Launching Pad

Back to Even When an expert counterfeiter finds himself in debt to a dangerous bookie and on the run from the mob, he races to clear his name and settle the score.

Tram Ride from King Stre... As well as its extensive railway network, Cork was served by an impressive tramway system, which was just four years old when this film was made. As the tram veers into Bridge Street the filmmakers capture an excellent panorama of Patrick's Bridge, one of the city's major landmarks, and the bustling atmosphere of the commercial centre. This kind of 'phantom ride' was a staple of early film.

Life in Wexford These short scenes were filmed in January 1902 in and around Wexford's Bull Ring market, capturing an array of local characters, including a cheery fishwife. Children and members of the Royal Irish Constabulary mingle with the traders and customers. The Mayor of Wexford, in his official regalia, appears with his daughters. The films were later shown at the Theatre Royal, Wexford. This film was shot during a two-day visit to the South East Ireland town by Mitchell and Kenyon cameraman Louis De Clercq. The man in the pale hat seen walking arm-in-arm with another man towards the camera may be Hugh McCarthy, manager of Wexford's White Hotel. The same man reappears later, alongside the mayor and his daughters.

Trade Procession at Open... A ceremonial procession through what is thought to be Western Road to mark the opening of 1902's momentous Cork Exhibition. Marchers represent the Irish National Foresters and local clothing factory Sunbeam Industries, and there are also religious tableaux, including a live-action depiction of Adam and Eve. At the end, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland is accompanied by a mounted guard of honour.

Sports Day at Queen's Co... This lively series of shots of crowds enjoying various events at a university sports day was filmed on the grounds of Queen's College Cork (from 1908, University College Cork). This was next to what is now Fitzgerald Park, host to the 1902 Cork International Exhibition - the bridge-like structure visible in the background is the exhibition's water chute, long since dismantled.

Panorama of College Gree... These evocative scenes of Edwardian Dublin include views of the old houses of parliament (later home to the Bank of Ireland), and the gates of Trinity College. By 1902 the city's tram system was already electrified and this film shows a busy urban Dublin. The once-famous statue of 'King Billy' (William of Orange) on horseback can also be seen; it was later damaged by republicans and removed.

A Tough Dance A man and a woman, both dressed in rough clothing, go around and around, half dancing and half wrestling, until they tumble to the ground in a heap. The Apache dance was named not after the Indians of the American Southwest, but the lower class demimondaines of Paris. Acts like this were popular because they permitted their audiences to go slumming, attending events that looked and seemed risky but in truth were not. Acts like this were part of the reason that public dancing was often seen as disreputable. Polite society restricted their dancing to private parties where dances like the waltz and polka -- which had been shocking half a century earlier -- were performed. It would take the influence of Vernon and Irene Castle and the rise of night clubs during Prohibition to make public dancing respectable again. In the meantime, there's this. It's not very graceful.

Wexford Railway Station A beautiful shot of a locomotive billowing smoke begins this very evocative film. As the train pulls in to the terminus the camera is positioned behind the ticket barrier to record smartly-dressed passengers disembarking along the length of the platform. A carriage seen at the end carries advertising for the White's Hotel, where Belgian-born cameraman Louis de Clercq stayed during his visit.

Albert Quay in Cork A film from the UK based Mitchell & Kenyon.

Preparation of the Cork ... Filmed around a month before the opening of the exhibition, these scenes show work still being carried out on the grounds, including the water chute (some 60 feet high) on the River Lee. The grounds were later renamed Fitzgerald Park after the Lord Mayor. The exhibition would have been the talk of Cork, so this film was virtually guaranteed an eager audience, fuelling even greater anticipation.