Reviews

William Heise and James H. White shot this short film while at the training grounds of the New York State Militia.

The men do not act passively while being filmed, but instead engage with the camera, giving the film some more energy then of the other short films of the time period.

Amy Muller was a vaudeville performer who traveled to New Jersey to perform part of her routine in Edison's Black Maria. William Heise directed.

This film shows dancing that is several steps removed from the energy of Annabelle or Little Egypt.

William K. L. Dickson directs this short, featuring the great American legend of Rip Van Winkle. This is only part of the series, which stars actor Joseph Jefferson as the title character.

Jefferson was famous for playing Van Winkle for 40 years across various stages and lived long enough to portray the character in film. The prolific cinematographer G. W. Blitzed runs the camera as this film is part of history as one of the first films to attempt to adapt famous literature to the new medium of film. Though not very impressive today, Washington Irving's character and his various adventures would have been readily apparent to any viewer of the 1890s.

William Heise, the veteran cinematographer from the Edison Film Company's earliest years, and James H. White, the relative newcomer to Edison, both worked on this short. It was Edison's first attempt at the burgeoning train genre in silent film.

It starts with several men working on the track. In the distance you can see a train making its way towards the camera. As it approaches, the men step off of the track. You can feel the speed of the train as it takes the bend. On-lookers and the riders on the train wave flags towards each other. Though not as good as Lumiere's 'Arrivee d'un train', it is still one of Edison's better early shorts.

Auguste Lumiere and Louis Lumiere place their camera outside of the Lumiere family factory. We see the doors of the factory open and its workers begin to file out. Some of the workers acknowledge the family by staring at it and others move along without noticing it.

The Lumiere Brothers were the first filmmakers of France and, along with the Edison group and Birt Acres and Robert W. Paul, were the helped introduce the world to moving film. The Lumieres were more interested in filming real people in real situations than the Edison, who were quickly interested in filming narrative scenes.

YOU WILL LIKE THIS FILM IF YOU LOVED: "The Sea (1895)" IF YOU HATED: "Norma Rae"

Louis Lumiere sets his camera's sight on other filmmakers. As they exit the boat at Lyon, the attendees greet the camera. August Lumiere is one of the people filmed. As the people filmed were attending the Photographical Congress, they must have appreciated the camera set up before them. Some greet it, while others duck quickly out of the way.

The Lumieres were keen on filming everyday life. They wanted to record everyday moments in normal life. We are able to witness the styles of dress as well as the mannerisms of the people in the late nineteen hundreds.

YOU WILL LIKE THIS FILM, IF YOU LOVED: "Employees Leaving the Lumiere Factory" IF YOU HATED: "The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots"

Annabelle (Whitford) Moore dances for the camera of Edison filmmakers, William Heise and W.K.L. Dickson. She was a favorite of the Edison crew and was invited back several times to perform for them.

In the film, her movements are pretty basic. She lacks the energy of other Edison shorts, such as "Carmencita" or the "Buffalo Ghost Dance". Her costume is supposed to copy the movements of a butterfly as she dances around. Yet, the effect is muted, as Moore is not able to do much in the short time span of the film.

YOU WILL LIKE THIS FILM: IF YOU LOVED: "Annabelle Serpentine Dance" IF YOU HATED: "Breakin'"

William Heise and W.K.L. Dickson worked together to record this short for Edison Laboratories. In it, one of the co-workers, Fred Ott, places a bit of something in his nose, making him sneeze.

This was one those early shorts, that the Edison group made, where they were basically just messing around. The guys seemed to always be looking for something funny or original to film, and often turned to the men that worked around them to star in front of the camera. This was one of the earliest close-ups, Ott's entire face taking up much of the screen.

YOU WILL LIKE THIS FILM, IF YOU LOVED: "The Kiss" (1896) IF YOU HATED: "Contagion"

This was the first known experiment with syncing sound with film. W.K.L. Dickson plays the violin in the film, while two men dance in the foreground. The sound was recorded on a wax cylinder at the same time as the film. William Heise, Dickson's frequent collaborator, was the cameraman on this short.

There is not much to the film, but the addition of sound makes the short interesting. If only because of its novelty, it is a cut above the normal films from 1894.

