James Williamson Movies

A man, objecting to being filmed, comes closer and closer to the camera lens until his mouth is all we see. Then he opens wide and swallows camera...

Firefighters ring for help, and here comes the ladder cart; they hitch a horse to it. A second horse-drawn truck joins the first, and they head down...

The titles tell us this film is based on an incident in the Boxer Rebellion. A man tries to defend a woman and a large house against Chinese...

The adventures of an inattentive man who can't look away from his book.

An impressive eight-some performs some Victorian gymnastics for the camera

A lad from a butcher shop is carrying a tray laden with a roast or a leg of lamb. A hobo grabs it and runs. The boy gives chase, joined by dogs, as...

A boy helps a convict to escape after meeting him at his mother's graveyard. The convict gets rich in Australia and when he returns is arrested again...

A village fire brigade puts out a fire.

A short melodrama based on Hans Christian Andersen's harrowing tale. A poor little girl tries to sell matchsticks in the freezing December cold. She...

A sexton reforms after dreaming of abduction by goblins.

A two-wheeled convoy of Victorian gentlewomen in a charming early film enigma.

George Smith's picture of the crowds out for a stroll on what I imagine is Brighton Pier.

Innovative early 'trick' film showing the popular 'flying the foam' stunt performed on - or rather off - Brighton's West Pier.

Directed by one of the pioneers of the cinematic industry, James Williamson, The History of a Butterfly - A Romance of Insect Life is an intriguing...

A conjurer vanishes animals then vanishes himself.

Early film footage of fun fair workers and revelers at Devil's Dyke on the South Downs, taken by pioneer James Williamson in around 1896. At a fair...

A workman flees from a lunatic who wishes to return a putty knife.

As a man removes his clothes to bathe, more reappear on him.

A mischievous errand boy, sent out on a delivery, causes havoc in the streets of Hove. When he arrives back at the shop, he finds all his furious...

A clown cuts off a customer's head and replaces it.