This film is part of Free

Extraordinary Waiter
Alarming so-called 'comedy' featuring an irate tourist and a recalcitrant waiter in blackface
Overview
This RW Paul film from 1902 describes itself thus: “Scene at a Swiss Railway station. A Tourist being served in the refreshment room by a Negro waiter who will not leave the table. The Tourist picks up his stick and knocks the man’s head off, which rises up again. The Tourist then knocks the man down, and thinks he’s done for him but to his surprise the Waiter comes to life again. An exceedingly funny picture.” Attitudes and tastes change, and this film now looks not just unfunny, but unambiguously and grotesquely racist.
Like The Robber and the Jew (1908) and a handful of other surviving films, it's a reminder that while there's a great deal to celebrate in early British film, it has its objectionable side, too.
Related

Blackfriars Bridge Blackfriars Bridge
Non-Fiction 1896 1 mins Silent Location: Blackfriars Br
Top-hatted pedestrians and horse-drawn traffic pass over Blackfriars Bridge in London


Aberdeen University Quarter Centenary Celebrations Aberdeen University Quarter Centenary Celebrations
Non-Fiction 1906 32 mins Silent Location: Aberdeen
Edward VII and Queen Alexandra open new buildings at Marischal College, Aberdeen

Drat That Boy! Drat That Boy!
Comedy 1904 2 mins Silent
A boy being supervised by his grandmother sees a chance for mischief

The "?" Motorist The "?" Motorist
Science Fiction 1906 3 mins Silent
The lengths that some people will go to, just to avoid a speeding ticket… in this case to Saturn and back.

Extraordinary Cab Accident Extraordinary Cab Accident
Trick film 1903 1 mins Silent
A comic traffic incident

Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan
Inside Film 2012 mins
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's adapter reveals his quest for "the poem of the book" and the importance of simplicity: 'Drain the pond to find the fish'.

Gabriel Yared on composing for film Gabriel Yared on composing for film
Inside Film 2013 11 mins
Composer of The Lives of Others, The English Patient and Betty Blue on intimacy and experimentation.

Lois Burwell on movie makeup Lois Burwell on movie makeup
Inside Film 2013 17 mins
Lincoln, Braveheart and Magnolia make-up artist Lois Burwell explains how she created some of her most iconic looks, as part of a BAFTA Masterclass.

Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass) Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass)
2013 61 mins
British cinematographer of The Hurt Locker, Captain Phillips, Hillsborough and Riff Raff reviews the art of the moving image.

Olivier Assayas (Masterclass) Olivier Assayas (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2010 41 mins
Irma Vep writer/director Assayas moved from film journalism to filmmaking – a fascinating journey told with disarming honesty to Jonathan Romney.

Screenwriters' Lecture with Brian Helgeland Screenwriters' Lecture with Brian Helgeland
Inside Film 2012 27 mins
L.A. Confidential's screenwriter explains why he thinks writer's block is a myth, and reveals Clint Eastwood's unique powers of persuasion.