artistic talent based on film

Bamforth was a talented artist. He would paint spectacular backcloths and use costumes and props to film in sets of tableaux.

It was a natural step to moving pictures in the final years of the 19th century.

Bamforth became a successful film maker at a time when the industry was in its infancy. Film historians now see his offerings as the earliest examples of British comic film.

When war broke out in 1914, movie-making in Holmfirth came to an end.