Early Hollywood and the Globalization of Cinema (1910’s-20’s)
FOCUS: Looking At Movies
Films for discussion and exploration…
The Kid (Charlie Chaplin, 1921)
Readings
Flashback - Chapter 3
Short Guide - Chapter 3
Looking at Movies - Chapter 1
Week 02 Notes
INNOVATIONS NECESSARY FOR THE ADVENT OF CINEMA
Tracing of the optical toys, early experiments that were needed in order for early cinema to develop;
Early filmmaking was radical, not sophisticated. Similar to video gaming today – was interesting, there as a kind of entertainment / push and experimentation in technology but certainly not art. It was taken up by scientists and those interested in the illusion or trickery of it.
Optical toys, shadow shows, magic lanterns existed for 1000s of years. Scientists looked at how to create still pictures into motion. The idea of taking a still image, and how do you make it move – give it the illusion of movement
CONCEPT – PERSISTENCE OF VISION – A defining term for this lecture. How do we make images move? How do we put them into motion (see Artifact 01 below).
ARTIFACT 01 > CrashCourse. “Movies are Magic: Crash Course Film History #1.” YouTube. 13 Apr 2017.
Artifact 01 Summary
Overview
This video examines how Film serves as a global language for storytelling.
It notes how film sits at an intersection of art, industry, technology, and politics.
It looks at the transition from static images to moving pictures, as well as at technological advancements and innovators in film history.
It considers the role of perception in creating the illusion of motion.
The Essence of Film
Film is a universal medium for storytelling, reflecting collective hopes and fears.
It combines elements of art, industry, technology, and politics, making it a powerful cultural tool.
The narrative explores the evolution of film from its inception.
The Origins of Film
Initially, film was a series of static images viewed in quick succession to create the
illusion of motion.
The concept of film began with optical illusions like the persistence of vision and
phi phenomenon.
Early devices like the zoetrope and phenakistoscope created illusions of
movement.
Key Technological Developments
Photography played a crucial role in film development, starting with the camera
obscura.Joseph Nicéphore Niépce took the first known camera photograph.
Louis Daguerre improved exposure times, leading to the commercial success of the
daguerreotype.
George Eastman introduced film on paper, reducing reliance on toxic chemicals.
The Advent of Motion Pictures
Eadweard Muybridge used photography to study motion, proving that a horse can
have all hooves off the ground.
Étienne-Jules Marey invented the chronophotographic gun to capture rapid
sequences of images.
Thomas Edison and W.K.L. Dickson developed the kinetograph, the first motion
picture camera.
Film as an Art Form
Film combines literature, drama, photography, and music.
Directors use aesthetic choices to influence audience perception and interpretation.
The evolution of film is marked by a series of happy accidents and innovations.
The Future of Film
The course will explore the development of motion picture cameras and the
beginnings of film as we know it today.
The narrative highlights the importance of film in self-discovery and cultural
exploration.
ARTIFACT 02 > CrashCourse. “Dissecting the Camera: Crash Course Film Production with Lily Gladstone #4.” YouTube. 21 SEPT 2017.
TECHNOLOGY > The Magic Lantern – 17th Century in Italy (perhaps from innovations developed in Roman times); fix an image somewhere else – like a slide projector of sorts but making them move.
1839 > BIRTH OF PHOTOGRAPHY
You could not have cinema without the birth of photography. The technology of photography is the technology of film. The first commercially viable means of creating photographs was on metal plates.
1861 > KINEMATOSCOPE – An improvement to how one could create the illusion of movement. When you look inside a peephole and move a mechanism around it gave you the illusion of movement from a series of sequential still pictures. First early innovation – baby steps to the birth of the cinema.
Edward Muybridge (ARTIFACT 02 below) > symbolizes the move between photographic and cinematic. Famous for his recordings of the movement of animals. Horse in motion is his most famous. 1870s he studied how to record the movement of horses in Palo Alto. He was first person to show that the four legs do move off the ground. (Muybridge, Horse in Motion – 1878)
The images were cut into strips; and his own invention the ZOOPRAXISCOPE, was a machine also called the wheel of life, was a primitive motion picture projector that created the illusion of motion.
