Movie Chronicles: 1908: Movie Chronicles, #5
By Brett Dillon
()
About this ebook
The "Movie Chronicles" series of books are based upon the scripts for the "Movie Chronicles" podcast.
In these books I am trying to portray the links between history and pop culture (and the history of pop culture) around the world. As a reader in English, I am happy to predict that, if you only watch the latest Holywood blockbusters, then this series is not for you. If you want to explore World Cinema, then hop on board for the ride. None of the books in this series is definitive (meaning covering every film from every country in the period of the book). It is more in the nature of a survey (in which there is a large amount of reviewer bias in the selection). I hope, at best, to peg out the general territory, and allow you to note some themes within a year across multiple countries.
Welcome to the year 1908!!!!
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Movie Chronicles - Brett Dillon
Copyright 2024 Brett G. Dillon
Photo copyright 2023 Brett G. Dillon
Table Of Contents
Introduction
History
Films
Unknown
Unidentified
Africa
Discours d’Un Bushman Enregistré Par Phonographe
Argentina
El Fusilamiento de Dorrego
Austria
Beim Fotografen
Die Macht de Hypnose
Schwazer, Johan
Canada
Mes Esperances en 1908
China
En Chine
Denmark
Film Fran
Grundstensnedlægglse Ved Gustav Adolfs Kirke
Die Heldige Frier
England
A Visit To The Seaside
The Cheekiest Man On Earth
The Dog Outwits The Kidnapper
Dreams Of Toyland
The London Olympic Games
The Man And His Bottle
The Man Who Never Made Good
1 000 Pound Reward
The Pledge
The Sheep Stealer
The Tempest
White City, Franco-British Expedition
France
Un Achat Embarrassant
l’Affaire Dreyfus
Anaïc ; ou Le Belafré
L’Apprenti Architecte
l’Assassinat du Duc de Guise
l’Assoiffe
Au Pays de d’Or
La Belle Au Bois Dormant
Boireau A Mangé de l’Ail
Le Bon Gendarme
Le Bon Invalide et les Enfants
Calino A Mangé du Cheval
Albert Capellini
l’Arlésienne
La Belle Et La Bête
Le Corso Tragique
Don Juan
l’Homme Aux Gants Blancs
Marie Stuart
Cent Francs Á Qui Rapportera
César Chauffeur
Les Chansons Ont Leur Destin
Le Cheval Emballé
Les Chiens Et Ses Services
Segundo de Chomón
l’Abeille et la Rose
L’Araignée d’Or
Creation Of The Serpentine
Cuisine Abracadabrante
Les Dés Magiques
Excursion En La Luna
La Grenoille
El Hotel Eléctrico
l’Insaissable Pickpocket
The Lunatics
Magic Bricks
Magie Moderne
La Maison Ensorcelée
Le Miroir Magique
Les Ombres Chinoises
Les Papillons Japonais
Le Rêve des Marmitons
Voyage Oriental
Emile Cohl
Cauchemar de Fantouche
Le Cerceau Magique
Le Course Aux Patirons
Une Drame Chez Fantoches
Fantasmagorie
Les Frères Boutdebois
Le Petit Soldat Qui Devient Dieu
Commissionair Par Occassion
Conscience de Magistrat
Le Contremaitre Incendaire
Le Costume Blanc
Une Dame Vraiment Bien
Dans Le Sous-Marin
Les Dragées du Grand-Père
l’Engrais Merveilleux
Evénements Russo-Japonais Guerre
Les Femmes Chaffeur
l’Héritage du Rapin
l’Hôtel du Silence
Les Inconvénients du Cinematographé
l’Institut de Beauté
Jeannot Veut Époser Une Danseuse
La Legende des Étoiles
Lucia de Lammermore
Madame l’Avocate
Mais Dépêchez-vous Donc!
Max Linder
La Premier Cigare d’Un Collégien
Vive La Vie De Garçon
Le Médecin du Château
Georges Méliès
l’Acteur en Retard
Amour Et Mélasse
l’Avare
La Bonne Bergère et la Mauvaise Princesse
Ce Qui Arrive Á Un Petit Matin de Peintre
La Civilisation Á Travers Les Ages
Le Conseil de Pipelet
Cont de la Grand-merè et Rêve de l’Enfant
Le Crime de la Rue du Cherche-Midi Á Quatorze Heures
Épreuves; ou les Malheurs d’Un Savetier
Le Fabricant de Diamants
French Interpreter Policeman
Le Genié du Feu
Hallucinations Pharmaceutiques; ou le Truc de Potard
Il Y A Un Dieu Pour Les Ivrognes
Mariage de Raison et Mariage d’Amour
Le Nouveau Seigneur du Village
Les Patineurs
Pour l’ Étoile S.V.P.
