FRA ELEFANTERNES LAND

The timber trade calls on animal help

Edwardian filmgoers could enjoy a vicarious elephant ride in this eye-opening film. Not that this is any mere safari: these are, as the English-language title has it, hardworking elephants (the original Danish title translates as Land of the Elephants), seen here dragging heavy teak logs. We have little information on this film, and there's not much on screen to help us identify the location. Perhaps it was shot around Nilambur in Kerala, known for its teak forests? But teak travelled far and wide in India then, as it does now.

This Danish-produced film was well travelled itself - it's known to have been distributed in Germany, France and Italy as well as Britain, reflecting the international nature of the film industry even in its early days.