The premiere of Unsung Hero – The Jack Jones Story, takes place in Liverpool tonight.
Featuring interviews from Dennis Skinner, Owen Jones and Frances O’Grady, it tells the story of Jack Jones and his fight against “four of the great evils of modern times” – poverty, fascism, worker exploitation and pensioner poverty.
Born in Garston, Jones would become leader of the biggest trade union, the TGWU and under his stewardship, it grew to 2m members – the largest union in the non-communist world.
It earned him the name “Emperor Jones” amongst critics, who in the 1970s believed he had more power than the Prime Minister, but Gordon Brown said he was “one of the world’s greatest trade union leaaders.”
The new film, from Liverpool’s Hurricane Films, tells his story. It was written and presented by Brian Reade, directed by Sol Papadopoulos and produced by Roy Boulter.
It marks a busy time for Hurricane Films, with Emily Dickinson documentary released on VOD and DVD this week, and Thai prison boxing thriller A Prayer Before Dawn releasing in cinemas July 20th.
