George Francis

British lecturer, cameraman

The connection between music hall and early cinema in England was a strong one, and George Francis who was the 'lecturer' at the first performances of Lumière's Cinématographe at the Polytechnic in Regent Street, London, had previously been associated with the 'Royal Standard'. Later replaced by M. Pochet, he became an exhibitor for the Lumière's, and from July 1897 to the end of 1898 demonstrated their Triograph. At the beginning of 1901 he was working for the Warwick Trading Company and was responsible for organising their coverage of the Queen's funeral. By June 1902 he was filming for Robert Paul, and clips from two films he shot at Marlborough House survive in the English copyright records.

Richard Brown