A Victim of Misfortune
About A Victim of Misfortune
A young painter tips a pot of paint over a policeman. The policeman chases him through the streets. A laundress, a milkman, and a growing crowd join the run. The film is also known as The Unfortunate Policeman.
Cast & crew
More about A Victim of Misfortune
Robert W. Paul produced this British chase comedy in 1905. Catalogues also list him as director. Wikidata times it at 4 minutes. Michael Brooke, for BFI Screenonline, calls it an elaborate chase that uses real streets, part of Paul's move out of the studio. Ian Christie notes that treating a policeman this way would soon be barred by the British Board of Film Censors' list after 1912.
Themes
Making
Paul shot the run in real streets instead of on a staged corner.
Look
The camera follows the painter, the painted policeman, and the crowd through actual streets.
Preservation
A print is on Wikimedia Commons under the title The Unfortunate Policeman.
Notes
- The Commons file is titled The Unfortunate Policeman.
- The chase adds a new pursuer in each street rather than staying with the policeman alone.
Scenes
- The paint pot goes over the policeman.
- Laundress, milkman, and bystanders pile into the chase.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (The Unfortunate Policeman (1905) - yt.webm)
