Premiere of a Christmas Classic
It’s a Wonderful Life had its first screening on 20 December 1946.
Film & TV
‘Can’t Tek No More’
Franco Rosso’s film Babylon presented the lives of Black Londoners in a way few had done before.
The Film Churchill Tried to Kill
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp premiered on 10 June 1943.
Mae West Sentenced
Having produced, directed and starred in a lascivious play, West was charged with ‘corrupting the morals of youth’ on 19 April 1927.
Sex, Violence and Hollywood
Alarm about moral degeneracy and ‘family values’ provoked Hollywood to instigate its own self-censorship codes in the 1920s. The industry's preoccupation with American morality proved to be the source of inspiration and even genius.
How Good is Television as a Medium for History?
Four historians consider how their discipline can best reach a mass audience.
A Rich Harvest of Formats
In a diverse field, expertise should remain at the heart of history on television.
On and Off Script
The challenges of writing history for television are formidable. But if historians don’t get involved, they will cede ground to those less qualified, warns Suzannah Lipscomb.
The BBC Book of War
What role was the BBC to play if the cold war became hot? For the first time, the corporation has given detailed access to its plans for a Wartime Broadcasting Service following a nuclear attack. Paul Reynolds reveals its secrets.
The premiere of Citizen Kane
One of the greatest films of all time made its debut on May 1st, 1941.