YOU WILL LIKE THIS FILM- IF YOU LOVED: "Mr. Holland's Opus" IF YOU HATED: "Annabelle Sun Dance"

Annie Oakley shows off her shooting prowess for the camera of William Heise and W.k.L. Dickson. She first shoots at targets on a board, and then fires at targets being tossed up into the air by an assistant. This was filmed at Edison's Black Maria studio in New Jersey.

This film was more energetic than most shorts from 1894. Oakley's shooting seems to be live and real, especially when shooting at the board. It is hard to tell if she is hitting the tossed targets, but we can still tell the great skill she has. She was probably the biggest star the filmed by the Edison duo in 1894.

I give it two out of ten stars.

Partners W.K.L. Dickson and William Heise filmed this seventeen-second short for Edison Laboratories. They filmed three Native-American dancers recreating what the title call "the Buffalo Dance".

Not much to recommend here as a film, other than its dubious value as a cultural artifact. These Native-Americans are obviously performers, so it is hard to determine the authenticity of their wardrobe and movements. This film may be more of how the white filmmakers Heise and Dickson viewed Native-Americans. I do like how one of the dancers never takes his eyes off of the camera, staring it down as he dances.

I rate it a 2 out of 10.

W.K.L. Dickson and William Heise make a short video of cockfighting around the turn-of-the-century. The film shows two cocks fighting with two men watching behind them. They smile and exchange what seems to be money as the bet on the match.

Its a little hard to watch such a heinous sport, but one must understand it was a different time, when such sports thrived. Dickson and Heise must have been on constant look-out for exciting and different subjects to film. However, there is not much to recommend this film. There is more interesting pieces filmed by the duo that displays what film was like in 1894.

"Carmencita" is a short video of a woman dancing. She is obviously a veteran performer, probably from Broadway. She does some pretty nice moves, especially from 1894, where simple spinning was enough to entertain the masses. When compared to scenes such as the "Imperial Japanese Dance" or the "Sioux Ghost Dance", Carmencita shows a little bit of flash.

This was another collaboration between W.K.L. Dickson and William Heise. They recorded this short film for Edison Laboratories. They were constantly looking for subjects to shoot. They shot many different acts from the vaudeville scene, from dancers to gymnasts.

The world's first filmmakers William Heise and W.K.L. Dickson film members of Buffalo Bill Cody's traveling performers. These Native-Americans do a small portion of what is supposed to be a Sioux Ghost Dance.

The group is crowded on stage, with both children and adults doing the dance. There is no word as whether this is an authentic dance from actual Sioux culture or if it is an invention by Cody to fill seats at his shows. Not much is actually shown in the short clip, but it is the first known representation of Native-Americans, real or otherwise, in cinema, so it is noteworthy for that alone.

W.K.L. Dickson films another "performer". This unnamed "athlete" steps left, right, and towards the camera, while moving a "wand" in basic movements.

Not sure what to make of this strange presentation from Dickson and Edison. The guys movements are not what one would call athletic. For examples of athletes around the turn-of-the-century, watch Dickson's "Sandow" and "Hadj Cheriff", both from 1894. Those performers show real physical aptitude, while the "athlete" from this film is upstaged by the dog in the lower right. Why the dog is there, no one knows. Such were the crazy days in cinema's first year.

William Heise and W.K.L. Dickson film three female Japanese dancers. They do subtle dance moves that involve some twirling and fan waving. The ladies are dressed in formal Japanese get ups.

Not much goes on here not recommend more than any of the other ninety-plus shorts produced by Edison's studio in 1894. Basically any vaudeville or stage performer from New York was able to get a chance in front of the camera. Edison and company were in need for shorts to fill their Kinetoscope business. Heise and Dickson just set up the camera and let the performers to their thing. Later in the year they would move to filming actual scenes.

William Heise and W.K.L. Dickson directed this short featuring the Glenroy brothers performing a small section of their vaudeville act. The two men perform a comedic boxing routine, including cartwheels and wild punches.

This film continues the Edison crew's search for comedic material to fill their theatres with. The brothers routine is not much to modern viewers as they do not do much besides some thrown punches and some acrobatic maneuvers. Without sound, there is not much to alert the viewer to what is supposed to be funny.

