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Four young children are filmed playing with strips of 35mm film in the Higgins’ back garden. The two toddlers and two older children hold the camera’s gaze and medium close-ups of each of the children capture their expressions clearly.
Curator’s notes
This segment was probably filmed around 1923 or 1924 at the family’s home in Sydney. It is charming because of the Higgins’ family connection to film. These 35mm film strips in the children’s hands were a common item around the Higgins’ family home. According to Ernest’s son Bryce (who is probably one of the toddlers in this clip), the dining room table always had film strips and cans of film on it. Both Ernest and his brother Arthur had their own darkrooms, where they were able to print and develop film at home.
The National Film and Sound Archive has recorded two oral histories with Bryce Higgins in which he recounts his family’s involvement in the film industry.
