Footpads
Encyclopedia
Footpads is an 1896
British short
silent
drama film
, directed by Robert W. Paul
, featuring top-hatted pedestrians against a rainy London backdrop, who is assaulted by three footpads and rescued by a passing policeman. The "atmospheric" film, "is chiefly of interest for its imaginative approach to background décor," where according to Michael Brooke of BFI Screenonline, "some effort has been made towards establishing a sense of realism." Roland-François Lack of University College London points out that this painted backdrop, "is a hybrid of Trafalgar Square, with its electric advertisement for Bovril, and Piccadilly Circus, with the advertisement for Mellin's food."
1896 in film
-Events:* January - In the United States, the Vitascope film projector is designed by Charles Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armat. Armat begins working with Thomas Edison to manufacture it....
British short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
silent
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, directed by Robert W. Paul
Robert W. Paul
Robert W. Paul was a British electrician, scientific instrument maker and early pioneer of British film.-Early career:...
, featuring top-hatted pedestrians against a rainy London backdrop, who is assaulted by three footpads and rescued by a passing policeman. The "atmospheric" film, "is chiefly of interest for its imaginative approach to background décor," where according to Michael Brooke of BFI Screenonline, "some effort has been made towards establishing a sense of realism." Roland-François Lack of University College London points out that this painted backdrop, "is a hybrid of Trafalgar Square, with its electric advertisement for Bovril, and Piccadilly Circus, with the advertisement for Mellin's food."