De Forest Phonofilm

British music hall entertainer Dick Henderson sings "I Love Her All the More" and trills out a resounding ode to his beloved in this early sound recording, stopping to aim some rather less romantic jibes at his wife before delivering a rousing encore.

An early Photofilm of the Victoria Girls' vaudeville routine.

'Billy Merson, the great Nottingham-born music hall performer, presents one of his signature numbers. The film clearly captures Merson's comic brilliance - he not only sings, but dances, skips and indulges in a lot of creative business with a lyre. Merson had been making films since 1915 and Desdemonia is often cited as Britain's first sound film.' (Robin Baker, BFI)

A film of the hugely successful British musical comedy revue, 'Mr Tower of London'. Written by Archie Pitt in 1918 who played the role of Mr Tower on stage and in this film. The actress in the part of Sally Perkins is unknown but is speculated to be Betty Driver, as the 3rd actress to take this role (the 2nd was Barbara Bartle). The original actress was Gracie Fields, who was married to Archie Pitt, and had left the production by 1924. The stage production had three scenes in Act 1 and two in Act 2. It is confirmed that at least one scene, 'Mr Tower Drives The Omnibus' (Act 1 Scene 3) is in this film. The stage version ran to over 4000 performances until the mid 1930s, so this film captures one of the most successful British shows of the 1920s period. It is an early sound film using Phonofilm, an optical sound film technology invented by Lee de Forest. It is likely made at that company's Clapham Studios facility, based in a railway arch. A 35mm print is held by the BFI.

Short film with the popular song.

British music hall star Leslie Sarony sings "When You're Up to Your Neck in Hot Water (Think of the Kettle and Sing)" in a short film produced in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process.

A film of a stage sketch c. 1927 where two sailors visit a coffee stall whilst walking through London at night and various surreal events take place, with the two sailors eventually ending up running the stall themselves. A De Forrest Phonofilm production.

Gwen Farrar, vocal, and Billy Mayerl, piano and vocal, perform "I've Got a Sweetie on the Radio" by Billy Mayerl and Kenneth Western, in a short film produced in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process.

In this incomplete print, Squire promises a “Cook’s Tour” of Russia, India, Italy, Finland, and Ireland. Russia is represented by Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, India by Amy Woodford-Finden’s ballad “Pale Hands I Loved Beside the Shalimar”. Bizarrely, a snatch of Mozart’s overture to Le Nozze di Figaro, set in Seville, appears to represent Italy. Lost footage robs us of Finland, and most of Ireland too.