Director: Paul Rotha, 1946
(Running time 63 minutes)

In the years immediately following the Second World War rehousing was a national priority. This landmark documentary film, by Paul Rotha and featuring John Mills as the ordinary man, is a passionate discussion of the factors leading to the post-war housing crisis and is an uncompromising argument for a centrally planned future.

Its rousing narrative uses a series of personas in order to discuss a distinct set of ideological sensibilities - from the common 'Britisher' to the middle class man and the slum-dwelling mother. 

With revealing parallels to our current housing concerns, the film looks at the failure to implement a national policy for housing in the years 1919 - 1939 and calls on the people of Britain to demand better conditions and prepare for a new era of improvement in housing. 

Part of the RIBA's Home Season 16 February - 28 April 2012| - talks, displays, film screenings and more.