Friday, August 6, 2010

Great old footage of the Chipperfield Circus

OUT TAKES / CUTS FROM CP 521 - reel 2 of 2 - British Pathe

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

The show is being loaded for the voyage to South Africa. I've done that trip several times from Southampton to Cape Town. It takes 12 days and is a pretty rough trip, especially crossing the equator, where the temperatures and humidity are unbelieveable. I wonder how the polar bears fared on the trip and in South Africa.
I didn't see that year's show. The cage act I saw was Dickie Chipperfield's leopards.
I recall the wire act, but as good as it was, I was dissapointed (I was a kid at the time), because the posters showed the head to head trick on a very high wire - I felt cheated.
I don't know how long they were in South Africa, but the couple of times I saw it, the acts were all different.
I remeber an Arab liberty, young elephants working with Welsh ponies, Spanish themed High School which was unusual in that the male riders also had a female rider sitting on the flank, The big chimp act, Roagana's sword balance, a poodle act.
Geeze, I'm amazing myself at how much I remember 40 some years later

johnny said...

Lots of elephants. Assume its Dick Sr. Maybe Ivor Rosaire. Nice circus stuff behind the glamour and glitter. Black freisians with ponies. Very good. Certainly Europe had great trainers and wonderful circuses. These videos are so nice to see. Just when we think we are the greatest thing that ever happened some of these old videos, and newer ones as well are sobering to be sure. Seems like your old boss produced some sensational animal acts over the years. Not many of late quite like him. Money helps. The great railroad shows in twenty era were pretty special Al. G. Barnes, HW, SF. John Rob. Sparks, etc. And of course GSOE. Glad it is documented.

johnny said...

Who is "anonymous" Would like to hear more detail. Hope you can "dig" him out Thanks Wade.

Wade G. Burck said...

Col. Herriott,
Agreed, each generation had their great ones, and not so great ones, and videos/movies are much more revealing then still photo's for sure. John Cuneo is a unique individual for sure. The "American Eric Klant" is proof that that uniqueness came from both sides of, as John Cooper would say, "the mackerel pond." I wish I had been able to see into the future, and see what was coming for the industry we love, because I sure would have done a lot more recording and picture taking.
Wade

Anonymous said...

The first part of the film is of Billy SMART`S polar bears probably being shown by Walter Milde. The footage of Chipperfields looks like their farm at Heythrop, later a base for Jim Clubb. John L Chipperfield is shown along with Horses and elephants. Dick SNR and Sally Chipperfield ( with camel) who later married Jim Clubb, also Dickie with Charlie the chimp. The show toured South Africa for 4 years and resumed tening in the UK in 1969.