Harry Buss

Two young men help two girls escape.

Cinema a century ago was a new, exciting and highly democratic form of entertainment. Picture houses nationwide offered a sociable, lively environment in which to relax and escape from the daily grind. With feature films still rare, the programme was an entertaining, ever-changing roster of short items with live musical accompaniment. 100 years on, this special compilation from the BFI National Archive recreates the glorious miscellany of comedies, dramas, travelogues and newsreels which would have constituted a typical night out in 1914. Our selection includes a comic short about a face-pulling competition, a sensational episode of The Perils of Pauline, scenes of Allied troops celebrating Christmas at the Front, and an early sighting of one of cinema’s greatest icons.

Filmed using Vivaphone sound system. This was invented by Cecil M. Hepworth, and performers mimed to a 10" record. In this particular case, the singer and performer are not the same: Harry Buss is lip-syncing to singer Harry Fay (believed to be an alias of Stanley Kirkby).

A man caught in a fight causes pain to his sympathetic twin.

'The intrepid Lt Lilly is called upon to quell a Chinese Boxer rebellion in a spoof adventure serial.' (British Film Institute)