| Robbie | |
| Director: | Ronald Dunkley |
| Producer: | James Ritchie |
| Editing: | Richard Best |
| Cinematography: | Ronald Craigen |
| Distributor: | British Transport Films |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
Robbie is a 13-minute-long film made by British Transport Films in 1979 and revised in 1986. Although it is not strictly a Public Information Film, it is often considered to be so by fans of the genre. The film, which was shown in schools all over Great Britain, is based around a young boy suffering a disfiguring and/or fatal accident when he trespasses on a railway line, with three different versions being made to demonstrate the dangers of both electrified and non-electrified lines.
When it was first released, all three versions were narrated and introduced by Peter Purves, later replaced by Keith Chegwin when the films were revised. Robbie was written and directed by Ronald Dunkley and produced by James Ritchie. It was a replacement for the controversial and extremely graphic The Finishing Line, and was itself later replaced by a more modern film called Killing Time.
All three variants of the film show Robbie, a young boy of about 8 years old with a keen interest in both trains and football, being persuaded by his elder brother Bert to climb through a hole in the fence surrounding a nearby railway line and go onto the track. His elder sister Sally and his friend Jake join in. The three different editions continue as follows:
In the next scene, Robbie's mother Ruth is informed that Robbie has been seriously injured, and has had to have both feet amputated. The cause of the injury is not mentioned, because it is different in all three variants. The film ends with a disfigured Robbie confined to a wheelchair. He is watching some other children play football, with a commentary by the narrator about how he will never be able to play again. The final shot is of his football boots, which he will now never need again, hanging up on the back of his bedroom door at home.