The Next of Kin (1942)

Directed by

Thorold Dickinson

Genre

propaganda film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

1h 42m

Rating

5.0 of 10 from 10 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A British training film warns soldiers and civilians that careless talk can leak secrets to the enemy. It shows how spies pick up information from casual conversations, leading to fatal consequences for military operations.

educationalcautionaryurgentseriousbriskinstructionalpropagandisticgrim

What happens

The Next of Kin, also known as Next of Kin, is a 1942 Second World War propaganda film produced by Ealing Studios. The film was originally commissioned by the British War Office as a training film to promote the government message that "Careless talk costs lives". After being taken on by Ealing Studios, the project was expanded and given a successful commercial release. After the war and up until at least the mid 1960s, services in British Commonwealth countries continued to use The Next of Kin as part of security training. The film's title is derived from the phrase "the next of kin have been informed" as used by radio announcers when reporting on the loss of personnel in action. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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