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My last shorts update before I get to the first full length film, The Bith Of A Nation.
Those Awful Hats
Length: 3 Minutes
This seemed to be the first "please be considerate at the movie theater" film. The simple plot if that women keep entering the movie theater wearing a larger, more absurd hat than the one before. Finally, the movie theater erupts into a large confrontation. The end has text on the screen asking the ladies to please remove their hats when they enter a movie theater.
Historical Rating: 3/10
Entertainment Rating: 2/10
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The Sealed Room (1909)
Director: D.W.Griffith
Length: 11 minutes
The king's wife is a tramp! The king catches his wife in a room with another man. She is sitting in a chair while the man is sitting on the floor with his head in her lap. She seems to be feeding him some kind of food. The king quickly assembles a few bricklayers and seals the door. The two lovers panic as the king laughs. Then end.
Historical Rating: 4/10
Entertainment Rating: 4/10
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The Battle of Elderbush Gulch (1913)
Directed By: D.W. Griffith
Starring: Mae Marsh, Lillian Gish, Robert Harron
Length: 30 minutes
As with the last jump in length of film (The 2-3 minute shorts to the films like A Trip To The Moon and The Great Train Robbery), the jump in production value is also very noticable.
This movie shows a tribe of native americans battling against a town. By today's standards, the way the Inidans are shown would be extremely offensive. However, I'm trying to judge the film based on its point in history. The film shows the Indians performing a ritual, and then a few of them go to the town. Getting there, they try and kidnap a few dogs (to eat them) but the girl who owns the dogs takes them back. As the Indians are struggling with the girl, a man shoots them and she gets away. One of the Indians dies, the son of the Chief. The Indians get ready for battle and attack the town. The battle rages on for quite awhile until help comes and saves the town.
The battle scenes were pretty impressive for its day. And, having seen the first half of The Birth Of A Nation so far (will be watching the second half tonight), the battle scenes in this movie were actually better than the Civil War battles in The Birth Of A Nation (although, the be fair, this movie's climax was the battle, while the battles in The Birth Of A Nation are just used to advance the story and timeline of events and aren't that important to the movie.)
Historical Rating: 5/10
Entertainment Rating: 5/10
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