No one else has bothered to write anything about this under a minute American Mutoscope short subject, so I'd better fill the void. There is not much to say. An artist (oh, definitely an artist!) is taking photographs of a young woman. The young woman is wearing some light material that is barely there; the fact that the only surviving print of this film comes from a paper print (and is subsequently quite degraded) makes the state of her undress even less clear to the viewer. At first I thought she was naked - but no, there's definitely something between her and the camera. As the film fades out, she glances cheekily towards the motion picture camera, nearly breaking the fourth wall and probably sending the men of 1902's hearts into palpitations of ecstasy. The End.
3 Reviews
Was 'Hubba-Hubba' A Thing In 1902?
boblipton17 December 2019
A photographer poses a pretty model who is dressed only in a white leotard. After he shoots her picture, she stretches.
It's a rather sensuous short for 1902, almost certainly intended for the Mutoscope, American Mutoscope & Biograph's peep-show machine -- the Biograph was the company's projection machine. The risqué image was less likely to be shown on the screen, a far more public way of viewing it.
Given the fact that the audience was going to be looking at the model, rather than the photographer, a little movement on her part was needed. There had been movies of statues; Edison shot a poor one of the Statue of Liberty. Movies of statues are not particularly cinematic.
It's a rather sensuous short for 1902, almost certainly intended for the Mutoscope, American Mutoscope & Biograph's peep-show machine -- the Biograph was the company's projection machine. The risqué image was less likely to be shown on the screen, a far more public way of viewing it.
Given the fact that the audience was going to be looking at the model, rather than the photographer, a little movement on her part was needed. There had been movies of statues; Edison shot a poor one of the Statue of Liberty. Movies of statues are not particularly cinematic.
Sexy for 1902 but that's about it
Tornado_Sam31 May 2017
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 Kino labels it as such is because the print survives in a faded and blurred condition, thus below the company's standard of picture quality.
For 1902, this short isn't particularly special. Georges Melies had already made quite a few multi-scene spectacles by this time, such as "Bluebeard" and "A Trip to the Moon", so "The Draped Model" will come up as very pointless, serving only as what was intended to be a risque peepshow like countless others that predated it in the 1890s. All that one sees in this very short film is a photographer, taking pictures of a woman made to look naked but actually wearing a white leotard and a light sash. It's meant to be a sensual subject to watch--at least for the time--but today there is little to gather from it apart from the fact it serves as an example of some of the early 'adult' movies.
For 1902, this short isn't particularly special. Georges Melies had already made quite a few multi-scene spectacles by this time, such as "Bluebeard" and "A Trip to the Moon", so "The Draped Model" will come up as very pointless, serving only as what was intended to be a risque peepshow like countless others that predated it in the 1890s. All that one sees in this very short film is a photographer, taking pictures of a woman made to look naked but actually wearing a white leotard and a light sash. It's meant to be a sensual subject to watch--at least for the time--but today there is little to gather from it apart from the fact it serves as an example of some of the early 'adult' movies.
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