James Williamson Filmes

George Smith's picture of the crowds out for a stroll on what I imagine is Brighton Pier.

The titles tell us this film is based on an incident in the Boxer Rebellion. A man tries to defend a woman and a large house against Chinese...

A man, objecting to being filmed, comes closer and closer to the camera lens until his mouth is all we see. Then he opens wide and swallows camera...

A short melodrama based on Hans Christian Andersen's harrowing tale. A poor little girl tries to sell matchsticks in the freezing December cold. She...

A lad from a butcher shop is carrying a tray laden with a roast or a leg of lamb. A hobo grabs it and runs. The boy gives chase, joined by dogs, as...

A boy helps a convict to escape after meeting him at his mother's graveyard. The convict gets rich in Australia and when he returns is arrested again...

A conjurer vanishes animals then vanishes himself.

An aged villager, reminded of his boyhood days in the church choir by the sound of the bells, totters to the church door and begs the vicar to allow...

A poor family, suffering from a lack of food, plan to sell their dog to gain some extra income. Before they act on their plan, the dog discovers some...

The adventures of an inattentive man who can't look away from his book.

An impressive eight-some performs some Victorian gymnastics for the camera

The film starts with a lovely long shot of the Artist at work in a dappled glade, where he first meets the Miner's Daughter. The Artist asks the...

Firefighters ring for help, and here comes the ladder cart; they hitch a horse to it. A second horse-drawn truck joins the first, and they head down...

Two washerwomen have an altercation with a chimney sweep

A mischievous errand boy, sent out on a delivery, causes havoc in the streets of Hove. When he arrives back at the shop, he finds all his furious...

Early film footage of fun fair workers and revelers at Devil's Dyke on the South Downs, taken by pioneer James Williamson in around 1896. At a fair...

A two-wheeled convoy of Victorian gentlewomen in a charming early film enigma.

Short comedy

Directed by one of the pioneers of the cinematic industry, James Williamson, The History of a Butterfly - A Romance of Insect Life is an intriguing...

Short film about a man embarking on and returing from war. A print survives at the BFI.