The Humpty Dumpty Circus

Last updated
Humpty Dumpty Circus
Directed by J. Stuart Blackton
Produced by Albert E. Smith
CinematographyF. A. Dobson
Distributed byKalem Company
Release date
  • 1908 (1908)
[1]
Country United States
Language Silent

The Humpty Dumpty Circus is a lost short stop-motion trick film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith, the Anglo-American founders of Vitagraph Studios. There are no known surviving copies.

Contents

Background

Albert E. Smith claimed in his 1952 book Two reels and a crank: "I used my little daughter's set of wooden circus performers and animals, whose movable joints enabled us to place them in balanced positions. It was a tedious process inasmuch as the movement could be achieved only by photographing separately each change of position. I suggested we obtain a patent on the process; Blackton felt it wasn't important enough. However, others quickly borrowed the technique, improving on it greatly."

The Moving Picture World. Vol. 3. No. 18 reviewed the short in October 1908: "It opens with a crowd of children leaving school and marching through the streets to the "Humpty Dumpty Circus." We see them crowd into the tent and at the end of each act they vociferously applaud the performers. These are the little wooden toys that are familiar to all, and which are made to perform all the usual acrobatic stunts of the circus performer in a remarkably realistic manner. Some of the scenes are really comical and it is hard to believe that the elephants and donkeys are not alive." The magazine continued to describe the costly process and economic circumstances: "The figures are posed in front of the camera, one picture exposed, then they are moved slightly and an other picture exposed, and so on, the photographer being careful not to move the figures or their limbs too far at one time or else a jerky movement is presented. When we consider that there are twelve pictures to a foot of film and that there are 885 feet in the "Humpty Dumpty" subject we begin to realize the magnitude of the task. We are not surprised to learn that the producer worked for several months on the negative, almost without intermission. The negative was made for the Kalem Company by F. E. Dobson, an adept at this kind of work, who was for many years with the Biograph Company. The cost to the Kalem Company far exceeded that of some of their most pretentious dramatic productions, in which large companies of actors are employed. On the standing order basis they expect to just come out about even, but it is a film that should bring many re-orders, as it will be especially popular during the holiday season." [2]

The toy set used was most likely the popular Humpty Dumpty Circus produced by Schoenhut Piano Company from 1903 [3] to 1935 (in various styles). [4] Images that have been thought to be stills from the film may well be pictures of the popular toy set.

Significance

The short has been thought to have been the first film to use the stop-motion technique, based on an estimated release date of 1897 or 1898. [5] [6] This early release date, the use of stop-motion animation and even the existence of the film have been doubted as no proper documentation is known. [7] [8]

Another lost film that probably featured animated dolls entitled The Humpty Dumpty Circus was released in October 1914. [9] It was made by stop motion pioneer Arthur Melbourne-Cooper. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animation</span> Method of creating moving pictures

Animation is a filmmaking technique by which still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets (cels) to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animation has been recognized as an artistic medium, specifically within the entertainment industry. Many animations are computer animations made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Stop motion animation, in particular claymation, has continued to exist alongside these other forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motion Picture Patents Company</span> American films company

The Motion Picture Patents Company, founded in December 1908 and effectively terminated in 1915 after it lost a federal antitrust suit, was a trust of all the major US film companies and local foreign-branches, the leading film distributor and the biggest supplier of raw film stock, Eastman Kodak. The MPPC ended the domination of foreign films on US screens, standardized the manner in which films were distributed and exhibited within the US, and improved the quality of US motion pictures by internal competition. It also discouraged its members' entry into feature film production, and the use of outside financing, both to its members' eventual detriment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stop motion</span> Animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own

Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames is played back. Any kind of object can thus be animated, but puppets with movable joints or plasticine figures are most commonly used. Puppets, models or clay figures built around an armature are used in model animation. Stop motion with live actors is often referred to as pixilation. Stop motion of flat materials such as paper, fabrics or photographs is usually called cutout animation.

The following is an overview of the events of 1898 in film, including a list of films released and notable births. The Spanish–American War was a popular subject. Several films made by Col. William N. Selig dealt with the subject of war preparations at Camp Tanner in Springfield, Illinois, including Soldiers at Play, Wash Day in Camp and First Regiment Marching.

