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The Twins' Tea Party

These two little lovelies were captured on screen by RW Paul and were the hit of his 1896 Alhambra show.

Comedy 1896 1 mins Silent

Overview

The behaviour of small humans hasn’t changed much in 120 years; they are very cute. Here, the simple set directs our attention to the actions of the girls, one of whom is being bossy and hits the other but then kisses her better. Like RW Paul’s other 1896 films, this one was likely shot on the roof of the Alhambra music hall.

The film was much copied by other filmmakers including Paul himself who remade it in 1898 due to its popularity. He may have been inspired by the Lumières’ 1896 film of their baby and they may have been inspired in turn by his, as they released a similar film in 1898 with toddlers in high chairs eating breakfast (they added a kitten). Success was always imitated in early film.

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