This film is part of Free
Thames River Scenery - Panorama of the Crowded River
Don your straw boater and join Victorians at play as you potter down the river at Henley-on-Thames
Overview
Filmed from the front of a steam launch in a late Victorian summer, this film offers a glimpse of our 19th century ancestors enjoying their leisure time. The River Thames is crowded with pleasure boats as we glide under Henley Bridge. Ladies in white lace dresses recline under parasols as gentlemen with impressive moustaches take the oars. But even in this antiquated idyllic scene, advertising hoardings on the riverbank try to persuade the moneyed classes to part with their cash.
The technique of placing the camera on a moving vehicle, here a boat, was one of the most popular film effects in the very early cinema period. The waterside panorama method employed here was particularly popular for travelogues. Cecil Hepworth, who made this film, was convinced at the time that the cinema would prove to be used mostly for news reporting, but said that work such as this "showed some slight perception of scenic value". That makes this almost an early art film.
Related
The Henley Regatta The Henley Regatta
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Silent Location: Henley-on-Thames
It's the first weekend of July 1901, and high society are on the Thames
Arrival of Train-load of Visitors at Henley Station Arrival of Train-load of Visitors at Henley Station
Non-Fiction 1899 1 mins Silent Location: Henley-on-Thames
Jolly boating weather as the hordes descend on Henley for the Regatta.
The Turn of the Tide The Turn of the Tide
Amateur film 1934 12 mins Silent Location: London
Hunger marchers demonstrate and the London season opens: the contrast between rich and poor in 1930s Britain
Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta
1974 3 mins Location: Henley-on-Thames
Visit the 1974 Royal Regatta in this film from the Central Office of Information
Where Alfred Built Where Alfred Built
Travelogue 1929 11 mins Silent Location: Lewes
From Lewes to York, Pathe Pictorial takes a whistlestop tour of the picturesque sights of England
Outing on the Thames Outing on the Thames
Amateur film 1933 9 mins Silent Location: Henley-on-Thames
An interwar outing on the River Thames with a reminder of the Great Western Railway's influence in Birmingham.
Joanna Scanlan - Exclusive Q&A Joanna Scanlan - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 51 mins
Actor and writer Joanna Scanlan talks to Mia Bays, director of the BFI's Filmmaking Fund, about her career in film and television.
Baldwin's N***** Baldwin's N*****
Documentary 1969 44 mins
Horace Ové's striking portrait of the American writer James Baldwin at his sharp-witted best addressing a group of radical West Indian students in 1960s London.
Shoot Your Shot Shoot Your Shot
Drama 2022 12 mins
An emotional stand-off takes flight, as teen best friends Ronit and Brennan come to terms with navigating that fuzzy feeling in their stomachs, all whilst learning to skateboard.
Look Like You Look Like You
Drama 2022 13 mins
While visiting the adoptive family of her eight-year-old biological son, Tara relays advice she gathered from growing up as a queer outcast.
Yellow Yellow
Drama 2023 13 mins
In Taliban controlled Afghanistan, Laili walks into a Chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full body veil from a Talib shopkeeper and face a new future.
Nehemich Nehemich
Drama 2023 23 mins
Banished in a dilapidated village hut during her menstruation, a young girl waits to elope with her lover.