Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

The World of Work

Episode 4 of 10

Using the Rank Organisation's short colour films to document British working lives in the 1960s, a period when new technology was transforming our factories.

In the 1960s, Britain's biggest film company, the Rank Organisation, produced hundreds of short colour films on almost every aspect of British life. This fascinating material had lain largely dormant in an archive until Britain on Film accessed it and reworked it into a series that offers richly informative and often surprising insights into a decisive period of modern British history.

This episode is devoted to the activity that occupies so many of our waking hours - our working lives. During a period when new technology was transforming our factories and fierce competition from overseas was forcing many employers to make far-reaching changes to production processes and patterns of working, these films hint at the enormous challenges confronting workers in Britain's increasingly fragile industrial economy.

30 minutes

Clip

Credits

Role Contributor
Producer Sarah Metcalfe
Executive Producer David Okuefuna

Broadcasts