This film is currently unavailable
E. H. Williams' Merrie Men
Fascinating fragments of a typical Victorian seaside entertainment
Overview
EH Williams' Merrie Men were a large troupe of seaside entertainers working in the popular Welsh resort at Rhyl. These two fragments of film represent a rare glimpse of such an act in progress, with a comic schoolroom sketch and a soft-shoe shuffle courtesy of dancers Jimmy Charters and Fred Egan, accompanied by a large band. The racist minstrel tradition dates back to the slavery era in the American south. Imported from the US around the mid-19th century, minstrel shows became very popular in Britain. Such shows generally featured white performers, in exaggerated 'blackface' make-up, portraying people of African descent and performing caricatured Black American songs, dances, comic sketches and drama.
Acts would follow a set pattern. After a 'walkaround' of the whole troupe doing a 'cakewalk', there was the 'olio', a variety section featuring the interlocutor and the 'endmen', who flanked the other performers and whose function was to keep up a comic patter during the show. The act would usually conclude with a drama.
Related
The Beggar's Deceit The Beggar's Deceit
Comedy 1900 1 mins Silent
A copper pursues a cheeky beggar who can't possibly escape justice - or can he?
Come Along, Do! Come Along, Do!
Comedy 1898 1 mins Silent
A museum visitor takes an interest in a nude sculpture - to his wife's annoyance - in a sadly incomplete early film comedy
How It Feels to Be Run Over How It Feels to Be Run Over
Trick film 1900 1 mins Silent
A terrifying first-person brush with death at the hands of a dangerous driver
Spiders on a Web Spiders on a Web
1900 0 mins Silent
Dare you watch this footage of larger-than-life spiders - one of the earliest nature films of its type?
Railway Collision Railway Collision
Drama 1900 1 mins Silent
An impressive early film special effect
Comic Faces - Old Man Drinking a Glass of Beer Comic Faces - Old Man Drinking a Glass of Beer
Comedy 1897 1 mins Silent
How many faces can one man pull while drinking one glass of beer? Far more than you might think
Frederick Wiseman's High School - a discussion Frederick Wiseman's High School - a discussion
Short documentary 2026 22 mins
Filmmaker Andrea Luka Zimmerman and curator Matthew Barrington discuss Frederick Wiseman’s High School with Sandra Hebron.
Hard, Cracked the Wind Hard, Cracked the Wind
Horror 2019 17 mins
A haunting with words is the lure between life and death for a young Cornish poet.
A Last Resort A Last Resort
Comedy 2022 17 mins
Rose is desperate to celebrate her 60th birthday in style, but her daughter Genevieve is struggling to ignore some recent tragic news about her mum.
The Walk The Walk
Drama 2023 12 mins
Adeel Akhtar portrays a man on a weekly trek to his nearest JobCentre, entering a state of purgatory through barriers put in place by the system.
Seagull Seagull
Horror 2022 6 mins
Seagull is a recovering drug addict who is about to have a very strange night on The English Riviera.
Octopus Octopus
2021 13 mins
Upon returning to her home town for a funeral, a young woman reconnects with the friends she left behind.