This film is part of Rentals
Kentucky Minstrels
Rarely-seen 1930s British musical about two African American travelling minstrels in search of entertainment work.
Musical 1934 66 mins
Director: John Baxter
Overview
African American minstrel double act Mott and Bayley are hugely popular in the UK, but with little warning, the work dries up and the two performing pals are forced to travel the country in search of their next gig. This rarely-seen British musical stars African American music hall performers Harry Scott and Eddie Whaley in the lead roles.
Directed by John Baxter, the film captures the success of Scott and Whaley's massively popular radio show from the 1930s - they were the first black performers to take star billing in a British film. Alas, the film is slightly incomplete and the star turn by singer Nina Mae McKinney is missing. Note too, the fact that Scott and Whaley perform in full blackface make-up during their routines as Cuthbert and Pussyfoot.
- Director
- John Baxter
- Featuring
- Harry ScottEddie Whaley Sr
- Genres
- Musical
- Released
- 1934
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
Related
Musical
La La Land
Musical 2016 128 mins Director: Damien Chazelle
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone channel old-school Hollywood glamour in this bright and playful romantic musical from director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash).
Chi-Raq
Musical 2015 127 mins Director: Spike Lee
Spike Lee’s bold and vivacious hip-hop musical restages an ancient Greek battle-of-the-sexes in 21st-century Chicago.
Song of Freedom
Drama 1936 77 mins Director: J. Elder Wills
A black London docker becomes a famous opera singer in this stirring musical drama starring Paul Robeson
Sing Street
Drama 2015 106 mins Director: John Carney
The third in John Carney’s trilogy of musical films is the utterly charming story a boy who escapes his troubles through fronting a pop band.
Babymother
Musical 1998 77 mins Director: Julian Henriques
Neeta and her crew rise to dancehall fame in North West London's Caribbean community, in the first Black British musical.
Love Me Tonight
Comedy 1932 89 mins Director: Rouben Mamoulian
Rouben Mamoulian’s highly inventive romantic comedy set new standards for the use of music in film. And it’s still an utterly charming romantic delight.
Black Britain on Film
Welcome II the Terrordome
Drama 1993 94 mins Director: Ngozi Onwurah
A ferocious dystopian nightmare, this was the first film directed by a black British woman to receive a UK theatrical release.
Flame in the Streets
Drama 1961 93 mins Director: Roy Ward Baker
John Mills stars as a progressive union leader who is confronted with his own internal prejudices when his daughter brings her West Indian boyfriend home.
Sapphire
Police drama 1959 92 mins Director: Basil Dearden
A young student with a secret is brutally murdered in this British Academy Award winning thriller about race, sex and jealousy.
Wolcott Part 1
Police drama 1981 50 mins Director: Colin Bucksey
The gritty and ground-breaking drama debuted Britain’s first black TV cop, with George William Harris as the CID officer embroiled in a drug war.
Wolcott Part 2
Police drama 1981 50 mins Director: Colin Bucksey
Second episode of the provocative detective drama starring George William Harris.
Wolcott Part 3
Police drama 1981 52 mins Director: Colin Bucksey
Continuing the gritty and ground-breaking drama featuring Britain’s first black TV detective.
Directed by John Baxter
Love on the Dole
Drama 1941 98 mins Director: John Baxter
Deborah Kerr gives an impassioned turn as a woman who sells herself in order to save her family from poverty in Salford.
New
Almost Heaven
Documentary 2017 72 mins Director: Carol Salter
Carol Salter's award-winning portrait of a young Chinese woman training to become a mortician is a tender and reflective elegy on death and the fragility of life.
Dark River
Drama 2016 89 mins Director: Clio Barnard
Clio Barnard follows The Selfish Giant and The Arbor with this searing and eloquent Yorkshire-set drama exploring the fragility of familial relationships.
Loveless
Drama 2017 127 mins Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Andrey Zvyagintsev (Elena, Leviathan) delivers a masterpiece in this caustic look at contemporary Russian society, a failed marriage and the disappearance of a child. A major prize winner at both Cannes and BFI London Film Festival.
The Wound
Drama 2017 88 mins Director: John Trengove
A traditional rite of passage ritual forms the backdrop for this tough and complex tale of closeted sexuality in South Africa.
The Boy Downstairs
Comedy 2017 91 mins Director: Sophie Brooks
The captivating Zosia Mamet (Girls) takes centre-stage in this smart and sassy Manhattan-set relationship drama which channels the spirit of Nora Ephron.
120 BPM (Beats per Minute)
Drama 2017 143 mins Director: Robin Campillo
Pulsating with life and pounding with urgency, Robin Campillo’s extraordinary account of 1990s AIDS activism is a rousing, sensual and heart-breaking celebration of personal and political resistance.