The Brighton School and the Birth of British Film

311 Pages·2019·3.765 MB·English

by  Frank Gray

The Brighton
School and
the Birth of
British Film
frank gray
The Brighton School and the Birth of British Film
Frank Gray
The Brighton School
and the Birth of
British Film
Frank Gray
University of Brighton
Brighton, UK
ISBN 978-3-030-17504-7 ISBN 978-3-030-17505-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17505-4
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub-
lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The
publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu-
tional affiliations.
Cover illustration: eStudio Calamar
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
To Sue
C
ontents
1 Introduction 3
2 Investigating the Brighton School 19
3 Invention and Wonder: The Arrival of Film in Britain and
Brighton, 1894–1896 41
4 Wonders and Marvels: Smith’s Early Years 79
5 1897: Smith Turns to Film 113
6 Smith’s Visions and Transformations: The Films of 1898 153
7 Smith’s Edited Films, 1899–1903 173
8 Williamson’s Kinematograph Films 213
9 Williamson’s Picture Stories 243
vii
viii CONTENTS
10 Transitions, Chains and Flows 269
Resources and Bibliography 279
Index 293
L f
ist of igures
Fig. 1.1 The Kiss in the Tunnel, G.A. Smith, 1899. Courtesy of BFI
National Archive. Albert and Laura Bayley Smith within the
film’s set, St Ann’s Well Gardens, Hove 1
Fig. 2.1 Grandma’s Reading Glass, G.A. Smith, 1900. Courtesy of BFI
National Archive 17
Fig. 3.1 King’s Road and the West Pier, Brighton, c. 1896. London
Stereoscopic and Photographic Company. Courtesy of Screen
Archive South East. The Edison Kinetoscope was presented here
in 1895 39
Fig. 4.1 Brighton Aquarium, Brighton, c. 1890. Stereoview, Lombardi &
Co., Brighton. Courtesy of Screen Archive South East. The
Aquarium presented mesmerism shows, pantomimes, the magic
lantern, the kinetoscope and the cinematograph 77
Fig. 5.1 Hanging Out the Clothes, G.A. Smith, 1897. Courtesy of BFI
National Archive. Laura Bayley, Tom Green and Nellie Green, St
Ann’s Well Gardens, Hove 111
Fig. 6.1 Santa Claus, G.A. Smith, 1897. Courtesy of BFI National
Archive. The ‘vision scene’ with Albert Smith as Santa 151
Fig. 7.1 Grandma’s Reading Glass, G.A. Smith, 1900. Courtesy of BFI
National Archive. From medium shot to close-up; Harold Smith,
his mother Laura and the eye of Tom Green 171
Fig. 8.1 Fire!, James Williamson, 1901. Courtesy of BFI National
Archive. Exterior of Hove Fire Station, George Street, Hove 211
Fig. 9.1 A Big Swallow, James Williamson, 1901. Courtesy of BFI
National Archive. Close-up of Sam Dalton; produced at
Williamson’s Film Works, 55 Western Road, Hove 241
ix
x LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 10.1 Williamson & Co., Advertisement. The Kinematograph &
Lantern Weekly, 19 September 1907, p. 14. Courtesy of Screen
Archive South East 267
L t
ist of abLes
Table 7.1 Smith’s Finances, 1897–1900: estimated total income and
expenditure, rounded to the nearest pound 176
Table 7.2 Smith’s Use of Film Stock, 1897–1900: estimated expenditure
on film stock in total and by supplier, rounded to the nearest
pound 177
xi