Le Rêve d’Un Fumeur d’Opium
Salon de Coiffure
Le Mystère de la Montagne
The Nice Carnival
Une Noce en Bretagne
Nuit de Noël
l’Oiseau Bleu
Oú Mène l’Alcoolisme
Le Plus Beau Jour De La Vie
Rempailleur de Chaises
La Revanche Du Chat
Le Sacrifice
Sang Español
Travaux De La Ferme, La Vie Aux Champs
Transformations Élastiques
Les Tribulations De Pandore
Valse Á La Mode
Germany
Abends Nach Neune: Duett aus Durchlaucht Radieschen
Ach Wei So Trūgerisch
Die Beerdigung der Opfer des Grubebungglicks der Zeche Radbod Bei Hamm
Der Bejazzo
Der Bummelkompagnon
Casino-Leid
Die Dollarprinzesin
Donnerwetter, Tadelles
Fiakerleid
Der Flotte Bursche
Flottenmarsch
Die Herzen de Berliner Frauen aus Das Muss Man Seh’n
Lucia de Lammermore
Die Lustige Witwe
Der Mann Mit Den Drei Frauen
Martha: Mag der Himmel der Vergeben
Prolog Aus Bajarro
Ringelreiden
Steinklopfer-Marsch
Strabenzenen In Saarbrūcken
Das Suße Mädel aus Das Sūss Mädel
Unterm Paraplui
Der Vogelhändler
Weibe, Weibi
Wenn Ich Im Kampf Für Dich Sige aus Lohengrin
Indonesia
Bali
Ireland
Whaling Afloat And Ashore
Italy
Avventura Galante di un Provinciale
Il Duello Dei Paurosi
Gli Ultima Giorni di Pompeii
La Neuropatalogia
Romeo e Giulietta
I Topilini Riconoscenti
Torremoto de Messina
Macedona
Defile Na Voen Orkestar, Kocii I Konjanici
Manifestacci Po Povod Mladoturskata Revolucija
Manifestacci Po Povod Hurietot
Manifestacci: So Greki Napisi
Parada Po Povod Hurietot
Turci Drzat Govor Na Hariet
North Africa
The Tourags In Their Country
Tourags – Stick Fencing And Wrestling
Poland
Les Martyrs de la Pologne
Russia
Fish Factory In Astrakhan
Leo Tolstoy’s 80th Birthday
Stenka Razin
Sicily
Palermo Illustrata
Spain
Amor Qui Mata
Barcelona
Don Juan
Don Juan Tenorio
Sudan
Promenade Au Soudan
Sweden
Street Scenes In Kristianstad and Karlshamn, Sweden
USA
After Midnight
The Bank Robbery
The Catholic Centennial Celebration
Dixon-Wanamaker Expedition To Crow Agency
J. Searle Dawley
A Suburbanites Ingenious Alarm
Cupid’s Pranks
Fireside Reminiscences
D.W. Griffith
A Calamitous Elopement
A Smoked Husband
The Adventures Of Dolly
An Awful Moment
Balked At The Alter
Betrayed By A Handprint
The Black Viper
The Call Of The Wild
Deceived Slumming Party
The Fatal Hour
Father Gets In The Game
Money Mad
Money Mad
Rescued From An Eagle’s Nest
Romance Of A Jewess
1776; or The Hessian Renegades
Song Of The Shirt
The Taming Of The Shrew
The Zulu’s Heart
Julius Caesar
Wallace McCutcheon
At The Crossroads Of Life
At The French Ball
The Boy Detective
Caught By The Wireless
Classmates
Her First Adventure
The Invisible Fluid
The Sculptor’s Nightmare
When Knights Were Bold
Napoleon, The Man Of Destiny
Over The Hill To The Poor House
Romeo And Juliet
The Sculptor’s Nightmare
Tales The Autumn Leaves Told
Ten Pickaninnies
The Travelers’ Homecoming
William F. Buffalo Bill
Cody On Horseback
Births
Deaths
Index
Introduction
I found myself at the city of Hieropolis in Turkey. Actually, I was in Pamukkale. The ruin of Hieropolis is a tourist spot close to the city. What had brought me here was an interest in Roman history.
