No East or West

From Africa to Bayswater: international students receive a charitable welcome in 1950s London.

Students from all corners of the globe are welcomed to 50s Britain in this well-intentioned film about the work of the Methodist Missionary Society's International House in Bayswater. While the commentary takes great pains to emphasise the non-discriminatory attitude of the hostel to its African and Asian guests, one can't help but feel that the rigidly English customs of the house - such as folk-singing and playing Monopoly - must have been a strangely alienating experience.