This film is part of Free
Splinters
Great songs and great legs in this all-male revue make for an evocative early talkie.
Overview
You'll be humming along with the catchy main tune, I'll Be Getting Along, by the end of this film version of the famous wartime 'revusical' Splinters. Two of the original wartime cast, Hal Jones and Reg Stone, star with support from comedian Sydney Howard. The beauty chorus were all soldiers in drag; not grotesque but convincingly feminine and 'everyone a perfect gentleman'.
GA Atkinson of the Daily Express wrote that Splinters "has some right to be regarded as an authentic war document. It is the complete antidote to the nonsensical war-comedies that come from abroad. Every ex-soldier who sees it must subscribe to the accuracy of its observation … Reg. Stone, surely the best female impersonator that either stage or screen has ever known, heads an all-male beauty chorus which must be seen to be disbelieved".
Related
Five Guineas a Week Five Guineas a Week
Musical 1956 33 mins
1950s song and dance revue set in a colourful world of boarding houses and coffee bars
Devil's Rock Devil's Rock
Drama 1938 51 mins Location: Bangor
Will new open-air microphone technology give Richard Hayward the chance to silence his critics? Watch as Cushendun and Bangor steal the show.
Shooting Stars Shooting Stars
Comedy 1937 32 mins
Black music hall stars Scott and Whaley perform stereotypical minstrel routines in blackface in this 1937 touring revue.
The Rise and Fall of Nellie Brown The Rise and Fall of Nellie Brown
Musical 1964 70 mins Location: Liverpool
An incredibly joyous TV musical about a young woman's search for her long-lost cousin.
Twinkling Fingers Twinkling Fingers
Musical 1940 11 mins
Pianists Charlie Kunz and Mark Hambourg tickle the ivories for our entertainment in this jolly musical short.
Song of Toledo Song of Toledo
Musical 1953 31 mins
This merrily musical short film takes a jovial trip across picturesque 1950s Spain aboard the Talgo Express
New Perspectives: La Haine New Perspectives: La Haine
Short documentary 2025 4 mins
Charlie Hammersley, a student from Northumbria University, explains how Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film holds up a mirror to society.
Dreamers Q&A Dreamers Q&A
Inside Film 2025 30 mins
The film-makers behind a haunting tale of love and community within a UK immigration detention centre visited the BFI Southbank to discuss their film.
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 50 mins
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation at BFI Southbank, discussing the making of One Battle After Another.
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.