This film is part of Free
It all Depends Which Way You Look at It (Solidox Advert)
Solidox toothpaste is the punchline to a series of questions concerning how things look from various angles.
Overview
A refreshingly quirky approach to advertising, which doesn’t reveal the product being advertised - Solidox toothpaste - until the final few seconds. The rest comprises a witty exploration of how things can look radically different depending on your particular viewpoint at the time, or that of a baby, a cow, a milkmaid, a cricketer, a snail, or even an inanimate object such as a glass of beer or railway sleeper. The punchline comes when a dentist’s mirror show us a rear view of a pretty smile.
Presenter Eric Barker (1912-90) was a popular comedy actor. At the time this film was made, he was most successful on radio and the stage, sometimes in partnership with his wife Pearl Hackney. After the War he’d become a very familiar face on the large and small screen, where The Eric Barker Half-Hour ran from 1951-3. Later in his career he was a regular in the early Carry On films, specialising in playing irritatingly officious authority figures. He was also a comic novelist whose work was praised by P.G. Wodehouse, and was briefly the father-in-law of the actor Anthony Hopkins.
Related
The Warning (Gibbs S.R. Toothpaste) The Warning (Gibbs S.R. Toothpaste)
Advert 1941 5 mins
An amazingly complex cinema ad, disguised as a trailer for a film that never existed
Symphony in Colour (Persil Advert) Symphony in Colour (Persil Advert)
Advert 1942 5 mins
Super soft-sell Persil ad, in the guise of a lush Technicolor essay on colour itself.
Music Hath Charms Music Hath Charms
Advert 1935 4 mins
Pratfalls galore in rib-tickling commercial for Bush radios.
Every Man His Own Housewife (Persil Advert) Every Man His Own Housewife (Persil Advert)
Advert 1940 3 mins Silent
This propaganda advert encourages housewives to use Persil, the powder that gives “longer life to your linens”.
Let's Ask the Ladies Let's Ask the Ladies
Musical 1937 23 mins
A Co-op window dresser dreams of his mannequins coming to life in this musical fashion fantasy.
Murder in the Air Murder in the Air
Advert 1935 4 mins Silent
“There is nothing you can beat about the Bush”: the wireless wows in this stylish ad for Bush Radio.
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.
Edgar Wright on The Running Man Edgar Wright on The Running Man
Inside Film 2025 28 mins
The director talks to Mark Kermode about putting Stephen King's dystopian life-or-death gameshow thriller through its paces.
Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 69 mins
Richard Linklater discusses his remarkable and wide-ranging body of work, including Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague.
Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 73 mins
Daniel Day-Lewis, the ultimate actor’s actor discusses his career in conversation with Mark Kermode.