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William Haggar

William Haggar
William Haggar.jpeg
Born Arthur William Haggar
(1851-03-10)10 March 1851
Dedham, England
Died 4 February 1925(1925-02-04) (aged 73)
Aberdare, Wales
Occupation Film director
Years active 1901–1908

William Haggar (10 March 1851 – 4 February 1925) was a British pioneer of the cinema industry. Beginning his career as a travelling entertainer, Haggar, whose large family formed his theatre company, later bought a Bioscope show and earned his money in the fairgrounds of south Wales. In 1902 he began making his own short fictional films, making him one of the earliest directors in Britain. His films were shown worldwide and his short Desperate Poaching Affray is believed to have influenced early narrative drama in American film, especially in chase genre. As a director Haggar is recognised for his use of editing and the depth of staging in his melodramas and crime films.

Haggar was born in Dedham, Essex, where he was apprenticed as a shipbuilder and later a watchmaker. An accomplished musician, Haggar left home at the age of eighteen and joined a troupe of travelling players, working as a stage carpenter. In 1870 he married Sarah Walton, daughter of Richard Walton proprietor of a travelling theatre. The Waltons were a well-known family of professional actors and pantomimists who had been in the entertaining business for many generations. Shortly after their marriage Haggar and Sarah set up their own company. The couple had eleven children, each born in a different county of England and Wales as their toured their show, each of their children brought up to the profession of the stage. Tragedy struck the family in 1890, when their eldest daughter, Nell, drowned in the River Wye while visiting Chepstow. In 1891 with the birth of their youngest daughter Lillian, the Haggars had eight surviving children, all of whom would later form the regular casts of his films.

Moving the theatre deeper into industrial Wales, Haggar found an audience that brought him an unprecedented level of prosperity. The remote villages of Wales welcomed the travelling theatre, known as 'The Castle Theatre', which by now had a repertoire of over a hundred Victorian melodramas and comedies, to which Haggar later included a portable photographic studio having acquired a plate camera. 'The Castle Theatre', his fit-up theatre and their props were originally drawn by horseback, later he purchased a traction engine to do the job. The company travelled around mid and west Wales to the south Wales valleys, wintering in Aberdare.

In 1897, on a trip to London, Haggar visited one of the early cinemas. Captivated by the show he bought a projector from opticians J. Wrench and Sons, for the price of £80–00, either that same year or in 1898. On 5 April 1898 he made his first public performance of his 'Bioscope' show at Aberavon fair making £15–00 on the first night. The films shown were Turn out of the London Fire Brigade (believed to be the 1897 Lumiére film) and Train emerging from a Tunnel. He continued to take his show around the fairgrounds of South Wales and decided to give 'The Castle Theatre' to his eldest son William, while he focused his energies on promoting 'Haggar's Royal Electric Bioscope' show. The family motto of 'follow the coal' almost lead to Haggar's ruin, when the coal strike of 1898 led to the Welsh miners forgoing the luxury of paid entertainment.


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