Edwin S. Porter

Filmmaker

About

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Also Known As

Edwin Stanton Porter

Birth Place

Connellsville, Pennsylvania, USA

Born

April 21, 1870

Died

April 30, 1941

Biography

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Preeminent figure among early American filmmakers and one of the first to use techniques such as closeups and intercutting for narrative purposes. Porter was a projectionist, inventor and entrepreneur before starting work in 1900 for the Edison company, where he was soon promoted to head of film production. By 1901 he was making multi-shot films such as "The Execution of Czolgosz," a dra...

Filmography

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Lydia Gilmore (1915)

When We Were Twenty-One (1915)

The Prince and the Pauper (1915)

Bella Donna (1915)

The Morals of Marcus (1915)

Notes

There was a 1983 documentary about Porter called "Before the Nickelodeon: The Early Cinema of Edwin S Porter", narrated by Blanche Sweet

Biography

Preeminent figure among early American filmmakers and one of the first to use techniques such as closeups and intercutting for narrative purposes. Porter was a projectionist, inventor and entrepreneur before starting work in 1900 for the Edison company, where he was soon promoted to head of film production. By 1901 he was making multi-shot films such as "The Execution of Czolgosz," a drama about the execution of US President McKinley's assassin which juxtaposed documentary footage of the prison with a staged dramatization of the execution itself.

Porter's first major achievement was "The Life of an American Fireman" (1902), usually considered a landmark work thanks to its sophisticated editing techniques. The film cuts back and forth between the interior and exterior of a burning building in order to heighten dramatic effect, and is thus frequently cited as the first American use of editing in order to "drive" a narrative. (An alternative print of the film was recently discovered in which the exterior and interior scenes are juxtaposed as two continuous sequences, leading to speculation that the intercut version may have been a later development.)

Porter is probably best known for "The Great Train Robbery" (1903), a sophisticated, 12-minute narrative broken up into separate scenes and using camera movement and continuity editing to advance the story. His last important contribution to film was to give an unknown actor and playwright named David Wark Griffith his debut role in the 1907 production, "Rescued from an Eagle's Nest." Porter formed his own company, Rex Films, in 1911, but soon afterward went to work for Famous Players. There he directed several competent but unexceptional features as well as experimenting with various aspects of the filmic process.

Filmography

Director (Feature Film)

Lydia Gilmore (1915)

When We Were Twenty-One (1915)

The Prince and the Pauper (1915)

Bella Donna (1915)

The Morals of Marcus (1915)

The White Pearl (1915)

The Eternal City (1915)

Jim the Penman (1915)

The Crucible (1914)

Hearts Adrift (1914)

A Good Little Devil (1914)

Such a Little Queen (1914)

The Spitfire (1914)

Tess of the Storm Country (1914)

In the Bishop's Carriage (1913)

The Prisoner of Zenda (1913)

The Count of Monte Cristo (1913)

The Convict's Parole (1912)

Lost Illusions (1911)

A White Redman (1911)

Partners (1910)

The Luck of Roaring Camp (1910)

Where Is My Wandering Boy To-night? (1909)

Pocahantas -- A Child of the Forest (1908)

Tale the Autumn Leaves Told (1908)

Tales the Searchlight Told (1908)

Saved by Love (1908)

The Suburbanite's Ingenious Alarm (1908)

The Life of an American Cowboy (1908)

Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (1907)

Waiting at the Church (1907)

Jack the Kisser (1907)

Lost in the Alps (1907)

Laughing Gas (1907)

The Trainer's Daughter; or, A Race for Love (1907)

The Little Girl Who Did Not Believe in Santa Claus (1907)

Cohen's Fire Sale (1907)

College Chums (1907)

A Winter Straw Ride (1906)

Getting Evidence, Showing the Trials and Tribulations of a Private Detective (1906)

The Honeymoon at Niagara Falls (1906)

Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906)

Life of a Cowboy (1906)

The White Caps (1905)

The Train Wreckers (1905)

The Miller's Daughter (1905)

The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog (1905)

How Jones Lost His Roll (1905)

The Kleptomaniac (1905)

The Watermelon Patch (1905)

Life of an American Policeman (1905)

Stolen by Gypsies (1905)

The Little Train Robbery (1905)

The Seven Ages (1905)

Midnight Intruder (1904)

Casey's Frightful Dream (1904)

How a French Nobleman Got a Wife Through the New York Herald "Personal" Columns (1904)

"Weary Willie" Kisses the Bride (1904)

The Ex-Convict (1904)

Capture of Yegg Bank Burglars (1904)

Scarecrow Pump (1904)

"Weary Willie" Kidnaps a Child (1904)

European Rest Cure (1904)

The Messenger Boy's Mistake (1903)

The Heavenly Twins at Odds (1903)

