Charles Dickens: World's oldest surviving Charles Dickens film from 111-years ago found after going missing for half a century, 31 yrs after his death. (DAILY MAIL)

Film made in 1901, 31 years after Dickens' death Thought to have been inspired by Dickens' novel Bleak House

By RACHEL RICKARD STRAUS PUBLISHED: 06:09 EST, 9 March 2012 | UPDATED: 19:04 EST, 9 March 2012

 The oldest surviving film based on the works of Charles Dickens has been discovered. The Death Of Poor Joe, inspired by Bleak House, dates back to March 1901 but lay unnoticed in an archive for decades. The minute-long clip, made by British film pioneer G.A. Smith, was given to the British Film Institute in 1954 by a collector, but was catalogued under the wrong name and date.


  


‘It’s wonderful to have discovered such a rare film so close to Dickens’s bicentennial,’ she said. ‘Not only does it survive, but it is the world’s earliest Dickensian film. It looks beautiful and is in excellent condition. 'This really is the icing on the cake of our current celebration of Dickens on Screen.' The film beats the previous record holder, Scrooge; or, Marley’s Ghost, by several months. It depicts the crossing-sweeper from Bleak House – played by Smith’s wife Laura Bayley – being found by a nightwatchman as she freezes to death in the winter snow.


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