Teaching Schoolgirls to be Housewives, 1940s - Archive Film 1087170

This film is available to license from our website at Huntley Film Archives, by searching for film 1087170 in our Film # search bar: https://www.huntleyarchives.com/ A 1940s (?) film educating girls on how to be a 'proper' housewife. Baking, cleaning, sweeping, setting up a table, sewing, tending for a baby, bandaging head injuries, and shopping are among the domestic duties the girls are expected to fulfil in their home economics class. The film opens with a shot of the word 'housewifery' written in capital letters across a door. A class of young teenage girls wearing dresses and pinafores, walks through the door into a tidy and well-decorated home - with flowers and paintings on the walls - followed by their teacher. Next, they move into a classroom, where they gather around a table in front of a blackboard listing their housekeeping assignments and schedules for the day; a kettle can be seen on the lefthand side of the frame. The teacher gestures towards the blackboard, she is also wearing a dress with an apron. Then, she proceeds to hand out written assignments of domestic chores to her students. The girls' expressions and the teacher's hands are shown in detail. When only one card is left, the teacher looks out of the window at a latecomer, who is rushing across the courtyard and into the house. As she receives her card, the last girl's expression is apologetic, but her teacher gives her a stern look. The blackboard shows that the class is divided into four groups with different household management duties: one group will 'prepare a simple breakfast', another will 'prepare for a visitor for tea and go shopping', another will 'spring-clean the large bedroom', and the last group will 'prepare the spare bedroom for a visitor'. The last girl (called Jean) belongs to the second group: she proceeds to wash her hands in the kitchen and begins cooking. She turns on the oven and begins mixing ingredients for baking. Close-up on Jean's hands mixing flour and butter.