While the history of animation began much earlier, this article is concerned with the development of the medium after the emergence of celluloid film in 1888, as produced for theatrical screenings, television and (non-interactive) home video.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vitagraph Studios</span> American film studio

Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros. in 1925.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Stuart Blackton</span> American film producer (1875–1941)

James Stuart Blackton was a British-American film producer and director of the silent era. One of the pioneers of motion pictures, he founded Vitagraph Studios in 1897. He was one of the first filmmakers to use the techniques of stop-motion and drawn animation, is considered a father of American animation, and was the first to bring many classic plays and books to the screen. Blackton was also the commodore of the Motorboat Club of America and the Atlantic Yacht Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Émile Cohl</span> French caricaturist

Émile Eugène Jean Louis Cohl was a French caricaturist of the Incoherent Movement, cartoonist, and animator, called "The Father of the Animated Cartoon".

The silent age of American animation dates back to at least 1906 when Vitagraph released Humorous Phases of Funny Faces. Although early animations were rudimentary, they rapidly became more sophisticated with such classics as Gertie the Dinosaur in 1914, Felix the Cat, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and Koko the Clown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claymation</span> Stop-motion animation made using malleable clay models

Claymation, sometimes called clay animation or plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay.

<i>Ben Hur</i> (1907 film) 1907 American film

Ben Hur is a 1907 American silent drama film set in ancient Rome, the first screen adaptation of Lew Wallace's popular 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Co-directed by Sidney Olcott and Frank Oakes Rose, this "photoplay" was produced by the Kalem Company of New York City, and its scenes, including the climactic chariot race, were filmed in the city's borough of Brooklyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Precursors of film</span> Methods and tools preceding true cinematographic technology

Precursors of film are concepts and devices that have much in common with the later art and techniques of cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert E. Smith (producer)</span> English film director and producer

Albert Edward Smith was an American stage magician, film director and producer, and a naturalized American. He founded Vitagraph Studios with his business partner James Stuart Blackton in 1897.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barrier-grid animation and stereography</span> Animation method

Barrier-grid animation or picket-fence animation is an animation effect created by moving a striped transparent overlay across an interlaced image. The barrier-grid technique originated in the late 1890s, overlapping with the development of parallax stereography (Relièphographie) for 3D autostereograms. The technique has also been used for color-changing pictures, but to a much lesser extent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schoenhut doll</span>

Schoenhut dolls were wooden dolls produced by the Schoenhut Piano Company between 1903 and 1935. The company, founded by woodworker Albert Schoenhut, initially made toy pianos. They began to produce figurines in the early 1900s, including wooden circus-themed sets and animals.

Kalem Co. v. Harper Bros., 222 U.S. 55 (1911), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held producing a motion picture based on a dramatic work can be copyright infringement. The producer of the motion picture is liable even they are not the exhibitor. This does not extend to a restriction of the dramatic work's ideas; it is a recognition of the author's monopoly powers granted by Congress.

<i>The Airship, or 100 Years Hence</i> 1908 American film

The Airship, or 100 Years Hence is an American adventure comedy-drama silent short film written, produced and directed by J. Stuart Blackton. The film stars Blackton and Florence Lawrence. It was released on April 25, 1908 by The American Vitagraph Company; a partial print of The Airship, or 100 Years Hence is preserved in the Paper Print Collection. The Airship, or 100 Years Hence advertised that it would be "a forecast of a probable means of air navigation in the coming century."

<i>The Haunted Hotel</i> 1907 American film

The Haunted Hotel is a 1907 American silent comic trick film written, produced, and directed by J. Stuart Blackton. One of the oldest surviving animated films, it combines live action and stop motion to animate objects.

The Enchanted Toymaker is a 1904 British short film, directed and animated by Arthur Melbourne-Cooper. Its running time was 3 minutes and 10 seconds. It combined live-action and stop-motion animation.

Events in 1875 in animation.

References

  1. "The Moving picture world. v.3 (1908:July-Dec.)". HathiTrust. p. 350. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  2. "The Moving picture world. v.3 (1908:July-Dec.)". HathiTrust. p. 339. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  3. Office, United States Patent (1904). Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. The Office.
  4. "Schoenhut Collectors Club".
  5. Ken A. Priebe, The Art of Stop-Motion Animation, Boston, Massachusetts: Thomson Course Technology PTR, 2007, ISBN   9781598632453, p. 9
  6. Nichola Dobson, The A to Z of Animation and Cartoons, Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow, 2009, ISBN   9780810876231, p. xxiv
  7. Crafton, Donald (2014-07-14). Emile Cohl, Caricature, and Film. ISBN   9781400860715.
  8. Giesen, Rolf (2018-09-27). Puppetry, Puppet Animation and the Digital Age. ISBN   9781351209298.
  9. The Humpty Dumpty Circus at IMDb
  10. Vries, Tjitte de; Mul, Ati (2009). "They Thought it was a Marvel": Arthur Melbourne-Cooper (1874-1961) : Pioneer of Puppet Animation. ISBN   9789085550167.