Submitted by
Terry Hanstock
"Joseph Anthony" traced
There's a letter on p68 of the January 2001 issue of "Sight & Sound"
(vol. 11 Issue 1 (NS)) from Stephen Bourne who writes:
"...I have traced Eddie Whaley Jr., the scene-stealing child actor [in
BN] who portrayed the little boy Joseph Anthony who upsets Sister
Ruth... Eddie Whaley Jr was the son of the African-American music hall
and radio comedian Eddie Whaley who, with his partner Harry Scott, came
to this country in 1909...
Scott and Whaley
(Senior)
were the first black performers to star in a British
film...In KENTUCKY MINSTRELS (John Baxter, 1934), the popular double
act recreated the roles they had popularised in their long-running BBC
radio series.
Born in Brighton, Eddie Whaley Jr made his professional debut as a
three-year old on BBC radio with his father, and was just seven when MP
cast him in BN. He remembers MP as "a tyrant on set who screamed a lot",
but "nice" too...
Now 61 and living in Florida, Eddie says he has just acquired BN on
video. "I gave it to my youngest daughter", he says, "thinking it would
be a nice memento for her to have in the years to come. I believe she
was fairly unimpressed with her Dad's limited acting abilities, but she
was polite enough not to voice her opinion."
I think the author of the letter, Stephen Bourne, is a writer/researcher
on black cinema.
Indeed he is, his book "Black in the British frame" identified quite a few
of the minor actors on BN, ToB and Norris Smith as Candy's black driver
in
Blimp.
He's also written a book on gay subtexts in British cinema.
Both of his books are very well researched and while they may be seem
controversial, are highly recommended.
He also does a lot of programming at the FBI/NFT.
Nicky
[I've since been in touch with Stephen Bourne & Eddie by email - Steve]
