20,000 Employees Entering Lord Armstrong's Elswick Works, Newcastle-upon-Tyne | movie | 1900 | Official Featurette - video Dailymotion

This film is part of the Mitchell and Kenyon collection - an amazing visual record of everyday life in Britain at the be | dG1fU3dLSzBVekpwcTg

Transcript

00:00 This was also filmed as part of the Lancashire Wakes films in association with Captain Tom

00:12 Payne, a showman based in Ashton, and it was shown, we believe, at Hollywood Wakes in July

00:17 1901.

00:20 This film shows the industrial importance of the factories to local Lancashire cotton

00:26 and woolen communities.

00:28 Over 20,000 employees were supposedly working for Lord Armstrong's Elswick Works.

00:35 At the top right of the screen, Ralph Pringle in the top hat and the most smartly dressed

00:39 of the people and a cigarette in mouth can be seen descending through the crowds, walking

00:43 towards the camera and actually choreographing again the movement of people in front of the

00:50 camera.

00:51 When this film was advertised in the Oldham area, a note to the showman said that local

00:55 pictures are the keynote of all animated picture shows in the district this week.

01:00 The films were actually commissioned the week before the annual wakes, so the workers would

01:05 often work a double shift in order to get the week off for the wakes weeks.

01:10 Ralph Pringle at this time was actually working in partnership with A.D.

01:14 Thomas, but by January 1901 had formed his own company.

01:21 When the Thomas Edison Animated Photo Company came to Newcastle in November 1900, two of

01:27 the most consummate showmen working for A.D.

01:30 Thomas were actually filming on behalf of the Thomas Edison Animated Photo Company.

01:41 The marketing attraction of this film was apparent as Thomas and Pringle advertised

01:45 this film as over 20,000 faces appearing in three minutes.

01:53 Local newspaper reports and showman papers at the time always used people's reaction

01:59 to the camera as part of the advertising policy with comments of "Oi Bill, that's me" or

02:04 "Did you see yourself last night on the screen?"

02:07 into a popular aspect of the advertising campaign.

02:24 [music]

02:44 [music]

03:11 .