The
Great Train Robbery, released by the Edison Studios in 1903,
has often been described as the first movie to tell a story. It wasn’t, of course; Georges Melies and
others had been telling film stories for several years; but it was an important
milestone in early film history, especially American film history. It was the first western, that particularly
American genre that would fascinate the world.
It incorporated in a unique way, some of the earliest developments of
film technique: cross-cutting, camera
movement, on-location shooting and double exposure. And better than that, it was exciting, as the Edison catalogue noted,
"This sensational and highly tragic subject will certainly make a decided
`hit' whenever shown. In every respect we consider it absolutely the superior
of any moving picture ever made. It has been posed and acted in faithful
duplication of the genuine `Hold Ups' made famous by various outlaw bands in
the far West, and only recently the East has been shocked by several crimes of
the frontier order, which fact will increase the popular interest in this great
Headline Attraction.” It was the first
American film to be widely distributed and advertised.
The
Great Train Robbery also began the American strain of that cinematic
tradition (again, also exemplified by Melies) of the film auteur, (Producer/Director/Writer.) In this case the auteur was Edwin S. Porter,
who had started off as an Edison cameraman.
Unlike Melies, Porter was not a performer or any way connected with
entertainment. He was a technical sort,
who was fascinated by electricity; and learned the technology of the time in
the navy. After the navy, Porter got a
job as a touring projectionist with a fledging New York film company, largely
based on his electrical knowledge. In
1899, he joined the Edison company. He
was soon put in charge of all film production, and in this capacity he functioned
as cameraman, director and editor. In
the first decade of the 1900s, he was the most influential filmmaker in
America.
Edwin S. Porter
Early in 1903, Porter had made the Life of an American Fireman, which was a big commercial success. On the basis of this, Porter undertook the
longest American film to date (12 minutes), The
Great Train Robbery. The basic story
is simple: a train robbery, a chase, and
a gun battle. Looking at the film today,
it may seem interesting, but not that terribly exciting. To really appreciate it, you need to imagine
the mind of a 1903 Nickelodeon goer, who
had never seen anything like this before.
Up to this point, films were usually only a few minutes long and
featured street scenes and common everyday activities like dancing or
walking. In this context, The Great Train Robbery was
revolutionary for audiences of the day.
The actors are uncredited on film, but included Alfred
Abadie, who supervised Edison’s “actuality” films (the precursor of the
documentary). The cast member who went on to the greatest fame was Bronco Billy
Anderson, who later became one of the first big stars of the early westerns. Anderson went on to star in over 148 silent
westerns before 1920. He became a
producer and retired in the 1950s. He
lived to the ripe old age of 90, dying in 1971.
Bronco Billy Anderson
As they used to say, “And now the movie, Folks!” I’ll have a few more comments afterward. Enjoy!
I didn’t want to spoil the end for those of you who
didn’t know about it. The famous image
of the gunman firing his pistol directly at the camera was sensational in its day
(men bolted for the door, women fainted.)
The actor whose iconic image is still known today was Justus D. Barnes,
an early film actor. He appeared in many
silent films and had wide range, playing Ham Peggotty in a 1911 film adaptation
of David Copperfield. Barnes died in 1946, and thousands turned out
for his funeral. Eulogies were given by
John Wayne and Charlie Chaplin.
Porter continued making films until 1915, when he
became the head of company that manufactured motion picture cameras. He worked on technological improvements and held
several patents. Here’s an extra
treat. I wouldn’t want to have mentioned
it without you getting a chance to see it.
So here’s Porter’s earlier film, Life
of an American Fireman, made in 1903.
Enjoy!
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