The Boston Tea Party | |
---|---|
Directed by | Edwin S. Porter and J. Searle Dawley |
Written by | James Cogan |
Starring | Herbert Prior Charles Ogle |
Cinematography | Frederick S. Armitage J. Searle Dawley |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Edison Manufacturing Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | Approximately 6 minutes (550 feet) |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent |
The Boston Tea Party is a 1908 silent film directed by Edwin S. Porter, and produced and distributed by Edison Studios. The film is a fictionalized depiction of the events of the December 16, 1773, Boston Tea Party. [1] It was the film debut of actor Charles Stanton Ogle. [2]
Described by Edison Films as an "unrivalled historical production of colonial times", the synopsis of scenes was: [3]
BEFORE THE STORM. — Epoch-making days — Liberty stirs the blood of the Colonists — Grave issues discussed — "Sons of Liberty" take action.
THE MAN AND THE HOUR. — "Market Day" — Eager for news — Arrival of hero at tavern — Posted call for mass meeting — Informer (rival of heroine) off to sell information — Heroine welcomes hero.
BRITISH HEADQUARTERS. — Informer reports — Leads soldiers — Off to capture hero — Posting £1,000 reward — Searching house.
HEROINE OUTWITS THE ENEMY. — Secreting hero — Informer baffled — Fruitless chase — Heroine throws off disguise — Escape of hero.
THE RENDEZVOUS. — Tea Tax arouses populace — "Sons of Liberty" disguise as Indians — Off to the harbor.
ATTACK ON THE SHIP. — A dark, silent night — Unexpected attack — Crew overpowered — Piling the tea on deck.
HEROINE'S WARNING. — A fast ride — Tea party warned in time — Soldiers get warm reception — Soldiers and crew Imprisoned.
THE RATTLESNAKE FLAG. — Throwing the tea overboard — Home thrust at tyranny — Rattlesnake Flag unfurled — Informer attacks hero — He follows the tea overboard.
TABLEAU. — Great Historic Picture of "The Tea Party in Boston Harbor."
The film was one of the first two films at Edison Studios made using a two production-unit system, by J. Searle Dawley and Frederick S. Armitage under the supervision of Edwin S. Porter. [4]
The film received both positive and negative reviews. It was criticized for a lack of coherent narrative, and described as "marred by the obscurity of the opening scenes." [4] Newspapers reportedly described it as "an exciting historical film" [5] and "an exceptionally interesting reproduction of that historic event." [6]
Edwin Stanton Porter was an American film pioneer, most famous as a producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer with the Edison Manufacturing Company and the Famous Players Film Company. Of over 250 films created by Porter, his most important include What Happened on Twenty-third Street, New York City (1901), Jack and the Beanstalk (1902), Life of an American Fireman (1903), The Great Train Robbery (1903), The European Rest Cure (1904), The Kleptomaniac (1905), Life of a Cowboy (1906), Rescued from an Eagle's Nest (1908), and The Prisoner of Zenda (1913).
Edison Studios was an American film production organization, owned by companies controlled by inventor and entrepreneur, Thomas Edison. The studio made close to 1,200 films, as part of the Edison Manufacturing Company (1894–1911) and then Thomas A. Edison, Inc. (1911–1918), until the studio's closing in 1918. Of that number, 54 were feature length, and the remainder were shorts. All of the company's films have fallen into the public domain because they were released before 1928.
Charles Stanton Ogle was an American stage and silent-film actor. He was the first actor to portray Frankenstein's monster in a motion picture in 1910 and played Long John Silver in Treasure Island in 1920.
The Boston Tea Party was a 1773 colonial protest action which presaged the American Revolution.
The Edison Manufacturing Company, originally registered as the United Edison Manufacturing Company and often known as simply the Edison Company, was organized by inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Edison and incorporated in New York City in May 1889. It succeeded the Edison United Manufacturing Company, founded in 1886 as a sales agency for the Edison Lamp Company, Edison Machine Works, and Bergmann & Company, which made electric lighting fixtures, sockets, and other accessories. In April 1894, the Edison laboratory's Kinetoscope operation, which was about to be commercialized, was brought under the Edison Company umbrella. In 1900, the United Edison Manufacturing Company was evidently succeeded by the New Jersey–incorporated Edison Manufacturing Company. The company's assets and operations were transferred to Thomas A. Edison, Inc. in 1911.
