Movie Chronicles: 1908: Movie Chronicles, #5

By Brett Dillon

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!!!!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brett Dillon
• Release date: Apr 28, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224686995

Book preview

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