Made in the year in which the First World War broke out, the film Historic Mutiny Sitesmakes mobile and visible the locations of British heroism of an earlier military campaign. It would be wrong, however, to make direct claims about the message that the filmmakers intended to convey: their range of locations expands beyond the mutiny sites, and their footage of the sites is not only concerned with memorialising British resilience.

The film does fulfil the task of document several of the ‘Historic Mutiny Sites’, as outlined in its opening title card. The sites around Delhi are, by and large, effectively labelled, with intertitles that detail the location that is shown as well as the events that took place there, i.e. ‘where Gen Nicholson Fell’, ‘cross and ball riddled during siege’, ‘where six soldiers destroyed powder and themselves to save capture by enemy’. However, the intertitle detailing the Magazine Gateway erroneously appears before footage of the Mutiny Monument, and early scenes showing a war-damaged city wall and an archway are not identified. In addition there are some anomalous scenes, including untitled footage of Indian troops disembarking a train and, more peculiarly, a section titled the ‘Arrival of Nizam of Hyderabad: The Dhrangadhra Camp’. Dhrangadhra is in West India and was not troubled by the Indian Rebellion. Moreover, the Nizam of Hyderabad was loyal to the British during the mutiny (Hibbert, 1980, 375). These scenes instead capture something of the opulent lifestyle of the Indian Princes: the Nizam’s richly ornamented carriage can be seen among the grand marquees that make up the camp.

The camera operator employs a number of devices in filming the mutiny sites. The establishing shots of the Delhi Fort are used to capture the size of the building: there is a cut from a shot in which this building occupies as much of the frame as possible, to one that indicates the scale of the people within this massive edifice. St James Church, meanwhile, is attractively framed. It is first shot through the trees in the churchyard. Here, the white building provides a strong contrast with the darkness of the trees. Similarly, in scenes that are possibly shot within the Delhi Fort, good use is made of light and shade: shadow is used to contrast the left and right sides of the image. Most of the scenes are filmed from a number of angles. As well as using long shots to situate each site, medium shots and medium close-ups are employed to depict details, such as an inscription on a plaque or the damage from cannon and gunfire.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this film is that, as well as filming the sites, the camera operator looks at the human activity that takes place around them. There is footage of the Indian military personnel who stand on guard at General John Nicholson’s statue, the Mutiny Monument, and St James church. It is apparent that it is only the sites with monuments to British victims that are guarded. Meanwhile, Delhi’s fortifications have been reabsorbed into the daily life of the city. Some of the activity here is military. A static camera position is used within the fortifications, allowing a number of different people to enter the frame, among them a large number of Indian troops. A static camera is also employed at St James Church, and here Indian civilians casually enter the frame. Elsewhere, the film deliberately focuses on Indian civilians, and the mutiny sites then serve as backdrops. In the early, untitled scenes the camera operator is keen to show the traffic that passes by the mutiny sites, capturing the pedestrians and the horse-drawn carts. There is also footage of a group of Indians working on some cloth in the street. Outside the Delhi Fort there are shots of Indian musicians. These people appear to have been arranged for the camera, and many of them look directly at it. What is perhaps most notable about this footage is that it precedes the establishing shots of the fort. Despite its title, this film appears to be as interested in the present life of India as it is in the historic sites of British heroism.

Richard Osborne (February 2010)