At least on the Kino DVD, and the talking heads make no effort to say whether this is by choice or design. In an effort to make people pay to see this film at least twice, Edison Manufacturing sold two versions of this cop "reality" short from the git-go, one with the shoot-out between cops and a burglar, and one with a failed suicide attempt by a female in the river. Obviously, about 99 percent of the public would opt for the former if allowed to choose for themselves, which may indicate that there ARE NO SURVIVING PRINTS of the most acclaimed version of this mini-documentary (though the Kino film notes devote inordinate attention to the details--such as the fact that it was shot at the actual crime scene with the actual surviving cops involved--for something not even available on their DVD; talk about a bait-and-switch teaser!). Which sort of begs the larger question as to whether the overall quality of the Edison film company appears so cheesy, sordid, and haphazard BECAUSE all the actual "good" stuff as "used up" more than a century ago?
4 Reviews
An Understandable Failure
boblipton21 February 2005
Porter's last follow up to LIFE OF AN American FIREMAN is a much better movie with a better sense of story and a definite sense of something to say about what a policeman does. However, while it does have its moments of excitement, like rescuing a drowning woman or overtaking a runaway horse, it lacks the big set piece fire that make the most of the earlier movie.
Instead, POLICEMAN offers us a study of individuals who have families like you and me and stand ready to deal with whatever emergencies pop up -- and pop up, they do. If it weren't for Porter's careful attention to continuity, this might have resulted in an episodic mess. It does not. Yet, even so, the calm of the policemen, their ability to deal with the crises as they turn up, make them less exciting. And that is probably why FIREMAN was a hit and this movie was a flop, despite four years of enormous advances in cinematic technique -- that and the fact that the people who made up nickelodeon audiences did not look upon policemen as their friends.
This does remain an interesting piece that shows the advances in technique that were occurring at the time. Give this one a look, right after FIREMAN if you can.
Instead, POLICEMAN offers us a study of individuals who have families like you and me and stand ready to deal with whatever emergencies pop up -- and pop up, they do. If it weren't for Porter's careful attention to continuity, this might have resulted in an episodic mess. It does not. Yet, even so, the calm of the policemen, their ability to deal with the crises as they turn up, make them less exciting. And that is probably why FIREMAN was a hit and this movie was a flop, despite four years of enormous advances in cinematic technique -- that and the fact that the people who made up nickelodeon audiences did not look upon policemen as their friends.
This does remain an interesting piece that shows the advances in technique that were occurring at the time. Give this one a look, right after FIREMAN if you can.
Good Feature For Its Time & Genre
Snow Leopard2 August 2005
This is pretty good for its time and genre, combining suspense and human interest in depicting what the "Life Of An American Policeman" is like. It is one of a number of movies in what was a rather popular genre in the first decade of the 1900s, showing workers of various professions in typical situations, and simply by the nature of a police officer's job, it's one of the more action-oriented movies of the kind.
This movie is something of a companion piece for the 1903 Edison feature on firemen. As another commentator has perceptively pointed out, it's often easier to get audiences to sympathize with firemen than with policemen. But for its era, this movie is a good effort to overcome that.
As was normal for pictures of this kind, the story starts off with the policeman having a pleasant family breakfast with his wife and children, a simple scene with the simple intention of reminding the audience that the police officer is really just a person with a family, like everyone else. It makes it just a little more meaningful when you see the same character in action later on.
The scenes of the policeman and his fellow officers at work contain a pretty good variety of material, from helpful but routine duties to genuinely hazardous situations. Much of it was re-enacted from actual events, rather than being filmed 'live', but most of it has an authentic feel to it, and the nature of the material always keeps it interesting. More footage was shot than was used in the final film, and some of the additional footage is included in Kino's recently released collection of Edison movies.
This movie is something of a companion piece for the 1903 Edison feature on firemen. As another commentator has perceptively pointed out, it's often easier to get audiences to sympathize with firemen than with policemen. But for its era, this movie is a good effort to overcome that.
As was normal for pictures of this kind, the story starts off with the policeman having a pleasant family breakfast with his wife and children, a simple scene with the simple intention of reminding the audience that the police officer is really just a person with a family, like everyone else. It makes it just a little more meaningful when you see the same character in action later on.
The scenes of the policeman and his fellow officers at work contain a pretty good variety of material, from helpful but routine duties to genuinely hazardous situations. Much of it was re-enacted from actual events, rather than being filmed 'live', but most of it has an authentic feel to it, and the nature of the material always keeps it interesting. More footage was shot than was used in the final film, and some of the additional footage is included in Kino's recently released collection of Edison movies.
4 from Edison
Michael_Elliott12 March 2008
Life of an American Policeman (1905)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Shows the everyday life of a policeman from waking up in the morning, having breakfast with his children and his duties on the job. Some nice stunt work but not nearly in the same league as Life of an American Firefighter.
Train Wreckers, The (1905)
*** (out of 4)
A group of men get their kicks by derailing trains but they meet their match in a feisty woman who will stop at nothing to protect the trains. This is a pretty intense action/thriller that has some wonderful stunt work including one scene where the woman is knocked out on the tracks and a man has to climb to the front of the train and pick her up moments before being ran over.
Miller's Daughter, The (1905)
*** (out of 4)
Hazel is kicked out of her father's house when he learns she's involved with a married man and refuses to marry a good farmer who her father likes. Eventually Hazel finds herself on the streets, too poor to live anywhere and her father still hates her for her selection in men. This here was a pretty brutal and harsh film that deals with poverty, suicide and pretty much everything else in between. It's rather touching in the end as the girl gets one more chance at doing the right thing.
Watermelon Patch, The (1905)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Several black men are stealing watermelon so the farmers put out scarecrow's with real men to scare them away. Here's another politically insensitive short that uses race to get laughs and while some of the stereotypes are so horribly over the top you can't help but roll your eyes and laugh.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Shows the everyday life of a policeman from waking up in the morning, having breakfast with his children and his duties on the job. Some nice stunt work but not nearly in the same league as Life of an American Firefighter.
Train Wreckers, The (1905)
*** (out of 4)
A group of men get their kicks by derailing trains but they meet their match in a feisty woman who will stop at nothing to protect the trains. This is a pretty intense action/thriller that has some wonderful stunt work including one scene where the woman is knocked out on the tracks and a man has to climb to the front of the train and pick her up moments before being ran over.
Miller's Daughter, The (1905)
*** (out of 4)
Hazel is kicked out of her father's house when he learns she's involved with a married man and refuses to marry a good farmer who her father likes. Eventually Hazel finds herself on the streets, too poor to live anywhere and her father still hates her for her selection in men. This here was a pretty brutal and harsh film that deals with poverty, suicide and pretty much everything else in between. It's rather touching in the end as the girl gets one more chance at doing the right thing.
Watermelon Patch, The (1905)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Several black men are stealing watermelon so the farmers put out scarecrow's with real men to scare them away. Here's another politically insensitive short that uses race to get laughs and while some of the stereotypes are so horribly over the top you can't help but roll your eyes and laugh.
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