Tommy Atkins in the Park is an 1898

1898 in film

-Events:*May 19 - Vitagraph is founded in New York.*Birt Acres invents the first amateur format, Birtac, by splitting 35 mm film into two halves of 17.5 mm.-Films released in 1898:*The Ball Game*The Nearsighted School Teacher...

 British short

Short subject

A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...

 black-and-white silent

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 comedy film

Comedy film

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

, directed by Robert W. Paul

Robert W. Paul

Robert W. Paul was a British electrician, scientific instrument maker and early pioneer of British film.-Early career:...

, featuring couple courting in a park who are forced to use desperate measures to get rid of a stout matron who interrupts them. The film was a remake of Alfred Moul's The Soldier's Courtship (1896). It is included on the BFI DVD R.W. Paul: The Collected Films 1895-1908 and a clip is featured in Paul Merton

Paul Merton

Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...

's interactive guide to early British silent comedy How They Laughed on the BFI website.