Edwin S. Porter Movies
All but forgotten today, American director Edwin S. Porter was an instrumental force in the development of motion pictures. Though not the father of the narrative film per se (that title could be claimed by Georges Melies, Walter Booth, and/or James Williamson, from whom Porter copied many concepts and storylines), Porter's importance should not be underestimated.
Holding down several jobs during his first three decades, the industrious Porter was most attracted to machine work, notably electric-equipment installation; in collaboration with US Navy Admiral Bradley Allan Fiske, Porter developed the Fiske electric range-finder. In the late 1890s, Porter became part of a regional management team that handled the Vitascope, an early motion picture projector, though he didn't stay with this team for long. After a failed business venture involving a rival projection device called the Projectorscope, Porter invented a vastly improved projector, delivering a brighter and steadier picture, known as the Beadnell (in honor of his partner). Production of this commodity ended when Porter's factory burned down in 1900. Meanwhile, Porter joined Thomas Edison as a machinist, and began submitting films to Edison's company as a journeyman exhibitor; by 1901, he became involved in full-fledged motion picture production in tandem with Edison.
A number (though not by any means most) of the short dramatic and nonfiction films (or "actualities") released by the Edison company in the first three years of the 20th century were photographed and directed by Porter, many of them both inventive and innovative. In 1902, Porter turned out a five-minute subject titled Life of an American Fireman. At first, Porter did not seem to realize the potential of this work, and returned to his one-scene comedies and trick films. Then in 1903 came Porter's masterpiece, The Great Train Robbery. Where the scenes in Life of an American Fireman were such that they could be arranged in any order and still tell a story, Great Train Robbery attained recognition as one of the frirst major motion pictures to move the story forward with each successive scene (though, technically speaking, not the first to do so, as Porter's Jack and the Beanstalk preceded Robbery by a year). In addition, the storyline of Robbery was exciting and involving -- and as such, it moved an audience. The Great Train Robbery became the fledgling movie industry's first box-office hit, establishing the basic storytelling grammar that would be adhered to in films until such future directors as D.W. Griffith would develop cross-cutting and closeups to intensify the dramatic content.
Now Edison's most valuable employee, Porter was given carte blanche to turn out a number of creative and fascinating one-reelers, including The Kleptomaniac (1905), Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend (1906) and Rescued from an Eagle's Nest (1908) (which featured D.W. Griffith in the leading role). During this time, he experimented with trick photography, stop-motion animation, and split-screen shots; he also remained a technician at heart, designing Edison's new state-of-the-art studio in 1906 and working on a further-improved projector called the Simplex. Despite his accomplishments for Edison, Porter was ultimately fired by that company.
Working in concert with filmmaker Adolph Zukor and Broadway producer Daniel H. Frohman in 1912, Porter launched the "Famous Players in Famous Plays" series with a feature-length version of Queen Elizabeth starring Sarah Bernhardt. At the new Famous Players company (later known as Paramount), Porter scored another hit with his direction of The Prisoner of Zenda (1913), with James K. Hackett repeating his stage role. He also guided Mary Pickford through many of her early successes, notably Tess of the Storm Country (1914). Throughout his Famous Players days, Porter constantly clashed with Zukor and Frohmann over business and creative matters; he ended both his association with the studio and his directorial career with the 1916 Pauline Frederick vehicle, Lydia Gilmore. Porter then returned to his first love, inventing and improving film equipment, expanding his experimentation to 3-D photography, lightweight motor-operated cameras, and talking pictures. Pouring his movie earnings into his Precision Machine Company, Porter flourished until the 1929 stock market crash. While he didn't lose all his money, Porter became a recluse, taking whatever machine-shop jobs that came along. His principal goal in the '30s was to develop inexpensive home-movie cameras with pre-loaded film magazines, but a stroke sharply impaired his ability to function. Edwin S. Porter died at New York's Taft Hotel at the age of 71; his passing was virtually ignored by the industry that he'd help put on the map. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1915
Filmed on location in Rome at a then-staggering cost of $100,000, The Eternal City was based on the best-selling historical novel by Hall Caine. Pauline Frederick emotes convincingly as the mistress of an Italian prime minister. When another of her lovers kills the man who tried to rape her, the woman nobly takes the blame. The resulting scandal causes a political upheaval, which was then and is now nothing new in Italy. For all its splendor and spectacle, The Eternal City is often brought down to nickelodeon level by the unimaginative direction of Edwin S. Porter, whose style hadn't developed much since his landmark The Great Train Robbery (1903). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1915
