The oldest surviving film based on the works of Charles Dickens has been discovered after lying unnoticed in an archive for more than 50 years. The Death of Poor Joedates from 1901 and is thought to have been filmed in Brighton. The minute-long movie was made by British film pioneer GA Smith and was given to the British Film Institute in 1954 by a collector who had known Smith, but was catalogued under a different name and incorrect date.
The BFI’s silent film archivist, Bryony Dixon, who found the film, said: “It’s wonderful to have discovered such a rare and unique film so close to Dickens’s bicentennial. Not only does it survive but it is the world’s earliest Dickensian film. It looks beautiful and is in excellent condition. This really is the icing on the cake of our current celebration of Dickens on Screen.” The film depicts Jo, the crossing sweeper from
Bleak House
, being found freezing to death in the winter snow by a night watchman. It will be screened as part of the
Dickens: Pre-1914 Short Films
programme this month at the BFI Southbank in London. – (PA)