This odd little film was made at the Paris Exposition of 1900, and shows English music hall comedian Harry Relph (1867-1928). Relph was only 4'6" tall and was one of the 15 children of an innkeeper in Bromley, London. He was also known as "Little Tich" after the Tichborne claimant. This refers to a famous English legal case of the late 19th century.The man who claimed that he was heir to the Tichborne fortune, Arthur Orton, was a big, heavy man; Relph's nickname was ironic. The slang terms titch and titchy, both meaning small, referred to Relph, who made the nickname Tich famous.
This was one of the first attempts to synch a soundtrack with a film (the clunking of the stilt shoes and the music are original to the film, in other words). The "Big Boots" that he wears are 28" long.
More about Little Tich here at Biggin Hill.
Little Tich at Victorian Cinema.
6 comments:
That was cool...
That was different. But I liked it.
The little guy had a great sense of humor too, because everyone knows there's nothing cooler than a Tich's wit.
Grace - I found it last night and it just was - so weird! That this was a big, popular music hall act. And the backdrop is so creepy, too.
Da Old Man - I like it too, but i am not sure why.
HumorSmith - I'll Tich that pun off the list, then.
Well, that was unusual. I had never heard of him.
Max - Me neither. But when I looked over on Google Books he was all over the place. But then Google Books is/are like that, making even the most obscure subject seem like the proverbial talk of the town.
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