganda poster these little films warned of the dangers of spreading disease by uncontrolled sneezing. Massingham’s speciality was to deliver the message of the film with humour and creativity.
Handkerchief Drill staged Richard Massingham himself. As an actor, he possessed an amazingly expressive face and a childlike charm that made for easy identification across all classes; by casting himself as the absent-minded 'everyman', always a little denser than the audience, he allowed them to feel amused and superior, though with the film's message firmly dinned into their heads. This was an effective strategy much aided by his charismatic screen persona.
Richard Massingham, was a former doctor at a Fever Hospital in London. A enthusiast for cinema, he created his own production company, Public Relationship Films, and began to produce information films for the government. Thanks to his original filmmaking style and efficient way of dealing with little everyday problems Richard Massingham was described by Henri Langlois as "the greatest poet of British cinema", joint founder of the French Film Library.
