Documentary 8min

Children Leaving Christ Church Schools, Rhyl (1902)

School’s out, and gleeful pupils spill out onto the street, with much leapfrogging, piggybacking and larking about.
Rating:

+ 1 image
Facts
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Categories
Actuality Film Black and White Catholic School Children Joy Running School Short Silent Film
Descriptions

Pupils pour from their narrow doorway onto the street, the rain dampening no-one’s spirits as they leapfrog and piggyback on the thoroughfare, amid carts and passers-by, a chimney sweep lounging decoratively centre-frame. A boys’ ‘strong horse’ formation soon falls apart but it hardly matters, as the point is to look lively for the camera – it will all draw people to the local cinema!

Arthur Cheetham (1865-1937) was an entrepreneur, cinema proprietor and pioneer filmmaker - the first in Wales to film scenes and events for his own shows. 12 of his 47 films, shot mostly from 1898 to 1904, survive partly or wholly. In turn-of-century Rhyl, elementary education was denominational, with schools being ‘British’ as seen here (Nonconformist) , ‘National’ (Anglican), and Catholic. In 1983 Mrs Adelaide Owen (the chimney sweep’s niece) recalled helping Cheetham, as a young teacher, film pupils emerging from the schools: ‘I kept every child on the go. So there was a constant stream’.

Source: BFI


Pupils pour from their narrow doorway onto the street, the rain dampening no-one’s spirits as they leapfrog and piggyback on the thoroughfare, amid carts and passers-by, a chimney sweep lounging decoratively centre-frame. A boys’ ‘strong horse’ formation soon falls apart but it hardly matters, as the point is to look lively for the camera – it will all draw people to the local cinema!

Source: BFI - Collections

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Cast
Unavailbale.
Crew
Arthur Cheetham - Cinematography
Reviews
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They come in waves!

In differentiation of the many other films of people, and children, this one lets the children be children - run and have fun. It is too long with 8 minutes of runtime, but at least there is some action during those minutes.