James Williamson Movies

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

A collection of early British Films from the Filmoteca de Catalunya. Films include: Brighton Seagoing Electric Car (1897), The Inexhaustible Cab...

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 comedy of faux Frenchmen who engage in a duel over some slight disagreement and who manage to shoot everyone but each other. Filmed by James...

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 village fire brigade puts out a fire.

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

Boys blow peas at the cobbler, who throws a boot and hits a woman.

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

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 sexton reforms after dreaming of abduction by goblins.

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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

Innovative early 'trick' film showing the popular 'flying the foam' stunt performed on - or rather off - Brighton's West Pier.

A conjurer vanishes animals then vanishes himself.