I viewed this obscure and ancient short film online at British Pathé's site, and I'm taking the word of Urbanora, of The Bioscope website, that the film I watched was this one, James Williamson's 1907 "The Village Fire Brigade". (The Pathé site mistakes some of its titles--giving this one the name "The Village Fire" and a year of 1909.)
James Williamson was one of early cinema's most important filmmakers-right up there with fellow Brits Robert W. Paul, Cecil Hepworth and George Albert Smith (who, like Williamson, was also from Brighton and Hove)--as well as Georges Méliès and Edwin S. Porter. Williamson made some of the earliest and then most advanced multi-shot films, including "Attack on a China Mission" (1900), "The Big Swallow", "Stop Thief!", "Fire!" (all 1901) and "The Soldier's Return" (1902). He also made a beautiful single-shot picture called "The Little Match Seller" (1902). Like "Fire!", "The Village Fire Brigade" is, predictably enough, about firefighting. Yet, whereas "Fire!" was a dramatic and groundbreaking picture that inspired Porter's "The Life of an American Fireman" (1903) and a whole genre of early firefighting story films, "The Village Fire Brigade" is a rather broad comedy and an undistinguished production. The later Williamson productions that I've seen, including this one, "Our New Errand Boy" and "An Interesting Story" (both 1905), are all more comedic than his earlier films.
This print of "The Village Fire Brigade" might not be complete and would probably make more sense with a catalogue description, because what I viewed left me guessing at times. The film begins with a man looking for the volunteer fire brigade at the fire station, but they're all at their other jobs, so he runs off to a bar, a bakery and a few other places to collect them. They return to the fire station and, then, race off pushing a hand-operated water pump. There's a scene where they stop and enter the bar for some reason I don't know, and two mischievous boys cause the pump to roll down the street (which is reminiscent of "Our New Errand Boy"). Next, the film abruptly cuts to a scene of them ineptly attempting to put out a fire. Finally, the town brigade, who are, apparently, professional firemen, arrive and start putting out the fire, including the one that somehow caught onto the original fire brigade's rolling pump. The film ends with the burning home beginning to collapse. Anyways, it was interesting to compare this comedic turn of Williamson's on the fire genre with his more acclaimed and accessible "Fire!"
James Williamson was one of early cinema's most important filmmakers-right up there with fellow Brits Robert W. Paul, Cecil Hepworth and George Albert Smith (who, like Williamson, was also from Brighton and Hove)--as well as Georges Méliès and Edwin S. Porter. Williamson made some of the earliest and then most advanced multi-shot films, including "Attack on a China Mission" (1900), "The Big Swallow", "Stop Thief!", "Fire!" (all 1901) and "The Soldier's Return" (1902). He also made a beautiful single-shot picture called "The Little Match Seller" (1902). Like "Fire!", "The Village Fire Brigade" is, predictably enough, about firefighting. Yet, whereas "Fire!" was a dramatic and groundbreaking picture that inspired Porter's "The Life of an American Fireman" (1903) and a whole genre of early firefighting story films, "The Village Fire Brigade" is a rather broad comedy and an undistinguished production. The later Williamson productions that I've seen, including this one, "Our New Errand Boy" and "An Interesting Story" (both 1905), are all more comedic than his earlier films.
This print of "The Village Fire Brigade" might not be complete and would probably make more sense with a catalogue description, because what I viewed left me guessing at times. The film begins with a man looking for the volunteer fire brigade at the fire station, but they're all at their other jobs, so he runs off to a bar, a bakery and a few other places to collect them. They return to the fire station and, then, race off pushing a hand-operated water pump. There's a scene where they stop and enter the bar for some reason I don't know, and two mischievous boys cause the pump to roll down the street (which is reminiscent of "Our New Errand Boy"). Next, the film abruptly cuts to a scene of them ineptly attempting to put out a fire. Finally, the town brigade, who are, apparently, professional firemen, arrive and start putting out the fire, including the one that somehow caught onto the original fire brigade's rolling pump. The film ends with the burning home beginning to collapse. Anyways, it was interesting to compare this comedic turn of Williamson's on the fire genre with his more acclaimed and accessible "Fire!"
