Lady Stephenson's Fete: Tiger Shoot

Eccentric home movie scenes of the high life in British India, shot by Lord Stephenson’s private secretary

This film was shot in late-1920s India by Brigadier E. J. Montgomery, private secretary to Lord Stephenson - then Governor of Bihar and Orissa. Opening with the Stephenson animals Tiddles (the dog) and racehorses Brown Boy and Forrester, the film focuses on Lady Stephenson's fete in aid of the Patna Child Welfare Centre (22 November 1928). The mock pagodas and ‘blacked-up’ European guests underscore contemporary colonial attitudes; Lady Stephenson holds a sign bearing the legend “For rich men and rajas only… Come see the robot…”

The remainder of the film includes a visit to a hospital and sugar mill; a stick fighting demonstration by boy scouts; a trip to Government House, Delhi; a tiger hunt involving the usual carnage and a dance performance featuring scenes from the Ramayana.