Pioneers of cinema, 1900-1929

Pioneers of Cinema 1900-1929

A New Medium - It goes without saying that motion pictures have had a phenomenal impact on modern culture, the arts, technology, politics, and even the sciences. It is sometimes hard to believe that the medium itself is only a bit over 100 years old, with the first recognizable showing of a "motion picture" to the public done at the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition (Clegg, 2007). The idea was so fantastic, and so appreciated by the public that Kinetoscope parlors began springing up in major urban areas all over the world. Because of consumer demand, there was constant interest in the improvement of techniques. For the next 10-15 years, advances in technology grew so rapidly that by 1907 there were about 4,000 small nickelodeon cinemas in the United States. These short films were shown with the accompaniment of a pianist, or sometimes small orchestra. The entire show lasted around 30 minutes, but the demand was so great that the idea of patents, professional studios, and a place to make movies year round was developed. Thus, by 1910 actors in films began to receive screen credit, and the creation of film stars was also born. Multi-reel pictures were developed, serialized films, and films with more imaginative sets and plots shown (Bowser, 1990, 24-51).

It is really the period of 1914 to 1919 that the industry as we know it today was born. A number of technical improvements were made as the medium became more accepted. Numerous film companies came and went, and the idea of global distribution was born, as was the Movie Theater, a place dedicated to showing lengthy films with a broad genre of themes. This was the era of the silent and some of the most classic movies ever made D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation (1915) made millions at the box office, and announced that this was a medium that was here to stay. European film production also blossomed, and, coupled with the rise of the Studio System in California, a new industry moved from infancy to adolescence (Wexman and Ellis, 2006). We will look at five movies from this era, 1909-1916 in order to analyze some of the form, content, and thematic artistry used.

1909 -- Princess Nicotine -- This is a 5-minute film which, according to research was the first instance of tobacco product placement in a movie. It is a brief vignette telling the story of a man, a smoker, who falls asleep and is visited by two farriers. It uses some interesting special effects in trying to make the audience believe that the fairies were much smaller than humans. Because of the length, the action is rather exaggerated (the man falls asleep quite quickly), but the clarity and depth are very well done, even if we are seeing the action through a circular mask. The camera for the man is stationary, yet the editing of the scenes is very smooth. Of particular note is the lighting -- although this is the earliest example in our list, the lighting is not exaggerated, and we do not see bright flashes -- although there are limited scenes. One can only imagine what the audiences thought of the way the cigarettes magically disappear and the flower changes at the end -- into a cigar -- true magic.

1912 -- The Invaders -- This film is interesting for two reasons -- the complex nature of the locations and the subject matter -- a broken treaty between Native Americans and the settlers. If we contrast it with many of the films made about the same subject in the 1950s and 1960s, it is surprisingly advanced. The camera angels, of course, are relatively stationary, and the plot requires explanation by way of holding up portions of the written treaty for the audience to read. Costumes are relatively stereotypical, but it is likely that it was quite novel for the time. The director does get longer, more panned shots -- one about halfway through that shows a Sioux Brave creeping up behind a prospector wooing a Sioux Squaw. The actors are quite adept at conveying emotion through body language, and the casting of the Sioux Warriors is more lifelike and accurate than many movies coming much later. The portrayal of the White Man as lustful, deceitful and full of avarice, though, certainly makes this a classic -- and the title, The Invaders, clearly implies that the Sioux were on the land first.

1912 -- The Musketeers of Pig Alley - This movie is said to be the first gangster film in history, written by D.W. Griffith. It is also likely the first film to use the follow focus, allowing greater control over close ups. Lillian Gish, who would dazzle audiences throughout the silent era, plays "The little lady" in the film. The story is simple, but likely quite relevant for the time. It surrounds a poor young couple living in New York -- the husband is a musician and he must travel to and from his job. During one of his trip he is robbed and later gets caught in an altercation and recognizes one of the men as the robber -- and he wants his money back! In just 17 minutes, though, the mood of the city is captured, as is the vulnerability of the population to lawlessness. The shots are framed rather small, and the makeup and action rather exaggerated, but the scene in which Gish finds her mother dead still remains quite moving. The alley scene is surprisingly modern -- prostitution abounds, the streets re crowded, children are dirty and hungry, and the entire view of life is one of pathos and danger. Most of the scenes are shot indoors, and are quite clear. One can tell that the camera remains stationary, and the scenes are spliced together, but the movement is fairly realistic and certainly does not detract from the art of the film.

1914 -- Gertie the Dinosaur -- Gertie is a very innovative and interesting film. It is, however, the least professionally done of all the examples in that there are numerous instances of unwanted glare, bogging down of action, and simply no reason for showing duplicate scenes -- but these are all the portion of the movie with real people in them -- when the animation arrives, the effects are stunning, and wildly portent of Steamboat Willy and other forays into animation. When one realizes that Gertie was created by drawing thousands of individual scenes on rice paper this is truly groundbreaking. In fact, the use of registration marks made the Gertie scenes seem somehow smoother than some of the other, live action activities. The anatomical detail (Gertie swallowing a tree, for instance, is amazing). But, what is truly wonderful is that this hand drawn dinosaur actually exudes a personality.

1916 -- The Rink -- We finally meet Charlie Chaplin as a waiter in this film, his 7th for Mutual Films. It co-starred Edna Purviance as "The Girl," another personage that would dominate the silent screen. The plot is extraordinarily simple -- after amusements working in a restaurant, Chaplin uses his lunch break to go roller skating. There also appears to be a sound score included one that mimics Chaplin's antics. Certainly full of caricatures, one can see the advancement of camera usage in the skating rink scene, although it is clear that the technology for managing contrasts (black/white) in lighting was not quite developed. We do see Chaplin's characteristic walk and comic antics. Not only do we see Chaplin's phenomenal skills as a skater, we do see his ability to "play to the camera" in a different way that previous films -- the camera now becomes a part of the audience, far less static and immobile - the audience then enters the scene rather than simply observes it.