Out of the Night

About the film

A look at the education and vocational training of the visually impaired.

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Details

• Release year - 1941
• Director - Max Anderson
• Production company - Realist Film Unit
• Producer - John Taylor
• Cinematographer - Erwin Hillier
• Narration - Albert Pearl
• Sound recording - W.S. Bland
• Running time (minutes) - 10 mins 41 secs

Original description

A look at the education and vocational training of the visually impaired.

'Britain's hospitals do all they can to prevent blindness by guarding each child against eye trouble as soon as it is born. But there must always be some blind children, and for them Britain has special homes, where they are educated and taught to find their way about the world. Later they go on to higher schools, training themselves for professions, or even for a university career. More difficult is the problem of those who lose their sight later in life. They too are given special care and training, and are encouraged to learn simple trades, dispelling darkness with careers of interest and usefulness.'

(Films of Britain - British Council Film Department Catalogue - 1941)

Did you know?

• English Braille, as seen in this film, was developed in the early 20th century from a Napoleonic military code known as night writing.
• The Radio Times was first published in Braille in 1927 and continued to do so for over half a century until superseded by digital technologies.
• The blind gentleman reading aloud at the end of the film is reading from Paradise Lost.

All films are subject to the Creative Commons licence guidelines.

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