Edwin S. Porter Films Ranked
Note: “The Ranks of the Auteurs” is a written series that traces notable people, studios, and series throughout film history and ranks their work. This is the eleventh installment, featuring Edwin S. Porter, who was born on April 21, 1870 in Connellsville, Pennsyvlania and died on April 30, 1941 in New York City, New York.
As Adolph Zukor put it, American journeyman film director and pioneer Edwin S. Porter was much more of a craftsman than an artist, a man more comfortable with the mechanics of filmmaking than the dramatic intuition of actors. That stands to reason, as he made his last films in 1915, when the film industry was shifting into a more recognizable form. About 17 years earlier, Porter had begun making films for the Edison Manufacturing Company after working as an electrician and film projector, the latter for Edison licencees. He joined Edison in 1898 in an unclear role, but about a year later, he was head of moving picture production. By 1900, the trick and actuality film genres were still reigning, but their power would soon diminish. Along with key British and European influences, like James Williamson (who Porter especially took a “liking” to), Porter would usher in a more “realistic” era that would bridge the gap between the primordial beginnings of movies and the refinement of the dramatic short at the beginning of the 1910s.
He instigated important innovations, often “borrowed” from others, but one of Porter’s incredible abilities was to act as a chameleon. He could see other techniques and synthesize them together, imbuing them into a form that befit his story. Like everyone, his style would become outdated, but at one time, Porter was defined by his ability to adapt. By the close of the 1900s decade, Edison’s fortunes were somewhat waning. From 1909 to 1912, Porter made a couple of failed attempts at creating his own film production companies after leaving Edison before joining Paramount predecessor Famous Players Company, operating under the reign of future mogul Adolph Zukor. After ceasing film production in 1915, Porter continued to tinker and file patents for various camera devices and such. He died in 1941, long lapsing into obscurity. He was survived by his wife Caroline Ridinger, whom he had married in 1893. Porter had no children save for his over 200 films (almost entirely shorts), 78 of which are still easily accessible today. I’ve ranked them below.
#78 — THE WATERMELON PATCH (1905) [co-directed with Wallace McCutcheon]
#77 — RECTORS TO CLAREMONT (1904)
#76 — SCARECROW PUMP (1904)
#75 — A DULL RAZOR (1900)
#74 — CHING LING FOO OUTDONE (1900)
#73 — TALE THE AUTUMN LEAVES TOLD (1908)
#72 — THE INTERRUPTED BATHERS (1902)
#71 — ANOTHER JOB FOR THE UNDERTAKER (1901)
#70 — AN ANIMATED LUNCHEON (1900)
#69 — HOW JONES LOST HIS ROLL (1905)
#68 — TERRIBLE TEDDY, THE GRIZZLY KING (1901)
#67 — THE OLD MAID HAVING HER PICTURE TAKEN (1901) [co-directed with George S. Fleming]
#66 — A SUBURBANITE’S INGENIOUS ALARM (1908) [co-directed with J. Searle Dawley]
#65 — UNCLE JOSH’S NIGHTMARE (1900)
#64 — THE MYSTIC SWING (1900)
#63 — FUN IN A BAKERY SHOP (1902)
#62 — COHEN’S FIRE SALE (1907)
#61 — EXECUTION OF CZOLGOSZ WITH PANORAMA OF AUBURN PRISON (1901)
#60 — FAUST AND MARGUERITE (1900)
#59 — THE BURGLAR’S SLIDE FOR LIFE (1905)
#58 — A WINTER STRAW RIDE (1906) [co-directed with Wallace McCutcheon]
#57 — COLLEGE CHUMS (1907)
#56 — NERVY NAT KISSES THE BRIDE (1904)
#55 — LAUGHING GAS (1907)
#54 — THE RIVALS (1907)
#53 — FIRESIDE REMINISCES (1908) [co-directed with J. Searle Dawley]
#52 — NEW YORK CITY ‘GHETTO’ FISH MARKET (1903)
#51 — BUSTER AND TIGE PUT A BALLOON VENDOR OUT OF BUSINESS (1904)
#50 — DOG FACTORY (1904)
This is basically a 10-year-old Lumière film, THE MECHANICAL BUTCHER (1895), in which some men feed a live pig into a machine and get pork products. But in DOG FACTORY, some men feed different kinds of sausages into a machine and transform a dog into various breeds. Bonkers premise.
