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.
Magazine and Review show 1983 25 mins Location: Bloomsbury
The Gay Black Group - reasserting culture and identity on two levels.
Drama-documentary 1976 38 mins Location: Lewisham
A lonely gay man discovers friends, love and activism in this rediscovered educational film made by the Campaign for Homosexual Equality
Current affairs 1980 26 mins Location: Hay-on-Wye/Y Gelli Gandryll
Transgender pioneer April Ashley appears in this moving look at the challenges faced by the trans community in 1980s Britain
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1987 14 mins
Queer psychedelic portrait of a young man’s desires in an industrial wasteland
Drama 1980 54 mins
Sao Paulo-set love triangle drama, featuring a rare TV depiction of bisexuality.
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.
Non-Fiction 1901 4 mins Silent Location: Manchester
A volunteer cavalry regiment is enthusiastically welcomed home after active service in South Africa.
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent Location: Liverpool
All ashore! Passengers disembark and crew offload after a long Atlantic crossing.
Non-Fiction 1902 3 mins Silent Location: Weston Park
A stroll in the park for civilised city-dwellers in Edwardian South Yorkshire.
Non-Fiction 1924 1 mins Silent Location: Woking
The UK's first purpose-built mosque welcomes a huge crowd of worshippers - and newsreel cameras!
Comedy 1914 9 mins Silent
A vicar is caught flirting with an improperly-dressed chorus girl in this saucy silent comedy.
Travelogue 1953 21 mins Location: York
The Stationmaster at York guides us through a typical day, from dawn to dusk.
Do you recognise a place, building or location in this film?
Help us populate the Britain on Film map by spotting and plotting the street or location you know. This is a BFI project and anyone can help.
Go to our Britain on Film crowdsourcing site and contribute to our mapping mission – to identify locations within our archive films.
Add a location
