This film is part of Free
John the Bull
Bloody foreign cows coming over here and becoming our dinners
Overview
A bovine John Bull rouses patriotism and some more disturbing emotions whilst protesting the importing of foreign meat. Though the message is basically one of “Buy British” to help farmers suffering in the year after the Wall Street Crash, the comic license of cartooning pushes things to extremes. The scenes of meat carcasses being hung from the neck from lampposts and baying mobs outside foreign butchers offer a disquieting analogue with the concurrent rise of Fascism.
The film was released when projectors capable of playing synchronised soundtracks were not yet be available at every venue so both silent and sound versions were released. This sound version includes the silent intertitles and you will note the lack of spoken dialogue.
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