This film is part of Free
Water Polo - Worthing Swimming Club
Brief but lively snatch of a game in progress
Overview
Water polo was on the up in the late-Victorian era, and this short but energetic bit of film gives us glimpse of a game in progress at an open-air pool in Worthing, West Sussex. It was shot in William Kennedy-Laurie Dickson's own 68mm format, which accounts for the unusually high resolution of the images and allows us (on a big enough screen) to see the faces of the players.
This was one of a number of films made by during a trip to Worthing (just along the South Coast from Brighton and Hove, already well established as centres of pioneering film activity thanks to the efforts of Esmé Collings, G.A. Smith and James Williamson). A significantly longer version of the film survives in standard 35mm format.
Related
Launch of the Worthing Lifeboat Emerging from the Boathouse Launch of the Worthing Lifeboat Emerging from the Boathouse
Non-Fiction 1898 1 mins Silent Location: Worthing
Lifeboat paraded through the streets of Worthing on way to demonstrate a launch
Incoming Tide Incoming Tide
Non-Fiction 1898 1 mins Silent Location: Worthing
Worthing waves at us in this mesmerising early film
Me and My Two Friends Me and My Two Friends
1898 0 mins Silent Location: Worthing
A beatific image of Victorian childhood
Launch of the Worthing Lifeboat Coming Ashore Launch of the Worthing Lifeboat Coming Ashore
Documentary 1898 1 mins Silent Location: Worthing
Stunning footage of a lifesaving demonstration
Journey home to Canterbury Journey home to Canterbury
Amateur film 1930 7 mins Silent Location: Glastonbury
Join the Blighs on their homeward journey through the Southern counties - calling at Glastonbury and various ancient landmarks east
Re-building Worthing Pier, Wrecked by the Gales of Last Year Re-building Worthing Pier, Wrecked by the Gales of Last Year
Non-Fiction 1914 1 mins Silent Location: Worthing
Workmen set to on the reconstruction of Worthing Pier after it was destroyed by the English weather
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.