This film is part of Free
Shooting Stars
Black music hall stars Scott and Whaley perform stereotypical minstrel routines in blackface in this 1937 touring revue.
Overview
Popular music hall stars Harry Scott and Eddie Whaley perform formulaic, stereotypical blackface routines in this 1930s touring revue. They had gained national popularity in the long-running radio show Kentucky Minstrels, and their 1934 appearance in a film of the same name made them two of the earliest black performers in British cinema. Although the blackface tradition is now considered racist, this form of entertainment remained popular with British audiences well into the 1970s.
Blackface minstrelsy was a popular form of entertainment based on demeaning caricatures of African-Americans. Both white and black artists would apply burnt cork to their faces and perform exaggerated and racist notions of 'plantation life'. Commonly, black entertainers could not appear before white American audiences unless they were in blackface. Minstrelsy arrived in Britain in 1848 when Master Juba and the Ethiopian Serenaders performed at a host of venues including Buckingham Palace. Scott and Whaley first appeared on the British stage in 1909; neither of them returned to the USA and both would assume British citizenship.
Related
The Body Beautiful The Body Beautiful
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1990 24 mins
Autobiographical account of a mother-daughter relationship, exploring beauty standards and female sexuality.
Flight of the Swan Flight of the Swan
Drama 1992 12 mins
A young black ballerina rejects prejudice and finds her African spirit in Swan Lake.
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.
Timbuktu (Q&A) Timbuktu (Q&A)
Inside Film 2014 24 mins
The director of Academy Award-nominated Timbuktu talks about his personal connection to the true story of quite rebellion against religious extremism.
A Family Called Abrew A Family Called Abrew
Biopic 1992 40 mins
Meet the Abrews, a unique showbiz family whose imprint on British culture began in Scotland in the 19th century
West Indian Carnival West Indian Carnival
News 1980 6 mins Location: Leeds
In this celebratory short film, Leeds is transformed with colour and spectacle during the annual West Indian Carnival.
Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.
Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.
Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of children’s palliative care.
Police Story: Panel Discussion Police Story: Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 24 mins
Panel discussion on Jackie Chan's 1985 action classic Police Story, with Chase Armitage, Sam Mak and Jadey Duffield.
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.