ANIMATION. Fragment from a animated film using designs by political cartoonist David Low, in which a scientist [?] demonstrates some ingenious forms of defence in war-time.

No title. Bearded figure with a square hat and umbrella talks to the camera; "Now if England were..." [speech indistinct and drowned by noise of aeroplane] (6). Fade to a row of thatched cottages. A German warplane flies overhead, then drops a bomb which bounces off an elasticated roof and hits the plane, exploding. Speech over this scene: "When you drop bombs on them the bombs drop back" (20). Large flypapers suspended by balloons hang over London and trap enemy warplanes. Speech: "And flypaper - what could your master nations do against that?" (30). Colonel Blimp approaches the bearded figure and makes an indistinct comment [possibly "T'ain't so, really?"]. Bearded figure replies "Really", lifts the top of his hat, from which emerges a propeller, and flies off (43).

Note: Humphrey Jennings corresponded with David Low on 10th Jan 1936 while working at Gasparcolor about an idea to produce a series of short politcal cartoons. David Low provided at least three drawings which survive in his archives and correspond with the action in this test film.

See: Kevin Jackson, 'Humphrey Jennings' and Colin Seymour-Ure, Jim Schoff 'David Low'

This film was previously identified as possibly a fragment from the proposed animated political cartoon series THE POCKET CARTOON, first devised around 1941 by John Halas and Alexander Mackendrick. David Low was reported to be interested in the project and three experimental films in the series were made in 1945, according to Kemp (see below). Gifford however dates the films as 1941 and states that they were made in Technicolor, while the above was filmed in Gasparcolor.

See Philip Kemp, `Lethal Innocence: The Cinema of Alexander Mackendrick',
p 14, and Denis Gifford, `British Animated Films, 1895-1985', p 119.