The Man Called Edison

Heat. Heat. [music] [music] [music] Heat. Heat. [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] In 1888, Edward Mbridge, who had already earned a place in early film history [music] with his experiments with motion, had a meeting with a young inventor named Thomas Alva Edison to discuss the development of a machine for making pictures move. But Edison was busy with his invention of the cylinder phongraph when it became a commercial success. He at last turned to the idea of motion. An Edison employee, a young Englishman named William Kennedy Lorie Dixon, worked diligently [music] in the mysterious room five of Edison's West Orange, New Jersey laboratory and produced a machine not unlike Edison's cylinder photograph. It used a sheet of celluloid film [music] around the cylinder and produced both picture and sound. [groaning] But the picture and sound were poor. Edison got the first real concept of practical motion pictures in 1889 while visiting the French inventor Moray in Paris. As an outgrowth of his visit, the horizontal feed camera appeared in 1891. And here presented is one of the earliest and rarest known motion [music] pictures ever made on a strip of film. [music] [music] To Thomas Alva Edison, who helped develop the motion picture into the only genuine art form [music] of this century, this film is dedicated [music] The Penny Arcade was the flourishing entertainment center before the turn of the century, and its brightest new [music] acquisition was the Edison Kettocope. For just one nickel, one viewer could look through the kettocope and see over 30 seconds of continuous motion on a moving strip of film. Many years later, Will Hayes, then president of the Motion Picture Association of America, [music] and Mrs. Edison looked at one of the first models. The kettocope [music] itself was a large box containing a continuous strip of motion picture film, [music] a light source, and an eyepiece for viewing. Mr. Hayes, like two generations before him, watched some of the original kettocope films [music] produced before 1900. There were almost always one simple shot, such as the pie eating contest, filmed in October of [music] 1897. In it, we see a very early example of artificial lighting used in an American motion picture. The kettocope's unofficial public debut was on May [music] 20th, 1891 to guests of Mrs. Edison. From a newspaper item of the event, they saw through the eyepiece the picture of a man. He bowed and smiled and took off [music] his hat. That man was Mr. Dixon, a very important man in the infancy of the motion picture. Because the copyright law at the time made no provision for the [music] registration of motion pictures, Edison and other early film producers had to register their works [music] as photographs until 1912 when the law was amended. Until then, copies on [music] paper prints were made from the original negative and deposited with the Library of Congress. Although film production on an experimental basis started in 1891, with the exception of those few [music] presented, none exist today. including the first known film filed for copyright on October 6th, [music] 1893. Generally conceded to be one of the earliest motion pictures and the second to be copyrighted was the Edison [music] Kettoscopic Record of a Sneeze, January 8th, 1894, starring Fred Aut, an Edison employee. Be careful not to blink your eyes [music] or you'll miss it. The Chicago World's Fair of 1893 featured the world famous belly dancer Fatima, who was the first to bring down the wrath of the sensors on a motion picture. The fair also provided the background for the display of Edison's newest inventions, including the kettocope, which presented this film, a reproduction of the fountains of Versailles, which was also a World's Fair exhibit. Perhaps even more daring than Fatima's girrations, however, was the May Irwin John Rice kiss, which shocked audiences at the turn of the century. It was on April 4th, 1894 that the first public showing of Kettocope motion pictures for a fee took place at the Holland Brothers Kettocope Parlor on Broadway in New [music] York City. Featured in the early kinettocope presentations was Sandal the strongman who was also the star of this souvenir strip of the Edison kettocope. Gentleman Jim Corbett met pugilist Peter Courtourtney before the Edison camera on September 7th in the last film copyrighted in 1894. [music] Trains in no matter what part of the world were a fascinating movie subject for the Edison cameramen and this arrival of a train in Tokyo was no exception. The Philadelphia Express was another train film which interested the unsophisticated audiences of the day. [music] The famous Black Diamond Express sometimes caused audiences to panic when it was later projected [music] on a movie screen. [music] Even the New York elevated railway was a subject for the Edison cameras. And we see one of the most imaginative uses of [music] cinematic motion and depth ever to appear in any of these early films. As the L approaches the 104th Street curve, [music] Although this short film of the Southern Pacific Overland Mail was copyrighted [music] in 1897, it may well be one of the oldest films in existence since evidence indicates that it was shot [music] in 1893 or even earlier. This type of locomotive was discontinued by the railroad in 1894. It is also known the earliest movie experiments were sometimes photographed [music] at speeds almost twice that now used, which accounts for the slow motion effect when projected today. Although the early Edison cameramen didn't realize it, they were documenting the way people and places look just before the new century arrived in [music] such exotic places as this market scene in Mexico. This street scene in Honolulu, Hawaii is complete with trolley cars. The quality of the preserved paper prints you