Ten Little Dirty Boys

Content warning:

Contains racist characterisation (blackface)

I accept this guidance

Ten Little Dirty Boys


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.


Tags