A glimpse at Hitler's diary? No hoax this time, but a parodic propaganda cartoon produced during the 'phoney war', when it was perhaps easier to paint the Führer as just a fool. From shooting his own alarm clock in the morning, to an undignified dunking in the sea at the end of the day, the film is full of humorous pokes at Nazi pomp and circumstance. But the evacuation of Dunkirk, just two days after its release on 24th May 1940, quickly made such a light-hearted approach seem out of step with the times.

The film was made by architectural draughtsman Lawrence Wright, under his pseudonym Lance White. He appears to be an entirely self-taught animator, cutting his teeth on a series of 9.5mm amateur cartoons about his other passions, gliding and buildings, including The Life and Career of Archie Teck (c.1935). He made a further cartoon, The Mail Goes Through (1947; also on BFI Replay), before leaving animation behind. Future diversions to his continuing career as a draughtsman included writing published histories of both the bed and the toilet - essential bathroom reading.