Historic Films Stock Footage Archive: VM-747

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00:00:50 0	PANORAMIC VIEW OF BOSTON SUBWAY FROM AN ELECTRIC CAR, EDISON (1901). THIS SHOWS A SHORT STREETCAR RIDE THROUGH A SECTION OF THE BOSTON SUBWAY DURING ITS CONSTRUCTION IN 1901. BOSTON.
00:02:28 97.5	PANORAMIC VIEW OF CHARLESTON EXPOSITION, EDISON (1902). THE CAMERA WAS PLACED IN ALMOST THE CENTER OF THE COMPOUND AREA BY THE EXHIBIT BUILDINGS, AND THE CAMERAMAN BEGAN TO PHOTOGRAPH AND PAN HIS CAMERA SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE FILM CONSISTS OF PICTURES OF THE WALKWAYS, POOLS OF WATER, BRIDGES OVER THE POOLS, EXHIBIT BUILDINGS, BANDSTANDS, STATUARY, AND DECORATIONS OF ALL NATURE THAT, PUT TOGETHER, MADE UP THE EXPOSITION IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA IN 1902.
00:05:50 299.5	PARADE OF SHRINERS, LUNA PARK, CONEY ISLAND, AM&B (1904). A CONVENTION OF THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF SHRINERS WAS THE SUBJECT OF THIS FILM, PHOTOGRAPHED AT LUNA PARK IN CONEY ISLAND, NEW YORK. DURING THE FILM, MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZATION CAN BE SEEN PASSING THE CAMERA POSITION ON CAMELS OR HORSES, IN HORSE-DRAWN VEHICLES, OR WALKING. ALL MEMBERS OF THE PARADING GROUP WERE ATTIRED IN SOME SORT OF DISTINGUISHING REGALIA.
00:08:27 456.5	PARADE OF WOMEN DELEGATES; WORLD'S FAIR, AM&B (1904). [LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION, ST. LOUIS] AS THE TITLE IMPLIES, THE FILM SHOWS WOMEN DELEGATES PARADING AT THE ST. LOUIS WORLD'S FAIR IN 1904. THEY ARE EMPLOYEES OF THE NATIONAL CASH REGISTER COMPANY.
00:09:56 545.5	A PHENOMENAL CONTORTIONIST, EDISON (1901). THE FILM IS MADE UP OF A COMBINATION OF AN EXTREMELY AGILE CONTORTIONIST AND HIS APPEARANCE AND DISAPPEARANCE BY THE USE OF STOP-ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY. AS IT BEGINS, THERE IS A SIMULATED STONE FENCE FROM WHICH A FIGURE DRAPED IN A SHEET APPEARS. WHEN THE SHEET DISAPPEARS, THE FIGURE BECOMES A MAN DRESSED FROM HEAD TO FOOT IN TIGHTS. THIS INDIVIDUAL THEN PERFORMS ALL MANNER OF ACTS OF CONTORTION. WHEN A PROP IS NEEDED, IT APPEARS BY STOP ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY. AT THE END THE ACTOR DISAPPEARS IN THE SAME MANNER.
00:11:48 657.5	PIE EATING CONTEST, EDISON (1897). THIS SINGLE-CAMERA POSITION FILM SHOWS THE HEAD AND SHOULDERS OF TWO MEN ENGAGED IN A PIE-EATING CONTEST. THEY SUCCEED IN DEVOURING THE PIE BUT NOT IN KEEPING THEMSELVES CLEAN. THIS PRODUCTION REPRESENTS A VERY EARLY AMERICAN USE OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT IN MOVING PICTURE PHOTOGRAPHY.
00:12:56 725.5	POOR JOHN, BELCHER AND WATERSON (1907). A YOUNG MAN DRESSED IN A TUXEDO WALKS TO CAMERA CENTER IN FRONT OF A WALL THAT IS VERY DARK AND NOT CONDUCIVE TO MUCH DESCRIPTION OF THE ORNAMENTATION ON IT. HE INTRODUCES A YOUNG WOMAN DRESSED FORMALLY IN A SATIN DRESS TOPPED BY AN ERMINE JACKET AND FEATHER HAT AND THEN LEAVES. FROM HER GESTURES, IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE YOUNG WOMAN IS RECITING A POEM OR GIVING A LECTURE. SHE CONTINUES DOING JUST THAT UNTIL THE END OF THE FILM WHEN SHE BOWS AND WALKS OFF CAMERA. THE YOUNG WOMAN IS PROBABLY VESTA VICTORIA, A WELL-KNOWN ENGLISH ENTERTAINER, WHO INTRODUCED THE SONG "POOR JOHN" IN THE UNITED STATES. VESTA VICTORIA, VAUDEVILLE HEADLINER. EARLY DRAG PERFORMER. SEE ALSO: WAITING AT THE CHURCH.
