Summary
The Death of Poor Joe is a 1901 British short silent drama film, directed by George Albert Smith, which features the director's wife Laura Bayley as Joe, a child street-sweeper who dies of disease on the street in the arms of a policeman.[2] The film, which went on release in March 1901, takes its name from a famous photograph posed by Oscar Rejlander after an episode in Charles Dickens' 1853 novel Bleak House, and is the oldest known surviving film featuring a Dickens character.[3][4]
| The Death of Poor Joe | |
|---|---|
Full film | |
| Directed by | George Albert Smith |
| Starring | Laura Bayley Tom Green |
| Distributed by | Warwick Trading Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | One minute[1] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | Silent |
The film was discovered in 2012 by British Film Institute curator Bryony Dixon, after it was believed to have been lost since 1954.[5][6] Until the discovery, the previous oldest known Dickens film was Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost, released in November 1901.[7]
Cast edit
- Laura Bayley as Joe
- Tom Green as the policeman
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "World's oldest Charles Dickens film discovered". The Guardian. London. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
- ^ Waters, Florence (9 March 2012). "First Charles Dickens film found 111 years after it was made". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
- ^ Vanessa Toulmin, Simon Popple, Visual delights two: exhibition and reception, Publisher John Libbey Eurotext, 2005, ISBN 0861966570, 9780861966578, 266 pages, page 77
- ^ "Earliest Charles Dickens film uncovered". BBC News. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
- ^ "Charles Dickens film The Death of Poor Joe found - oldest ever at 111 yrs". Metro. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
- ^ The Death of Poor Joe in the BFI Film & TV Database
- ^ Kemp, Stuart. "BFI's Bryony Dixon stumbles across "The Death Of Poor Joe," a character from Charles Dickens' "Bleak House."". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
External links edit
- The Death of Poor Joe at IMDb
- The Death of Poor Joe in the BFI Film & TV Database
- The Death of Poor Joe at the BFI's Screenonline
- Film on YouTube
