Look, Signal, Manoeuvre (1965) Public Information Film Motorcycle safety

I corrected the aspect ratio, The bikes looked bad with oval wheels!

Motorcycle road safety PIF from 1965 - a road-safety film contrasting the standard of riding between two twenty-year-old motorcyclists. Produced by Associated British Pathé for the then Ministry of Transport.

With thanks to Andy W (youtube)

Set in an around Harrow and Wembley, London, this Public Information Film concerns motorcycle road safety by following the journey to work of Tom, who follows road safety procedures, and his friend, who does not.

The commentator is PHILIP JAMES, Production is HARRY FIELD, the cast are unknown.

00:00 The film opens showing Tom and his friend as young children in woodland, riding their tricycles. There is a quick timeline as they grow up as Tom switches between a child’s bicycle, a larger bicycle, and lastly, a Matchless Motorcycle. Tom’s friend comes along on his Triumph Tiger cub motorcycle and proceeds to ride and slide recklessly around the woodland.
01:03 A quick shot of the factory that they both work in, including the first showing of a much repeated shot of the clocking-in time-clock and a close up of the Work’s Keeper’s somewhat stern face.
01:10 Tom leaves home (unknown) reasonably early, whilst his friend is only just getting up.
01:38 Tom carefully overtakes a lorry, whilst his friend rushes to eat breakfast including another shot of the time-clock and Work’s Keeper, then he rushes out of the house and grabs his motorcycle. A quick shot of Tom riding steadily whilst the commentator explains that he is not in a hurry, before cutting back to his friend who pulls into the road from the side of the house with hardly a glance, then proceeds to ride fast and recklessly along his route to work.
02:52 Tom is riding along Eliot Drive, South Harrow and then shows us how to negotiate a crossroads with Scott / Coles crescent, as the commentates tells us to “Never rely on signals given by anyone, except a policeman.”.
03:29 Tom’s friend is still tearing down the road, whilst Tom is riding unhurriedly.
03:34 Tom turns left at a T junction.
04:06 Tom’s friend is stopped by a red traffic light. There is another time-clock/Works Keeper shot to emphasise that he is worried about being late as he looks at his watch. He takes a shortcut but because of his speed and careless braking, his motorcycle crashes into some road works. The narrator explains about correct braking and the previous shot is repeated, but showing another Matchless, braking correctly and avoiding the road works. The scene of Tom’s friend riding into the road works is repeated with another shot of the time-clock/Works Keeper, before his friend remounts his motorcycle, kick starts it and then tears off again.
04:58 Tom is riding unhurriedly again, whilst the narrator explains that Tom is in good time to get his paper this morning. Tom turns right out of Rayner’s Lane into Alexandra Avenue, towards the newsagents. At 05:34, Tom passes a pedestrian, waiting to use a zebra crossing, but neither Tom or the narrator seem to notice.
05:42 Tom stops at the newsagents at 212 Alexandra Avenue, whilst the shot zooms in on a blank newspaper headline board on which the words ‘LOOK’, ’SIGNAL’, ‘MANOEUVRE’ appear one by one as the narrator points them out.
06:06 Having got his newspaper, Tom does a U turn and rides back down Alexandra Avenue whilst the weather has suddenly changed from sunny, to very cold and foggy. At the previous crossroads, he turns right into Warden Avenue. Meanwhile, Tom’s friend is still riding fast to try and make up time.
07:09 Tom does a final left turn into the factory premises. He safely passes and oncoming lorry. By now, very close behind, Tom’s friend is tearing along, full of bravado, and takes the final turn too fast and too wide, hitting the oncoming lorry. we are looking up through his eyes at several people who are looking down with concerned expressions.
07:30 Tom pulls up outside the hospital casualty department, and his friend appears around the corner, limping with a stick. He has a right plastered foot and left arm. The narrator explains that tom’s friend does not have a bike anymore, just a summons for careless driving, as the shot changes to a doorbell button being pressed and then switches to the stern looking face of a policeman.
07:47 travelling along Wyld Way, Wembley, we see Tom on his Matchless which is now minus the L plates, followed by a girl on a scooter. The narrator tells us that Tom has made a new friend who is quite an improvement, and as Tom says, “You should see her at a T junction, there’s no need to teach her to look, signal, manoeuvre.”
08:03 Whilst they ride along the elevated section of the M4, near the clocktower that stands at the Chiswick flyover, the narrator sums up, explaining that by riding correctly, you can get a lot of pleasure, as well as having a quick and economical means of transport. Then he adds, “As long as you remember road safety.”
08:20 End credits:
08:41 END