A little over a decade in the past, a curator on the British Movie Institute (BFI) discovered the previousest surviving movie featuring a Charles Dickens character, “The Demise of Poor Joe.” The silent movie, directed by George Albert Smith in 1900, brings to life Dickens’ character Jo, the crossing sweeper from Bleak Home. Prior to this discover, the title of the previousest recognized Dickens movie belonged to Scrooge, or, Marley’s Ghost, which premiered in November 1901.
Professionalviding extra contextual content for the movie, the BFI writes:
This tragic brief movie is predicated on the stage professionalduction of Poor Jo the Crossing Sweeper, which itself adapted one of the have an effect oning stories in Dickens’ epic novel Bleak Home. This brief movie may be very a lot an adaptation of the stage version, wherein a follow-spot recreated the evening watchman’s lamp. As Joe dies, never having been taught to wish, the sunshine additionally represents the redemptive mild of heaven.
The character of Joe was popularised within the nineteenth century by actress Jennie Lee, who toured her performance round Europe and the USA. Right here Joe is performed by Laura Bayley and the Evening-watchman by Tom Inexperienced. Each actors had been regular collaborators with the Brighton-based moviemaker GA Smith (Bayley was his spouse).
You’ll be able to watch the movie, courtesy of BFI, above.
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