The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1926-07-01

Thomas AIva Edison, inventor of the motion
picture film, the camera and the Kinetoscope-t
archaeological foundation Of the art ofsthe motion
picture. Courtesy Simon and schuster.)
faces. Soon vaudeville actors began to appear. A
young dancer named Dennis was among them
She is now Ruth st. Denis
The first motlon-picture emporium was opened
April Il, 1884, at No. 1856 Broadway, New York
Ten peephole microscopes attracted the public
1t must be remembered that pictures on the
screen as we know them had not yet made tkeir
appearance. All movies were shown to one person
at time, through the peephole. This, of course
limited the patronage. The magic lantern, on the
other hand for several hundreds of years had
shown still-pictures to entire audiences.
On the Screen at Last
Why not combine the magic lantern and the
kaleidoscope? This question stirred almost stimuli
taneously the minds of several men, including
Edison In Chicago Edwin Hill Amet pondered
the idea in Virginia Prof Woodvl Latham
played with it in England Robert Friese Greene
started working, and in France two instrument
makers, Louis and Auguste Lumere, set about to
put motion pictures on the screen.
Out of all this effort grew litigation which in
form another was going strong until as late
as 1911, and may still have belated appearance
on some court dockets
Mr.. Ramsaye says that the Lumiere protector
made Its debut in March, 1885, under the name of
the cinematograph. Several weeks later Professor
Latham, in America demonstrated his protector,
and only q short time later Amet made his show
ing. In general all these devices were the same,
with minor exceptions in the perforation of the
film and In method of winding and rewinding.
These precipitated legal battles in which
spent millions of dollars In costs, only to end, as
a rule, in compromise and combination of the COM
peting parties. Thus the protector the last vital
development of motion pictures, ready to
revolutionlze the world of amusement as early as
1896
The first public screen showing was made April
90 1896, at the old Roster & Bial music hail. in
Twenty third street, New York. These were simple
subjects, dancers, acrobats and the like-anything
with action in it.
The idea that any actor would want money for
his efforts never occurred to the early film makers
The publicity they got out Of 1t was held to be
ample remuneration. Carmencita, a Spanish
dancing star, performed; AnnabelIe Moore put on
a serpentine; Sandow and other notables of the
time all worked this basis Of payment.
Censorship Begins
About this time came the first censorship. The
Edison company had produced piece in which
DoIorita put a hoochie-koochie dance made
known to America at the Chicago worlds fair.
Microscopes by this time, in 1896, were fairly
well distributed, and there were several doing
body took peep at Dolorita, became shocked at
her performance. and promptly wrote a letter to
the authorities. The result that the owner
of the establishment wrote the New York Office,
"Send me another film. The police say that Dolo-
ritas dance is too strong
AS early as 1896 the movies, not yet known by
that title Of course began to attract the attention
of scores of men who saw the opportunities for
money-naking Their imaginations had been fred
by such exploits the filming, in 1897, of the
Corbett- Fitzsimmons fight at Reno which ran
1900 feet and was shown at the old New York
Academy of Music the first special showing of
picture The same year one Alexander Victor
magician opened the first motion-pcture theater
with 200 chairs In tt. This was in Newark N j.,
and admission was 25 cents. It soon failed.
The war with Spain helped boost the new art.
Here was an opportunity to get real action. The
yitagraph company, formed by Jimmy Blackton,
cabinet exhibitor, and one Pop Rock, Harlem
billiard hall keeper, concocted picture called
eTearing Down the Spanish Flag" In Chicago
George K. Spoor, news dealer by day and ticket
vender by night in a cheap vaudeville house, and
Edwin h. Amet, the inventor of one kind of pro-
iector showed the destruction OF Cervera's feet.
Both of them were fakes. The flag was torn
down. on lot in Brooklyn, and the fleet was
Unanswered in washtub at the Waukegan (lI)
studio of Spoor and Amet.
This was the day of the film pirate. II anyone
made picture which attracted the public, others
Immediately would copy 1t. The industry had
lured the INSCRIPTIONS entrepreneur as well as
those who lived by higher ethics, and where
money Is at stake anything is likely to happen.
One company produced the story Of the crucihxion,
and another promptly copied It and ebootlegged'
It to not unwilling exhibitors.
The status Of general production Of pictures for