Mary Jane's Mishap (1903)

Laura Bayley, the most prolific British actress of the period and the wife of director G.A. Smith, shows her flare for clowning in this uproarious black comedy. Mary Jane learns that lighting your hearth with a tank full of paraffin may not be the safest of household chores, in a stern tale that could have come from the pages of 'Struwwelpeter'. As in much of Smith's work, the film delights in its trick effects, including an explosion and the apparition of a ghost. (Alex Davidson) You can also see Laura Bayley in 'The Old Maid's Valentine' (1900) - For more information about filmmaker G. A. Smith see All titles on the BFI Films channel are preserved in the vast collections of the BFI National Archive. To find out more about the Archive visit