Girls Looking at Film and Giggling

One of the earliest amateur film portraits, and certainly one of the most charming.

Just try to watch this Edwardian home movie without cracking a smile. The giggles of Mavis and Margaret Passmore as they examine a 35mm film strip are certainly infectious. The filmmaker, their father Herbert, makes the shrewd move of giving the girls something to do, adding the movement that separates this from a still photographic portrait. In capturing the life and animation of these giggling girls, this wonderful amateur film bridges the century between us in seconds.