00:16:07 916.5	POSTMAN DELIVERING MAIL, U.S.P.O., AM&B (1903). THIS FILM SHOWS THE DELIVERY OF THE U.S. MAIL, IN A RURAL AREA. A TWO-HORSE VEHICLE, WITH A SIGN READING "U.S. MAIL," APPEARS ON THE SCENE. THE POSTAL EMPLOYEE GETS OUT OF THE VEHICLE AND PLACES MAIL IN A STANDARD METAL MAIL BOX. A WOMAN COMES OUT OF HER HOUSE AND REMOVES THE MAIL FROM THE MAIL BOX, THEN BUYS STAMPS FROM THE MAIL CARRIER AS THE PICTURE ENDS. WASHINGTON, D.C.
00:17:23 992.5	PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S HOMECOMING, AM&B (1904). MANY PEOPLE CAN BE SEEN WALKING AROUND THE YARD ADJACENT TO A RAILWAY STATION. A TRAIN WITH SEVERAL PASSENGER CARS PULLS UP TO THE STATION. THE CAMERA PANS, PHOTOGRAPHING QUITE A FEW PEOPLE AND HORSE-DRAWN TWO- AND FOUR-WHEELED VECHICLES. THE PICTURE ENDS AS A FOUR-WHEELED HORSE-DRAWN VECHICLE APPROACHES THE CAMERA POSITION. A COACHMAN SITS ON THE BOX IN THE FRONT, AND IN THE SEAT BEHIND HIM IS PRESIDENT TEDDY ROOSEVELT WAVING AT THE CROWD.
00:18:57 1086.5	RIP VAN WINKLE, AM&B (1896). RIP MEETS THE DWARF (1902). EACH SHORT SCENE WAS PHOTOGRAPHED FROM A SINGLE-CAMERA POSITION. THE ACTION SEEMS TO FOLLOW THE SUBTITLES CLOSELY SO THAT FURTHER DESCRIPTION WOULD BE REDUNDANT. ALL INDICATIONS ARE THAT THE ABOVE FILMS WERE PHOTOGRAPHED WITH JOSEPH JEFFERSON IN 1896, BUT WERE NOT COPYRIGHTED UNTIL 1902.
00:23:14 1343.5	RUN OF NEW YORK FIRE DEPARTMENT, AM&B (1903). A STREET LINED WITH TALL BUILDINGS IN A DOWNTOWN AREA OF NEW YORK CITY IS SHOWN. ON THE SIDEWALK OPPOSITE THE CAMERA POSITION ARE PEOPLE WHO SEEM TO BE AWARE OF AN APPROACHING SPECTACLE. LATER, HORSE-DRAWN FIRE-FIGHTING EQUIPMENT ARRIVES. THERE ARE HOOK AND LADDER, PERSONNEL, AND PUMPING UNITS. CITY HALL, NEW YORK CITY.
00:24:57 1446.5	SANDOW, AM&B (1902). A SINGLE-CAMERA POSITION FILM OF A SIDESHOW STRONG MAN FLEXING HIS MUSCLES. THE MOVEMENTS WERE STANDARD POSES CALCULATED TO SHOW GOOD MUSCLE SEPARATION. HE DOES ONE BACKFLIP. THE FILM IS VERY CONTRASTY. AM&B COPYRIGHTED ONE MUTOSCOPE CARD AND TWO FILMS WITH THIS TITLE. THE MUTOSCOPE CARD HAS A COPYRIGHT DATE OF DECEMBER 18, 1896, AND IT IS LIKELY THAT THE ABOVE, AS WELL AS THE FOLLOWING SHORT FILM, ALSO WERE MADE AT THAT TIME.
00:25:32 1481.5	SCENES IN AN INFANT ORPHAN ASYLUM, EDISON (1904). THE SUBJECT OF THIS DOCUMENTARY IS AN ORPHAN ASYLUM FOR INFANTS. THE BEGINNING PORTION INCLUDES THE DINING FACILITIES FOR THE CHILDREN. A WOMAN DRESSES AS A NURSE LEADS APPROXIMATELY TWO HUNDRED SMALL CHILDREN INTO THE EATING AREA WHERE THEY STAND BEHIND THEIR CHAIRS. AT A GIVEN SIGNAL, EACH CHILD SITS DOWN AND BEGINS EATING. THE REMAINDER OF THE FILM IS DEVOTED TO SHOWING SOME OF THE INFANTS, LESS THAN A YEAR OLD, BEING PUSHED IN BABY CARRIAGES AND BATHED, AND LATER HAVING HAIRCUTS. ALL OF THE CHILDREN WEAR SIMILAR ATTIRE AND THE NURSES WEAR UNIFORMS. NEW YORK CITY.
