This film is part of Free
This film is certified
- Titles in this collection may contain language or other content that reflect views prevalent in their time but that may cause offence today.
Cry of the Crippled Children
Johnny Be Good... a silent docudrama about curing disabled children, set in 1920s London
Charity appeal 1921 12 mins Silent
Overview
Follow young slum-dweller Johnny's journey from sad, outcast "cripple" to a cured and mischievous lad, as a beneficent stranger helps his distraught mother to access hospital treatment. This fascinating silent film gives us insight into a pre-NHS health system, where hospital charity appeals were vital to develop services. Disability is portrayed as needing a cure, without which a grim life lies ahead.
Accessibility
Related
Fundraising and Charity
A Lead in the Right Direction
Charity appeal 1965 5 mins Location: Southport
A charity appeal film promoting guide dogs comparing the daily lives of blind people with and without them.
Lady Allen
Government sponsored film 1971 14 mins Location: Chelsea
Engrossing 1970s TV profile of Lady Allen of Hurtwood - passionate campaigner for every child's right to play
Broken in the Wars
War 1918 8 mins Silent
Film pioneer Cecil Hepworth raises awareness of a royal fund to support servicemen wounded in WWI
Susan Goes to Sompting
1961 13 mins Location: Folkestone
Veteran tennis commentator Peter West takes us on a journey around a boarding school for disabled children.
Chance Encounter
Campaigning film 1978 17 mins
A brief encounter between film director David Lean and Leonard Cheshire, who speaks about his work in India for disabled people
Birthday
Children's 1954 10 mins
Four children spend the day roaming London and looking for birthday presents for their younger brother, who has polio.
New
ABC in Sound
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1933 2 mins
Hand-drawn sound experiment by Bauhaus professor László Moholy-Nagy.
Hovis: Boy on the Bike
Advert 1974 1 mins Location: Shaftesbury
A classic slice of British advertising history, though that hill's not as Northern as it looks...
Workforce of Parkgate Iron and Steel Co., Rotherham (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 3 mins Silent Location: Rotherham
Edwardian workers react to the camera at one of Rotherham's major employers.
Workforce of Ormerod's Mill, Great Moor Street, Bolton (1900)
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Silent Location: Great Moor St, Bolton
Eager youngsters burst out of the gates of a Victorian cotton mill.
The Henley Regatta
Sport 1901 1 mins Silent Location: Henley-on-Thames
It's the first weekend of July 1901, and high society are on the Thames
Good Night
Advert 1898 1 mins Silent Location: St Pancras
An unusual farewell in this charming early film