Oldest Dickens Film Discovered

The oldest surviving film featuring a Charles Dickens character has been discovered, in the year of the 200th anniversary of the author's birth.
The Death of Poor Joe, discovered by the British Film Institute (BFI) dates back to March 1901.
The discovery was made by BFI silent film curator Bryony Dixon whose research reveals this to be the earliest film made featuring a Dickensian character.
Until now the earliest known Dickens film was Scrooge or Marley’s Ghost ( November 1901).
"It's wonderful to have discovered such a rare and unique film," Ms Dixon said.
"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 Death of Poor Joe will be screened as part of the Dickens bicentennial celebrations on 9 March and 23 March at London's BFI Southbank.
The film organisation said it is also planning to release the footage on a DVD at a later date.
(LB)