Summary: "One of a film series about jobs after the war".
Description: An examination of career prospects in the retail trade. An estate agent is showing vacant shops to a soldier and his wife: they have little capital and no previous experience, but are attracted by ambitions "to be my own boss" and think shop-keeping "looks simple enough - doesn't seem to be much in it." The agent, admitting he is transcending his own interests, warns them it is not as easy as it looks and recounts his own story of failure as a shopkeeper, and a study-tour of the retail trade he had made after the failure. The tour (ostensibly to explore skills the small shopkeeper must master) doubles as a guide to the careers open in big stores (sales, display, advertising, accounts, management etc), a reminder of the existence of chain stores and 'multiples', and finally (in an interview with a successful small shopkeeper) a reminder of the constantly recurring moral "It's experience and hard work that counts." The soldier admits the story has made him think.
Production Details: Ministry of Labour and National Service (Production sponsor)
War Office (Production sponsor)
Department of Army Kinematography (Production sponsor)
British Movietone News (Production company)
Personalities, Units and Organisations:
Keywords: economics, British general - commerce: small shopkeepers (object name)
propaganda (concept)
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: 3
Footage: 2062 ft; Running time: 23 mins