A main feature of the area are the hot springs. The area lies on a fault line which makes for a very earthquaky place. There wasn’t one while I was there (that would have been the icing on the cake to make me feel at home). The cake, which was actually iced, was the white terraces. These are at the edge of the city of Hieropolis and, in a good tourist promotion move, they are how you approach the ancient city. They tumble down a cliff face and are created by mineral deposits that ooze from the ripped earth. I was looking at them and being remined of the Pink and White Terraces in New Zealand.
The Pink and White terraces. They were created by the same process that created the White Terraces in Hieropolis. I went to see them at Lake Rotomahana – well, I went to see where they would be. They vanished under the lake during the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera.
So, there I was in Hieropolis, looking at the White Terraces and thinking - I’m closer to the Pink And White Terraces here in Turkey than I ever was on Lake Rotomahana.
Then I looked up.
The genius of the site is that it is easily defensible. Hills behind it, and a cliff face in front.
Of equal advantage is that from this point you can look out over the plain below. In the first volume of Movie Chronicles
I talked about looking across a plain at ground level as we began the process of reviewing movie history. This volume takes us above the plain.
Between 1900 and 1909 all the building blocks of what we think of as film were in place. The most important discovery was how the placement of the camera could alter the relationship of the viewer to the image (this was known about through painting. Only movies, however, could alter this relationship within the same work. This was a powerful tool). The close up was the principle tool in this arsenal.
In 1907 the chase sequence became a major component of film. Its popularity was because it added a sense of tension to the narrative. The desire to increase this tension introduced editing of the images as an important aspect of film (to be blunt, this wasn’t perfected until about 7 years later. This period realised that editing was an important tool in the kit of a film-maker)
Editing, by itself, meant nothing. The technology for longer films had to be developed (which it did, slowly over this period). One of the consequences of this longer running time was it meant Procession footage became even more boring, because it was static. For one inglorious moment anything became an excuse for a chase (which was just a Procession which went by the camera at a faster speed). Longer run times meant you could have multiple shots of chases in different locations. The way humans interpreted time meant these different chase sequences would be perceived as a continuation of the SAME chase (this was not a major revelation – it did lead to a desire to tighten up the chase so it was more than a simple procession of characters across the screen. By 1909 you start seeing gags being introduced (the apple cart overturned during the chase, the painter left dangling on the scaffold). Stunts were being added to the language of film.
As with the previous volume the selection of people who are accorded a biography in this volume is eclectic. Even more so is the cast lists for the films. The cast list is not intended to be exhaustive but suggestive of the interconnectivity of things, within and outside of, certain companies that had come to dominate in their respective countries.
There are certain words, acronyms and phrases that will keep popping up in this book. The most frequent are:-
BFI – British Film Institute
IMDb – Internet Movie Database
NZFA – New Zealand Film Archive
POV – Point of View
Stage Left/Frame Left – the viewers left
Stage Right/Frame Right – the viewers right
The Movie Chronicles
series of books are based upon the scripts for the Movie Chronicles
podcast. The format can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles of the Dark Ages (if you are so inclined to go back that far). During the course of coarsely writing the scripts for the podcast I found I had to institute some rules.
The major rule concerns Spoilers. Regular listeners to the podcast know how much I abhor this concept. It is an internet meme designed by halfwits to troll other halfwits. I’m not a halfwit. However, in order to assuage the wrath of halfwits the rule of thumb is that there will be no spoilers in movies less than ten years old (after that period, I assume there are so many spoilers out there that my contribution doesn’t matter). As always, there are exceptions – these are mostly documentaries – which are films that have already been spoiled before they’re even released – according to the halfwit Spoiler theory.
In these books I am trying to portray the links between history and pop culture (and the history of pop culture) around the world. As a reader in English, I am happy to predict that, if you are watching the latest US blockbusters, then this is NOT the series for you. If you want to explore World Cinema, then hop on board for the ride. None of the books in this series are definitive (in the meaning of covering every film from every country released in that particular year). It is more in the nature of a survey (in which there is a large amount of reviewer bias in the selection). I hope, at best, to peg out the general territory, and allow you to note some themes within a year through multiple countries.
Format
The movie list is above. At the back of the book is the Index – a list of people, places, and events that are in the main body of the text. I recommend viewing this as I have used it to express ideas that would be complicated in the main text but simple when viewed in this context. The Index is formatted :-
Name Film Country
For precisions sake, think of the Country as the Chapter Name.
