Sponge Mix

Pincurls, pools and a paralytic priest – a housewife’s win on the pools leads to a mix-up with the gin and amusing results

A fantastic example of an amateur comedy with a professional touch about a housewife who discovers she has won the pools. Slapstick ensues as she celebrates her win with a tipple before mistaking the gin for milk and adding a little kick to her Birds sponge mix. When the sweet-toothed vicar comes to call he soon feels the effects of the boozy dessert, collapsing under his bike on the way home.

The postwar period saw significant growth in the field of amateur filmmaking. This short fiction film is a great example of an aspirational amateur production made by ‘the Ladies’ of a cine society whose use of slapstick, titles and end credits, establishing shots and continuity editing show an attempt to adopt features of professional filmmaking. The film will appeal to lovers of all things vintage with authentic pin-curl hairstyles, floral pinafores and a 1950s kitchen complete with pantry! The film was made by the Pinner Cine Society; set up in 1951 it is now the Harrow Film Makers.