This film is part of Free

Typing Technique

Dive into a typing pool of the 1940s and see the delightful Miss Brown learn to master her craft

Government sponsored film 1945 24 mins Silent

Overview

Will plucky Miss Brown sink or swim in the typing pool? The modern word processor has overridden the craft of mechanical typing, with shorthand and carbon copying involving actual carbon largely gone with it. This film uses the dictation of a report on good technique to a hapless typist as a neat, if somewhat patronising, structure. You'd have to be hard hearted not to sympathise with the delightfully fidgety Miss Brown.

The film was produced by Public Relationship Films, who, under the guidance of Richard Massingham, excelled at bringing a light, humorous touch to outwardly dry subject matter. It's a shame they never produced a training film for projectionists, as damage to the surviving copies of this film shows they were well used but sadly not well cared for in their working life. 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.