Mitchell and Kenyon facts for kids
The Mitchell & Kenyon film company was a pioneer of early commercial motion pictures based in Blackburn in Lancashire, England, at the start of the 20th century. They were originally known for small contributions to early story films and films about the Boer War. However, in 1994, a huge collection of their old film negatives was found. This led to the restoration of the Mitchell & Kenyon Collection, which is the largest collection of early non-fiction films in the world. These films offer a fresh look at Edwardian era Britain and are a very important resource for historians.
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How Early Films Started
The very first motion picture was made in October 1888 by Louis Le Prince in the United Kingdom. The first time people paid to see a film was in 1895 in Paris, by Auguste and Louis Lumière from France. They showed a film called La sortie des usines Lumière, which showed workers leaving their factory in Lyon.
Soon, others in France and Britain started making films too. Some of these were "factory-gate films," showing people leaving work. When Mitchell & Kenyon started, they were perfectly placed in the industrial North of England. People were excited to see themselves on film, and there were good chances to make money by showing short films featuring local people.
Mitchell & Kenyon: "We Take Them and Make Them"
Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon started their company, Mitchell & Kenyon, in 1897. They used the trade name Norden. In the early 1900s, their company was one of the biggest film producers in the United Kingdom. Their slogans were "Local Films For Local People" and "We take them and make them." They first worked from their shops at 40 Northgate and 21 King Street in Blackburn.
The first Mitchell & Kenyon film shown was of Blackburn Market, on 27 November 1897. The company made films on their own or when local businesses asked them to. In April 1899, a traveling showman named George Green asked them to film workers leaving factories. These films were shown at the Easter fair, and this started a network of showmen showing their films.
Three Norden story films came out in September 1899: The Tramp's Surprise, The Tramps and the Artist, and Kidnapping by Indians. These films made the company famous across the country. Because their early films were so successful, Mitchell stopped running his shop. In September 1901, Mitchell & Kenyon moved to Clayton Street, Blackburn, to focus only on making films. They didn't make as many story films as they did "topicals" (films about local events). By 1903, the company had an outdoor studio at 22 Clayton Street, Blackburn, which they used along with outside locations. Today, The Cinema Museum in London keeps 65 Norden story films.
Showmen became traveling film operators who advertised themselves. Films taken during the day were shown that same evening in fairground tents or local halls. Slogans like "see yourselves as others see you" were used. Story films took a while to become popular, but non-fiction films about real life were more liked. A typical two-hour show would include drama, comedy, live actors, and then the main attraction: local "topicals." A brass band would play music, and the showman would talk during the silent films. Sometimes, sound effects like gunshots were added, and people in the audience were even paid to scream or faint to make it more exciting!
What Were "Topicals"?
Besides filming workers leaving factories, Mitchell & Kenyon filmed street scenes, parades, marches, people walking out on Sundays, and fairgrounds. It's charming to see how some people in the crowds would come up and wave at the camera. The street scenes were busy with people walking around slow horse-drawn carts and trams. Some trams were pulled by horses, and some were the new electric ones. Mitchell & Kenyon also filmed from moving trams to add variety. Many bicycles were seen, and they also showed the rare sight of a motor car. They filmed warships and steamboats. At the Liverpool docks, they showed people boarding ships like the Cunarder RMS Saxonia going to Boston. These films were developed the same day so relatives could see them that night.
Workers now had one week of holiday each year, though it wasn't paid. Films were made in popular holiday spots like Blackpool and Morecambe Bay. Leisure activities shown included boating on rivers, walking in pretty gardens, and rolling Easter eggs.
Parades and processions included carnivals with people dressed up and doing dance routines. Others showed religious processions, charity parades, and marches by the Temperance group, which included their children's section, The Band of Hope. Military marches and parades were also featured, as well as marches by the Boys' Brigade and the Church Lads' Brigade.
News and Re-enactments
When the Boer War started in South Africa in October 1899, it brought new chances for the company. They started making war films. Troops were shown marching off to war or coming back, with flag-waving crowds. People were shown greeting war heroes, especially Private Charles Ward of Leeds. He was the last person to receive the Victoria Cross from Queen Victoria herself.
Scenes from the South African war and the Boxer Rebellion were filmed in the countryside near Blackburn. These were like re-enactments, and audiences likely enjoyed them as dramatic shows. Screenings were made more exciting with smoke bombs and guns being fired.
