This film is part of Free
Snowballs (1901)
Young scamps launch a snowball attack on a hapless bobby.
Overview
One of the rare fiction titles in the BFI's Mitchell and Kenyon collection, this is a comic sketch which takes place in a snowy exterior against a stage backdrop. Some boys make mischief by ambushing passers-by with snowballs. It's not clear whether the snow is real, but it's certainly convincingly powdery as the fight gets increasingly boisterous. The policeman doesn't come off well.
This film has been labelled as from Glasgow, but we have no clues as to who commissioned it, who the players were or where the filming might have taken place. Mitchell and Kenyon had made some fiction films on a stage attached to their photographic shop in Blackburn and had an arrangement to borrow costumes from E.H. Page, proprietor of the town's Lyceum Theatre. It's likely that the stage scenery came from the same source. At this early date it wasn't possible to film in the low lighting conditions of a theatre, so this would have had to be shot outdoors.
Related
The Beggar's Deceit The Beggar's Deceit
Comedy 1900 1 mins Silent
A copper pursues a cheeky beggar who can't possibly escape justice - or can he?
Come Along, Do! Come Along, Do!
Comedy 1898 1 mins Silent
A museum visitor takes an interest in a nude sculpture - to his wife's annoyance - in a sadly incomplete early film comedy
How It Feels to Be Run Over How It Feels to Be Run Over
Trick film 1900 1 mins Silent
A terrifying first-person brush with death at the hands of a dangerous driver
Spiders on a Web Spiders on a Web
1900 0 mins Silent
Dare you watch this footage of larger-than-life spiders - one of the earliest nature films of its type?
Railway Collision Railway Collision
Drama 1900 1 mins Silent
An impressive early film special effect
Comic Faces - Old Man Drinking a Glass of Beer Comic Faces - Old Man Drinking a Glass of Beer
Comedy 1897 1 mins Silent
How many faces can one man pull while drinking one glass of beer? Far more than you might think
Glasgow Student Rag Glasgow Student Rag
Amateur film 1968 6 mins Silent Location: Glasgow
Get your freak on with the students at Glasgow’s RAG Weeks in the 1960s.
Progress Report II Progress Report II
Public Information Filler 1948 10 mins Location: Glasgow
Two steps forward, one step back as Glasgow’s housing schemes sees residents go from tenement, to prefab, to pebbledashed concrete cottages
Our Public Parks Our Public Parks
1947 20 mins Silent Location: Glasgow
A tour of Glasgow's green spaces
Glasgow Territorials Glasgow Territorials
Non-Fiction 1927 1 mins Silent Location: Glasgow
It's a wet and gloomy day in Glasgow and the locals are out in force for the annual Territorials' Church Parade.
Night Mail Night Mail
Documentary 1936 24 mins Location: Euston Sta
The flagship of the GPO Film Unit's output and a cornerstone of British documentary, featuring music by Benjamin Britten and the verse of W.H. Auden.
Heavy Industries Heavy Industries
School programme and Educational film 1936 7 mins Location: Glasgow
Splendour and grace - steel and ships made in Glasgow
Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.
Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.
Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of children’s palliative care.
Police Story: Panel Discussion Police Story: Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 24 mins
Panel discussion on Jackie Chan's 1985 action classic Police Story, with Chase Armitage, Sam Mak and Jadey Duffield.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.