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        Mills Chimps, Olympia

        Chimpanzees from one of London’s best-known circuses clown around for the Christmas audience at Kensington Olympia.

        Amateur film 1954 8 mins Silent

        From the collection of:

        Logo for London's Screen Archives

        Overview

        The Bertram Mills Circus held their annual show at Olympia since 1920 - the first was staged to win a bet – and was credited with reviving the circus as a form of entertainment in the UK. The Christmas show was held until the 1960s and this short reel comes from the mid-1950s. It demonstrates a very different attitude to animals, with the performing chimps dressed in clothes, riding bikes, climbing tightropes and pushing prams for the amusement of a large crowd.