This film is part of Free

The Barber Saw the Joke

A barber takes his mind of his work, with alarming consequences

Comedy 1900 1 mins Silent

Overview

This gentleman may wish he'd taken some less humorous to read when he falls victim to the barber's straying scissors. Judging by the amount of blood that transfers from the sponge to the barber's face, it's no trivial cut. He should be grateful at least he didn't go in for a shave…

This comic skit was shot by WKL Dickson for British Mutoscope and Biograph. This version comes from the BFI National Archive's large-format print - Dickson's unique 68mm stock, which gives us enough detail to read the title of the customer's comic, Ally Sloper's Half Holiday, which ran from 1884 to 1916. So far, we can't be sure of the date, though it's likely between 1898 and 1901.