Frank Ormiston-Smith

On september 28th, 1903, the Urban Mountaineering Expedition, headed by Frank Ormiston-Smith, left Zermatt to attempt the conquest of the Matterhorn. On the 29th, the conquest was completed by the filming of the panorama from the actual summit of the mountain. The film consists of 20 scenes and illustrates the whole ascent from Zermatt through the Hornli Ridge. A copy of the film was found in Zermatt in 1953 and was was erroneously attributed to Frederick Burlingham and dated 1901. Since then, the film has been widely publicized as the first mountain film under the title of 'Cervino 1901', but this is incorrect.

In 1906, the Arlberg Railway, which connects the Austrian cities of Innsbruck and Bludenz, is the only east-west mountain railway in Austria. This 340-second "ghost railroad ride" shows the view from the back of a train, though I'm not sure if it's heading east or west. This kind of film, in vogue at the time, is an intermediate form of short reality, which often showed a train engaging in a bend, and a feature documentary. Its editing is live, linear and temporal, and the cuts are very apparent. Indeed, the choices of where to place the cuts seem to have avoided the less populated stretches. There are plenty of buildings to see, even when the train is not at the station.

A 1905 film by the Charles Urban Trading Company.

A collection of early British Films from the Filmoteca de Catalunya. Films include: Brighton Seagoing Electric Car (1897), The Inexhaustible Cab (1899), From Dalmeny to Dunfermline, Scotland via the Firth of Forth Bridge (series) (1899), Review of Lord George Sanger's Circus by the Queen (series) (1899), Sanger Circus Passing Through Inverness (1900), The “Poly” Paper Chase (1900), The Wintry Alps (series) (1903), An Affair of Honor (1904), Perzina's Troupe of Educated Monkeys (1904), Elephants Bathing in Ceylon River (1904), [Drill of the Reedham Orphans] (c.1904–1912), Venice and the Grand Canal (1901?/1904?), Edge's Motor Boat. The Napier Minor (1904), Fixing the Swing (1904), Eccentric Burglary (1905), Her Morning Dip (1906), Automobile Fête Before King Alfonso and Princess Ena (1906), The Royal Spanish Wedding (series) (1906), Lace Making (1908), The Robber's Ruse, or Foiled by Fido (1909).

Scenes from a series filmed for Charles Urban by mountain expert Frank Ormiston-Smith, including The Battle of the Snow, Ski Jumping in the Alps, and Outing of the Ski Club.