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Set in the mid-19th century, this is the story of a sailor who returns to England with a black bride, an African princess, and sets up business as an innkeeper with her dowry. Before long they encounter racial prejudice from family and neighbours, which quickly reaches hysterical proportions with tragic results. Although the film features a strong performance from Tom Bell and an impressive re-creation of ‘unspoiled’ English village life, its treatment of racism is naive and confused, lacking historical context, especially in relation to the British imperialism that shaped British society in the 19th century.
Credits:Producer, Otto Plaschkes ; director, Jack Gold ; writer, James Saunders ; photography, Brian Trufano ; editing, Michael Taylor ; music, Carl Davis.
Cast: Tom Bell, Shope Shodeinde, Mick Ford, Paola Dionisotti, George Costigan.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
A000012
Language
English
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Racism in motion pictures
Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Great Britain - Social life and customs
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → England - Social conditions
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Great Britain - Race relations
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Great Britain - Social conditions
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Racism
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Intercountry marriage
Feature films → Feature films - Great Britain
History → Great Britain - History - 19th century
Literature → English literature - Film and video adaptations
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
35mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)