Attack on a China Mission (1900)

Directed by

James Williamson

Genre

short film, drama film, silent film, war film, historical film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

4 min

Rating

5.1 of 10 from 32 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A missionary is killed by Boxers. Some sailors rescue his wife.

early cinemabriefsimpledirectstagedaction-orientedsilenthistorical feel

What happens

Attack on a China Mission is a 1900 British short silent drama film, directed by James Williamson, showing some sailors coming to the rescue of the wife of a missionary killed by Boxers. The four-shot film, according to Michael Brooke of BFI Screenonline, was innovative in content and technique. It incorporated a reverse-angle cut and at least two dozen performers, whereas most dramatic films of the era consisted of single-figure casts and very few shots. Film historian John Barnes claims Attack on a China Mission had "the most fully developed narrative" of any English film up to that time." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• A Railway Collision (1900)
• Burlesque Attack on a Settler's Cabin (1900)
• Let Me Dream Again (1900)
• The Electricity Cure (1900)
• The Love Token (1908)
• A Soldier's Jealousy (1907)
• Beheading the Chinese Prisoner (1900)
• Launch of a Japanese Battleship (1904)