Twinkling Fingers

1940
Sound
10m

Pianists Charlie Kunz and Mark Hambourg tickle the ivories for our entertainment in this jolly musical short.

Jovial, jazzy Charlie Kunz and stern concert pianist Mark Hambourg give impeccable performances of distinctly different pieces in this marvellous musical short. Kunz is backed by his band, and Hambourg is accompanied by the bizarrely brilliant Minipiano Ensemble - fourteen gifted juveniles, each of whom has their own piano on a stupendous stratified stage that looks something like a wedding cake.

The Minipiano Ensemble: once seen, never forgotten. The gifted girls sport identical flouncy princess dresses and enormous hair bows, while the boys show off in matching public school style Eton suits. Hambourg hides throughout their first dramatic number, finally revealing himself for a solemn solo spot when a gigantic curtain is whisked back at the top of the 'cake'. His young protégés stand and observe respectfully while the maestro plays, before the cake-curtain swishes shut to conceal him from view and they return to their keyboards.

Life Under Fire

The horror of Luftwaffe bombs coloured daily life in Britain's cities and beyond, and war brought myriad daily hardships besides. But Britain could take it!

The Blitz receded after May 1941, but even after the Battle of Britain, the nation faced a barrage of incendiary bombs, V-1s and V-2s. While young men fought Axis powers across three continents, their families listened anxiously to the wireless, while many worried too about children far from home. But in the face of the destruction, sirens, blackouts and hours in shelters, the now-legendary 'Blitz spirit' kept despair at bay. Britain held her nerve thanks to mutual support, defiance and wit - plus a good grumble and as many cups of tea as rationing allowed.