00:34:02 1991.5	SEASHORE FROLICS, EDISON (1903). THE FILM ILLUSTRATES WHAT WOULD BE FILMED BY AN ITINERANT MOVING PICTURE CAMERAMAN OF THE ERA AT A SEASIDE RESORT. THE INTENT EXPRESSIONS ON THE FACES OF THE PEOPLE PHOTOGRAPHED IS EVIDENCE THAT THEY WERE DIRECTED IN THEIR ACTIVITIES. A MIXED GROUP OF PEOPLE IN BATHING ATTIRE PERFORMS SUCH GAMES AS LEAPFROG, WRESTLING, ETC., FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER. ONE OF THE SCENES SHOWS A STILL PHOTOGRAPHER IN A WHITE SUIT ATTEMPTING TO FILM THE REVELERS, WHO APPARENTLY ARE IN A GAY MOOD, AS THEY ARE SHOWN ACCOSTING THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND TOSSING HIM BODILY INTO THE OCEAN. AS THE FILM ENDS, THEY ARE RETRIEVING HIM. ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY.
00:36:32 2141.5	SHOOTING THE CHUTES AT LUNA PARK, CONEY ISLAND, AM&B (1903). ABOUT TEN BOATS ARE SHOWN AS THEY SLIDE INTO A SMALL POND BUILT AT THE BOTTOM OF A SHOOT-THE-CHUTES IN AN AMUSEMENT PARK. THERE IS A BRIDGE OVER THE POND, WHERE SPECTATORS CAN WATCH THE PARTICIPANTS AS THEY SLIDE DOWN THE CHUTE AND INTO THE WATER.
00:37:47 2216.5	STREET FIGHT AND ARREST, AM&B (1902). THE SUBJECT OF THE FILM IS A STREET FIGHT. A POLICE OFFICER IS SHOWN ATTEMPTING TO BREAK UP THE FIGHT BETWEEN TWO MEN WHO ARE ROLLING AROUND IN THE STREET. A GREAT NUMBER OF SPECTATORS ARE ATTRACTED BY THE COMMOTION. THE PICTURE ENDS AS A HORSE-DRAWN POLICE PATROL APPEARS, AND THE TWO BRAWLERS ARE LED TOWARD THE WAGON. RELEASED BY AM&B AS "A STREET FIGHT IN CHICAGO."
00:38:35 2264.5	WAITING AT THE CHURCH, BELCHER & WATERSON (1907). THE CAMERA WAS PLACED FROM THE AUDIENCE POINT OF VIEW AND SHOWS A PAINTED BACKDROP OF WOOD PANELING. A YOUNG MAN IN A TUXEDO ENTERS FROM THE WINGS, TALKS DIRECTLY TO THE CAMERA, AS IF INTRODUCING SOMEONE, AND THEN LEAVES. A YOUNG LADY COMES ON STAGE AND BEGINS RECITING. SHE IS DRESSED AS A BRIDE AND CARRIES A BOUQUET. JUDGING FROM HER GESTURES HER RECITAL WAS A LAMENT AT BEING JILTED. TOWARD THE END OF THE FILM, THE WOMAN MAKES A CIRCLE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA, EXPOSING A SIGN ON HER BACK THAT READS "TO LET," ENDING THE FILM. THE ENTERTAINER IS PROBABLY THE BRITISH VAUDEVILLE STAR, VESTA VICTORIA, WHO INTRODUCED BOTH "WAITING AT THE CHURCH" AND "POOR JOHN" TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC. VESTA VICTORIA, VAUDEVILLE HEADLINER AND EARLY DRAG PERFORMER. SEE ALSO: POOR JOHN.
00:40:35 2384.5	WHO SAID CHICKEN? A LARGE WOMAN DRESSED IN THE CONVENTIONAL ATTIRE OF A BLACK SERVANT IS SEEN SWEEPING THE WALK IN FRONT OF A SET OF THE SIDE OF A HOUSE. A BOX MARKED "COAL BIN" STANDS IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE. JUST AS THE SERVATNT FINISHES HER SWEEPING, A MAN MADE UP AS A BLACK APPEARS, HOLDING A CHICKEN BY ITS LEGS, AND LOOKS FURTIVELY ABOUT FOR A HIDING PLACE. HE SPIES THE COAL BIN AND GETS INSIDE. A POLICEMAN APPEARS, REALIZES THE FUGITIVE IS IN THE COAL BIN, AND SITS ON THE LID, GESTURING FOR HELP. THE LID OF THE COAL BIN FLIES UP, THROWING THE POLICEMAN OVER BACKWARD BEHIND THE BIN, AND THE MAN CARRYING THE CHICKEN MAKES GOOD HIS ESCAPE.
00:40:52 2401.5	WOUNDED SOLDIERS EMBARKING IN ROW BOATS, AM&B (1903). [SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR] A SHORT PIER EXTENDING OUT TO THE WATER IS VISIBLE. ON THE SHORT PIER ARE TWENTY-FIVE OR THIRTY MEN IN AMERICAN MILITARY UNIFORMS WHO ARE ATTEMPTING TO GET INTO A ROWBOAT ALONGSIDE THE PIER. THEY ARE HAVING DIFFICULTY BECAUSE OF THE SMALL SURF THAT IS RUNNING.