The Greek legend of Niobe, who was turned to stone because of her monumental ego, was the basis for this wry comedy-fantasy. Charles S. Abbe plays an insurance man who has okayed $400,000 to cover a statue of Niobe. Obsessed with her legend, he falls asleep and dreams that the statue has come to life in the delectable form of Hazel Dawn. The revived Niobe escapes to a municipal park, where she commiserates with the statues of several other mythological figures, much to the consternation of the insurance man and practically everyone else in town. If Niobe could be rediscovered, it might prove a fascinating precursor to such later entertainments as Night Life of the Gods and One Touch of Venus. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1915
In keeping with its philosophy of "famous players in famous plays," Adoph Zukor's company Famous Players-Paramount hired stage star Marie Doro to recreate her role of Carlotta in this romantic comedy. Carlotta grows up in a Turkish harem and, when she turns 18, finds out that her foster father Hamdi (Russell Bassett) is planning to sell her to an old Turk. An Englishman helps her escape to Britain, but he is arrested upon their arrival. Carlotta winds up on the doorstep of Sir Marcus Ordeyne (Eugene Ormonde), who in spite of his lofty title, is shy and bookish. His aunt (Ida Darling) and niece (Helen Freeman) want him to throw the strange interloper out into the streets, but Marcus decides to make her his protégé. Considering Carlotta's eccentric ways, it is not an easy task to teach her English manners, but it's easy enough to predict that the two will fall in love and that Hamdi, when he finally tracks her down, will be out of luck.
~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- 1915
Zaza, the ever-popular David Belasco-produced stage drama by Pierre Breton and Charles Simon, was first brought to the screen by Famous Players. Taking over from the original production's Mrs. Leslie Carter in the title role was the equally talented Pauline Frederick. The story is the familiar one of a popular French music-hall performer who falls in love with Dufrene (Julian L'Estrange, a wealthy and married nobleman. Humiliated by her furtive back-street romance with her rich paramour, Zaza vows to ruin the man but finds that she can't go through with it. When Dufrene's wife conveniently dies, it appears as if a happy ending is inevitable, but don't count on it. Zaza was remade in 1923 with Gloria Swanson and in 1939 with Claudette Colbert; both remakes were produced by Famous Players'successor, Paramount Pictures. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1915
As a rule, Pauline Frederick was better than her material in her Famous Players vehicles of the pre-1920 era, and Sold was hardly an exception to that rule. Adapted from Henri Bernstein's play Le Secret, the film casts Frederick as the wife of a starving artist. To save her husband from eviction, she agrees to pose in the nude for a rival artist for a $5000 fee. The outraged husband finds out about this and beats the other artist to a pulp. In the midst of the struggle, Frederick tries to separate the two men, only to be accidentally shot by her husband. Edwin S. Porter and Hugh Ford directed the film as if the camera was nailed to the floor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1915
Normally the very picture of femininity, Marguerite Clark was persuasively masculine in the dual "britches" role of The Prince and the Pauper. This first feature-length version of the Mark Twain story de-emphasized the author's acerbic social commentary, preferring instead to concentrate on the mistaken-identity aspects of the story. On a whim, the Prince of Wales (Clark), son of King Henry VIII, trades places with beggar boy Tom Canty (Clark). The prank has long-ranging consequences when Henry dies and the phony prince is slated to assume the royal crown. Meanwhile, the real prince has quite a time convincing anyone of who he really is; only the protection of wandering cavalier Miles Herndon (William Sorrelle) saves the boy from disaster at every turn. The double-exposure photography used to create the illusion of two Marguerite Clarks was well up to the standards of pioneering director Edwin S. Porter. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1914
Mary Pickford was in the first flush of her screen superstardom when she appeared in this adaptation of Grace Miller White's novel Tess of the Storm Country. A rambunctious mountain girl, Tess (Pickford) falls in love with a travelling preacher (Harold Lockwood). She swipes a Bible and memorizes it from cover to cover so as to impress the object of her affections. Later, Tess gives shelter to the preacher's pregnant sister then claims ownership of the baby so as to save the sister from disgrace. Unaware of the situation, the sanctimonious preacher refuses to baptize the dying child, whereupon Tess sneaks into the church and performs the rites herself. And as a bonus, she manages to track down the murderers of a gamekeeper. Whatever success Tess of the Storm Country enjoyed was due entirely to Mary Pickford; the direction, by Edwin S. Porter, was appallingly primitive, and the supporting performances not much better. Perhaps sensing this, Pickford chose to remake the property in 1922, this time supervising all aspects of its production -- and the result was an infinitely better film. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mary Pickford, Harold Lockwood, (more)
