British and Colonial Films was a British company making predominantly

silent films A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, whe ...

in London between 1908 and 1924. It was also known by the abbreviation B & C. The British and Colonial Kinematograph Company was formed in 1908 by Albert Henry ("Bert") Bloomfield (c.1882–1933)Biography of A. H. Bloomfield at British Universities Film & Video Council
/ref> and John Benjamin ("Mac") McDowell (1878–1954).Biography of J. B. McDowell at British Universities Film & Video Council
/ref> At first it operated from a rented basement in central London, using a single camera and developing the negatives in McDowell's house, but soon moved to

studios A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial d ...

at Newstead House in

East Finchley East Finchley is an area in North London, immediately north of Hampstead Heath. Like neighbouring Muswell Hill it straddles the London Boroughs of Barnet and Haringey, with most of East Finchley falling into the London Borough of Barnet. It has ...

, London. It developed a reputation for both documentaries and feature films, notably the '' Lieutenant Daring'' series, featuring Percy Morgan, and the '' Dick Turpin and Don Q'' films. Nicholas Hiley, ''Encyclopedia Of Early Cinema: British and Colonial Kinematograph Company''
/ref> By 1912 it had begun making longer films, such as ''

Robin Hood Outlawed Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

'', and using location footage, some shot by Fred Burlingham. Film & TV Database
/ref> It also covered important news stories such as the funeral of

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

and the

Coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

, as well as major sporting fixtures. Biography of J. B. McDowell
/ref> In 1910 the company made a film of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

and, in 1912, filmed the F.A. Cup Final and the

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

, as well as in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. In 1913, after Bloomfield had left the company, the studio made what has been cited as "the first British

epic film Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...

", ''The Battle of Waterloo''. This was filmed by director Charles Weston at

Irthlingborough Irthlingborough () is a town on the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England. It had a population of 8,900 at the 2011 census and was the smallest town in England to have had a Football League team, Rushden & Diamonds F.C., prior to the ...

in Northamptonshire. It was made "less as a drama and rather more as a recreation of historic actuality" and contained "elaborately recreated scenes... from the point of view of an ordinary soldier in the thick of the battle".Luke McKernan, ''The Battle of Waterloo: or, Why Can't We Film Such a Thing If We Won the War in the First Place?'', 1996
/ref> It was nearly an hour and a half long – much longer than most others of the period – and was filmed using hundreds of extras, in five days, at a cost of £1,800, most of which McDowell raised by remortgaging the company. McDowell sold the British rights for £5,000, and raised even more from overseas rights. Two reels and a further fragment, representing roughly half of the film, are now preserved in the

BFI National Archive The BFI National Archive is a department of the British Film Institute, and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was founded as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren. In 1955, its name became the N ...

. A

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

of the film, ''The Adventures of Pimple: The Battle of Waterloo'', written and produced by Fred and Joe Evans, was produced and released within a month of the original film. In 1919, the director of ''The Battle of Waterloo'', Charles Weston, jumped to his death from the 18th floor of the Aeolian Building in New York City. The company moved to new studios in a converted

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

rink in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

in 1913. For a time, it employed the exiled American director

James Young Deer James Young Deer (April 1, 1876 – April 6, 1946), also known as J. Younger Johnson or Jim Young Deer, was actually born James Young Johnson in Washington, D.C. Although he was identified in the early Hollywood trade paper Moving Picture World as ...

.Matthew Sweet, ''The first Native American director. Or was he?'', The Guardian, 23 September 2010
/ref> In 1915, the company was one of several to take over British filming on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

, later releasing footage as ''The Battle of the Somme''. The company filmed ''

The Life of Shakespeare ''The Life of Shakespeare'' is a 1914 British silent biographical film directed by Frank R. Growcott and J.B. McDowell and starring Albert Ward, Sybil Hare and George Foley. It follows the life of the English playwright William Shakespeare. ...

'' (1914), and two versions of ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

'', in 1915 and 1923. The first version is of historical interest for its use of a primitive sound process called Voxograph, which required offstage actors to dub the voices at the same time that the performers were filmed. The second version in 1923 is the earliest surviving British film, visualising the play in about 22 minutes, and retaining many of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's lines as

intertitles In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...

. ScreenOnline: The Taming of the Shrew
/ref> The company was wound up in 1924.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Filmography at IMDb
*Gerry Turvey, ''Ideological Contradictions: The film topicals of the British and Colonial Kinematograph Company''

History of film Film production companies of the United Kingdom Mass media companies established in 1908 Mass media companies disestablished in 1924 Mass media companies based in London 1924 disestablishments in England 1908 establishments in England British companies established in 1908 British companies disestablished in 1924