This film is part of Free
Talent Contest (Fun Palace outtakes)
A compelling glimpse inside an unnamed East End pub in 1963 where a talent show takes place featuring singers and strippers.
Overview
There’s something fascinating about this nine-minute silent black-and-white reel shot inside an East End pub, where the men are watching a stripper perform in a talent contest. Rather than gaze at the woman as she undresses, the cameraman focuses on the intently watching men and picks out several extraordinary faces as well as brilliantly capturing the rising tension. It’s a minor marvel, and was originally shot for use in a film by Joan Littlewood about London leisure.
The footage came from a film Littlewood was making to support her Fun Palace concept. This was intended to be a huge movable construction that would contain education and entertainment. In 1963 she shot 60 reels of 16mm rushes around London to show what people currently did for leisure and to demonstrate something else was needed. The film was lost and Fun Palace never got built, but the surviving reels present a fantastic window on social life from the era, with many expertly filmed by cameraman Walter Lassally, who also shot “We Are The Lambeth Boys” and “A Taste Of Honey”.
Related
A-tish-oo A-tish-oo
Government sponsored film 1941 6 mins
The face mask comes of age in this intriguing wartime guide to germ prevention.
Grove Carnival Grove Carnival
Documentary 1981 18 mins Location: Notting Hill
West London echoes to the sound of reggae and steel pans in this kaleidoscopic record of the 1980 Notting Hill Carnival.
Caribbean Restaurant Caribbean Restaurant
Magazine and Review show 1986 7 mins Location: West Bromwich
Bringing the tastes of Montego Bay to a wintry West Bromwich.
Quarantine Quarantine
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2018 13 mins
A post-Brexit pagan dance fantasy about a troupe of Morris-dancing badgers forced to confront the animals quarantined in a facility built above their burrow.
In One End In One End
Documentary 1977 28 mins Location: Southwold
Real ale and folk music in the pub – performed by Fairport Convention – are celebrated in this portrait of Southwold on the Suffolk coast and the work of the Adnams brewery.
These Are the Hands These Are the Hands
Charity appeal 2020 2 mins
Beautiful NHS fundraiser, setting Michael Rosen’s poem to powerful archive images.
London: Late Emperor of Japan London: Late Emperor of Japan
Non-Fiction 1912 0 mins Silent Location: London
Journalists congregate outside the Japanese embassy in London following the announcement of the death of the Emperor Meiji.
Two Dosas Two Dosas
Comedy 2014 16 mins Location: London
Geeky Pavan takes his 'English Rose' on a date to the most authentic Indian restaurant in the city. To his horror she goes off-menu, in Hindi...
Pall Mall and Hyde Park Corner Pall Mall and Hyde Park Corner
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Silent Location: London
Capital scenes thanks to Victorian filmmakers
Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee - Paul - York Road - Bands Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee - Paul - York Road - Bands
Non-Fiction 1897 1 mins Silent Location: London
The Band of the First Life Guards approaches Westminster Bridge during Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
Lord Roberts' Arrival in London Lord Roberts' Arrival in London
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Location: London
A conquering Boer War hero enjoys a rapturous homecoming parade
Foundling Hospital Sports Day Foundling Hospital Sports Day
1899 2 mins Silent Location: London
A sports day gives the young residents of the Foundling Hospital a chance to let off steam
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.