True motion pictures could only come about after development of transparent celluloid film. Allowed you to create flexible, film images. Parisian inventors experimented with celluloid film. People in America and Europe worked towards the same idea, but from different ways of thinking, leading to a paradigm shift.
Etienne-Jules Marey (Human Motion 1880) – many early films were fixated on movement of animal and human bodies. It was about finding a way to interrogate the human body. Came from the impulse to categorize the parts of the body (anthropological).
Marey was interested in capturing fast movement of things that he wanted to capture;
ARTIFACT 03 > Smarthistory. “Muybridge, The Attitude of Animals in Motion.” YouTube. 28 Mar 2022.
1872 – first to claim he was inventor of cinema. Constructed a camera that could take 12 photographs a second. He used an actual gun with a mechanism built into it that could shoot film at 12 photographs a second. Loaded connotations here – shooting or taking a film go to words we use today such as finding the perfect shot.
PRINCE built upon what Marey had done. He tried to devise a way to show a longer exposure. (Roundhay Garden Scene – 1888)
KODAK small box camera was developed in the 1890s.
KINETOGRAPH – Dickson – Dickson Greeting (1891) – Edison worked with Dickson to design a viewing machine to shoot and view it at the same time. This was the first public exhibition of a film in 1891 in the USA.
Within 10 years you would have screenings all around the world.
Edison perfected the machines into stationary cameras. Each person would view films separately. Today, we seem to be moving back to that kind of viewing. The context of viewing has changed over time. Early model was as that of the individual viewer.
1894 – coin operated movie “peep” shows. Goes back to cabinet with the single customer with an expectation of privacy and a one on one moment. This model people thought would be the model for future film viewing.
Edison Kinetoscope Montage – 1894-96. The music was added after the fact to the real. Often a piano player was hired to play in the “theatre” during showings. These early films showed people things they wanted to look at. They were slice of life films – you were dropped into a kind of context. No beginning, middle or end. Length of film was determined by machine itself. So decisions had to be made about what had to be captured. No way to edit these early films.
o You can see these early films on Disneyland’s Penny Arcade on Main Street
ARTIFACT 04 > CrashCourse. “The First Movie Camera: Crash Course FIlm History #2.” YouTube. 20 APR 2017.
ARTIFACT 05 > Phonoguy. “Edison Kinetograph Motion Picture Film Projector.” YouTube. 17 Dec 2024.
LUMIERE BROTHERS – (see Artifact 03 below) First Films 1895 – they claimed to be the founders of modern film, and a lot of texts say they founded first viable commercial cinemas – the kinds of films in group movie format cinemas. They also were able to commercialize their process. The idea that film could make money as a viable commercial venture was very present in Lumiere’s work. Police always present at screenings as people worried that trouble would break out. They were perceived to be dangerous.
THE CINEMATOGRAPH > They patented this machine in 1895, a world patent. It was a multipurpose device that allowed you to make, develop and print the film all in one machine. It used 35 mm, a film that created a speed of 16 frames per second. Where did 35mm come from? Why 16 frames per second? Why 2m 16s long? It was a development over time with agreed upon standards by those working on developing the technology;
March 1895 the first technology developed in Lumiere’s basement. They went into Paris, into a café, and decided this was where they would begin screening films. It was a good place as people were already there, people talked about it and people thought that the films could be potentially artistic.
Lumiere film screenings popped up all over Europe, North America and Asia.
One montage to the next, for about 15 m, break and then do it again; with a pianist accompanying the images.
COMMON FEATURES – Everyday life; no beginning middle or end; a lack of narrative; work – first film made shows people leaving factories – a pleasure away from work ground into first film made as workers are leaving a factory; a suggestion of the departure of work; early films liked to show off the technology; stationary camera, just picks up at eye level what the eye would see;
These films became longer and longer – up to 20 minutes. A one-reeler was 10-12 minutes of film. People would not sit through more than 2 reels of film (it was thought). By the late 1890s you see the first dedicated cinema buildings being built. At first they were shown in cafes, rented out halls, hotels.