Rescued from an Eagle's Nest is a 1908 American silent action-drama film produced by Edwin S. Porter for Edison Studios and directed by J. Searle Dawley. It features the first leading screen role of the legendary American filmmaker D. W. Griffith, whose directorial debut was released just six months after he performed in this production. Griffith's casting in the Edison "photoplay" began when he found himself stranded and broke in New York City after a play he authored had failed. Desperate for money, he responded to Edison's offer to pay $15 to anyone who submitted a useable treatment or scenario based on the Puccini opera Tosca. Porter rejected Griffith's submission, but the studio executive did offer him the lead role in Rescued from an Eagle's Nest. A full print of this film survives in the extensive collection of moving images at the Museum of Modern Art. Only one other film in which Griffith appears as an actor survives.
James Searle Dawley was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, stage actor, and playwright. Between 1907 and the mid-1920s, while working for Edison, Rex Motion Picture Company, Famous Players, Fox, and other studios, he directed more than 300 short films and 56 features, which include many of the early releases of stars such as Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Pearl White, Marguerite Clark, Harold Lloyd, and John Barrymore. He also wrote scenarios for many of his productions, including one for his 1910 horror film Frankenstein, the earliest known screen adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel. While film direction and screenwriting comprised the bulk of Dawley's career, he also had earlier working experience in theater, performing on stage for more than a decade and managing every aspect of stagecraft. Dawley wrote at least 18 plays as well for repertory companies and for several Broadway productions.
Charles E. Inslee was an American actor. He appeared in 127 films between 1908 and 1921.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a 10-minute black-and-white silent film made in the United States in 1910, and is based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 book of the same name.
Wallace McCutcheon Sr. was a pioneer cinematographer and director in the early American motion picture industry, working with the American Mutoscope & Biograph, Edison and American Star Film companies. McCutcheon's wealth of credits are often mixed up with the small handful of films directed by his son, Wallace McCutcheon Jr. (1884–1928).
The Moving Picture World was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, Moving Picture World frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios.
By the Light of the Moon is a 1911 American single-reel silent film directed and filmed by Edwin S. Porter. It was produced for the Rex Motion Picture Company. It is one of the earliest examples of silhouette animation.
Dream of a Rarebit Fiend is a 1906 silent trick film directed by Edwin S. Porter for Edison Manufacturing Company. It is a seven-minute live-action film adaptation of the comic strip Dream of the Rarebit Fiend by American cartoonist Winsor McCay. The film was marketed as using several special effects in which "some of the photographic 'stunts' have never been seen or attempted before."
The Boston Tea Party is a 1915 American silent historical film directed by Eugene Nowland. The film is an extended remake of the 1908 film of the same name, also from Edison Studios, and depicts the events of the December 16, 1773, Boston Tea Party.
Wray Bartlett Physioc was an American film director, producer and artist. His film The Gulf Between (1917) was the first Technicolor film ever produced.
Edwin Harley was an actor in minstrel shows and later in silent films. He worked for the Reliance Majestic Company, Lasky Film Company, Albuquerque Film Company, Crown City Film Company, and Fine Arts Film Company.
Rex Motion Picture Company was an early film production company in the United States.
Edwin Middleton (1865–1929) was a film director in the United States.
The Bride of Lammermoor is a 1909 American silent drama film directed by J. Stuart Blackton for Vitagraph Studios. Existing in fragmentary form, it is considered to be a lost film.
Little Boy Blue is a 1912 silent one-reel film produced by Lubin Manufacturing Company and distributed by the General Film Company. The movie was released on May 6, 1912. The movie featured child actor Raymond Hackett assuming the role of Harold and Marie Wierman playing Elizabeth, Harold's older sister.
Edison presented a one-reel depiction of the tea-dumping as early as 1908 titled 'The Boston Tea Party.'
Edison Studios in New York led the pack, and in 1908, Charles Stanton Ogle, son of Steubenville preacher Joseph C. Ogle, appeared in the Edison feature The Boston Tea Party.Alt URL