The Mitchell and Kenyon films
Rare documents of social and filmic history, the Mitchell and Kenyon films reveal the dynamics of crowds and give insights into people as individuals and members of groups at the beginning of the 20th century. They also show a relationship between camera, subjects and spectators which is both intimate and intrusive.
The local children were always part of the audience of the films showings and could often see themselves for the first time on a screen. Before the Education Act of 1902, many children under the age of 12 had to work half-time and in some of the scenes we can spot children wearing working outfits.
Morecambe Church Lads' Brigade at Drill
UK, 1901, 2 minutes
In this film we see the parade drill and the crowd reacting to being filmed, because Thomas Edison advertises "Watch It! Edisons operators all about. Come and see yourselves on the screen" so the responding to the camera is very much part of the publicity. When you were at the front when the photograph was taken you could see yourself in the same attitude as when the machine was passing. The boys are doing their drill and military exercises in front of the camera. One of the younger boys looses his place, tries to maintain military discipline, but doesn't actually succeed. Then we see the search of the crowd, wanting to see themselves on the screen, laughing and waving.
The Church Lads Brigade was as filmed on the 3 July 1901 and shown the same evening at the Wintergardens in Wigan. The lads were so popular, that the film was also shown at other venues in the North of England.
Military-style organisations for boys first appeared with the Boys' Brigade, founded in Glasgow in 1883. The Brigade was formed by Walter Gee in 1891 as an Anglican yourth organisation. He had been impressed by the non-denominational work of the Boys' Brigade and wanted to create a Church of England section within it. This was not permitted so he formed his won separate organisation. The Boys' Brigade troops continued to be popular throughout the Edwardian period. It was the publication of his Scouting for Boys in 1908 that led to the formation of the Scout movement.
Living Wigan
UK, 1902, 2 minutes
This film buzzes with the energy and vibrancy of street life in the city. M+K are filming a steam tram Wigan, in August 1902 and are seen introducing a comic moment into a possibly more formal opening event. There is a farcical moment of a guy splashing water at the crowds with a hosepipe. The showman actively encouraged the audience to respond to the camera with play acting, comic moments - with the crowd not quite knowing if to respond to the camera or concentrating on the curious event behind them. In the background there is the steam tram, but we can also still see a horse-carriage. These often co-existed with the new electric trams as urban public transport was moving from horse- and steam power to electric power.
The film was shown in 1902 in Wigan Townhall before the Coronation celebrations and formed part of a 2 hour film show Live in Wigan.
Background information
About the films
Before purpose built cinemas existed, Mitchell and Kenyon, a small pioneering film company, was commissioned by traveling exhibitors to produce films for public screenings. These films, screened in town halls, at local fairs or village feasts, were advertised as 'local films for local people'. In most cases, the requirement was that as many people as the operator could possibly film in two minutes be captured, thereby increasing the film's audience. The motive behind such films was therefore almost always a highly commercial one, as the audiences paid to see other locals, family, friends and themselves leaving work, enjoying the annual works holidays, and watching or playing sports.
About the film-makers
James Kenyon (1850-1925) and Sagar Mitchell (1866-1952) formed their partnership at the very end of the 19th Century and continued making films until 1913, but the bulk of their film activity was in the first five years. They were thus among the wave of film-makers who swiftly followed in the footsteps of Britain's film pioneers - rather than themselves being pioneers of British filmmaking itself.
The rediscovery and archiving (by the BFI National Archive) of the Peter Worden Collection of Mitchell and Kenyon films - some 800 of these early films, unusually in the form of the original negatives - was accompanied by a major research project (at the University of Sheffield) exploring this generally neglected history. Interestingly, this has tended to reveal more about the colourful lives and characters of the showmen, and about the company's practices, than perhaps it has about Mitchell and Kenyon themselves as individuals. Future film histories may reach a settled judgment on Mitchell and Kenyon's real importance. It is likely that this will leave them neither the footnote they were for so long, nor perhaps the key filmmakers that they have now become. What future histories cannot take away from them is their place in the imagination of the early 21st Century British public. They owe this partly to the attention brought by the rediscovery of so much lost material, partly to the wealth of research that now supports it - but also to the skill, humour and humanity the films display.
See also Screenonline
For more Mitchell & Kenyon films have a look at the BFI Electric Edwardians DVD
For more information about the films and film-makers have a look at the BFI books The Lost World of Mitchell & Kenyon and Electric Edwardians:The Story of the Mitchell & Kenyon collection
Teaching materials and additional materials
The teaching materials have been developed by practising teachers to provide a springboard for your own work with your pupils. Feel free to use and adapt them appropriate to your pupils' needs.
The additional materials, provided by the film-makers, can be used to develop your work with the film and deepen pupils' understanding of the process of film-making.
