This film is part of Free
The Mail Goes Through
Witness the no-so-great train robbery in this post-war cartoon, produced "in glorious monochrome"
Overview
As master criminals go, the moustache twiddling Percy Vere may want to consider a change of career. As Fred and young Ernie pilot the Royal Mail's gold train to safety, Percy and his sidekick Bill attempt to pull off the robbery of the century with remarkable tenacity. The cartoon is filled with subtle gags and puns rather than slapstick Looney Tunes humour, but is let down by the dialogue-free soundtrack, which is sadly a little underdeveloped. Still, there are of a number of accomplished moving perspective shots - evidence of Wright’s architectural training.
The animation here is perhaps not as slick as American cartoons of the period, but it's remarkably proficient for a relative outsider to the industry. Lance White was a pseudonym for the architectural artist Lawrence Wright - a man whose restless energy led him to teach himself animation in his spare time between work life and a passion for gliding. His first cartoons were produced on the amateur 9.5mm film gauge and were (unsurprisingly) about architecture and aviation, but his 1940 wartime cartoon Adolf's Busy Day marked a more professional effort. Wright would later write a number of books including histories of the bed and the bathroom, but this appears to be his last animated film.
Related
Vote for Froglet Vote for Froglet
Children's 1974 7 mins
As the general election is held in the UK, it's polling day for the Clangers on a small blue planet far away.
Next Next
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1989 5 mins
Two virtuoso performances in one – Shakespeare's complete works presented in puppet form by a master of animation
Max Beeza and the City in the Sky Max Beeza and the City in the Sky
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1977 24 mins
As sublime as it is silly, this ambitious animated short mixes a vision of a dystopian, tower block Britain with anarchic vaudeville humour
Superted Superted
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1975 9 mins
Don’t tell the Spotty man but Superted has a new friend. A stop motion predecessor of the superhero teddy idea
The United Kingdom The United Kingdom
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1994 5 mins
What does it mean to be British? You might not have a much clearer idea after watching this animated portrait, but you will certainly be entertained
Animated Britain (trailer) Animated Britain (trailer)
Promotional 2018 1 mins
Discover an animated portrait of Britain, brought to life frame by painstaking frame, with our free-to-view BFI Player archive collection - available as part of Animation 2018, a year-long celebration of animation
New Perspectives: La Haine New Perspectives: La Haine
Short documentary 2025 4 mins
Charlie Hammersley, a student from Northumbria University, explains how Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film holds up a mirror to society.
Dreamers Q&A Dreamers Q&A
Inside Film 2025 30 mins
The film-makers behind a haunting tale of love and community within a UK immigration detention centre visited the BFI Southbank to discuss their film.
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 50 mins
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation at BFI Southbank, discussing the making of One Battle After Another.
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.