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Although Brighton-based photographer turned film pioneer Esmé Collings is believed to have made at least nineteen films in 1896, this and Children Paddling are the only two surviving titles that can be attributed to him with reasonable certainty, though he is also believed to have made the risqué A Victorian Lady in her Boudoir that same year. A typical actuality short of the period, the film's content is neatly encapsulated by the title, with an unknown person or persons tossing pennies down from Brighton's still just about standing West Pier (only the supporting struts are visible) and a group of boys, apparently supervised by at least one adult, trying to catch them in the tidal shallows. One boy seems reluctant to join in, spending much of the running time hovering gingerly on the right-hand side of the frame before turning towards the camera. Whether planned or not, his presence has the effect of strengthening the composition and adding human interest to what would otherwise have been a mass of indistinguishable boys looking for something too small for the camera to resolve. Michael Brooke
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Complete film (0:55)
