Ten Little Dirty Boys

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Contains racist characterisation (blackface)

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Ten Little Dirty Boys

1929
Silent
9m

Ten boys discover that a good wash is step one on the road to health in this silent cartoon

"Where there's dirt there's danger," is the message of this silent cartoon. What those dangers are is less clear; although dipping your hands in a horse trough after a currant bun is apparently enough to avoid the peril of a spanking. The Health & Cleanliness Council issued a variety of posters and pamphlets aimed at children and adults in the late 1920s and early 1930s - some of which are featured in this film.

Animated drawings interposed with humorous verses showing the adventures of ten
boys who are forced to wash.

Early Animation

The dawn of a new celluloid art: Britain's animation pioneers at peace and war

When you're creating a new art form, everything is experimental. The pioneers of animation in Britain cast a range of subjects as the stars of their films - the toys of an Edwardian child; insects and animals; Kaiser Bill and John Bull. But even the richest of fantasies on display here offer a window into the turbulent era in which they were made. When the nation went to war, animation was conscripted to meet its propaganda needs. In peacetime, the industry sought success as an entertainer, but found a career in sales.