With all due respect to the person
who commented on the 1905 film the Kleptomaniac by criticizing it for being confusing, he/she is misunderstanding what the viewing experience would have
been in a storefront nickelodeon theater in 1905. People would be talking and at least some of the audience would have seen the film before. At key points members of the audience would inform others of what was going on if they missed it on the screen. In other words: it was an active, interpretive audience that did not demand the sort of visual cues we count upon now. The film makers would have been aware of this.
who commented on the 1905 film the Kleptomaniac by criticizing it for being confusing, he/she is misunderstanding what the viewing experience would have
been in a storefront nickelodeon theater in 1905. People would be talking and at least some of the audience would have seen the film before. At key points members of the audience would inform others of what was going on if they missed it on the screen. In other words: it was an active, interpretive audience that did not demand the sort of visual cues we count upon now. The film makers would have been aware of this.