This 1973 Public Information short two-minute film was sponsored by the Central Office of Information for the Home Office. This short was called “Lonely Water” (better known as “The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water). The short film warned children not to go near any dark water and water by themselves. The short film looks reminiscent of a horror movie, and Donald Plesance’s narration drives the horror vibes. Donald Pleasance had starred in such great horror movies as Halloween and Creepers.

This Public Information Film was probably one of the scarier ones. Various short films were also shown in British schools or on British TV. When demonstrated in schools, there was always a lecture and a question and answer portion from the police, who often went from school to school showing this and other similar shorts. I remember coming across this short when I went down a weird rabbit hole on YouTube and watched a bunch of weird commercials. This was one of the few commercials that stuck in my mind, and I could not forget it.

The short film was directed by Jeff Grant and written by Christine Hermon. The Central Office of Information wanted to show the public the high rate of child deaths in drownings and water-related accidents during that time. This short film showed everything they could to drive fear into children, not to go near that water, and to drive that point to the public. The film took about two days to shoot and was filmed near London near Heathrow Airport. The most prolonged duration was during the shoot, ensuring that the water was going in the correct direction to film.

Many other shorts were commissioned from the Royal Society of Prevention of Accidents that I might cover in future blog posts, but this is the more stand-out one. Which other ones do you want to cover in the future?

Comment below!!!

Source: YouTube, Internet Movie Database, and Wikipedia.