Motor Pirates
R: Arthur Melbourne Cooper. P: Alpha Trading Company. UK 1906
Print: BFI
“An unusual spoof of the crime dramas that were a prevalent genre about this time. In this film by Arthur Melbourne Cooper an armoured car terrorises a rural neighbourhood, capturing animals and people and killing anyone standing in its way. The armoured car attacks a group of men and a young girl runs to fetch a policeman. He and his colleagues sets up a pursuit by motor car and the chase ensues. After several episodes where the police are frustrated in their efforts to catch the villains they chase the armoured car into a river where it sinks with all hands before exploding. The gang of police are strangely reminiscent of the Keystone Kops, although that happy band would not be formed for some years, and are caricatured as stupid and chaotic.”
Bryony Dixon
Screen online
THE EARLY SILENT ERA 1895-1915