ARTIFACT 06 > CrashCourse. “The Lumiere Brothers: Crash Course Film History #3.” YouTube. 27 April 2017.
SKYCRAPERS OF NEW YORK – 1898 – Camera moves on a boat
USA had first real movie theatre – in downtown LA, in 1902, the Electric Theatre, 200 seats, the first permanent theatre
Melies – A TRIP TO THE MOON – 1902 – Landmark film went into storytelling / fantasy scenarios and elements of narrative – made 500 films over 15 years, but few survive. He had been a magician and using film allowed him to explore his ideas. (history is a construction); he was among the first to create a plot and narrative in his film, along with character development as well as fantasy and trick photography elements that are now apart of cinema and a director’s bag of tricks. Also did hand tinting of films and used slow motion photography, fading in and out. Camera still remained stationary but illusions created around the camera. Developing an emotional connection was taken from theatre and narrative frameworks for novels. The seeds for Star Wars and other sci-fi films is made here. Simple human dramas. But the fantasy element was akin to early sci-fi.
ARTIFACT 07 > CrashCourse. “Georges Melies - Master of Illusion: Crash Course Film History #4.” YouTube. 04 May 2017.
ARTIFACT 08 > Sarah. “Hugo: History of Movies.” YouTube. 05 Feb 2014.
ARTIFACT 09 > Open Culture. “A Trip to the Moon - the 1902 Science Fiction Film by Georges Méliès.” YouTube, 27 Nov 2016.
ARTIFACT 10 > A Matter of Film. “A Trip to the Moon: Film History #1.” YouTube, 20 Apr 2019.
Moving pictures took on longer length. Editing also came into play. MOON had some editing in terms of speeding up sequences, and cutting scene to scene but camera was stationary. EDWIN PORTER – LIFE OF AN AMERICAN FIREMAN (1903) – A resident at the Edison company, directed films. Was responsible for what is now called the first American Docudrama. This first one was a biography film based on the life of a real life person. There is a non linear narrative form in this film with flashback sequences, dream sequences. Used real footage of fireman with his footage.camera no longer stationary, it makes subtle movements – pans left to right. Showed the inside and outside of the same scene. Conceptual leap that a connection is made between people being saved. He trusted audiences to understand when he made leaps in his editing mixed in with shots that were recreated.
ARTIFACT 11 > Oklahoma Firefighters Museum. “Life of an American Fireman (1903).” YouTube, 15 Jul 2022.
The combination of storytelling with film techniques lead to the GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY in 1903. A film everyone wanted to see. A one reeler, 14 scenes, 10 m long.
Elements relied on real life events and also a story line that is more involved and include various clichés that become part of the Western film genre (a shoot out, a robbery and a chase).
It was shot out of sequence using cross cutting for the first time.
It also effectively used a technique used up until a few years ago, but it uses the first successful attempt at rear screen projection.
A film running while making another film.
Uses impressive panning shots dramatically.
First true western style film
First real motion picture considered a “block buster” that people lined up to see; it was advertised in papers before it came to a town.
Train in window – sharp / clear;
Pushes sophistication of movie making one step further;
Suspension of Doubt that people can follow bandits, and go back and see what happened with man tied up then awkward dance sequence then back to action;
Porter believed people could do this.
Critics called it too sensational with crime, moral questionable action, and the film’s screening context. There seemed something around this subject matter as developing unsavoury / unsafe movie viewing
An idea that people watching films were dangerous.
Feature length film developed … people worried viewers would not last for an hour; how long would they sit for? The feature film which is now longer 90 minutes in length to about 2 hours or so, the first continuous films didn’t develop until the 19teens. The STORY OF THE KELLY GANG in Australia was one of the first longer feature length films.
D.W. Griffiths – was a pioneer of feature length film – the story teller filmmaker. With THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY the characters weren’t developed as well as later films. Many argue Griffiths was the first cinematic auteur ( a cinematic story teller). He developed the grammar and language of filmmaking. He develops a vocabulary, along with Porter whom he borrows ideas from. He develops ideas around emotional connection to the actors that we take for granted now.
ARTIFACT 12 > Library of Congress. “The Great Train Robbery.” YouTube, 11 Dec 2017.