are seeing varies greatly from acceptable to poor, but these are the best known surviving copies available today. Beginning in 1953, film historian Kemp Kner spent a total of 13 years restoring [music] the surviving paper prints back into their original film form through a grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences [music] and later by an act of the United States Congress. In this view, we see a regiment marching in far away Hong Kong. Because dancing was full of motion, the dances of the Pueblo Indians were a natural for location shooting. This Indian circle dance has its copyright notice flashed on the screen in the middle of the film, as did many of these early views in an attempt at some legal protection. While much of the history of these early days is clouded, it is now known that the majority of what is called the Edison motion picture work was actually done by Edison's employee, William Kennedy Lorie Dixon, who not only had the interest, but [music] the skill to accomplish the work and should have received most of the credit. of Edison. The magazine Electrical World in September of 1889 said, "With all due [music] credit to his inventive genius, it is yet permissible to think that [music] his greatest art is that of coining money through the collective work of others." Sports before 1900, of course. Here's a typical baseball game of 1898. And here's another ball game shot in Edison's backyard. It's the first known home movie ever made in the United States. [music] [music] Boxing got into the act too in this early fight scene shot on location. But the biggest portant of things to come was this cigarette commercial filmed in 1897. In the 70s, the same type of commercial was reluctantly abandoned by television. [music] [music] In order to provide continuous sunlight for illumination, Edison's associates created the first studio made specifically for movies, officially called the Revolving Photographic Building. According to Edison's accountbook, it was completed on February 1st, 1893 at a total cost of $63767 [music] and consisted of a tarpaper box stage which revolved on its axis to catch the sun's rays at any angle. It was quickly and aptly named the Black [music] Mariah. Its interior was the scene for short vaudeville turns, comedy incidents, and feats of skill by well-known personalities [music] who wished to perform before the Edison camera. A typical one was this short film featuring the famed sharpshooter Annie Oakley. Another woman, Elola, did her act, an impersonation of Trilby back in 1898. The Bowery Walts became a subject for the Black Mariah Studio, [music] and viewers wished there were some music to hear along with it. From the very beginning, Edison had only thought of motion pictures as something to go along with his beloved photograph. We see now one of the earliest experiments in interior filming with sound as Thomas Dixon played his violin and two other Edison staff members improvised the dance. But the kinetophone, as Edison called it, was not suitable for perfect synchronization. and his films made in the process were sent out with items which did not have to be in perfect sound register such as this merry-goround. [music] It was the roving cameraman, however, who produced [music] the most exciting material in natural settings, even though it was more often than not a reenactment of the event rather than an on the-spot filming. This ambulance [music] attending a street car accident in West Orange, New Jersey, was amazingly real to [music] audiences of the day. This rescue [music] and resuscitation scene was an instructional film made for the United States Coast Guard to be [music] shown to new recruits a few weeks after its completion and over 70 years later to contemporary viewers. [music] [music] Edison cameramen were the first to cover wars and news events [music] in all parts of the world. This scene of the wreck of the battleship Maine was filmed in 1898. [music] The lighter [music] side of the Spanishame war was shown in this short scene of a new recruit being [music] tossed in a blanket. What the cameraman could not film was recreated, [music] such as this scene, which presumably took place during the Spanishame War, but actually was shot [music] in the wilds of New Jersey. [music] Another obviously faked scene [music] to today's audiences was this shot of the American flag being raised over a painted backdrop of Mororrow Castle in 1899. This was filmed in the Black Mariah and caused a lump in the throat of every American who saw it. But this film of the search for bodies after the Galveastston hurricane and tidal wave in 1900 was agonizingly real. These gold miners in the Klondike rocking for gold in 1901 were also very real. The early Edison movies tried comedy, too. And this well planned film called What Happened on 23rd Street not only showed what that New York street [music] looked like in 191, but had a rather naughty climax which elicited gasps as well as laughter from early audiences. Keep your eye on the couple in the center. [music] The subject matter of this short film called Fun in a Butcher Shop would be rejected today on the grounds of bad taste, but people laughed at it then. [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] This comedy vignette called What Happened in the Barberhop? proved that while fashions may have changed since the turn of the century, men haven't. [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] Edison's staff discovered very early the many visual tricks which could be done with a movie camera. This film called the Bibulous Cloier showed that liquor can play funny tricks with a man's mind. [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] Happy hooligan in an airship was one of the first films to utilize the split screen effectively. This short sequence was shot by Edwin S. Porter, who