I give it 2 out of 10.

William Heise and W.K.L. Dickson direct this short featuring Hadji Cheriff, an Arabian vaudeville performer. His act, as shown here, consists of several acrobatic moves. He was filmed in Edison's studio, the Black Maria.

This film displays more energy then most of the films from the early Edison era. Cheriff only has limited room in which to maneuver but still displays a good deal of grace and athleticism. Cheriff would also make a short for Heise and Dickson's successor at Edison, James H. White, called "Arabian Gun Twirler".

A 2 out of 10.

Edison innovators W.K.L. Dickson and William Heise made this short showing a slice of life from end of the nineteenth century. A man is getting a shave at a barbershop, while two other men discuss something in the foreground.

This was the best Edison film up to that point, as it feels almost like a still-life coming alive. Viewers come that time must have felt like they were watching a scene familiar to them come alive. One thing I am curious about is whether the men acting out the short scene are just Edison men fooling around, or whether they are hired actors performing a scene laid out for them.

I give it a 2 out of 10.

William Heise and W.K.L. Dickson present their first foray into comedy. A short sample of Professor Welton's vaudeville act, this film shows the Professor's two cats "box" each other. He is seen in the background smiling as the felines go at it.

This was the Edison Manufacturing Company's first stab at a comedic short. Though, of course, very short, I reckon it must have provided a quick laugh for its viewers. The Professor also filmed another short, titled "Wrestling Dog", for the Edison team. However it would be hard to classify the Professor's efforts as funny.

I give it a 2 out of 10.

The Edison team of William Heise and W.K.L. Dickson work together to create this short film. It features a firemn, standing on a ladder, rescuing children from a burning building. He hands the children to another fireman, while smoke twirls around them.

Various firefighting themes where very popular during the beginnings of film. From staged runs of fire trucks to short scenes of firemen rescuing victims, people from the turn-of-the-century loved watching anything to do with firefighting. Heise would go on to film other firefighting movies, such as "The Morning Alarm".

I give it a 2 out of 10 as an important early short film.

Eugene Sandow stars as himself in this early film from the Edison Manufacturing Company. The film was shot by cameraman William Heise and was directed by W.K.L. Dickson. In it, Sandow strikes several different "strongman" poses. At the time, Sandow was a vaudeville performer who promoted himself as "the strongest man alive".

The film is less than a minute in duration. Nothing was new or unique from any of the shorts than the Edison group where churning out during the new year of 1894. The only important thing of the film was that it starred the first celebrity put on film, Sandow, who would go on to star in several other shorts.

I gave it 2 out of 10.

William Heise and W.K.L. Dickson work together on this short of the Edison Manufacturing Company. It was the a scene of three men working as blacksmith. They all strike the iron between them, then they take a break as one man hands another a drink. This is celebrated as the first narrative scene ever committed to film.

This was an important step forward for the Edison team as they had previously only filmed performers doing a routine, such as the "Newark Athlete", or filming themselves, such as the "Dickson Greeting". Here they purposely stage a scene in their studio so that they can make their audiences believe they are watching actual blacksmiths at work.

I give a 2 out of 10, as it only really needed to be scene as a historical document.

W.K.L. Dickson and William Heise made this very short film. In it, Dickson stands in front of the camera. He moves his hat from one hand to another. It is famous for being the first film presented to the public, when it was shown to the National Federation of Women's Club, at the behest of Mrs. Edison.

This film was much smoother and clearer than the previous output of Heise and Dickson. Dickson's movement that we see is a shorter piece of the longer film that was displayed in 1891.

I gave the film 2 out of 10, but it has a strong value as a visual of the film pioneer W.K.L. Dickson.

An athlete (from Newark I presume) waves two clubs in a quick routine. This was filmed by W.K.L. Dickson and William Heise for the Edison Manufacturing Company. It was made using the horizontal-feed Kinetograph that was developed by Thomas Edison and Dickson.

A big step forward, this film is much clearer than the previous three Monkeyshine films from the same group of people the in 1890. The movement of the boy is able to been see easily. Heise and Dickson' films would continue to improve in quality.

Again not much to see here but maintains interest as a relic of a time long ago. I gave it a 2 out of 10.