This film is part of Free
Two Clowns
A showcase for GA Smith’s patented Kinemacolor process, based around a suitably colourful subject
Overview
Experiments with colour film date back to the dawn of cinema itself, but one of the more technically successful early examples was Kinemacolor, patented in 1909 by George Albert Smith (1864-1959) after years of tests. Visually, this film is similar to the comic 'facials' that Smith helped pioneer in the late Victorian era, but the decision to use clowns (one played by his wife Laura Bayley) gave him the opportunity to display and control the colours that registered best with the system: red and green.
A former stage mesmerist, Smith knew that he could fool the viewer into perceiving colours that weren’t there, so by shooting alternate frames through red and green filters and projecting them the same way, he achieved a remarkably effective simulation, at least to viewers who had yet to experience Technicolor and its successors. Smith’s biggest technical challenge was to create a film stock that would be sufficiently sensitive to the whole colour spectrum. Existing orthochromatic film was fine for black and white, but proved unsuitable for anything else, especially where reds were involved.
Related
The Perfect Woman The Perfect Woman
Comedy 1949 87 mins
In a bid to improve on nature, a scientist creates a robot female. But the experiment doesn't quite turn out as planned...
Tilly and the Fire Engines Tilly and the Fire Engines
Comedy 1911 2 mins Silent
Mischievous sisters Tilly and Sally borrow a fire engine and take it for a joy ride in this spirited film comedy.
Something Completely Different Something Completely Different
1974 4 mins Silent Location: Doune
Join John Cleese and the cast of Monty Python and the Holy Grail on location in Scotland
Miranda Miranda
Comedy 1948 80 mins
A man goes fishing and comes home with a most unusual catch in this comedy feature.
Le Petomane Le Petomane
Comedy 1979 33 mins
The immortal Leonard Rossiter makes flatulence a fine art in this short, poignant comedy-drama from Hancock writers Galton and Simpson
Arthur? Arthur! Arthur? Arthur!
Comedy 1969 101 mins Location: Camden
A hen-pecked inventor plots murder while he leads a bizarre double life as a bewigged playboy who runs a dating agency
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
The NHS75 Celebration The NHS75 Celebration
Short documentary 2023 3 mins
Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.