This film is part of Free
Miners Leaving Pendlebury Colliery (1901)
A black miner makes an intriguing addition to an already captivating film of coal workers up from their pit.
Overview
Showman Albert Sedgwick, conspicuously raffish in homburg and moustache, bestrides and controls this film. Sedgwick has 'planted' the poster board advertising the show in which it's to be screened - as well as, possibly, the Black man whose presence in Edwardian Lancashire so surprises us. And he is choreographing, right before our eyes, the procession of colliers for the camera.
This film was included in Tate Britain's 2013 retrospective of L.S. Lowry's art. Lowry had himself lived in Pendlebury - although he didn't move there until 1912, 11 years after this film was shot. It's not impossible that the artist may have seen this or other local films in his youth. In any case, it's hard not to think of Lowry's deeply personal paintings when contemplating Mitchell and Kenyon's highly commercial filmmaking. Both are at once innocent and artful, their gaze alternately warm and cold, capturing industrial and human worlds by casual observation and careful orchestration alike. In contrast to the dozens of 'factory gate' films arranged by Mitchell and Kenyon outside textile mills and engineering works, the producers shot just a handful of coalmining films. The inescapably massive presence of mining in Pendlebury lasted until the day its final local pit died, with its boots on, in 1990.
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.
Sedgwick's Bioscope Showfront at Pendlebury Wakes (1901) Sedgwick's Bioscope Showfront at Pendlebury Wakes (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent Location: Pendlebury
Outside a fairground cinematograph in Edwardian Lancashire.
Operatives of Acme Spinning Company, Pendlebury (1901) Operatives of Acme Spinning Company, Pendlebury (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent Location: Pendlebury
A glimpse of early filmmaking showmanship as James Kenyon marshals Lancashire textile workers.
Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass) Alexandre Desplat (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2011 33 mins
Over 30 years and 150 projects, the composer shares, with humour and passion, the intricacies of making film music.
Ian Neil (Masterclass) Ian Neil (Masterclass)
Inside Film 2012 74 mins
Neil selected soundtracks for 127 Hours, Shame, Kick Ass, Control and many more. He discusses the job and its complexities, referencing his own work.
Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass) Barry Ackroyd (Masterclass)
2013 61 mins
British cinematographer of The Hurt Locker, Captain Phillips, Hillsborough and Riff Raff reviews the art of the moving image.
Lois Burwell on movie makeup Lois Burwell on movie makeup
Inside Film 2013 17 mins
Lincoln, Braveheart and Magnolia make-up artist Lois Burwell explains how she created some of her most iconic looks, as part of a BAFTA Masterclass.
Gabriel Yared on composing for film Gabriel Yared on composing for film
Inside Film 2013 11 mins
Composer of The Lives of Others, The English Patient and Betty Blue on intimacy and experimentation.
Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan Screenwriters' Lecture: Peter Straughan
Inside Film 2012 mins
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's adapter reveals his quest for "the poem of the book" and the importance of simplicity: 'Drain the pond to find the fish'.