The National Coal Board (NCB) Film Unit is one of Britain's most substantial and long-lasting industrial film units. The following film is an informative and dramatised film about the potential dangers in mining, and the results that they can lead to afterwards. The film opens with a woman walking down a hallway, and as she turns the corner, she walks past a number of prosthetic legs which are leaning against the wall. The next shot is of a graveyard, and finally there is a shot of a...

The National Coal Board (NCB) Film Unit is one of Britain's most substantial and long-lasting industrial film units. The following film is an informative and dramatised film about the potential dangers in mining, and the results that they can lead to afterwards. The film opens with a woman walking down a hallway, and as she turns the corner, she walks past a number of prosthetic legs which are leaning against the wall. The next shot is of a graveyard, and finally there is a shot of a sward thrower. The titles are laid over these images. Title - Two Legs.. ..Three Widows.. .. and a Near Miss. A newlywed couple are seated at the head table at a wedding reception where they cut the cake. The wedding guests applaud, and the best man makes a speech. This is followed by a shot of the groom now working in the coal mines. He has gotten stuck under a tub in the pit which results in his leg being severed. The other miners perform first aid and carry him out of the pit on a stretcher. Next, there is a hospital in which real miners have had a limb amputated, including arms, hands and legs. The patients are shown having physiotherapy, and a narrator explains how negligence in the work place can lead to life altering injuries. One of the miners watches a football game from the side-lines. He is seated in a wheelchair. The film then dramatises all the possible accidents that can happen while working in a coal mine, including electric shock and severed limbs. The appearance of these injuries is shown on the miners, such as electric shock and the degree of burns that will be sustained on the skin. This is then followed by the consequences that a miner's injury could have on other people like leaving a wife a widow, or not being able to work because of injury. Title - Made with the help of Management, Officials and Men at Teversal, Thorsby and Welbeck Collieries and at Grassmoor Training Centre. Title - Producer Frances Gysin Director Joan Duff Photography Fred Gamage Editor Steve Colwell Assistants Ken Brinsley, David Fish, Ray Poole, Martin Shirley, Brian Trenerry N.C.B. Film Unit 77