This film is part of Free
Hanging out the Clothes; Or, Master, Mistress and Maid
A philandering husband gets hung out to dry on laundry day
Overview
Clean sheets encourage a mucky mind in this saucy early film comedy. The master of the house takes his chance to canoodle with the laundrymaid, but the bedsheet can't hide his excitement - not from the audience, nor from his irate missus, who delivers an extended punishment to her wandering spouse. Stage comic Tom Green plays the naughty husband with all the gusto of a man accustomed to throwing his performance to the back row, and that's his own wife Nellie Green giving him a sound thrashing.
This film was directed by Brighton-based early film pioneer George Albert Smith. Tom Green appears in several of his films from this time, as does the actress playing the maid: Smith's wife Laura Bayley, who worked with him on both sides of the camera. Smith first became well-known on the stage, with a hypnotism act, before opening a pleasure garden in Hove, where he put on magic lantern shows. He 1896 he enthusiastically embraced the new medium of cinema and became one of Britain's first filmmakers.
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
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.