Tag: Walter R. Booth
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Top 10 Silent Space Films
It was a trip to the moon in 1902 that gave birth to the narrative film, and propelled cinema forward. The theatrical fairy-tale A Trip to the Moon turned French director Georges Méliès into the uncrowned king of international cinema. The silent era provided some of the timeless classics of…
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The Automatic Motorist
(4/10) In 1911 British film pioneer Walter R. Booth updated his five years old film The ‘?’ Motorist with better effects, more outer space madness and a robot. Technically brilliant, the six minute short still feels anachronistic in an age where feature films were making their entrance. The Automatic Motorist.…
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The Aerial Submarine
(4/10) A man and his daughter are kidnapped by pirates in a flying submarine in this 1910 British action adventure. Walter R. Booth’s story is too ambitious for its budget, and even a great cinema pioneer like he can’t work miracles with plywood and cardboard. The Aerial Submarine. 1910, UK.…
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The ‘?’ Motorist
(6/10) Walter R. Booth’s short film is a subversive and funny trick film about a couple of mad motorists that speed through the British streets, toppling police officers, riding up store fronts and finally circling the rings of Saturn. Inspired by Méliès, but with a creativity of its own. The…
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An Over-Incubated Baby
(5/10) Britain’s first sci-fi film features a marvelous incubator. The short comedy clip was directed by Walter R. Booth, early cinema’s most prolific science fiction director and the artistic dynamo behind early British cinema. An Over-Incubated Baby. 1901, Great-Britain. Directed by Walter R. Booth. Produced by Robert W. Paul. IMDb…
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The Airship Destroyer
An action-packed British short from 1909 depicting future warfare with missiles and airships. Walter Booth directs with typical energy and audacity and some of the physical effects are very impressive for their time. However, the design of the film is amateurish, the model work crude and the substitution splices sometimes…
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The Trailblazers
Early cinema was the pulp fiction of its time: a crude and undistinguished novelty, and just as with other lower-tier entertainment, there were surefire moneymakers: nudity, shock, thrills and escapism. And thanks to the possibility for movie magic, science fiction was popular in these early days. All the pioneers dabbled…
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