How Movies Began (Excerpt, 1947)

[Music] Magic Lantern slides of a century ago were early awkward efforts to create a moving picture this Lantern slide was actually two glass plates the pig was on the first the background on the second operation was simple move the slide to move the pig here the cat is on one plate his eyes and the mice on another the Magic Lantern slides like the stick throwing boy and his dog became entertainment favorites crowds thronged into Halls to watch them and learn how they worked next came a big step forward the first crude movie machines these were based on a long-known principle single pictures showing phases of action when presented rapidly merged to produce an illusion of [Music] motion operating on the same idea this rotating wheel had its picture on a disc in the center peering through the slits while the disc was spinning the viewer saw the individual drawings blend into [Music] movement the mirror wheel brought the principle to a new Perfection here the pictures on the inside of the rim are reflected on the rotating mirrors [Music] next some long ago genius thought of combining this parlor toy with the magic lantern slides and the first motion picture was thrown on the screen Edward mybridge an American took the first successful photographs of a horse in Motion in 1878 if viewed rapidly his single photos would be a movie he used a battery of cameras and this long holder for his negative place the mutoscope a peep show moving picture was introduced during the 1890s photographs like those of mybridge were mounted on a drum and flicked past a magnifying glass when the handle was turned this Western rain scene was filmed while mut Scopes and buffalo were plentiful in America the success of the peep show Novelties raised a demand for projectors to take the pictures out of the mutoscope and put them on the screen scores of machines were patented some successful most not these 50-year-old models were used in the first [Music] Nickelodeons even the best projectors could be temperamental operators needed skill and luck too in working them the movies which were now on roles of Celluloid film captured the public imagination movie theaters sprang up in the Dying Years of the 19th century this is New York's famous bowy 60 years ago the steampowered elevated train rattling along overhead the picturesque oyster cart clattering below they belong to America's gay 90s remarkably preserved this rare authentic scene is a Priceless chapter in the film archives of the growth of a Nation the excitement of horsedrawn fir wagons comes along live again through the magic medium of Motion Pictures recaptured here is a thrilling incident that has faded forever from the American scene in the bustling heart of New York City another turn of the century cameraman records a colorful glimpse of old Broadway and so the past grinds on and on into the present to the huge intricate projectors needed for today's sound moving pictures this most modern of equipment is used to show classic films of bygone days in The Dryden theater a recent addition to Eastman house in the theater which seats 500 persons the development of Motion Pictures is traced through Motion Pictures each showing is explained by James card film curator for Eastman house joining the audience we travel back almost a quarter of a century produced in 19003 for Thomas Edison this was Man's first attempt to tell a connected story through his newly discovered medium the motion [Music] picture Broadway New York in the gay90s these rare authentic pictures are among the only film fragments remaining of a time when the movies themselves were very new Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue was never so elegant as in the days of magnificent whiskers high hats and Bowlers sweeping dresses and gigantic feathers and Bows elegant 2 was the London of the 1890s this view of Hy Park Corner was shown to Queen Victoria in a Command Performance at Windsor Castle on November 23rd 1896 proof that the traffic jam wasn't born with the auto is this London Street in a tangle of tall wagons and amazingly well- behaved horses Bell of the gay90s was lilan Russell whose Beauty became a legend Buffalo Bill Indian Scout and showman toured his Wild West circus shy obscure Orville Wright with his brother Wilbur at left in 12 Airborne seconds changed the course of human history more decisively than a 100 Years of Wars no movie cameraman filmed Man's first powered flight in 193 these pictures were made a short time later in 196 stunned citizens of San Francisco gazed at their City reduced to ruins by two days of earthquake and Fire 452 were killed the damage was $350 million by 1910 a new San Francisco had Arisen from the earthquake's ashes and the automobile was cunning into its own for a little while the dying age of the horse and the newly born age of the auto lived side by side on city streets in New York the gas eating motorized monsters had already begun to predominate [Music] meanwhile Barn stormers were popularizing the airplane Aviation was developing through trial and error mostly error designers experimented with planes built like box kites planes that looked as if the morning dew had warped their [Music] wings and planes that resembled flying whales dusters and goggles for self-defense lots of noise and plenty of dust you wouldn't quite call this a streamline model but in its day it was quite some pumpkins and sometimes it worked toys of the rich ordinary folks just stood on the curb and watched the cars go by and an automobile parade was a big event [Music] Orville Wright took his plane to France to demonstrate progress air the Frenchman had been building too and he wanted to show them what he could do if they would only look there was much ceremony maybe too much more action in the grand stand than in the field but preparations are completed the engine started the plane taxis and right finally gets into the air while the officials keep on telling each other how glad they are to be there in which unrestricted by any language barriers Hollywood and its Stars monopolized the picture screens of all the [Music] world Noah's Arc produced by Warner Brothers it remains today one of the greatest films from spectacles [Music]