This film is both entertaining, thought provoking and allows different perspectives to be voiced. Nevertheless it is a piece of liberal propaganda, albeit one that communicates its message in a much more subtle way than the TV dramas of today, which all signal their virtuous politically correct message in a more blatant and heavy handed manner.
The film begins with another West Indian, who is acting as a temporary foreman in the factory. His promotion has caused some trouble among some of the white workmen who resent being ordered around by a ‘spade’ (in the parlance of the time). The factory owner has some reservations about giving him the foreman role on a permanent basis as he fears that it might provoke some unrest amongst the mostly white workers. He discusses the matter with the union rep John Mills who assures him that he can convince the workers to accept the West Indian’s permanent promotion at a branch meeting that is to be held to discuss the issue that evening.
During the well attended branch meeting a number of workers question the West Indian’s suitability for the supervisory role, claiming that it would cause resentment amongst ‘our people’, by having to take orders from a ‘coloured’. There is clearly an undercurrent of bigotry here as none of them could argue that he had not fulfilled the temporary position competently. In a barnstorming response John Mills calls out their prejudice by correctly identifying what they are unwilling to admit openly, that their objections are motivated by ‘nothing more than skin colour’, thus shaming them for their unwarranted prejudice against a well respected workmate. As a result, the opposition collapses and the meeting votes to confirm the West Indian as the permanent replacement foreman.
After the meeting John Mills is informed by his wife that his daughter has just announced her intention to marry the Jamaican teacher. She is absolutely horrified by this turn of events and urges her husband to fulfil his role as father by persuading the daughter to abandon her plans as it would bring disgrace on her family through such an unsuitable match. Some of the language which the mother employs to express her outraged feelings are clearly offensive and are based on generalised stereotypes which would hardly be likely to apply to an educated teacher. Hearing such ignorant and prejudiced opinions, as being representative of what many white people might be thinking about them, must have worried many black people watching the film at the time it was released.
John Mills is much more restrained than his wife in condemning the daughter, but he is nevertheless very concerned about the situation, being torn between his desire to avoid racial prejudice to ensure fair play, and his clear distaste for such a marriage. They return home to discuss the matter with the daughter, pointing out all the problems and societal pressures she would face that would likely last for the rest of her life. However, the daughter rejects all of their arguments and states categorically that as she loves the Jamaican she is happy to face whatever the future might bring. The film ends when the parents enter the room to meet the Jamaican suitor for the first time.
This is a rather ambivalent ending but it suggests that the parents have reconciled themselves to the inevitable despite their clear distaste for their daughter’s relationship. The underlying message however is that racial prejudice, whether in the workplace or in the family, is something which is always wrong and must be faced up to.
As in the Sidney Poitier film the Jamaican teacher is presented as a paragon of virtue. He is well mannered, polite, sensitive and caring, normally just the kind of man parents would be happy for their daughter to marry. However, in comparison with the white characters he appears a little two dimensional with no real personality or apparent sense of humour. These are the kind of characteristics one might expect a young professional woman to look for in a potential suitor. So it is highly improbable that rationally, she would have chosen a black man, when there are so many white men available on her cultural wavelength, many of whom have the added advantage of possessing the kind of personal qualities more likely to make the relationship a success.
The film also raises some deeper concerns. At the branch union meeting the workers raised the issue of ‘our people’, by which they meant the white British. Governments of the time had defended the introduction of immigrant labour on the grounds that during a period of labour shortage British people were unwilling to accept the kind of menial jobs that black immigrants were happy to take. By promoting one of them to a supervisory role over white people the goalposts suddenly appear to have been moved decisively against the interests of the white workers.
One of the arguments used by the mother to dissuade her daughter against the proposed marriage was to point out that her children would be black. This raises the issue of whether racial identity is something that should be cherished and preserved, or whether it is evidence of odious bigotry. It is a debate that has never openly been allowed to take place in this country, despite it being a matter that many people have an instinctive view about. Another interesting point is that none of the characters in the film gave any thought to what the West Indian community might think about such a mixed marriage, the assumption being that they could not possibly have any objection, an attitude that demonstrates a rather condescending double standard. Liberals are invariably hyper sensitive about the feelings of black people but they are not necessarily always well tuned in to their real opinions.
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