Edwin S. Porter and the Edison Company made "The Kleptomaniac" on the heels of another social problem drama "The Ex-Convict". Rightfully, Charles Musser and the other commentators on the "Edison: the Invention of the Movies" DVD set find these films an intriguing development in the use of motion pictures, for commentary on issues of social conscience and injustice. In a decade, the cinema had gone from novelty to the regular production of one-reel story films. "The Ex-Convict" and "The Kleptomaniac" go beyond using the story film for entertainment, to employing it to make a message for or a commentary on society.
"The Kleptomaniac" makes its message through contrasting parallel stories (told back to back without crosscutting). First, a high-society lady steals a garment, for which she receives leniency. Second, a poor mother steals bread, for which she is imprisoned. A final tableau shows blind justice holding a tipped scale with a bag of gold on one side and a loaf of bread on the other. The film consists of 11 shots, in addition to title cards, told in the tableau style. Some of the title cards seem unnecessary-making mention of the obvious; whereas, busy, seemingly irrelevant actions in the store and courtroom are left without description within the film proper. Yet, back then, exhibitors would provide lecturers to describe such scenes and the film overall to audiences, and those lecturers could use the Edison Company catalogue descriptions as a template. Thus, as with most early films, this narrative wasn't intended to be entirely self-contained. "The Kleptomaniac" remains an interesting early social commentary picture, well told and with a clear message, which has always seemed to be too relevant. There's also extensive use of panning within the multiple shots of characters' entries and exits from and to carriages and buildings.
"The Kleptomaniac" makes its message through contrasting parallel stories (told back to back without crosscutting). First, a high-society lady steals a garment, for which she receives leniency. Second, a poor mother steals bread, for which she is imprisoned. A final tableau shows blind justice holding a tipped scale with a bag of gold on one side and a loaf of bread on the other. The film consists of 11 shots, in addition to title cards, told in the tableau style. Some of the title cards seem unnecessary-making mention of the obvious; whereas, busy, seemingly irrelevant actions in the store and courtroom are left without description within the film proper. Yet, back then, exhibitors would provide lecturers to describe such scenes and the film overall to audiences, and those lecturers could use the Edison Company catalogue descriptions as a template. Thus, as with most early films, this narrative wasn't intended to be entirely self-contained. "The Kleptomaniac" remains an interesting early social commentary picture, well told and with a clear message, which has always seemed to be too relevant. There's also extensive use of panning within the multiple shots of characters' entries and exits from and to carriages and buildings.