Film
director Barry Bliss has uncovered Walthamstow's forgotten silent
studios in Wood Street.
There
are real parallels with Hollywood in Walthamstow,” says
film director and scriptwriter Barry Bliss. He has been on the
judging panel for this year’s Walthamstow International
Film Festival and has been impressed with the calibre of talent
taking part. However, he is keen to delve further into the
cinematic history of the town he has lived in for 35 years and
has been campaigning for a permanent monument to Walthamstow’s
Silent Film Studios in Wood Street. Barry has recently released a
book of photography called, Art As An Act Of War, which features
shots of local photographers using an original 1930s film camera.
He
explains why it is important people don’t forget about such
a defining part of British cinematic history.
He
says: “There seems to be a complete and utter indifference
to the cinematic industry, even though the first film
distribution company in Britain was founded in Walthamstow.
“The
film studios were only there for a very brief time, from 1910 to
1926, as they just died out but even in that short space of time,
they left a huge legacy that is unfortunately unknown about.
Film
companies chose Walthamstow as a location as it they wanted to
get away from the crowds of London, as people kept getting in the
way of the shot. The Gobbett brothers, who were film pioneers,
decided to build a purpose-built studio in 1910 called Precision
that was on the corner of Wood Street. A few studios followed
suit including Broadwest, British and Colonial and IB Davidson.”
Barry
admits that he only found out about the studios after he moved to
Walthamstow after getting married 35 years ago, as the people in
the area were full of stories from when they were growing up in
the area.
He
says: “When I first got married, we bought a little house
in Ravenswood Road and our next door neighbour was a very elderly
lady. I got chatting to her one day and she remembered as a small
girl, a film crew from IB Davidson set up their cameras in her
front garden and were making films about anarchists.
“Some
were dressed in black and were carrying a ball with a fuse coming
out of it, which had the word ‘bomb’ written across
it, in case the audience was in any doubt about what it was.
She
said her mum came out and chased them away as they hadn’t
asked permission to film there. That was what got me onto the
idea that these film studios were around here.”
Barry
feels it is a shame that the old buildings are no longer around
for people to visit and learn more about.
He
says: “The buildings are long gone, as they were just
rebuilt and redeveloped into factories over the years. The sad
thing for me was that part of IB Davidson was only pulled down
last year, as the back of the building was the original studio,
although the rest of it was originally built to be a tram shed.
It was a very long, low building and was taken over and adapted.
I was gobsmacked to see it had disappeared and there was just
rubble.
Precision
was purpose-built to be studio, as was Broadwest and British and
Colonial was actually a roller skating rink that was taken over.
These companies were very good at taking over old buildings and
adapting them, which is why I think they are no longer there, as
they keep being reused for different things.
People
can’t just drive along and have a look now and even if they
go past the old sites, they won’t give it a second thought
or even realise the significance of what it is.”
Barry
says he will keep campaigning to keep the memory of the film
industry alive, despite ongoing redevelopments in Walthamstow.
He
says: “The pub down Wood Street is still there and that is
where they used to get the extras for the films, who wanted to
earn sixpence and I remember talking to someone down there who
said that if you couldn’t afford to pay full price to see a
film, you could pay a penny to sit behind the screen and watch a
film in reverse. This was popular among children, who liked to
watch movies in reverse as it was cheaper for them.
The only other
location that still exists is the dairy building down Wood
Street. The last time I looked, the courtyard was there and was
still cobbled. They shot some of the movie Dick Turpin there, so
at least there is something left but sadly, I’m sure it
will be developed over soon.”
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