Panorama of Calcutta
About Panorama of Calcutta
A camera on a moving boat looks along a river front. People go down into the water. Boats and rafts sit offshore. The Warwick catalogue sold the view as Calcutta. The BFI's Jez Stewart writes that the ghats match Varanasi, more than 400 miles farther up the Ganges.
Cast & crew
More about Panorama of Calcutta
Warwick Trading Company issued Panorama of Calcutta, India, from the River Ganges. The 1901 Warwick catalogue called it one of the company's Indian views. Denis Gifford credits the camera to John Benett-Stanford. Colonial Film notes that biographies of Benett-Stanford do not mention an Indian trip, and that some accounts leave the cameraman unnamed. The BFI holds a 35mm print of 77 feet.
Themes
Background
Warwick sold Indian travel views to British audiences as pictures of the empire. This one was catalogued as Calcutta.
Look
The camera rides a boat and looks at the bank, a phantom-ride setup. John Benett-Stanford is the name usually attached to that camera, with the credit still argued.
Preservation
The BFI National Archive holds a 35mm print of 77 feet.
Notes
- Colonial Film times the BFI copy at 1 minute. The BFI clip runs 1 minute 16 seconds.
- The BFI inventory number cited by Colonial Film is 20538.
- Another title used for the view is Local Scenes Calcutta.
- Benett-Stanford had filmed the Battle of Omdurman in 1898 and left for South Africa in October 1899 to film the Boer War for Warwick.
Scenes
- Pilgrims go down the steps into the river while the boat keeps moving.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Panorama of Calcutta.webm)