Shunter Black's Night Off

Joe Black is a shunter. That's the fellow who actually moves railroad cars around rail yards. One evening when he's off duty, there's a bombing raid. When he turns up to help, it turns out that there's a car of high explosives at risk and no pressure in the water mains to control the flames.

This "We're all in it together" example of British war propaganda is an early producer's credit for Sydney Box; he had had one producer's credit five years before. After the war, he and his wife became leading British producers of high-class and slightly stodgy dramas. For the moment, this is a fine little example of "the little guy does his job" drama and must have comforted railway workers who were continually asked why they weren't in uniform.