The North East Film Archive is one of a network of regional film archives established to collect, preserve and show film made in, or about the North East of England. Our collections are non-fiction, and date from the early 1900s to the present day, providing a rich record of life in the region over the 20th century. Many of our films are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
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Kid Stuff
Mother is asking for trouble when she leaves the kids home alone. Can Oxydol come to the rescue?
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Overview
The rough-and-tumble of boyhood leaves mucky mayhem in its wake when two rascals babysit a kid sister and gamble on Oxydol for the clean-up. This comedy about childhood whim and naughtiness was a Newcastle & District Amateur Cinematographers Association production, made soon after World War Two. When the cine club resumed fiction filmmaking in 1946 after wartime restrictions on the sale of film stock to civilians, it was with two stories focused on children.
This post-war short is all primed for the rise of mass consumerism with a conspicuous plug for a recognisable brand name, which moves the narrative along. Oxydol was a product of Thomas Hedley Ltd., based at Fairy Soap Works, City Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, which was acquired by American company Proctor & Gamble (P&G) in 1930. They maintained a strong link to the North East of England thereafter. Along with other soap and detergent manufacturers, P&G's media advertising was powerful. Their sponsorship of daytime radio domestic serials (aimed at housewives) spawned the genre known as 'soap operas', including briefly, The Puddle Family (1932), then on 4 December 1933, "Oxydol's Own Ma Perkins" became a hit.
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