Mitchell & Kenyon's most interesting film was The Arrest of Goudie in 1901. This film is thought to be the world's first filmed crime reconstruction. The film used the actual places where the crime happened and showed the arrest of Thomas Goudie. He was a Bank of Liverpool employee who took a lot of money while involved in gambling. The film was shown at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Liverpool only three days after Goudie was arrested.
Sports Films
With Saturday afternoons off work becoming common, sports events became very popular. Mitchell & Kenyon filmed these events, making sure to get as many spectators as possible, as well as some of the action. They made the first known film of the newly named Manchester United. This was at a match they played on 6 December 1902 against Burnley. The film was supposed to be shown that evening, but it was canceled because Burnley lost. It wasn't shown until it was found recently. A match between Sheffield United and Bury in September 1902 featured William "Fatty" Foulke, one of the most famous players of his time. They also filmed what might be the first football injury caught on film, when an Irish player hit the goalpost in a Wales versus Ireland international match in 1906.
Rugby league and cricket matches were also filmed. When A.D. Thomas, a showman, heard about a cricket problem where a respected bowler named Arthur Mold was repeatedly called for an illegal throw by the umpire, he asked for a film to be made. This film re-enacted Mold's bowling to show that his technique was fair. This was like the first "action replay" and was very popular.
Other films showed rowing events, horse trotting, athletics, bicycle races, and motor tricycle races.
Comedy Films
As early as 1900, some story films included funny slapstick comedy with clumsy policemen. This was before famous comedians like the Keystone Kops and Charlie Chaplin became popular. Diving Lucy from 1903 showed a lady's legs sticking out of a pond in Blackburn's Queen's Park. Rescuers set up a plank, and a chubby policeman walked out on it, only to find it was a joke. The others let go, and he fell into the water. This film was a big success internationally.
To make some street scenes more lively, the showmen would arrange fake fights or pretend to spray a spectator with water. Slapstick was also added to park scenes, with male actors dressed as women falling off a donkey or into the water from a boat, showing their petticoats under their long skirts.
The End of an Era
In May 1907, Sagar Mitchell went back to his original business. From this time, the amount of films made seemed to slow down. After 1909, production was mostly limited to local events. By the mid-1900s, audiences were less interested in seeing themselves on film. More structured story films became popular, and the company focused on those. The last film that still exists is from 1913. Mitchell's son, John, joined his business in 1921. His partnership with Kenyon officially ended around 1922, and Kenyon died in 1925. Mitchell carefully stored the film negatives in the basement of his shop. He lived to be 85 and passed away on 2 October 1952. John continued to run the business until he retired in 1960.
Finding and Saving the Collection
In 1994, during demolition work at what used to be a toy shop in Blackburn, two workmen were clearing out the basement. They found three metal drums, like milk churns, filled with hundreds of small film spools. On their way to a scrap metal place, they passed a video transfer shop. The workmen brought in a drum and asked the owner if the films were worth anything.
The owner knew that a local businessman and historian, Peter Worden, was interested in old films. He called Worden and arranged for the drums to be delivered to him. Worden looked at the films and realized they were very old and could catch fire easily. So, he stored them in a chest freezer in his garage until they were moved to the British Film Institute in July 2000. A large collection of Mitchell & Kenyon films and a Norden camera were later sold at auction.
Peter Worden, along with another local historian, Robin Whalley, researched the films. They wrote an important article about the company and its films.
The Peter Worden Collection of Mitchell & Kenyon Films has now been saved by staff at the British Film Institute's National Film and Television Archive. They carefully store the old, flammable films in special rooms. Amazing film preservation techniques were used to make the films clean and clear. They also adjusted the speed to make these hand-cranked films look smooth. The results are fresh and natural, showing an amazing record of British life in the early 1900s.
The University of Sheffield's National Fairground Archive and the British Film Institute received a grant to research, list, identify, and explain the more than 800 films. This led to a collection of essays and many articles. A major book about the collection, Electric Edwardians: The Story of the Mitchell & Kenyon Collection, was published by the British Film Institute in 2006. There are also companion DVDs with highlights from the collection.
A three-part TV series called The Lost World of Mitchell & Kenyon was shown on the BBC in January 2005. It had interesting comments by historian Dan Cruickshank and interviews with the families of people shown in the films. This series is also available on DVD.
In 2014, a play called The Life and Times of Mitchell and Kenyon was produced.
The BFI and the NFA have shown the collection widely, with over 100 shows across the North of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. This proves that local films for local people are still as popular today as they were a century ago.
In May 2011, the Collection was added to UNESCO's UK Memory of the World Register.
Images for kids
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1902 Street scene in Wigan: This picture shows a busy street and a poster for a show.
