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In spite of widespread public fear of aliens and anarchists, films could
often poke fun at these despoilers of the British way of life. Indeed, many of
the films featuring anarchists were comedies, among them Jimson Joins the
Anarchists (1911); The Baby and the Bomb (1911), in which a baby frustrates an
anarchist plot; George Robey Turns Anarchist, PC Nabben and the Anarchists and
Pimple, Anarchist (all 1914).
Here, the anarchist (in the usual beard) makes increasingly violent advances to a woman. She is rescued by an honourable Englishman who sees off the foreigner. Planning his dastardly revenge, the anarchist is outwitted by his
dog, which retrieves the bomb, blowing up his master. Of course, more dramatic
films featured the real fear of anarchism and associated terrorist activities. A
French and American President had been assassinated and Princess Ena, Queen
Victoria's youngest grandchild, had an anarchist's bomb thrown at her wedding
carriage in 1906. Such dramatic films included The Anarchist's Doom (1913);
Aerial Anarchists (1911), in which St Paul's Cathedral is bombed; Lt Rose and
the Royal Visit (1911) and The Great Anarchist Mystery (1912), in which a ship
carrying a Grand Duke is saved from an anarchist's plot.
Simon Baker
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Complete film (3:54)