Rube and Mandy at Coney Island (1903)

The Great Train Robbery (1903)

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1903)

The Unappreciated Joke (1903)

The Heavenly Twins at Lunch (1903)

Strange Adventure of New York Drummer (1899)

Cinematography (Feature Film)

The Count of Monte Cristo (1913)

The Heart of a Rose (1910)

Bear Hunt in the Rockies (1910)

A Road to Love (1909)

The Pony Express (1909)

A Modest Young Man (1909)

A Persistent Suitor (1909)

The Doctored Dinner Pail (1909)

A Burglar Cupid (1909)

Fly Paper (1908)

A Sculptor's Welsh Rabbit Dream (1908)

The Merry Widow Waltz Craze (1908)

Cupid's Pranks (1908)

A Country Girl's Seminary Life and Experiences (1908)

A Yankee Man-o-Warsman's Fight for Love (1908)

Nero and the Burning of Rome (1908)

Tale the Autumn Leaves Told (1908)

Animated Snowballs (1908)

Stage Memories of an Old Theatrical Trunk (1908)

Wifey's Strategy (1908)

Skinny's Finish (1908)

A Voice from the Dead (1908)

Curious Mr. Curio (1908)

The Devil (1908)

The New Stenographer (1908)

Saved by Love (1908)

Minstrel Mishaps; or, Late for Rehearsal (1908)

The Gentleman Burglar (1908)

Cocoa Industry, Trinidad, British West Indies (1908)

Miss Sherlock Holmes (1908)

Buying a Title (1908)

An Unexpected Santa Claus (1908)

The Lovers' Telegraphic Code (1908)

Honesty Is the Best Policy (1908)

The Old Maids' Temperance Club (1908)

Sandy McPherson's Quiet Fishing Trip (1908)

Fireside Reminiscences (1908)

Playmates (1908)

Pocahantas -- A Child of the Forest (1908)

Rescued from an Eagle's Nest (1908)

Bridal Couple Dodging Cameras (1908)

The Boston Tea Party (1908)

The Cowboy and the Schoolmarm (1908)

Love Will Find a Way (1908)

When Ruben Comes to Town (1908)

Heard over the Phone (1908)

The Little Coxswain of the Varsity Eight (1908)

Ten Pickaninnies (1908)

Tales the Searchlight Told (1908)

The Suburbanite's Ingenious Alarm (1908)

The King's Pardon (1908)

The Painter's Revenge (1908)

The Angel Child (1908)

Nellie, the Pretty Typewriter (1908)

A Comedy in Black and White (1908)

The Face on the Barroom Floor (1908)

Colonial Virginia (1908)

The Little Girl Who Did Not Believe in Santa Claus (1907)

The Nine Lives of a Cat (1907)

Lost in the Alps (1907)

Daniel Boone; or, Pioneer Days in America (1907)

The Trainer's Daughter; or, A Race for Love (1907)

College Chums (1907)

Poor John (1907)

Jack the Kisser (1907)

Cohen's Fire Sale (1907)

Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (1907)

A Race for Millions (1907)

Stage Struck (1907)

Laughing Gas (1907)

Waiting at the Church (1907)

The Honeymoon at Niagara Falls (1906)

Kathleen Mavoureen (1906)

Life of a Cowboy (1906)

The Terrible Kids (1906)

Waiting at the Church (1906)

Phoebe Snow (1906)

Getting Evidence, Showing the Trials and Tribulations of a Private Detective (1906)

How the Office Boy Saw the Ball Game (1906)

Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906)

A Winter Straw Ride (1906)

Getting Evidence (1906)

Cinematographer

Mystic Shriners' Day, Dreamland, Coney Island (1905)

The Miller's Daughter (1905)

The Watermelon Patch (1905)

Empire State Express, the Second, Taking Water on the Fly (1905)

The Boarding School Girls (1905)

The Kleptomaniac (1905)

Inauguration of President Roosevelt. the Grand Inaugural Parade (1905)

The Night Before Christmas (1905)

Life of an American Policeman (1905)

The White Caps (1905)

The Seven Ages (1905)

Scenes and Incidents, Russo-Japanese Peace Conference, Portsmouth, N.H. (1905)

Raffles, the Dog (1905)

Everybody Works but Father (1905)

The Train Wreckers (1905)

The Burglar's Slide for Life (1905)

Stolen by Gypsies (1905)

The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog (1905)

Start of Ocean Race for Kaiser's Cup (1905)

Down on the Farm (1905)

Opening of Belmont Park Race Course (1905)

Inauguration of President Roosevelt. President-Elect Roosevelt, Vice-President-Elect Fairbanks and Escort Going to the Capitol (1905)

President Roosevelt's Inauguration (1905)

