This film is part of Free
Milling the Militants; A Comical Absurdity
Left with the kids while his wife campaigns for women's votes, an aggrieved husband dreams of punishing all suffragettes.
Overview
This fascinating silent comedy - released at the height of suffragettism - reflects both the increasing militancy of the movement and the public response to it. When his suffragette wife goes off to campaign, leaving him to babysit, Mr Brown dreams of becoming prime minister and concocting new laws to punish her and her kind. From this synopsis, you might assume that Milling the Militants is an anti-suffragette film. But a close look throws up some doubts.
Mrs Brown might cut something of a comic figure, but her arrest for 'assaulting a policeman' is - even in Brown's dream - seen to be false. Her husband's imagined punishments, meanwhile, are either absurd, disproportionate or brutally medieval (the stocks for 'annoying cabinet ministers'; a ducking stool for hunger strikers), which surely elicits sympathy for the suffragette victims. By contrast, the dreamer's own real-life fate - a bucket of water from his wife for falling asleep instead of looking after his children - is clearly richly deserved.
Related
Miss Davison's Funeral Miss Davison's Funeral
Non-Fiction 1913 2 mins Silent Location: Bloomsbury
The funeral procession of suffragette Emily Davison - fatally injured at the Epsom Derby - passes through London to her final resting place in Morpeth.
Suffragette Derby of 1913 Suffragette Derby of 1913
Non-Fiction 1913 5 mins Silent Location: Epsom
A momentous act of self sacrifice is caught on camera - Emily Davison is trampled by the King's horse at the 1913 Epsom Derby.
Suffragettes Again Suffragettes Again
Non-Fiction 1913 1 mins Silent
Incendiary images from Plymouth, at the sharp end of the campaign for women's votes.
Meet the Suffragettes: The Original Media-Disruptors Meet the Suffragettes: The Original Media-Disruptors
Short documentary 2015 10 mins
BFI's silent film curator, Bryony Dixon, explores the BFI National Archive's holdings around women's suffrage.
Palace Pandemonium Palace Pandemonium
Non-Fiction 1914 1 mins Silent Location: Buckingham Palace
The campaign for women's suffrage steps up as Emmeline Pankhurst is arrested at the gates of Buckingham Palace.
Demonstration of Suffragettes Demonstration of Suffragettes
Non-Fiction 1910 3 mins Silent Location: London
An early view of Emily Wilding Davison in the multitudes of women in a mass demonstration organised by the Women’s Social and Political Union on 18 June 1910
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Dan George of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Trixie Parkin-Christie of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.