When Heise got the two into the Black Maria, he suggested that they perform the kiss from the play. Nothing like that had ever been filmed before. He made matters worse by bringing the two performers closer to The Doghouse, thereby creating a very intimate closeup. The little film begins with Irwin and Rice whispering sweet nothings to each other. Finally, the time comes for the kiss.
Rice rears back like a cat preparing to pounce on a mouse.
After straightening his long handlebar mustache, he launches a two-pronged attack on Irwin s upper lip while, at the same time, he nibbles on her lower lip. At that point the film ends, and it was probably none too soon. As it was, the censors went through the roof and the film was actually banned in some localities. In Professor Welton s Boxing Cats , we are treated to a 20-second trifle showing two pugnacious felines trying to bat each other s brains out while the good professor, in the background, holds each up on their hind legs with a body harness. For those who prefer more exotic fare, there is the 1895 production of Princess Ali , a bearded lady from the Barnum and Bailey Circus.