Inauguration of President Roosevelt. Taking the Oath of Office (1905)

Hippodrome Races, Dreamland, Coney Island (1905)

A River Tragedy (1905)

Desperate Encounter Between Burglar and Police (1905)

The Little Train Robbery (1905)

How Jones Lost His Roll (1905)

Poor Algy (1905)

The Electric Mule (1905)

June's Birthday Party (1905)

Coney Island at Night (1905)

Cinematographer

A Rube Couple at a County Fair (1904)

Skirmish Between Russian and Japanese Advance Guards (1904)

Babe and Puppies (1904)

Buster and Tige Put a Balloon Vendor Out of Business (1904)

Sleighing in Central Park, New York (1904)

Hold Up in a Country Grocery Store (1904)

Crossing Ice Bridge at Niagara Falls (1904)

"Weary Willie" Kidnaps a Child (1904)

Wifey's Mistake (1904)

Annual Parade, New York Fire Department (1904)

Scarecrow Pump (1904)

Animated Painting (1904)

Ice Skating in Central Park, N.Y. (1904)

Bad Boy's Joke on the Nurse (1904)

Buster Makes Room for His Mama at the Bargain Counter (1904)

Scenes in an Infant Orphan Asylum (1904)

Canoeing on the Charles River, Boston, Mass. (1904)

Parsifal (1904)

Japanese Acrobats (1904)

Sliding Down Ice Mound at Niagara Falls (1904)

The Cop Fools the Sergeant (1904)

Halloween Night at the Seminary (1904)

Railroad Smashup (1904)

How a French Nobleman Got a Wife Through the New York Herald "Personal" Columns (1904)

Buster's Dog to the Rescue (1904)

Casey's Frightful Dream (1904)

Pranks of Buster Brown and His Dog Tige (1904)

Cohen's Advertising Scheme (1904)

Battle of Chemulpo Bay (1904)

The "Strenuous" Life; or, Anti-Race Suicide (1904)

Maniac Chase (1904)

Old Maid and Fortune Teller (1904)

"Weary Willie" Kisses the Bride (1904)

Miss Lillian Shaffer and Her Dancing Horse (1904)

Ice Boating on the North Shrewsbury, Red Bank, N.J. (1904)

Midnight Intruder (1904)

White Star S.S. Baltic Leaving Pier on First Eastern Voyage (1904)

Treloar and Miss Marshall, Prize Winners at the Physical Culture Show in Madison Square Garden (1904)

Buster Brown and the Dude (1904)

Section of Buster Brown Series, Showing a Sketch of Buster by Outcault (1904)

Capture of Yegg Bank Burglars (1904)

Circular Panorama of the Horse Shoe Falls in Winter (1904)

European Rest Cure (1904)

Little German Band (1904)

The Ex-Convict (1904)

How Old Is Ann? (1903)

Seashore Frolics (1903)

New York Caledonian Club's Parade (1903)

Casey and His Neighbor's Goat (1903)

The Great Train Robbery (1903)

The Heavenly Twins at Lunch (1903)

The Office Boy's Revenge (1903)

The Animated Poster (1903)

Sorting Refuse at Incinerating Plant, New York City (1903)

Street Car Chivalry (1903)

Panorama Water Front and Brooklyn Bridge from East River (1903)

Miss Jessie Dogherty, Champion Female Highland Fling Dancer (1903)

The Unappreciated Joke (1903)

Two Chappies in a Box (1903)

Under the Mistletoe (1903)

East Side Urchins Bathing in a Fountain (1903)

A Romance of the Rail (1903)

What Happened in the Tunnel (1903)

The Extra Turn (1903)

Orphans in the Surf (1903)

The Physical Culture Girl (1903)

Old Fashioned Scottish Reel (1903)

Panorama of Riker's Island (1903)

Baby Class at Lunch (1903)

Steamscow "Cinderella" and Ferryboat "Cincinnati" (1903)

An East River Novelty (1903)

Throwing the Sixteen Pound Hammer (1903)

Miss Jessie Cameron, Champion Child Sword Dancer (1903)

Down Where the Wurzburger Flows (1903)

Fireboat "New Yorker" in Action (1903)

New York Harbor Police Boat Patrol Capturing Pirates (1903)

New York City Police Parade (1903)

The Heavenly Twins at Odds (1903)

Lehigh Valley Black Diamond Express (1903)

Rube and Mandy at Coney Island (1903)

Panorama of Blackwell's Island (1903)

New York City Public Bath (1903)

Subub Surprises the Burglar (1903)

Buster's Joke on Papa (1903)

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1903)

The Messenger Boy's Mistake (1903)

Buster's Joke on Papa (1903)

The Still Alarm (1903)

Electrocuting an Elephant (1903)

Cinematographer

The Bull and the Picnickers (1902)

