First movie

This page was last revised on 2009-07-30.

NB Full references to printed sources may be found at the foot of this page.

First movie

In 1872 Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904)  began to make photographic motion studies of a horse trotting. By 1878 he had successfully photographed a horse in fast motion. The first demonstration took place successfully on 15 June that year, in the presence of the press. Muybridge used a series of twelve stereoscopic cameras, 21 inches apart to cover the 20 feet taken by one horse stride, taking pictures at 1/1000^th of a second. The cameras were arranged parallel to the track, with trip-wires attached to each camera shutter triggered by the horse's hooves or (for wheeled vehicles) the passage of wheels. [The Complete Eadweard Muybridge: Chronology 1876-1880, Pop Art Machine, Riggins; Prodger (2003)]

This series of sequence photographs, taken at what is now Stanford University, was published in J.D.B. Stillman's The Horse in Motion in 1882 (copyright 1881), and confirmed for the first time that the hooves do all leave the ground simultaneously.

Since animated, these images qualify as the first movie ever; one animation may be found here.

Historians of film, understandably emphasising the issue of projection, have shown particular interest in Muybridge's zoopraxiscope, which enabled projection of his sequence photographs. However, this device required the photographs to be repainted, to avoid distortion, so was not in fact projecting photographic images. It has been suggested, however, that Muybridge's decision to use 12 cameras may have been determined by the fact that zoetrope strips generally included 12 images, so he may have considered animation from the outset; and when his 'Horse in Motion' pictures were first published in the Scientific American in October 1878 the editor suggested mounting them in a zoetrope. On 25 January 1879 the French magazine L'Illustration reported that Emile Duhousset, a writer on the horse, had in fact mounted Muybridge sequence photographs in a zoetrope, and was marketing strips of drawings based on these pictures. In similar fashion the editor of The Field also experimented with mounting Muybridge's photographs in a zoetrope, before finding greater success by mounting them in a praxinoscope; The Field subsequently marketed strips of silhouette images based on the photographs. [Mozley, ed. (1972); Herbert, ed. (2004)]

First feature film

The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906)

The Story of the Kelly Gang is generally regarded as the world's first feature film. At 70 minutes, its length was unprecedented when it was released. The movie traces the life of the legendary Australian bushranger, Ned Kelly. It was written and directed by Charles Tait. The film's approximate reel length is 4,000 feet (1,200 m). It was released in Australia on 26 December 1906 and in the UK in January 1908. The film cost an estimated $2,250 and was filmed in Melbourne.

Until recently only about 10 minutes were known to have survived. In November 2006 the National Film and Sound Archive released a new digital restoration which incorporated 11 minutes of material recently discovered in the UK. The restoration now is 17 minutes long and includes the key scene of Kelly's last stand. In 2007 The Story of the Kelly Gang was inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register as the world's first full-length feature film. [Return of the Kelly Gang]

First known movie showing a woman, viewable by its contemporaries

Roundhay Garden Scene is a 2-second movie made in Britain in 1888 by inventor Louis Le Prince (1842-90). It was recorded at 12 frames per second, and is the first known film.

According to Le Prince's son, Adolphe, it was filmed at Oakwood Grange, the home of Joseph and Sarah Whitley, in Roundhay, Leeds, West Yorkshire,  on 14 October 1888.

It features Adolphe Le Prince, Sarah Whitley, Joseph Whitley and Harriet Hartley in the garden, walking around and laughing. Sarah is walking backwards and Joseph's coat tails are flying.

First movie of a person

In Muybridge's famous horse experiment of 1878, the subject filmed was the horse, Abe Edgington, pulling a sulky. The sulky was driven by C. Marvin, who was thus the first human to appear in a movie; the animation may be found here. [Pop Art Machine]

First movie of a woman

This animation of Muybridge's Plate 17 (from Animal Locomotion, published in 1887), Woman walking, must be one of the first movies showing a woman. The model for Plate 17 was Lily ____; other women Muybridge filmed included Mamie ____, Nellie ____, and Mrs Tadd. [Herbert, ed. (2004)] It is impossible to be certain who was first before the cameras, but numerically the first images of a woman included in Animal Locomotion are on his Plate 13, of which the 2D collotype is reproduced here.

For the first movie capable of being experienced at the time, see above.

Earliest-born person to be filmed

A Kinora reel was made in England some time between 1896 and 1912, with the following description: "Rebecca Clarke and kitten. The well known centenarian of 108, serenely sewing in a chair, is surprised by a kitten which jumps up on her. She caresses the kitten, which struggles and nearly escapes." Even assuming the reel was made in 1912, Rebecca Clarke would appear to have been born no later than 1804, unless her age was misstated. [See The Projection Box] Listed as Kinora reel 145, a still from this reel appears in Anthony (1996).

The 1901 census for England lists only one Rebecca Clark(e) born in the period 1790-1810. This Rebecca Clark was a 95-year old widow, born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, but at that date living in Stoke Newington, London [TNA PRO RG 13/204 f107 p44]. Although not easily found in the two earlier censuses, she appears, as the wife of Charles Clarke, in the 1851, 1861, and 1871 censuses, living first at Eaton Socon, Bedfordshire, then in 1861 and 1871 at St Neots, Huntingdonshire  She would have become a centenarian in about 1906, but could not have been quite as old as 108 when the Kinora reel was made.

The GRO death indexes for England and Wales record the death of a Rebecca Clark at Edmonton (about 3 miles north of Stoke Newington) in the 3rd quarter of 1914, aged 110. This would give a birth year of about 1804, not wildly at variance with the Rebecca Clark of the 1901 census. Assuming the age reported is exaggerated by the same margin as the age given on the Kinora reel appears to be, this would suggest the reel dates from approximately 1912.

This Rebecca Clark(e) would appear to be the best candidate so far identified for the earliest-born human to be filmed.

Earliest-born man to be filmed

Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903), was filmed in 1898 (not 1896, as stated in the clip), by William Kennedy-Laurie Dickson (1860-1935).

According to Dickson, the American Biograph company was approached by a group of Roman Catholic prelates, among them Monsignor Martinelli and Cardinal Gibbons, who had been impressed by the Biograph and especially by the popular reaction to the scenes of US President McKinley. With letters of recommendation and the encouragement of the Biograph company, Dickson (by now working for Biograph's British division) went to Italy early in 1898, partnered with cameraman Emile Lauste. Four months of negotiation followed before Dickson got permission to film a man who had not even posed for a photographer for eight years. In April/May 1898 he filmed twelve scenes, over five sittings (although IMDB lists no less than 27 titles featuring Leo XIII, all released in 1898). [Who's Who of Victorian Cinema]

© 2009 Benjamin S. Beck

Return to Firsts contents page

If you know of any suitable examples, please contact me.

Return to website home page