ARTIFACT 13 > A Million Movies. “The Great Train Robbery: The First Western.” YouTube, 22 Jul 2016.
ARTIFACT 14 > Toni’s Film Club. “The Fascinating Story of 1903’s Biggest Movie.” YouTube. 30 Jan 2022.
A CORNER IN WHEAT (1909) – Griffiths. An American short film that tells the story of a greedy tycoon who tries to corner the world for the market in wheat. Wanted to control how it was sold but then destroyed the lives of those who could no longer buy bread. Griffiths touched on social taboos or unspoken problems in society such as class division, race divisions and other hot spots in the American public. He used techniques to emphasize emotional aspects of his stories. He used inter-cutting by juxtaposing images of rich people with images of poor people. Used as a kind of propaganda filmmaking. It is also known as a collision montage. He sets up a story where you identify with one group then he villanizes the other group through techniques such as a collision montage.
Much closer to actors, so you see faces. Not distant action
Used make up on actors to ensure distinguishing features are seen (smiles);
Music used in que with scenes
More patient developing sequence of scenes to establish scenes and settings
Character acting is important – you can see someone being sinister
Establishes a number of narratives and trusts that they are being held in the minds of viewers to remember and connect sequences together
These films engage a level of sophistication in an audience. You can’t be a vacant observer. It taps into a kind of response mechanism in the audience. Film is dangerous at this time, as debates rage.
ARTIFACT 15 > Library of Congress. “A Corner in Wheat.” YouTube, 11 Dec 2017.
ARTIFACT 16 > Growth Context. “The Rich Game EXPOSED | A CORNER IN WHEAT Movie Explained.” YouTube, 16 Feb 2025.
Next week – we discuss more of this and build context for Chaplin’s films as well as THE KID.
Week 02 Screening Report Journal
Film: THE KID
Screening Date: 2011-09-19
IMDB Link: http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0012349/
A. Briefly describe what your expectations for the film were? What did you already know about the film and from what source? What did you know about the country and historical period/style of its origin? Did you know anything about the director? What was the most important feature of the film you were looking for?
I was looking forward to watching Charlie Chaplin’s first hour long feature length silent film, released in 1921, The Kid, as I had never seen this specific film before. Prior to watching The Kid, I had seen a number of Chaplin’s short films (which I own), that he had made while he worked for the Keystone Film Company. And although I own the two Warner Bros. sets titled “the Chaplin Collection”, prior to this course I had only watched Gold Rush and The Great Dictator.
I knew that the film was one of Chaplin’s most enduring features and from watching Richard Attenborough’s 1992 film Chaplin the night before our class screening, I knew that:
The Kid was made shortly after the death of Chaplin’s first child (who only lived for three days);
Chaplin began working on The Kid at the same time that he was going through a separation and divorce from his first wife, Mildred Harris;
During the divorce proceedings, Chaplin was editing The Kid and had to do the work in secret as he was afraid his wife and her lawyer would confiscate the film (which is portrayed in a unique and funny way during the 1992 film, ending in a “chase” scene that could have played out in any of Chaplin’s own films); and
In 1919, Chaplin had co-founded the United Artists film production company with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffiths, who all wanted more flexibility and creative control over the films they produced.
I also knew that Chaplin re-cut The Kid in 1971, axing a number of scenes and compose a new musical score to accompany his film. During the time Chaplin made The Kid, World War I had just ended in November 1918, which the United States had been involved. Following the Great War, America would attempt to again retreat into itself under government policies that favored isolationism and self-reliance from the rest of the world. Financially, America was on fairly stable ground even though Europe was rebuilding from the devastation of World War 1. I believe America at this time was referred to as the “Roaring 20s,” with the great stock market collapse and effects of the Great Depression being just over a decade away. Finally, I also knew that Chaplin worked in Hollywood, California, where filmmaking, as a fairly new art form, was just beginning. At this time, due to the limitations of the technology, films were silent and shot on black & white film stock. But movie theatres were replacing vaudeville houses as a place Americans went to for escape and entertainment.
