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Athletes and acrobats wow the crowds at the annual Cycling Club carnival.
Non-Fiction 1902 7 mins Silent
Sporting prowess plays second fiddle to novelty in this exhibition of Leeds showmanship. Speed, excitement and dynamism are captured by the panning camera, which mirrors the movement of the steeplechasers and cyclists zipping around the track. Next up, a variety act: the Mazonda champion barrel-jumpers. Such acts were a hugely popular mainstay of the swelling Edwardian entertainment industry.
This film was commissioned by entertainment entrepreneur Tom Barrasford, who owned several theatres across the UK, including the Tivoli in Leeds, where the Mazonda barrel-jumpers were a regular attraction. Barrasford clearly had a commercial interest in giving the troupe a starring role in this film, which would serve to further promote their regular turn at the Tivoli. The cinematograph was frequently billed during variety theatre programmes and it's more than likely that this film would itself have been shown at the Tivoli. Following this performance at the Cycling Club Carnival the Wigan Examiner reported: "The Mazondas are stated to be champions in their particular line, and exhibit some really marvellous tub jumping, which has the additional merit of being novel."
Non-Fiction 1902 4 mins Silent Location: Kingston upon Hull
Rugby arch rivals lock horns in Hull.
Non-Fiction 1901 8 mins Silent Location: Salford
Batley go down to Lancashire rivals Salford in the very first season of the Northern Rugby League.
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Silent Location: Liverpool
Early league football, with the team who will become Birmingham City losing at Anfield in a relegation year.
Non-Fiction 1903 2 mins Silent Location: Blackpool
Over a hundred Edwardian athletes gather for a gruelling walking race.
Non-Fiction 1901 7 mins Silent Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
An Edwardian football match at Newcastle's St James' Park ground.
Non-Fiction 1902 7 mins Silent Location: Nottingham
The game is held up for the camera to do a full tour of the cheering crowds at Trent Bridge, Notts County's home until 1910.
Non-Fiction 1926 1 mins Silent Location: Headingley
A masterful innings by Australian batsman Macartney in the third test at Headingley.
Nature and Science programme 1954 14 mins Silent Location: Headingley
The metamorphosis of the eating machine which is the caterpillar, into an Emperor Moth, revealed in all its detail and presented in 15 minutes.
Nature and Science programme 1949 6 mins Silent Location: Headingley
An extraordinary film made by amateurs showing a wide variety of species of bees in close up feeding from an equally wide variety of flowers.
Non-Fiction 1935 3 mins Silent Location: Headingley
When rugby league players looked no different from footballers, and the crowds were just as big, and not wearing a hat was an eccentricity.
Non-Fiction 1956 8 mins Silent Location: Leeds
A trip across Leeds in March 1956 on board the 194 tram, advertising Hemmingway Ales, passing the local traffic, the Civic Hall and other notable landmarks.
Amateur film 1957 21 mins Silent Location: Headingley
A wonderful film of secondary school lads in 1950s Leeds, out playing fast rugby on a frosty winter morning, reading in the library, but also larking about as they swig school milk.
Comedy 1919 35 mins Silent
A protective father masquerades as an automatic doll in this bonkers interwar comedy.
1937 11 mins Silent
May Day – a significant day for the labour movement – is covered by the cameras of the Film and Photograph League.
Performance 1986 55 mins
An exploration of the life and work of the controversial British composer.
1935 9 mins
Let it bleed? This exemplary education film gets to the heart of the matter.
Non-Fiction 1935 12 mins Silent
Punchy political film capturing mass protests against unemployment.
1937 15 mins Silent
A spirited satire on the coronation of George VI made by members of the Film and Photograph League.
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