The Burning Stable 1900

Directed by Cecil M. Hepworth

A dramatic scene - and exactly what moving pictures were invented for. With a fixed camera and without a traditional narrative, this film nevertheless tells a compelling story as a cast of men and boys fight an impending crisis. It's not known whether this fire was real or staged, but the tension is palpable as horse after horse emerges from the smoking barn. There's even comedy in the foreground as one man loiters at the pump a little too long, sloshing bucketloads of water on to the ground. (BFI.org.uk)