New-York tribune., 1919-11-09
<<X 7 OU know everything
I about pictures, d0n't
you?" said the Sunday

4 4
y about pictures, don't
you?" said the Sunday
editor; and without
waiting for us to say "Of course"
he went on: "Why don't you write
story about the origin of the
motion picture, and be sure to find
out what was the very first picture
ever shown"
There is something very f1atter-
irg about proposal of this kind. 1t
makes one feel so much more i'm
portant than if one goes blushingly
up to the editor and offers to put
ones brilliant ideas into concrete
form.
Now, our editor makes you feel
that YOU have been chosen because
of your peculiar talents in that par
ticular field, and it sounded so
smple! All you had to do was to
go to some one-any one in the
business-ask him the name of the
first motion picture, what year it
was shown and by whom, how long
it ran, what was the next one, and
so on down.
Or, if you didn't want to take
that trouble, you could sit COM
fortably in the library and read the
encyclopedia end tnen add a few
observations of your own.
Somehow, it didn't happen like
that We received our assignment
one week ago, and ever since that
we have been seeking, day and
night, Information anent the first
motion picture. Of course, we
spent considerable time trying to
Get information over the telephone
when we might have saved time by
calling at the Offices in person.
4 False Start
Right at first, not more than two
or three days after we started out,
we thought we had it trapped. Sew
cral people told US that "Miss Jerry"
was the first motion picture, made
in 1894 by Alexander Black. We
had almost decided to let "Miss
Jerry" have it, when we found out
that "Miss jerry didn't m We at
all. She stood still, while Alexander
Black read about her to the audi
ence. At different stages of the
story the slides were changed. That
was all Miss Jerry" was what
was known as a picture play. She
was received in the best society and
furnished entertainment at Sunday
schools and Chautauquas, but, even
while her antecederts were perhaps
more aristocratc than those of the
cinema. she was not a motion pic
t,re-never could she be called
"movie"
Hidden away in some encyclo-
pedia somewhere there may be the
information which we sought; but
we offer years subscription to our
tavorite morning newspaper to any
one who can find it. SO we haven't
much fear of contradiction when we
state boldly that "The Ocean
Wave" was the first picture shown
in 1S95-and that the second was
''The May Irwin Kiss"
Moe Streimer assured us that
these two pictures were not shown
by the same process that he used
when he projected some fight PIC
lures twenty-five years ago, in which
Ernest Roeber and Gus Muldoon
were seen. He intimated that the
fight pictures were much nicer; but
it all depends, probably, on which
form of entertainment you prefer.
Now, of course, one hundred
constant Readers" will write in and
tell us that we are all wrong, but
4 that's our story and we're going to
stick to it. We gave up liberty and
the pursuit of happiness for one
week to unearth that information,
and we who shall not lightly relln-
quish it.
Anyway, we believe it is true be-
cause Sam Spedon gave it to us.
And who is Sam Spedon? That's
what we asked a week ago, but not
now.
During these last busy days we
have sought James Noulty, of the
Famous Players; Carl Laemmle, OF
the Universal; Albert Smith, of the
Vitagraph; George Blaisdell, OF the
Moving Picture World; Herbert
Miles. of Miles Brothers, ana
few others. and to each one we have