- 1914
Famous Players earned themselves a suit for plagiarism with this four-reel shipwreck melodrama, which was ostensibly written by its leading lady, Mary Pickford. Pickford had warned her producer, Adolph Zukor, that the story wasn't quite fresh, but the company went ahead anyway. Cyrus Brady Thompson, whose As the Sparks Fly Upward bore an incredible resemblance to Hearts Adrift, promptly sued, despite the fact that Thompson himself had "borrowed" from a 1912 play, Bird of Paradise. Pickford and Harold Lockwood are both marooned on a deserted island. Romance blossoms, and in time, they have a child. But then Lockwood's wife arrives with a rescuing party and Mary throws herself into a volcano, as one reviewer put it, "with her island baby clasped in her arms." Young Lockwood, who had been slaving away in Selig potboilers up until then, was handpicked by Zukor and Pickford for this, the company's first film to be lensed in California, earning a contract with Famous Players for his efforts. Hearts Adrift proved so popular that Pickford asked for hefty raise of her salary to an unprecedented 1,000 dollars a week. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- 1914
Set in the apparently always topical Balkans, this humorous Mary Pickford vehicle presented the star as the Queen of Herzegovina, who for political reasons must marry the King of Bosnia (Carlyle Blackwell), who she initially detests. An uprising breaks out in the middle of the ceremonies, and the Royal couple is forced to flee. A handsome American (Harold Lockwood) brings Their Majesties to New York City, where the regal Queen of Herzegovina is soon spotted in full regalia mashing potatoes with her scepter. The only work available for the former heads of state is in a meat-packing plant, but they cope and grow to love their new country. Mary Pickford, who had recently scored a monumental hit with the sentimental Tess of the Storm Country, exhibits a mature comedic style far removed from the spirited youngsters usually associated with this fine actress. Written for the screen by co-director Hugh Ford, Such a Little Queen was based on a stage play by Channing Pollock. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- 1914
Movie star Mary Pickford was reunited with her theatrical mentor, producer David Belasco, in this filmization of Pickford and Belasco's stage hit A Good Little Devil. Beginning with a tableau wherein Belasco conjures up visions of the play's characters, the film segues into the story of a little blind girl (Pickford, of course) who brightens up the lives of all those around her. Featured in the cast is young Ernest Truex as the male juvenile. Unfortunately, the director chosen for the film was Edwin S. Porter, who despite his ground-breaking The Great Train Robbery (1903) was a singularly uninspired filmmaker. As a result, Good Little Devil was little more than a photographed stage play, well below the standards of Pickford's earlier efforts for D.W.Griffith. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1914
No relation to the same-named Arthur Miller play, the 1915 Paramount production The Crucible was based on a novel by Mark Lee Luther. The beautiful and fragile Marguerite Clark stars as Jean, a much-put-upon tenement girl who suffers under the persecution of self-styled moralists. Misfortune piles upon misfortune until Jean ends up in prison. She escapes, but her troubles are far from over. The outcome of the plot hinges upon an all-important telegram, which may or may not be delivered in time. Like most of Marguerite Clark's vehicles, The Crucible apparently no longer exists, at least not in its complete form. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1913
Co-directed (with J. Searle Dawley) by Edwin S. Porter, this 5-reel melodrama from Mary Pickford's early days with Famous Players-Lasky centered on Nance, a young girl who escapes an orphanage only to team up with a crook (David Wall). Fleeing the authorities following a failed diamond heist, Nance jumps into the clerical carriage of the title and finds redemption. She becomes a chorus girl, but the crook wants her back. Happily, a handsome theatrical agent (House Peters) manages to save the girl before she suffers the mandatory (for this kind of melodrama) fate worse than death. Reportedly, this was the first and last film seen by Pickford's Catholic grandmother who mistakenly assumed it to be a religious subject and was thus horrified watching her granddaughter prance around in chorus girl attire. Miriam Michelson's story was filmed again in 1920, this time as She Couldn't Help It and starring Bebe Daniels as Nance. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- 1913