In terms of comedian, director and writer Charlie Chaplin, I knew that he started as a comedic vaudeville performer who travelled and performed with various groups across a number of countries including Canada. In fact, when Chaplin was in his early 20s, he appeared on the stage of Vancouver’s Pantages Theatre on Hastings Street [as seen in Artifact 01 below, which had been constructed in 1907 and until its recent and unfortunate demolition in 2011 (despite efforts to restore and revive the theatre) had been the oldest remaining Pantages Theatre in North America]. Finally, I knew that Chaplin was a pioneer filmmaker who worked hard and always strove to top himself and push the limits of his creativity even further with each successive film. Overall, I looked forward to seeing how Chaplin would tell his story visually, without the use of sound.
Instructor’s Feedback: Don’t use bullet points, try to keep the information in paragraph form… I didn’t know that - great information (about Chaplin performing in Vancouver).
ARTIFACT 01 > Photographer Unknown. “The Pantages Theatre, 1912.”
B. Using Chapter 3 of Corrigan’s Short Guide to Writing About Film as a guide, describe and outline some of the main themes explored in the film, the primary narrative, the main characters, and discuss the point of view the film takes.
The Kid is Charlie Chaplin’s attempt to create a story that seamlessly balances both aspects of dramatic and comedic storytelling. This is made clear by the film’s first main title card when it states: “A picture with a smile – and perhaps, a tear.” Structurally, Chaplin has very clearly broken down the film into acts of drama followed by “acts” of comedy, as follows:
Act 1 – Introduction to the Woman’s dilemma;
Act 2 – Introduction to the Tramp and how he becomes a surrogate father;
Act 3 – Misadventure: Smashing Windows;
Act 4 – Drama: Scenes of Bonding;
Act 5 – Misadventure: Kids Fighting;
Act 6 – Drama: The Kid’s Malady, State Intervention & The Chase;
Act 7 – Misadventure: Scenes at the Shelter; and
Final Act – The Dream Sequence and Reunion of the Woman, the Kid & the Tramp.
And within each of these “acts,” the line between drama and comedy is broken down further as each scene contains a fine mix of both. All of this serves as a means to lay down his narrative and explore the ideas he is interested in. Across each of these acts, The Kid explores a number of ideas thru its characters, there interactions and the situations they are involved in.
The main protagonist of the Woman faces the dilemma of being a young mother who is single and alone. Chaplin places a very strong emphasis on her point of view and her dilemma, going as far as relating her burden to that of Christ’s by even showing viewers an image of Christ carrying the cross. Without a doubt, during the time period in which the film was made, a woman did not enjoy the freedoms women enjoy today. First and foremost, women did not lead a single life. There was no access to birth control. Religious and societal constraints would have demanded that upon becoming a young adult, a woman was likely expected to remain virgins until they married a husband who would care and provide for the woman and any children they had. Should a woman become pregnant outside of the bonds of marriage, she (and her child) more than likely faced a bleak future.
Chaplin balances her point of view with that of the film’s second protagonist, a Tramp, who is forced to change the course of his life when he becomes a surrogate father to the child the Woman ultimately abandons early on. This Tramp names the baby John (a name of Hebrew origin which means “God is gracious” – and with that name Chaplin is certainly suggesting that God has been gracious with his gift of a child to this Tramp). Many scenes illustrate the close bond that develop between this Tramp and John.
Another key theme explored by The Kid deals with how each character deals with a loss of innocence. The Woman’s innocence is lost when she gives birth to the Kid – her future is bleak. This Tramp is forced to take on the serious role of surrogate father and the Kid’s innocence is lost thru no fault of his own as he and this Tramp have to work together to survive the urban squalor in which they live.
Ultimately we are unsure of how things will play out as the ending is left open to interpretation. The Woman has been reunited with John, and this Tramp is also reunited with John. But whether this Tramp will have visitation rights or further involvement with the raising of John remains unanswered.
C. Please pinpoint one memorable scene of the film and describe its mise-en-scène (elements and techniques of visual style—that is, both elements on the set and/or aspects of the camera movement and editing choices—see Corrigan pp. 51-57 for help with this aspect).
