A Morning Wash (1900)

1900
Silent
1m

An old joke but a merry one.

This joke was probably antique even in 1901, when this film is thought to have been made, but it is nicely executed. Two comedians are washing at basins. One covers himself in white soap lather, but slyly gives blacking to his fellow, who applies vigorously. These black/white juxtapositions were a favourite of strip cartoons and early films, as in the popular The Miller and the Sweep (1897).

Two comedians are washing at basins. One covers himself in white soap lather, but slyly gives blacking to his fellow, who applies vigorously.

Fiction and Comedy

The other face of Edwardian local film specialists Mitchell and Kenyon.

For historian Rachael Low, writing in the 1950s, Mitchell and Kenyon was a minor film company, best known for some "faked topicals of the South African War". Thanks to the great 90s rediscovery, we now know that M&K’s specialty was non-fiction. But we also have more of their fiction than before: alongside the works presented here are some 80 more held elsewhere.

Alongside films recreating contemporary events, including the second Boer War and the 'Boxer rebellion' in China, are more straightforward short comedies and dramatic sketches. Together, they illustrate the kinds of entertainment enjoyed by British filmgoers around the turn of the 20th Century.