Mark Pack

Tense situations at home and at work during the painful adjustment to a multi-racial society in post-war Britain is this 1961 British film in a nutshell. It sees a white trade unionist standing up to racism at work at the same time as having his own beliefs questioned by the news that his daughter is hoping to marry a Jamaican immigrant.

It stars John Mills and is set over a few hours on Bonfire Night, November 5th. Made shortly after the 1958 Notting Hill race riots, it addresses racism head-on, as as this clip from YouTube shows:

Mills is brilliant in his role, especially with a passionate speech to a packed room of union members challenging people to admit that the reason they really oppose a colleague being given a permanent promotion is racism, with all the other reasons just excuses. At home, he struggles between both loving and being disgusted by his wife and daughter at different moments.

At times the directing is a little slow, though the setting in early 1960s London always gives an interesting reminder of how London used to be and the variation in pace makes the moments of drama and tension that much more effective. The body language in the very final moments is also very nicely done: have things ended happily or not?

The film itself is pretty obscure now, available either on video tape or in compilations. I came across it as part of a John Mills collection which I got for other titles, but it was an excellent bonus to stumble across this gem of a film.

You can get the John Mills collection or a DVD with a pair of films about racism from Amazon. Amazon also sell the video tape of the film on its own. However you get hold of it, it is an enjoyable and thought-provoking film.