When Giants Fought

1926
Silent
26m

A bruising fight in black and white sets the tone for conflicts to come.

Against the backdrop of a love story, this exciting, well-constructed and unusual film tells the true and little-known tale of the deep cultural impact of the arrival of a black contender for Britain's heavyweight bare-knuckle boxing title in 1810. Playing the role of Tom Molineaux, the former slave cheated of his victory, Frank Craig enjoys an unexpectedly dignified role for a black actor in the 1920s.

Tom Molineaux first fought Tom Cribb in December 1810. This was the first occasion that a national title had been contested by a black man. Boxing, previously seen as the sport which best represented the virtues of British masculinity, would face an increasing number of black challengers in the decades to come. Tom Cribb became a national hero and the pub he owned off Leicester Square still bears his name, while Tom Molineaux died in poverty and obscurity in Ireland in 1818.

Before Windrush

Precious glimpses and surprising rediscoveries: snapshots of black Britain in the decades before the great postwar migrations.

There was a substantial black presence in Britain long before the Empire Windrush arrived from Jamaica in June 1948. Some of the earliest moving images of black Britons survive in the extraordinary Mitchell and Kenyon collection from the dawn of the 20th century. WWI newsreels offered occasional glimpses of black soldiers from Britain - or more likely the Empire. In WWII the contribution of black servicemen and women was more prominently acknowledged in newsreels and documentaries. Between the wars, black performers began to make a splash, from music hall entertainers Scott & Whaley to Britain's first black screen star, US-born actor, singer and activist Paul Robeson. Stars like these had an easier time than many, but still faced unthinking stereotypes and prejudice. But they forged a path for others to follow. The films in this selection span some five decades, serving as a vital record of a much longer history of black people and culture in Britain than is often remembered.