Movies: Walter R. Booth

BBC Four’s new documentary takes us on a journey through more than a century of animation. It examines the creative and technical inventiveness of some of the great animation pioneers who have worked in Britain – trailblazing talents such as Len Lye,...

A miser dies of shock when the ghost of a poor woman appears....

An inventor uses a wireless controlled flying torpedo to destroy enemy airships....

Trick film. A stage magician transforms a woman into a butterfly and himself into a giant bat. This film is considered lost....

Filmed in 35mm and in black and white, this short silent film was produced by the English film pioneer R. W. Paul, and directed by Walter R. Booth and was filmed at Paul's Animatograph Works. It was released in November 1901. As was common in cinema'...

The scene is a railroad track on the side of a steep mountain, with a tunnel in the background, toward which a train is running at a high rate of speed. At this instant the audience is appalled at the sight of a second train rushing out of the tunnel...

A Swiss tourist knocks the head off a negro waiter....

An up to date idea and a great picture. The professor sits in his laboratory with his newly invented baby incubator. A mother who is anxious for the growth of her child enters, places her baby in care of the professor, who promptly places it in the i...

A magical glowing white motorcar ignores policemen, drives up buildings, flies through outer space, and can transform into a horse and carriage....

A mix of spectacle, animation and dance, the film reveals an early delight in the potential for creative fun with film form. Its director, Walter R. Booth had been described as making British films which attempted to out-Méliès Méliès....

An artist draws the head of a pretty girl, takes the drawing off the paper and places it on a small table, turning the image into the head of a real woman. He then continuous drawing the lady, one body part after the other....

Stop-motion animation of putty modeling itself into faces....

A man and a woman talk beside a street near a corner where a cop stands. Just as a horse-drawn cart rounds the corner, the man backs off the sidewalk saying good-by to his companion. The horse and cart flatten him and continue on, out of the camera's...

Using a futuristic submarine, pirates kidnap a young couple, torpedo a passenger ship, travel under the sea to salvage bullion, then make their escape by taking to the air....

A magician performs tricks. First with a top hat, then with his audience....

Filmed on a mountain railway from Caux to Rochers de Naye, Switzerland. Originally filmed in 68mm. The film was advertised as being available in 'standard Edison gauge' (35mm) at a total length of 620ft, which included both ascent and descent. The su...

On the roof of an ancient palace appear a young Knight and his lady. While they are making love an ugly old witch appears and is rather troublesome. The Knight commands her to leave, and when he is about to force her away she sits on her broom and ri...

Animated film featuring the hand of Walter R. Booth drawing a coster and his donah who come to life and dance. The hand then crumples up the paper and dispenses it in the form of confetti. (BFI)...

Anarchists build a super aircraft and bomb a railway, a fort and St. Paul's....

An old proprietor is startled and haunted by the strange happenings inside his curiosity shop....