Daylight Burglary

Historian Barry Salt makes some fine points on this one; its fluidity of shots to create exciting action surely do owe much to James Williamson's films, including "Stop Thief!" and "Fire!" (both 1901). In turn, "A Daring Daylight Burglary", in addition to similar British crime chases at the time, such as "A Desperate Poaching Affray", had a significant influence on Edwin S. Porter's "The Great Train Robbery" (1903). British filmmakers, like Robert W. Paul, George Albert Smith, James Williamson and the fellows who made this film, were at the forefront of inventing film techniques and grammar in the beginning of cinema's history.

Perhaps, the earliest crime chase was the aforementioned "Stop Thief!" Comparing it to these later incarnations illustrates what the genre did in establishing continuity editing and other film techniques. "Stop Thief!" breaks the rule of the axis of action of direction across the screen (a rule not yet invented): when characters exit the frame to the right, for example, in one shot, they enter the next shot at the right, rather than from the left. Williamson may have been imitating the grammar of theatre here, since there was no precedent in cinema. In subsequent films, including the 10-shot "A Daring Daylight Burglary", however, action is continuous by association of shots through continuity editing.

The thread from "Fire!" to this film and then to "The Great Train Robbery", with others in between, is also demonstrated in their "operational aesthetic" (as historian Neil Harris phrased it). Like "The Great Train Robbery", this one presents the violent actions in a straightforward and distant manner because of the aesthetic of showing the details, the operations, of the events. The same sort of curiosity was at work in "Fire!", where the operations of firemen are shown in detail. Thus, we have to see exactly how the injured policeman is taken away before the film resumes with the chase. Two other particular similarities between this and "The Great Train Robbery" are that they both feature an escape by train, and in a fight scene in each, a substitution splice is used for the tossing of an obvious dummy.

This early British film from the Sheffield Photographic company was one of two films that heavily influenced Edwin S. Porter when making The Great Train Robbery - a film which is erroneously credited with creating the narrative film. This film - at five minutes, quite long for its day - depicts, well, a daring daylight robbery, which is witnessed by a conscientious young boy who races to a nearby police station to raise the alarm. The film then follows the police's pursuit of the burglar over rooftops, down hillsides and across rivers, and it all makes for quite an exciting spectacle. I have to say the British were leading the way in the early years of the 20th century when it came to film production. While Edison and Vitagraph were shooting street scenes ad-nauseum, the Brits were coming up with action-packed blockbusters like this.

I watched this film on a DVD that was rammed with short films from the period. I didn't watch all of them as the main problem with these type of things that their value is more in their historical novelty value rather than entertainment. So to watch them you do need to be put in the correct context so that you can keep this in mind and not watch it with modern eyes. With the Primitives & Pioneers DVD collection though you get nothing to help you out, literally the films are played one after the other (the main menu option is "play all") for several hours. With this it is hard to understand their relevance and as an educational tool it falls down as it leaves the viewer to fend for themselves, which I'm sure is fine for some viewers but certainly not the majority. What it means is that the DVD saves you searching the web for the films individually by putting them all in one place – but that's about it.

Worth remembering the role that Britain had in the development of silent cinema and this impressive film is one way to remember it. This is a chase film about a botched robbery (100 years later and we're still making 'em!) that goes across rooftops, streets and train stations. It is quite thrilling even now to watch and I imagine back in the day it must have been quite something to have seen this action movie that runs to five minutes. Technically it is impressive and the selection, framing and editing of shots makes the film flow really well.

It won't amaze modern viewers but to help put it in perspective think about how the Bourne films have gripped and thrilled audiences with their movement and action – now imagine the impact this must have had on viewers back when it came out. Impressive.

This is an interesting early crime/chase drama, and it seems to have been quite carefully made for its time. You can see why the story of the "Daring Daylight Burglary" was one of the better-known pictures of its era. The settings are realistic, and there is a lot of action, with quite a few developments taking place in just a short time. Apparently, it originally had a narration designed to accompany it and explain the action - since the use of title cards was not yet the norm - but even without the narration, it is usually clear enough what is happening, since most of the scenes are pretty well-conceived. The occasional small gaps seem to be physical defects in the film due to its age, rather than flaws in the original. It's a pretty efficient feature, with good story-telling for its era.