Updated: Blackburn's Cinematography Pioneers

I had a nice surprise in my emails this morning.  Barry Noon, the President of Blackburn and District Camera Club and friend forwarded an email about an 1880 camera built by Sagar Mitchell of Northgate Blackburn.

Sagar Mitchell

It turns out that Mitchell was one half of Mitchell & Kenyon that were early film pioneers in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

Mitchell had been a photographer and manufacturer of photographic equipment while Kenyon had manufactured automated slot machines.  The combined talents of the both of them would lead to developments and archives that still exist today.

They formed their partnership in 1897 under the trade name of Norden and the company became one of the largest producers of film in the United Kingdom.  Their first showing of a film was reported to be of Blackburn Market (that was located in King William Street adjacent to the clock) and was show at Mitchells premises of 40 Northgate on the 27^th November 1897.  In 1899 a travelling showman commissioned the pair to make a film of people leaving factories for the Easter Fair.  The same year Norden released three fictional films, The Tramp’s Surprise, The Tramps and the Artists and Kidnapping by Indians.  These led to more and more commissions from travelling showman and cinemas.

Norden soon outgrew it premises and the pair bought 22 Clayton Street which would become Blackburn’s very own film studio.  Although their production of fictional films was limited they had an indoor and outdoor studio at the premises as well as using locations.

The pair made films across many genres their most famous and historically important being their ‘topicals’.  These were documentary films that depicted ordinary life in Edwardian Britain.  They feature mill workers, Easter Fairs, Temperance marches, Wakes Week holidays in Blackpool and Morecambe and emigrants boarding ships in Liverpool bound for Boston.

News also became a big part of the company’s business.  The film troops leaving and returning from the Boer War, shot war re-enactments in the surrounding countryside of Blackburn using smoke bombs and guns for special effects; they were responsible for the first crime reconstruction film, The Arrest of Goudie in 1901 which was made and show just three days after the arrest of Thomas Goudie.  Sports news also became a regular feature of their work with local football teams often being the subjects.

They also shot some slapstick comedy films that no doubt influenced the Keystone Cops and Charlie Chaplin (Chaplin performed at the Theatre Royal, Ainsworth Street, Blackburn in 1903 and 1905).  Their most famous comedy film was called Diving Lucy of 1903 and was filmed in Corporation Park.

In 1907 Mitchell resumed possession of his original business in Northgate and from here on the volume of film production began to decline.  By 1909 films were only being made in the local area with the last surviving film being made in 1913.  In 1922 the partnership was dissolved with Kenyon dying in 1925 aged 75.  Mitchell continued to runs his photography business with his son until his death in 1952 aged 85.

Many of their films were stored in the basement of the Northgate business and were uncovered by workmen.  The films have been restored and are now in the possession of British Film Institue.