Happy Hooligan Turns Burglar (1902)

Capture of the Biddle Brothers (1902)

The Burlesque Suicide (1902)

Fun in a Bakery Shop (1902)

Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show (1902)

The Twentieth Century Tramp; or, Happy Hooligan and His Airship (1902)

Appointment by Telephone (1902)

Circular Panorama of Electric Tower (1901)

The Finish of Bridget McKeen (1901)

The Mysterious Cafe (1901)

What Happened on Twenty-Third Street, New York City (1901)

Panoramic View of Electric Tower from a Balloon (1901)

Esquimaux Game of Snap-the-Whip (1901)

Pan-American Exposition by Night (1901)

A Phenomenal Contortionist (1901)

Catching an Early Train (1901)

The Esquimaux Village (1901)

Esquimaux Leap-Frog (1901)

Follow the Leader (1901)

Another Job for the Undertaker (1901)

A Joke on Grandma (1901)

Panorama of Esplanade by Night (1901)

The Martyred Presidents (1901)

Execution of Czolgosz, with Panorama of Auburn Prison (1901)

The Artist's Dilemma (1901)

The Tramp's Miraculous Escape (1901)

Pie, Tramp and the Bulldog (1901)

Photographing a Country Couple (1901)

Aunt Sallie's Wonderful Bustle (1901)

Fun in a Butcher Shop (1901)

The Tramp and the Nursing Bottle (1901)

The Tramp's Dream (1901)

Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King (1901)

The Photographer's Mishap (1901)

Uncle Josh's Nightmare (1900)

An Artist's Dream (1900)

A Wringing Good Joke (1900)

Congress of Nations (1900)

Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel (1900)

"Shamrock" and "Columbia" Rounding the Outer Stake Boat (1899)

"Shamrock" and "Columbia" Yacht Race--First Race (1899)

"Shamrock" and "Erin" Sailing (1899)

After the Race--Yachts Returning to Anchorage (1899)

Pictures Incidental to Yacht Race (1899)

"Columbia" Winning the Cup (1899)

Producer (Feature Film)

Getting Evidence (1906)

Animation (Feature Film)

Coney Island at Night (1905)

Title Animation

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

Before the Nickelodeon: The Early Cinema Of Edwin S. Porter (1982)

Director (Short)

The Blue and the Gray; or, Days of '61 (1908)

The Army of Two (An Incident During the American Revolution) (1908)

The Teddy Bears (1907)

Three American Beauties (1906)

Life of an American Fireman (1903)

Cinematography (Short)

Fruit Growing, Grand Valley, Colorado (The Results of Irrigation) (1910)

Ex-Convict No. 900 (1908)

The Army of Two (An Incident During the American Revolution) (1908)

The Blue and the Gray; or, Days of '61 (1908)

Pioneers Crossing the Plains in '49 (1908)

Three American Beauties [No. 2] (1907)

The Teddy Bears (1907)

Three American Beauties (1906)

ON A GOOD OLE 5? TROLLEY RIDE (1905)

Opening Ceremonies, New York Subway, October 27, 1904 (1904)

Fire and Flames at Luna Park, Coney Island [An Attraction at Coney Island] (1904)

Inter-Collegiate Athletic Association Championships, 1904 (1904)

Elephants Shooting the Chutes at Luna Park [Coney Island] (1904)

Dog Factory (1904)

Inter-Collegiate Regatta, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., 1904 (1904)

City Hall to Harlem in 15 Seconds, via the Subway Route (1904)

69th Regiment, N.G.N.Y. (1903)

The Gay Shoe Clerk (1903)

"Africander" Winning the Suburban Handicap, 1903 (1903)

Life of an American Fireman (1903)

Burning of St. Pierre [Martinique] (1902)

What Happened on 23rd Street, New York City (1901)

Cinematographer

"Shamrock" and "Columbia" Rounding the Outer Stake Boat, No. 2 (1899)

"Shamrock" and "Columbia" Yacht Race--1st Race, No. 2 (1899)

Life Events

1896

Helped set up the first screening of projected motion pictures at New York's Koster & Bial's Music Hall

1897

Exhibited Edison films and tried to sell the primitive Projectoscope to countries in South America and the West Indies (date approxcimate)

1899

First known directorial effort, "The American Cup Race"

1902

First notable work, "The Life of An American Fireman"

1903

Directed the seminal, "The Great Train Robbery"

1912

Appointed director general of Famous Players in Famous Plays, the production company that was forerunner to Paramount (date approximate)

1916

Last directorial credit, "Lydia Gilmore"

1929

Lost most of his money in stock market crash

Bibliography

Notes

There was a 1983 documentary about Porter called "Before the Nickelodeon: The Early Cinema of Edwin S Porter", narrated by Blanche Sweet

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