Friday, May 25, 2012

Silent Film - The Great Train Robbery 1903


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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