This looks like :-
Ackland, Norren Peeping Tom England
Thus, Noreen Ackland worked on the movie Peeping Tom
(or is mentioned in that section) and this movie can be found in the England section. Simple, right?
What!? My England good is.
When the person appears in more than one film, the entry looks like this :-
Alton, John Elmer Gantry USA
12 To The Moon USA
When an entry is in BOLD then this is the entry where the biography can be found.
The cast and crew lists are not definitive – especially the cast list, which covers the main actors in the film, and then anyone else you should probably keep an eye on.
Names can be tricky things in an Index. For the sake of consistency I have used the following system :- If the Last name is a compound word, then the name is listed under the first name in the compound. For instance :-
Ruiza de Luna, Carlos
is listed under R (for Ruiza).
De Carlo, Yvonne
is listed under D (for De Carlo) but de Carlo, Yvonne
is listed under C (for Carlo)
I have tried, as much as possible, to release foreign words with the correct accent marks (the exception being Asian and Middle-Eastern scripts. These have been translated into their European form).
I would also like to admit to a little eccentricity in the Index which has been done for the sake of concision. Every Institute of higher learning, for instance, makes its way into the Index, No Place names do. The rule I created was to ask myself how relevant this information was to someone who wants to learn about movies.
History
January 1 – Ernest Shackleton set sail from New Zealand on the Nimrod to explore Antarctica.
January 12 – A long distance radio message was sent from the Eiffel Tower, Paris, France, for the first time.
January 31 – The Éclair Company, in France, purchased a 14-acre site to build a film studio. It also hired directors George Hatot and Victorin Jasset.
February 1 – King Carlos I Of Portugal and Infante, Luis Filipe were shot dead in Lisbon.
February 2 – Selig took their production of The Count Of Monte Christo
to Santa Monica in California. The interior scenes were shot on a studio lot in Chicago. Director, Francis Boggs wanted authenticity in the exterior scenes. He used a rooftop on Main Street, Los Angeles as his studio and also shot on Santa Monica beach. The film was released on this day, with pundits already suggesting the US movie industry should emigrate to California for its cheap labour and sunshine.
February 4 – In France, director Louis Feuillade began to film a cycle of historical films. These were Le Retour du Croise
(The Return Of The Crusader), Le Serment des Financailles
(The Betrothal Pledge), and La Guitare Enchantée
(The Magic Guitar).
February 5 - In New York, Henry Marvin of Biograph bought up patents to which the Edison Company claimed exclusive rights. In the following years you will notice many people trying to bring down both Edison’s monopoly and its monopolistic practices.
February 8 - The first cinema advertising company was created, named Publicite Animée. It operated in France.
February 12 – The first Round-The-World car race was started.
February 14 – Film d’Art company was founded in Paris, France.
February 18 – Japanese emigration to the US was forbidden under terms of the Gentleman’s Agreement of 1907. (You’ll notice how the name of this agreement tries to legitimize its racism as normal. Real gentlemen aren’t racist).
February 20 – Newly appointed Vice President of the Edison Company, Frank L. Dyrer announced Edison film distributors would be charged an annual license fee of $5 000.
March 1 – Gaumont, having recently hired director Émile Cohl, released his first picture for them, La Course Aux Potirons
(The Pumpkin Race).
On the same day, European film producers gathered at the Continental hotel, in Paris, France. They wanted to thrash out the issue of the protectionism of the Edison Company. Charles Pathé refused to make an appearance claiming the meeting would only defer the inevitable ruin of certain companies
.
March 15 – In Turin, Italy, Giovanni Pastrone, and his engineer Sciamengo, bought Carlo Rossi’s production Company and renamed it, Itala Film.
March 21 – French aviator, Leon Delagrange, took his partner and fellow sculptor, Therese Peltier, into the air. She became the world’s first female passenger (on record).
March 27 – The first scout troop outside the UK was formed in Gibraltar, Spain.
April 21 – Frederick Cook claimed to have reached the North Pole (his evidence includes no Santa related items).
May 5 – A New York court awarded $25 000 damages against Kalem Pictures for their unauthorised production of Ben Hur
. The film was released in 1907 using rented backcloths, the racetrack of Sheepshead Bay, New York, and the New York Fire Department to stage the chariot race. Kalem set to appeal this ruling.
