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Description: Film begins and ends with a U-boat attack on a convoy, in which many ships and an escort cruiser are lost, and the reactions of the mother and newly-married wife ('Anne') of one of the lost seamen ('Dick'). The mother is inclined to be philosophical, but Anne is angry - "too many fools talked", a point which had been worrying Dick on his last leave. The bulk of the film shows how scraps of information can be thoughtlessly given away in conversation or letters, and examples are intercut with shots of hands putting together a (literal) jig-saw of scraps of information - the characterisation and drama are strongly developed to build up the force of the moral (eg Dick's fatal recall is among the congratulatory telegrams at his wedding; the film closes with Anne saying straight to camera "I hate those talkers... their slack minds and silly babbling mouths").
Production Details: Ministry of Information (Production sponsor)
Verity (Production company)
Cass, Henry (Production individual)
Box, Sydney (Production individual)
Elton, Ray (Production individual)
Tanner, Peter (Production individual)
Fagan, Gideon (Production individual)
Personalities, Units and Organisations:
Keywords: propaganda, British - security (object name)
Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W
Sound format: Sound
Soundtrack language: English
Title language: English
Subtitle language: None
Technical Details: Format: 35mm
Number of items/reels/tapes: 2
Footage: 1845 ft; Running time: 20 mins
Notes: Production: adapted from a longer (4 reel) Admiralty film, also called JIG-SAW, held as ADM 2565. Details in COI file.
Remarks: rather more powerful and emotive than the earlier careless talk films - see NOW YOU'RE TALKING, ALL HANDS, DANGEROUS COMMENT.
Documentation/associated material: COI file - script, synopsis, music cue sheet