In 1912, film pioneers Edwin S. Porter, Adolph Zukor and David Frohman formed the Famous Players film corporation for the express purpose of immortalizing on celluloid the greatest performances of Broadway's finest actors. The new company's first production was Anthony Hope's Ruritanian swashbuckler The Prisoner of Zenda, starring James K. Hackett as Rudolph Rassendyl and Beatrice Beckley as Princess Flavia. As promised, the film was a faithful rendition of the stage version (adapted from Hope's novel by Edward Rose), with the original "dual identity" plotline and the colorful cast of characters intact. But as directed by Edwin S. Porter, the film was cinematically primitive and unimaginative, with every shot filmed as though the camera was anchored in the third row of the theater. Within two years, a vastly superior version of Prisoner of Zenda would be filmed in England with Henry Ainley as Rudolph Rassendyl, followed by the even more accomplished adaptations of 1922, 1937 and 1952. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1912
Based on the classic revenge tale by Alexander Dumas, this film was one of the first feature-length American movies, and starred notable stage actors, including James O'Neill as the title character. ~ John Bush, Rovi
- 1911
The title emotion of this early silent melodrama belonged to Lois Weber, a married woman discovering that the young man with whom she had been dallying, an artist, is himself married. Phillips Smalley, Weber's real-life husband, co-starred with young Harold Lockwood, in his second screen appearance, cast as the artist. The one-reeler was written, produced, and directed by film pioneer Edwin S. Porter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- 1911
Written and directed by the man who had given the world The Great Train Robbery back in 1903, Edwin S. Porter, this minor Northwest melodrama is noteworthy only as the screen debut of Thomas Lockwood, one of America's first movie matinee-idols. Lockwood, who was between stage engagements, enacted the role of Gene Thomas, a trapper, who, falsely accused of murder, is saved by an Indian he had once rescued from death. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- 1910
Given the tightening of copyright laws by 1910, it is safe to assume that Edison doled out a substantial sum to Bret Harte for permission to film his short story The Luck of Roaring Camp. With only 12 minutes of screen time at its disposal, the film had no choice but to adhere faithfully to the Harte original. Set during the California Gold Rush, the film details the adventures of a young orphan boy as he teams up with a shady gambler and a shadier saloon gal. Unfortunately, the anonymous director chose to film this "outdoors" picture within the walls of the Edison studio, utilizing the most obvious of phony backdrops. Luck of Roaring Camp would be refilmed several times throughout the silent and early sound era. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1910
Having risen to prominence with The Great Train Robbery, the Edison studios continued turning out "railroad" pictures for the remainder of its existence. In The Engineer's Romance, the titular engineer saves his heroine from a gang of train robbers. By 1910, filmgoers had become sophisticated enough to recognize fakery, thus most producers used genuine exterior locations rather than painted backdrops. In this film, however, painted scenery is utilized throughout, not only undermining the film's credibility but also its thrill quotient. One reviewer for the trade magazine Variety dismissed the picture out of hand, while noting it was typical of the slipshod Edison product of the period. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1910
The dramatis personae of this Edison one-reeler is spelled out in its title. An elderly toymaker insists that his pretty young ward marry his dull son, but the girl is really in love with the toymaker's assistant. Attending a costume party, the girl dresses up as the huge doll which stands in the window of the toymaker's store, while the assistant masquerades as the Devil. Also attending the party is the toymaker, who upon seeing his disguised daughter assumes that his giant doll has come to life. The old man ardently pursues the "doll" back to his shop, necessitating a quick exit for the assistant, who hides up the chimney. When the toymaker lights his fireplace, the assistant, still dressed as the Devil, rushes out, his derriere on fire. The toymaker naturally assumes that this unexpected guest is the real Devil, and falls to his knees, begging to be spared. Seizing the opportunity, the assistant demands that the toymaker immediately surrender his "doll." This done, the assistant and the daughter rush off to get married, leaving the trembling toymaker behind. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1909
Edison's House of Cards takes place Out West -- west of the Hudson River, that is. Sent to town with his boss' weekly payroll money, a young cowboy arrives to find that the bank has closed. He wanders into the local saloon, where he proceeds to lose all the cash in a card game. Desperately, he tries to retrieve the money by robbing the saloon but is prevented from doing so by the saloon-owner's daughter, with whom he is in love. She pleads with the sheriff to allow the cowboy to escape across the border, but the lawman won't hear of it. Instead, he suggests that a rattlesnake be allowed to mete out justice: If the snake bites the sheriff, the cowboy can go free, but if it bites the cowboy -- toooo bad. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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