Chaplin sets his camera up as a silent observer, one that smoothly records and follows the action of each scene as it plays out. In the film’s first act, Chaplin introduces us to one of the film’s three protagonists as well as to her dilemma with a title card that reads: “The Woman – whose sin was motherhood.” Actress Edna Purviance’s array of emotional facial expressions portrays the Woman as being very sad, dour and somber as she leaves a Charity Hospital with the film’s second protagonist, a small baby cradled in her arms. With this, another title card that reads: “Alone.” Chaplin shows his female protagonist isolated and alone in a park as she cradles her baby.
Then, Chaplin cross-cuts to another scene which shows her suitor, the father of her child, a young artist who, in his own way appears to be working hard to make it on his own. The Man has the tools of his trade on display in this scene, with a work in progress painting sitting on an easel. The scene clearly shows how he has abandoned the Woman when he accidentally knocks a photograph of the Woman into the fireplace. Upon discovering his accident, the artist at first tries to save the photograph, but upon quick reflection decides to let her burn in the fire as he moves on with selling his work to a gentleman in the room. As such, there can be no doubt that the encounter between this Man and Woman was nothing more than a one night stand of lust and passion, as opposed to a serious romance with the prospect of a solid future together.
Ultimately, all of these early scenes illustrate the turmoil the Woman is faced with. Throughout all of these opening scenes, the music is slow, dramatic and melodious and functions to highlight the drama in the life of the Woman as she struggles to deal with her dilemma. And like the mother of Moses, who set Moses adrift on the Nile River when she could no longer keep him; the Woman in The Kid parts ways with her child by placing the child in the back seat of a fancy car parked in front of a mansion. Finally, the last scene of this dramatic opening act ends with the child being stolen and left in an ally way by a pair of gangster like thieves.
Instructor’s Feedback: Great dense details!
D. Overall, what were your impressions of the film? Describe one way that the film met your expectations and one way that the film surprised and/or exceeded your expectations.
Overall, I found The Kid to be surprisingly moving and light hearted at the same time. I enjoyed how the actor’s portrayed their emotions without the use of dialogue and I also like how Chaplin limited the use of title cards in his films. He let the visuals and the actors speak instead. For example, when the woman leaves the hospital, thru their actions and facial expressions, you can sense the attendant is asking the nurse “do you think she will be okay?” and you can sense the nurse replies in the affirmative. Finally, I liked how the film moved along at a surprisingly fast pace. Even with the absence of dialogue, each scene serves to move the plot and the relationships between its characters forward.
E. Describe elements of the film’s formal aspects (how the film looks visually on the screen independent of meaning), and the content (the story or stories of the film).
Chaplin is a skilled storyteller and he sets his camera up as a silent observer, one that smoothly records and follows the action of each scene as it plays out. The film’s final act is a fanciful dream sequence in which this Tramp relives what he has experienced over the course of the film as the sequence closely mirrors the story of the film that has just played out. The main set has been redressed. Gone is the dingy squalor and urban decay of the street he lives on – replaced with a clean street and new apartments complete with the lush greenery of vines and other plants. It’s a beautiful set representative of an idealized world in which all the characters are dressed as angels – innocent, kind and loving towards one another – able to fly high above and thru the world in which they live. But over the course of this dream, Chaplin reinforces the idea that innocence can be lost and that even the most idealized situation can be infringed upon and altered by outside forces. And this Tramp ultimately ends up alone at the end of this dream turned nightmare, as he was when he first fell asleep.
INSTRUCTOR’S FEEDBACK
“I can see your passion and interest in film well exemplified in your journals. Fantastic detail and attention to the nuances of camera work and mis-en-scene. You also spent some time discussing contextual elements to - all great additions to your reflections!
POSITIVES: Great detail and attention to visuals. Historical context. Thoughtful Reflections
WORK ON: Your final 2-3 reviews lacked the same attention and detail as your first few reviews. Add more detail to questions D and E, even if it means less detail is given to questions A and B.” - Dr Dorothy Barenscott
GRADE: A / A+
A pdf copy of this assignment can be found here.
Header Photo > Chaplin, Charles. “The Kid.” 1921.