Underplayed Gems

Comic Costume Race (1896)

Comic Costume Race poster
Directed by
Robert W. Paul
Genre
documentary film, silent film, sport film
Country
United Kingdom
Runtime
1 min
Rating
4.9 of 10 from 7 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

This is a very short silent film from 1896 showing a group of music hall performers scrambling into comic costumes and then racing each other. It was shot at a charity sports day in London and offers a glimpse into a fun public event from the late 1800s.

old-timeyplayfulbriskwhimsicalhistoricalcharmingobservational

What happens

Comic Costume Race is an 1896 British short black-and-white silent actuality film, directed by Robert W. Paul, featuring a comic costume scramble at the Music Hall Sports on 14 July 1896 at Herne Hill, London. The music hall sports day was an annual charity event consisting of other events such as egg and spoon races and three-legged races. The film is the best surviving pictorial record of the Music Hall Sports. It is not known who the race participants are. The film was, according to Michael Brooke of BFI Screenonline, "presented at Windsor Castle on 23 November 1896," which, "enabled Paul to add a royal seal of approval to his advertisements." It is included on the BFI DVD R.W. Paul: The Collected Films 1895-1908. Another film of the costume race at the Music Hall Sports was produced in 1898. In 1899, Cecil Hepworth produced a film on a similar race, entitled Comic Costume Race for Cyclists. This film depicted a group of cyclists racing to a pile of clothing, containing costumes such as those of a policeman and a clown, before remounting and racing to the finishing line. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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