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Jun
21

Night Mail

Night Mail is a 1936 documentary film about a London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) mail train from London to Scotland, produced by the GPO Film Unit. A…
Video Rating: 4 / 5

25 comments

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  1. NODROG HTIMS says:

    Every time I see this I see the real internet!

  2. Martin Walters says:

    OMG..link to link..I got here by following links from American 60′s protest
    musicians via the Wikipedia subject matter covering “documentary”. I wasn’t
    disappointed. Now I understand how “documentary” evolved. I don’t have the
    words to express my astonishment at the shear intent of those who made this
    film. Absolutely astounding. Youtube and Wikipedia rock…notwithstanding
    those human beings who made this film possible. I thank you from the bottom
    of my heart.

  3. Mike Knell says:

    Maybe the finest documentary short in the English-language cinema. Complete
    with men wearing hats non-ironically, a tearoom straight out of “Brief
    Encounter”, lovable cockney banter, safety practices that would never cut
    it today, and oh yeah, a poem by WH Auden, who was an employee of the GPO
    Film Unit at the time. And a score by some little-known young composer
    called Britten. A good way to spend 22 minutes in the company of the past.

  4. mohamed sallam says:

    Letters of thanks , letters from banks , letters of joy from the girl and
    the boy

  5. jslasher1 says:

    Happy 100th to the great Benjamin Britten. Excellent score.

  6. Jordan Miles says:

    spitting them lyrics

  7. mohamed sallam says:

    the music with the poem makes me feel that the serial killer will appear in
    the scene suddenly, after he enter with his black and white shoos lool

  8. Ian MacLeod says:

    Night Mail (1936), involving John Grierson, W.H.Auden and Benjamin Britten,
    was a famous documentary still being shown in the 50′s and 60′s when I
    first saw it. Redolent of the years when I was growing up, it is a real
    treat to watch it again as a pensioner fifty years later.
    Night Mail

  9. phaasch says:

    Britten and Auden fans may want to check out “The Way to the Sea” made the
    following year by the Southern Railway

  10. phaasch says:

    At 17:28 -Humphrey Jennings in the beret?

  11. Oakleaf700 says:

    England’s hedgerows- and the look of the countryside is so changed now that
    the tall Elms seen in this film are no longer here…Dutch Elm disease
    [imported to the UK from America] destroyed these noble trees. Wish the
    Steam trains were still around too….lovely documentary.

  12. Bradley Stearn says:

    What a fantastic film! I watched this for my university course, I am
    studying documentary films

  13. yallow rosa says:

    nice, unfortunately the video resolution is low …

  14. kevin hayes says:

    fantastic ros the apparatus had gone by the time i joined the tpo,i knew
    postman who had used it like yourself,i feel privelidged to have been a tpo
    man thanks for your reply mate

  15. poettttt says:

    I’m glad you uploaded the whole film, even though I’ve always liked the
    Auden poem!

  16. NellsStuff says:

    What a difference between railroading then and now!! Everything was so
    precise… now, at least in my area in the US, NOTHING is precise!

  17. Paulo Nideck says:

    you see..the first rap was white and British! lol

  18. shefafarrukh says:

    OMG!How does he speak so fast at the end if the film

  19. skawashers says:

    It used to get shown all the time after 12pm on channel 4. which is when i
    first caught sight of it. The way the rail workers are swigging out of a
    large Bottle . you know full well thats not a Bottle of water.. Its a
    Lovely piece of British History

  20. Paulo Nideck says:

    Thank you for the upload!

  21. Paulo Nideck says:

    This looks really modern and well-made for 1936. Impressive camera work and
    editing.

  22. tralens says:

    Personal delivery to a farmer waiting for the racing results….This would
    not happen today more’s the pity!

  23. roskruge . says:

    Hi Kevin I was a Postman not PHG on Up & Down Special TPO also NW Night
    Down from Euston to Carlisle 1966 to 1968, you will remember it was the
    Postman’s job to do the apparatus and call the “Fix” on. I can tell you
    honestly I never missed a drop off or a pick up point. Remember the white
    board alongside the track. Being on the TPO was without doubt one of my
    best jobs I ever had. Also in the film the ‘governor’ walks up and down
    supervising the PHG’s in my time never. Andrew

  24. skawashers says:

    @gedebage i didnt know if to upload the whole film Or just the W. H. Auden
    part . But as a Big fan of Black n white British films. It would be
    sacrilege to chop it down into bite sized chunks. Im pleased you like it

  25. proboner1973 says:

    We forget how amazingly efficient communications were 80 years ago. Half an
    hour after those letters were posted they were scooped into the TPO
    travelling north at 90mph.

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