was soon after to film the first important story film, The Great Train Robbery. Trick photography also made the enchanted drawing seem like real magic, and it still manages to be entertaining today. The artist is J. Stewart Blackton, who was later to become Edison's chief competitor when he founded the Vitigraph Studios. [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] Most attempts at film drama, such as this one called Poker at Dawson Creek, were feeble and awkward. It was a Black Mariah production of 1899 and is not as well preserved as some of the other films of that year. [music] The stilted quality of The Tenderloin at Night makes little sense even though the semblance of a plot was attempted. The lack of any explanatory titles makes the film seem confused and the few attempts at action are contrived. But filmed drama would become a [music] staple at the Edison studio within 5 years. [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] This panorama of the esplanade at the Buffalo Exposition was photographed by Edwin S. Porter, who maintained that this was the first motion picture ever taken at night of incandescent light in America. Since early motion picture film was not capable of subtleties [music] of light and shade, this panorama was a remarkable and breathtaking sight. When Edison was advised that showing movies [music] on a wall would increase the number of people who could see them at one time, he bought out the patent of a movie [music] projector invented by C. Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armott, put the Edison label on it, and named it the Vitoscope. Yet Edison hadn't spent the necessary money to cover the international patent on his own kinettocope and thus left the field open to anyone who wanted to market a similar device. In this rare film, Thomas Armott recalls this early invention and his relationship with Mr. [music] Edison. Uh I got in touch with Mrs. Raph and Gammon in the month of December 1895 and Raph and Gammon were the agents for the Connecticut school and I invited Mr. Gammon to come over to Washington, see my predicting machine. Mr. Gammon was exceedingly skeptical and delayed coming until I finally offered to pay all of his expenses. He finally came over. I found him, a very agreeable gentleman and a typical promoter. I invited him down into the basement of my office where I had the machine in operation. And as soon as he saw it, I saw by his expression that he was delighted with the results. Uh we then began to negotiate for some sort of a contract by means of which I could secure Edison Films and he could secure a model of this machine. Subsequent to that, I was invited over to New York or rather over to Orange, New Jersey to give an exhibition for Mr. Edison's benefit and for the purpose of inducing him to make the machines. I was impressed with the way both Mrs. Gammon and Raph dressed and I felt it was more or less incumbent upon me to dress in a somewhat similar way. Uh a short time before this I had been an usher or first or best man at a country wedding and I for that occasion pride myself with a silk hat and a long Prince Albert coat. I dusted off the silk hat and shook out the Prince Albert coat and dressed myself up in these things before I went over to see Mr. Edison and give the exhibition. It must have been rather funny sight. I think Mr. Edison came down to the foundry where we were giving the exhibition dressed in a suit of clothes that looked to me as if it might have cost $4.95 and all the rest of us were dressed up in these tall silk hats and long Prince Albert coats. It was a funny scene. I imagine the exhibition I have just referred to occurred in the foundry of the Edison manufacturing company in the month of January or February 1896. As a result of this exhibition and interview, Mr. Edison agreed to make 80 machines for the use of Mrs. Raf and Gammon and myself. Subsequent to this, I gave the first exhibition ever given in a theater at Cen Beal's Theater on 14th Street in the city of New York in the month of April 1896. Looking back to that date, it seems almost unbelievable that the palaces that are now devoted to moving picture exhibition should have sprung up in the short period of 33 or 4 years. The Vittoscope [music] premiere at Coaster and Deals Music Hall in New York City was presented at the end of a vaudeville show. The program included not only Edison films, but those shot in all parts of the world. Kaiser Wilhelm was shown reviewing his troops in Germany. [music] Audiences marveled at the graceful motions of the butterfly dance. The success of the Vidoscope projector led to the picture parlor, which was located at the darkened end of a penny arcade, a cafe, or a vacant [music] store. Another result was the disappearance of the kettocope as a picture exhibiting [music] apparatus from the market by the end of the century. Coster and be always ended the show with a flag proudly waving and showing its 30 stars. Once films were projected, programs began to get longer and even the Edison studios spoofed movie theaters and [music] their audiences. This 192 comedy, Uncle Josh at the Picture Show, used superimposition to good advantage, and its look at movies and movie goers is [music] still funny today. Even though the movies were less than a decade old, they were already bold enough to satarize themselves. [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] The Edison studio was active until 1917 when it ceased film production, but there were many other studios [music] by that time and film soon went from red in stores and penny arcades into regular theaters. The man who helped develop the motion picture lived to see them talk and appear in color. He was the same man who saw no particular future in the motion picture. The man called Edison. [music] [music] [music] [music] [bell] [music] [music]