This film is part of Free
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_480x270/public/hero-images/95db67366b1be3d9039ff800a2437923.jpg?itok=xPid1nj9)
Handkerchief Drill
Another of Richard Massingham’s snappy public information fillers finds the oafish everyman’s personal hygiene in question again.
Overview
This snappy public information filler finds Richard Massingham in the familiar role of the affable but oafish everyman with questionable standards of personal hygiene. Massingham’s voracious sneezing habit had already featured in the Ministry of Health-sponsored shorts Coughs and Sneezes, Influenza (1946) and Jet-Propelled Germs (1948).
Public health was high priority during and immediately after the war, as the government attempted to bolster a more robust, healthier nation with a film campaign targeting the spread of disease. Like the earlier films, Handkerchief Drill pairs Massingham's comically clueless character with an authoritative unseen commentator, who advises the sneezer's exasperated wife in a tongue-in-cheek take on the wartime Ministry of Information trailer: "Reason with him, be kind to him... and if that doesn't work, throw a bucket of cold water over him". A selection of over 20 films from one of British cinema’s most fascinating and enduring eccentrics is available on BFI DVD: How To Be Eccentric: The Selected Films of Richard Massingham. This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.
Related
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/promo228574770_2.jpg?itok=tluVorZd)
Riding on Air Riding on Air
Documentary 1959 16 mins Location: London
A beautiful and evocative survey of cycling's golden years.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/e5e6b87a44ec7dcf220872ed3323310a_0.jpg?itok=AzBmMoYf)
The Fatal Floor The Fatal Floor
Public Information Filler 1974 1 mins
Typically hard-hitting public information film about the threat posed by combining a rug and a freshly polished floor.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/dac8f5261271783eb505737c8674feea.jpg?itok=-eTZOG4z)
District Nurse District Nurse
Government sponsored film 1952 27 mins Location: Wadhurst
Never a dull moment for a rural district nurse in the early days of the NHS.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/333a55689df63b1689c05ddae353b3d4.jpg?itok=pYFunYAA)
Race Relations Board Race Relations Board
Public Information Filler 1969 1 mins
New law targets discrimination in housing and employment in this eye-opening public information film.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/cc3d7990d60607b6314c7177737a8812_0.jpg?itok=0eAso48u)
Worn Tyres Can Kill Worn Tyres Can Kill
Public Information Filler 1972 1 mins Silent
A couple goes out for a drive, but their car has clearly seen better days - and so have its tyres.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Smoking%2520Machine%25201%252C%2520cropped.jpg?itok=-4vxPGV9)
The Smoking Machine The Smoking Machine
Documentary 1964 16 mins
Documentary warning children about the drawbacks of cigarettes – not least their addictiveness.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Shoot-Your-Shot-02.jpg?itok=KREdlpBS)
Shoot Your Shot Shoot Your Shot
Drama 2022 12 mins
An emotional stand-off takes flight, as teen best friends Ronit and Brennan come to terms with navigating that fuzzy feeling in their stomachs, all whilst learning to skateboard.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Yellow-04.jpg?itok=Bt5NDkC8)
Yellow Yellow
Drama 2023 13 mins
In Taliban controlled Afghanistan, Laili walks into a Chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full body veil from a Talib shopkeeper and face a new future.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/%25E2%2580%258ELook-Like-You-02.jpeg?itok=2R3w9luT)
Look Like You Look Like You
Drama 2022 13 mins
While visiting the adoptive family of her eight-year-old biological son, Tara relays advice she gathered from growing up as a queer outcast.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/NEHEMICH-02.jpg?itok=ba9fjUy4)
Nehemich Nehemich
Drama 2023 23 mins
Banished in a dilapidated village hut during her menstruation, a young girl waits to elope with her lover.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/1717526943-default-ovp-poster-image.jpg?itok=Fk8VLsGa)
Interview with Pam Cullen Interview with Pam Cullen
Inside Film 2020 53 mins
Interview with Pam Cullen who at 97 boasts an incredible career spanning over fifty years in the Indian film industry.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/muscleqanda.jpg?itok=8sw22r7R)
Muscle - Exclusive Q&A Muscle - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 34 mins
Director Gerard Johnson talks Nia Child through the making of Muscle, an adrenalized drama that tears into the stereotypes of masculinity and male friendship.