BFI

Situating itself in the picturesque village of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, and shot from a moving boat, this actuality presents a leisurely view along the Thames in 1899. The river is crowded with men and women taking relaxing rides on what appears to be a sunny weekend. The men and women have dressed up for the occasion, with men wearing boater hats and women in white dresses with large hats and parasols. Although many of them ride in rowing boats, the camera eventually trails two men in a more powerful steam-driven boat, singling them out from all the rest as it follows this faster vehicle towards the Henley Bridge.

Thames River Scene (which may in fact be the film identified as Thames River Scenery - Panorama of the Crowded River in the Hepworth catalogue) gives a taste of the late-Victorian upper classes at leisure. With the period clothing, the boats and the leisurely pace, the film presents a picture postcard idyll that seems almost too perfect to be real.

Christian Hayes

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