Early
Films of Interest 1894-1918
1894
Chinese Laundry
William Kennedy Laurie Dickson
notes: Shot in the "Black Maria" by Dickson for Kinetoscope.
1896
The Irwin-Rice Kiss
William Kennedy Laurie Dickson
notes: This was the first censored film. It highlights a kiss sequence
from the play "The Widow Jones." The short film consists of a close-shot
of a couple engaged in a kiss. What is striking is the detail seen in
their complexion.
1895
The Execution of Mary Queen of Scots
Alfred Clarke
notes: The film features the first visual special effect of stop-motion.
Made for Kinetoscope it features the lifelike execution of Mary (played
by a male actor and a dummy) as an anxious crowd watches.
1895
Dickson Experimental Sound Film
William Kennedy Laurie Dickson
notes: The soundtrack has long been lost for this pioneering film which
ran at kinetescope speed, which was 46-48 fps. Today copies projected
at 16 fps look slow. Dickson starred in this
short which featured two men doing a dance.
1896
Feeding the Doves
Edison Studios
notes: Here we see Edison imitating the Lumiere brothers. A woman feeds
a yard full of doves.
1896
Morning Bath
Edison Studios
notes: A black woman soaps her young child in a tub.
1896
Burning Stable
Edison Studios
notes: Horses and carriages are driven out of a smoking stable.
1896
The Black Diamond Express
Edison Studios
note: Another Edison clone of the Lumiere's "Arrival of a Train." The
train comes in from a distance bystanders watch it pass. People experiencing
film for the first time run out of the theater in fear.
1897
New York Street Scenes
Various Directors
notes: Shots of raised train systems in New York.
1897
Fatima
International film Company
note: Censored and uncensored versions of this short featuring a belly
dancer were released.
1897
Dewar's Scotch Whiskey
Erwin S. Porter
notes: The first commercial! This film was projected on an outdoor billboard
by Porter before
he worked for Edison. The short featured men dancing in kilts.
1898
Goldrush Scenes in the Klonike
Edison Studios
1899
A Wringing Good Joke
Edison Studios
notes: Early example of slapstick in film.
1901
The Funeral of Queen Victoria
R.W. Paul
notes: Produced in England this actualite showed a procession of horses
drawing a casket with
crown.
1903 Reproduction of McGovern-Corbett Fight
G.W. "Billy" Bitzer
notes: Fighters staged for film their title bout. Bitzer later worked
for D.W. Griffith.
1905
Rescued by Rover
Cecil Hepworth
1906
San Francisco Earthquake
Edison Studios
notes: Photographer R.K. Bonine captures actual earthquake footage for
the first time on film.
1907
The Pumpkin Race
Louis Feullade/Romeo Bosetti
1908
Rescued From an Eagles Nest
(made in 1907/released in 1908)
dir: J. Sir Dewley
supervisor E.S. Porter
st: D.W. Griffith
1908
At the Crossroads of Life
Wally McCutcheon
1908
First Wright Flight in France (1908)
Gaumont
photog. Felix Mesguich
1909
Meeting of the Motion Picture Patents Company
Biograph
1912 O
Onesime Horlager
Jean Durande
1913
Miss Davison's Funeral
Pathe
notes: British made/distributed by French
1918
Sinking of the Austrian Battleship "St. Stephen"
Unknown
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