‘The Cheese Mites’: The pioneering nature documentary that was banned in the UK
Before Alice Guy-Blaché made the first narrative film – 1896’s La Fée aux Choux – most examples of early cinema were documents of places and people, such as factory workers or families. However, as the medium developed, filmmakers realised the potential of cinema to make educational or observational pictures that could simultaneously thrill audiences while teaching them something new.
One of the earliest examples of British documentary-making came in 1903 with Francis Martin Duncan’s The Cheese Mites, a short film which sees a man tuck into his lunch, only to discover that his cheese is crawling with mites, depicted through a microscope lens. While modern viewers are used to seeing images captured through microscopes – most of us have likely used one in school – for audiences at the turn of the 20th century, this short clip would have been revolutionary.
The film was made as part of a series called The Unseen World, which was played at London’s Alhambra Music Hall. Alongside The Cheese Mites, a collection of other educational movies were shown, making them the first-ever scientific films. These other titles included The Pugilistic Toads, The Fresh Water Hydra, The Frog, His Webbed Foot, And the Circulation of His Blood, The Circulation of the Protoplasm of the Canadian Waterweed and Chameleons Climbing and Feeding.
The screening also included a performance of ‘Asrah the Floating Princess’ by the illusionist Servais Le Roy, providing the audience with even more amazement. Yet, The Cheese Mites was the most memorable entry to The Unseen World series, perhaps due to the fact it confronted audiences with the truth behind a beloved meal staple. The creepy crawlies were projected largely on screen, putting many people off the idea of ever eating cheese again.
The Cheese Mites was made as a collaboration between Duncan, an amateur microscope enthusiast and Charles Urban, an entrepreneur and producer. Yet these men would soon feel the wrath of censorship as British cheesemakers worried that the film would cause cheese sales to decline. Thus, the film became one of the first ever banned pieces of cinema, although it is now widely available to view online.
The shocking nature of The Cheese Mites resulted in an early spoof movie, The Unclean World, made by Percy Stow. The film depicts a man who discovers bugs in his cheese sandwich, coaxing him to whip out his microscope and inspect the mysterious creatures. Instead of showing us real footage like The Cheese Mites, we are shown two beetles, which are quickly revealed to be wind-up toys.
Discover The Cheese Mites below.
