This film is part of Free
Join the original Naked Civil Servant in his London bedsit for a lesson on life, love and gender politics
1970 27 mins
Five years before the TV adaptation of The Naked Civil Servant made him a household name, Quentin Crisp - dandy, raconteur, life model and former prostitute - welcomed celebrated filmmaker Denis Mitchell into his dusty London bedsit. Crisp recalls the violence and fascination his extraordinary appearance once provoked, offers tips on avoiding housework and subsisting on a diet of stout and meal replacement powder, and ruminates on life as a "minority within a minority - an effeminate homosexual".
In a fittingly eccentric touch, the film was broadcast in Granada's current affairs strand World in Action. John Hurt's immortal 1975 portrayal helped place Crisp in the pantheon of English eccentrics, though Crisp's outspoken views put him at odds with the burgeoning gay rights movement. Crisp lived in the flat on Beaufort Street in Chelsea from 1940 to 1981, when he moved to New York City, having taken his successful one-man show there. He died in 1999, aged 90.
Documentary 1969 52 mins Location: Vauxhall
Scintillating look at the 1960s drag renaissance, with a visit to London's Royal Vauxhall Tavern.
1989 32 mins
A far reaching interview with multifaceted artist Derek Jarman, conducted in 1987 by producer and critic Simon Field as part of the ICA Guardian Conversations series.
Drama 1994 33 mins Location: Scarborough
A straight woman and a gay man cruise their way across North East England in this Tennessee Williams-inspired short.
1925 16 mins Silent
Effeminate fisticuffs from the French in this boxing-themed send-up of foreign stereotypes.
Documentary 1994 10 mins
Street protest tranvestite nuns perpetually indulge in this 1993 doc featuring Derek Jarman.
Amateur film 1967 6 mins Silent Location: Chelsea
Hang out with the ‘dedicated followers of fashion’ down the King’s Road in the Swinging Sixties.
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
Non-Fiction 1914 6 mins Silent Location: Westminster
A revealing tour of London's notable buildings - some now lost for ever - which uncovers their intriguing histories.
Musical 1964 70 mins Location: Liverpool
An incredibly joyous TV musical about a young woman's search for her long-lost cousin.
Drama 1971 11 mins Location: Chelsea
After breaking out of jail, a young woman struggles to hold down a job and eventually becomes a very unlikely nun.
Documentary 1967 30 mins Location: Chelsea
Potter Ted sells his work in London, to keep the wolf from the door, but practises his art at Felin Wen, his home-cum-studio at Pontrug, Gwynedd.
Advert 1985 2 mins
Take a fighter jet, a Top Gun pilot with sunglasses and a brand new SAAB 900 and you have a sure-fire vehicle to launch a Hollywood career.
Promotional 2019 10 mins
A wandering warrior dreams of a new form of expression, in this promo for UNKLE’s album The Road: Part II / Lost Highway Pt. II directed by Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones.
1935 16 mins
A rare glimpse of 1930s London in colour: the Thames has never looked lovelier.
Advert 1946 1 mins Silent
Life is looking up! The war is over and the “Corona” Man can visit his “Corona” families once more, door-to-door.
Advert 1962 0 mins Location: Rhyl
Cinema advertisement for Marine Lake & Ocean Beach, Rhyl, a popular destination for crowds set on a day's fun on free rides.
Advert 1942 7 mins Silent Location: Blaenau Ffestiniog
Who could deny these advertising claims: "Attractive hair is the ambition of every woman", and "Your family will enjoy Lincoln potatoes"?
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