If there was any important issue facing America around the turn of the 20th Century, Thomas Edison and his cameramen cronies could be counted on to come down on the WRONG side of it. Take alcoholism, guns, and suicide. The apparent message of this BURLESQUE SUICIDE, NO. 2 short is to make light of the dangers of drinking alone while depressed, with a loaded revolver next to your wine jug. At the end of this 56.01-second piece, the anonymous Edison "actor" points the pistol at the camera and crudely laughs, challenging the viewer to a game of Russian Roulette. This would be Ernest Hemingway's type of flick, since his dad killed himself, he blew his brains out with a shotgun, and his granddaughter killed herself. Currently, suicide rates are 200% higher in American households with guns than in gun-less homes, and deaths rates by domestic violence no doubt are similarly skewed toward gun homes. Herbert Hoover may have campaigned on the slogan "a chicken in every pot" during the Depression, but Edison is boosting the line "a gun for every drunk" here!
5 Reviews
Wine over weapon
Horst_In_Translation8 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This is a black-and-white, one-minute silent short film from over 110 years ago. It was made by famous American film pioneer Edwin S. Porter and proves that trolls existed back then already as well, also in real life. A man tricks us into believing that he would kill himself, but then he decides to put away the gun and just drink some alcohol. This may have shocked some people back in the day, especially religious people with the background of joking about suicide, so you could maybe call this a fairly brave film. However, I cannot say it is a really good one or on par with what Méliès did at that time. All in all, it's fine that it is so short as the material really does not give room for a second minute. All in all, not a must-see by any means.
Does A Decent Job With the Idea
Snow Leopard3 November 2005
Given the limitations of the idea, which was only enough for a one-gag film, the unknown actor and Edwin S. Porter do a solid job with it. It was one of a pair of very similar movies that were made and released at about the same time; apparently this is the one that has survived.
The setup has a depressed-looking man staring at a gun and a drink (presumably alcoholic) on a table in front of him. He hesitates and has a couple of false starts as he tries to decide what to do, leading up to the finale, which is really the point of the movie. It is carried off about as well as anyone could have done it, maintaining the tension and uncertainty for a while without pushing it too far.
One interesting thing about this and its companion feature is that they are some of the earlier features to play off of the audience's expectations, and to make something of a joke out of them. As simple as the idea in the actual movie may be, the general idea of anticipating audience expectations and then using them to the film-maker's benefit would later become one of the staples of good film-making, which gives this otherwise mildly amusing but inconsequential feature a little extra significance.
The setup has a depressed-looking man staring at a gun and a drink (presumably alcoholic) on a table in front of him. He hesitates and has a couple of false starts as he tries to decide what to do, leading up to the finale, which is really the point of the movie. It is carried off about as well as anyone could have done it, maintaining the tension and uncertainty for a while without pushing it too far.
One interesting thing about this and its companion feature is that they are some of the earlier features to play off of the audience's expectations, and to make something of a joke out of them. As simple as the idea in the actual movie may be, the general idea of anticipating audience expectations and then using them to the film-maker's benefit would later become one of the staples of good film-making, which gives this otherwise mildly amusing but inconsequential feature a little extra significance.
A very dark little film!!
planktonrules4 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The humor in this short is very dark and twisted...and not exactly for family consumption!
It begins with a man sitting at a table with a glass of booze and a gun. He's about to drink and then puts it down. He then picks up the gun and is apparently about to kill himself...when he then puts it down and laughs at the camera, as apparently he had no intention of killing himself!
Again, this is VERY dark and not especially 'nice'....but, believe it or not, for 1902, this Edwin S. Porter directed film for Edison is a laugh riot!
It begins with a man sitting at a table with a glass of booze and a gun. He's about to drink and then puts it down. He then picks up the gun and is apparently about to kill himself...when he then puts it down and laughs at the camera, as apparently he had no intention of killing himself!
Again, this is VERY dark and not especially 'nice'....but, believe it or not, for 1902, this Edwin S. Porter directed film for Edison is a laugh riot!
Really Misleading Title
Tornado_Sam7 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
***BIG SPOILER***
This print is featured as an unadvertised bonus to Kino's magnificent collection "The Movies Begin: A Treasury of Early Cinema" in the second volume, namely "The European Pioneers." The reason they call this an unadvertised bonus is because the print survives in a most blurred condition, thus it is below Kino's standard quality.
The title to this short gag film is rather misleading. There is nothing violent about this short whatsoever because (okay, stop reading now unless you want the WHOLE JOKE SPOILED) the man doesn't even kill himself!! As it turns out, the man's just putting us on!! He's not even depressed!! Talk about a surprise ending. In my opinion, the actor (who's identity reportedly remains a mystery) did a great job creating suspense. In fact, it's really a shame that he remains unidentified. In any case, well worth anyone's time, if rather dark.
(Note: I hope to review all the unadvertised bonuses. This is the seventh of the 10).
This print is featured as an unadvertised bonus to Kino's magnificent collection "The Movies Begin: A Treasury of Early Cinema" in the second volume, namely "The European Pioneers." The reason they call this an unadvertised bonus is because the print survives in a most blurred condition, thus it is below Kino's standard quality.
The title to this short gag film is rather misleading. There is nothing violent about this short whatsoever because (okay, stop reading now unless you want the WHOLE JOKE SPOILED) the man doesn't even kill himself!! As it turns out, the man's just putting us on!! He's not even depressed!! Talk about a surprise ending. In my opinion, the actor (who's identity reportedly remains a mystery) did a great job creating suspense. In fact, it's really a shame that he remains unidentified. In any case, well worth anyone's time, if rather dark.
(Note: I hope to review all the unadvertised bonuses. This is the seventh of the 10).
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