May 15 – In Paris, France, the Photo-Ciné Gazette magazine began championing the Mallet protective case system which shielded film reels from the arc light. France had already felt the tragic consequences of the flammability of film stock.
May 24 - Argentine’s first fiction film El Fusolamiento de Dorrego
(The Execution Of Dorrego) was debuted in Buenos Aires. It was directed by the Italian, Mario Gallo.
May 26 – At Masjed Soleyman, in Persia, oil was discovered. This is the first such commercial find in the Middle East. The rights to this resource were snapped up by the UK.
May 31 – Rome, Italy. Mario Caserin released his production, Ameleto
(Hamlet).
June 30 – The Tunguska event occurred near Podkamennava Tunguska River in Siberia. It is believed a meteorite exploded at an altitude of 5 – 10 kilometres over the river. There was a big bang. I felt the earth move under my feet.
July 3 – In the Ottoman Empire, Major Ahmed Nivazi, with 200 of his followers (taken from both Ottoman troops and civilians) defected from the 3rd Army Corps in Macedonia. This was an act of open rebellion. They moved into the open country. This event marks the Young Turk rebellion.
July 4 – The Gem, the first purpose-built cinema to hold 1 000 people in the country, was opened in Great Yarmouth, England.
July 6 – Robert Peary set sail for the North Pole.
July 13-25 – The Summer Olympics were held in London, England.
July 23 – The Ottoman Empire continued its decline, when the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) issued an ultimatum to Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Constitution of 1876. He capitulated the next day.
July 24 – Italian, Dorando Pietri, won the Olympic Marathon race (from Windsor Castle to London) in one of the most dramatic turns in Olympic history. He was then disqualified for having been assisted at the end; a pyric victory is award to US athlete, Johnny Hayes.
August 8 – Wilbur Wright flew in France for the first time, demonstrating true controlled powered flight in Europe.
The Hoover Company of Canton, Ohio, acquired manufacturing rights to the upright portable vacuum cleaner which had been invented by James M. Spangler.
August 10 – A police order in Paris, France, stipulated that a projectionist MUST operate in a fireproof booth and have a five-litre fire extinguisher and two bottles of Seltzer water to hand at all times.
August 15 – Ciné-Journal, the creation of George Dureau, was first published in Paris, France.
August 17 - D.W. Griffith signed to Biograph being paid $50/week.
Émile Cohl released the first fully animated film, Fantasmagorie
August 25 - In Paris, Romeo Bosetti created a relief fund for cinema actors.
August 31 – Reports of the inventiveness of British cinema began to appear. One refers to Frenchman, Eugène-Augustin Lauste’s experiments with synchronized sound. He began with a vision of etching sound onto the edge of the film. It was noticed that sound waves caused the intensity of a flame to alter. Early experiments worked with this light-based technology and Lauste had been trying to perfect it ever since.
George Albert Smith’s Kinemacolour system also came to the public’s attention through the release of its first films. Kinemacolour is a two-toned colour system furthering the research of French scientists, Gabriel Lippman and Louis-Arthur Ducos du Hauron. Smith patented his refinement of their system in June 1907 and made a public demonstration of its capability on February 26th, of this year.
September 8 – Paris, France. Éclair kicked off its Nick Carter
series with Le Guet-apens
(The Trap) directed by Victorin Jasset.
September 9 - Director Jean Durand hired an unknown actor by the name of Maurice Chevalier, to do some trick shots for the film he was making.
Biograph manager, Jeremiah Kennedy threatened to obtain his own licenses if the Edison Company refused to allow him to use Edison movie cameras.
September 16 – D.W. Griffith began shooting The Curtain Pole
with a young Mack Sennett.
September 17 – Thomas Selfridge, at Fort Myer, Virginia, USA, became the first person to die in an airplane crash. Orville Wright was severely injured but recovered.
September 19 – In Paris, France, André Debrie patented his camera. This was able to hold 120 metres of film.
September 27 – Henry Ford produced his first Model T automobile, in his Detroit, Michigan, USA factory.
October 1 – The Penny Post was established between the UK and the USA.
November 6 – Criminals, Butch Cassidy, and the Sundance Kid, were killed in Bolivia, after being surrounded by a large group of soldiers (or, maybe, that’s what they WANTED you to think).
November 12 – Émile Cohl released his latest animated film for Gaumont, A Drama In Fantoche’s House
. He got the job at Gaumont by storming into the office’s claiming the company had plagiarized one of his cartoons for one of their posters. Louis Feuillade was able to calm