This film is part of Free
Workers Leaving a Factory in Droylsden (1901)
Workers in Edwardian Lancashire become ghostly thanks to an odd camera effect.
Overview
Mitchell and Kenyon used excellent photographers, but accidents will happen. The effect of shooting at the wrong shutter speed here has a strange consequence we associate with modern special effects: a figure in the foreground remains still as the background world whizzes around them. As a result, the children outside this Lancashire factory seem substantial while the adults are mere shadows.
Related
'Hands' Leaving Work at North-Street Mills, Chorley (1900) 'Hands' Leaving Work at North-Street Mills, Chorley (1900)
Non-Fiction 1900 3 mins Silent Location: Chorley
Lancashire cotton-workers pile out through the mill gates at dinner time.
20,000 Employees Entering Lord Armstrong's Elswick Works (1900) 20,000 Employees Entering Lord Armstrong's Elswick Works (1900)
Non-Fiction 1900 3 mins Silent Location: Elswick
An astonishingly crowded Victorian street reveals the vast scale of Tyneside manufacturing.
Amos & Smith Boiler Works, Hull (1900) Amos & Smith Boiler Works, Hull (1900)
Non-Fiction 1900 1 mins Silent Location: Kingston upon Hull
Bicycles and broomsticks at the ready as workers finish shift at a marine engineering works in Victorian Hull.
Co-operative Wholesale Clothing Factory in Manchester (c.1900) Co-operative Wholesale Clothing Factory in Manchester (c.1900)
Non-Fiction 1900 2 mins Silent Location: Manchester
Victorian Manchester mill workers enjoy the novelty of a moving picture camera.
Congregation Leaving St Mary's Church, Dumfries (c.1901) Congregation Leaving St Mary's Church, Dumfries (c.1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent Location: Dumfries
Worshippers in their Sunday best file out of the Church.
Congregation Leaving St Mary's Dominican Church in Cork (1902) Congregation Leaving St Mary's Dominican Church in Cork (1902)
Non-Fiction 1902 1 mins Silent
A well-dressed church congregation gathers on the elegant portico.
Norma's Birthday Party And Family Get-together Norma's Birthday Party And Family Get-together
Home movie 1941 10 mins Silent Location: Droylsden
Even in wartime, the fun goes on for the Hart family of Droylsden, and their friends, and dog.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.