James J. Taylor ("Jimmy")

Jimmy Taylor started in the film industry in 1910, working in the darkrooms at Pathe Freres. He spent four and a half years in darkroom work, both at Pathe and at the Williamson Film Company, before joinging Eclair as a cameraman. Taylor then joined Cines, and by October 1918 he was working as a newsfilm cameraman for Gaumont. It was claimed that Taylor ‘always had steak and Bass for breakfast,' and a cartoon published in the Kinematograph Weekly that month shows him with a Gaumont camera case and tripod, and a bottle of Bass labelled ‘LUGGAGE.' In November 1918 Taylor filmed the surrender of the German navy for Gaumont, working from a destroyer with Humfrey [qv]. He obtained 2,000 feet of film, including a scoop of ‘the German flag being hauled down below the British ensign,' and managed to reach London four hours ahead of the opposition. Some of Taylor’s footage was used in the item ‘FALL OF GERMANY’S NAVAL POWER’ in Gaumont Graphic No.802-1 of November 1918.

In 1919 Taylor was cameraman on the Atlantic production ‘Lads of the Village,' but by 1920 he was recording himself as ‘with Gaumont’s most of [the] time as chief operator, topical.' He later did freelance work for the Topical Budget, where his first recorded items appear in No.575-1 of August 1922. Major stories for the Topical Budget include ‘LLOYD GEORGE RESIGNS’ for No.582-2 of October 1922, filmed with Tassie [qv] and Gardner [qv]; ‘THE NEW GOVERNMENT’ an item filmed at 10 Downing Street with Bovill [qv] for No.584-1 of November 1922; and the wedding of the ex-Kaiser, also filmed in November 1922 with Yates [qv] for No.585-1.

Taylor’s last recorded item for Topical Budget was ‘ARMISTICE DAY - 1923’ for No.638-1 of November 1923. After that he returned to Pathe, where his first surviving credit is in the camera team for ''THE GOLD RUSH’ RACE’ in Super Sound Gazette No.31/96 of November 1931. There is a large gap between his credit for ‘OLD ENGLISH’ in No.32/25 of March 1932, and the restarting of his regular credits with ‘FINALS AT WIMBLEDON’ in No.35/54 of July 1935. This may indicate a period of other work, but Patrick Wyand [qv] recalled that when he joined Movietone in 1934, Taylor ‘was with Pathe as a cameraman...and was on the road a number of years later.' Taylor indeed received frequent credits, the last surviving one being for ‘THE DERBY, 1938’ in Pathe Super Sound Gazette No.38/44 of June 1938.

Sources

Kinematograph Weekly, 28/11/1918, pp.56, ‘Filmtown Rambles,' and 66, ‘Trade and General News’: Kine Year Book 1921, p.594, ‘James J. Taylor’: P. Norman ‘The Newsreel Boys,' Sunday Times Magazine, 10/1/1971, p.13: J. Ballantyne (ed) ‘Researcher’s Guide to British Newsreels: Vol.II’ (1988), p.36.