#49 — POLICE CHASING SCORCHING AUTO (1906)
Porter had a number of key collaborators throughout the years, chief among them George S. Fleming, Wallace McCutcheon, and J. Searle Dawley. The second of those helped out on POLICE CHASING SCORCHING AUTO, a strange little “action” film that is impressive because of its automobile chase, filmed presumably from another automobile.
#48 — THE TERRIBLE KIDS (1906)
A classic “rascally kid” comedy short of the era. Dogs!
#47 — THE KISS (1900)
This risque short was part of a huge trend of “kiss films” that spawned from the success of the 1896 THE KISS, another Edison production. It’s incredibly interesting as a relic of Victorian era sexuality.
#46 — UNCLE JOSH IN A SPOOKY HOTEL (1900)
Part of a series of “Uncle Josh” comedies, the SPOOKY HOTEL installment is fun because of the doofy man-in-a-sheet ghost with a painted on skull face.
#45 — KANSAS SALOON SMASHERS (1901)
An uncomfortable commentary on the woman’s temperance movement, KANSAS SALOON SMASHERS is another short that could be installed into educational material, just for insight into an early filmic perspective on historical (then contemporary) events.
#44 — THE CAVALIER’S DREAM (1898)
Spoopy ghosts!
#43 — TRAPEZE DISROBING ACT (1901)
A collaboration with first partner Fleming, this film is one of the closest to a typical Méliès-style magician performance/trick film Porter would make. It’s impressive, and again, a relic valuable to the study of Victorian sexuality.
#42 — PANORAMA OF ESPLANADE BY NIGHT (1901)
Porter didn’t make a ton of actualities, but he made some pretty hypnotic ones. There’s not much of an argument to be made for incredible artistry for these “panorama” films, but Porter was certainly sent to some pretty incredible sights from time to time.
#41 — CIRCULAR PANORAMA OF ELECTRICAL TOWER (1901)
Ditto.
#40 — UNCLE JOSH AT THE MOVING PICTURE SHOW (1902)
Honestly, I can’t tell if Porter is just filming a movie or transposing images onto a screen (I have to imagine it’s the latter because I don’t know how well projection would show up on 1902 cameras) in UNCLE JOSH AT THE MOVING PICTURE SHOW. I don’t know if this film originated the common genre for some time, “the rube watching a movie,” but it was definitely part of that tradition, establishing a metafictional narrative and insight into the public’s reaction to the burgeoning medium. Or at least, filmmakers’ perception of the public’s reaction.
#39 — GETTING EVIDENCE (1906)
This more expansive comedy features some great locations, and people slapsticking around them.
#38 — WHAT HAPPENED IN THE TUNNEL (1903)
OH, you wanna know what happened in the tunnel!?! Some uncomfortable racial stereotypes. WHAT HAPPENED IN THE TUNNEL is not a particularly enjoyable film, it’s here because of what insight it can give into racial humor of the time.
#37 — THE TRAINER’S DAUGHTER; OR, A RACE FOR LOVE (1908)
Another collab with Dawley, THE TRAINER’S DAUGHTER features horses, great exterior landscapes, three-dimensional studio interior shots, and effective cinematography of horse racing. I can dig it.
#36 — A ROMANCE OF THE RAIL (1903)
Train!
#35 — HOW THE OFFICE BOY SAW THE BALL GAME (1906)
This short is valuable because of the footage of the New York Giants, seen through “telescoped” shots by way of the comedy offered by a boy just really wants to see the baseball game.
#34 — BURNING OF DURLAND’S RIDING ACADEMY (1902)
This actuality features the fighting of a real-life fire and the wreckage it left behind. Perhaps the inspiration for one of Porter’s more advanced and well-known shorts LIFE OF AN AMERICAN FIREMAN, released the next year?
#33 — THE GAY SHOE CLERK (1903)
Yeah, this “gay” is in reference to being effusive and actually a little fresh with the opposite sex; the titular character puts some shoes on a lady and gives her a kiss, causing her parent (?) or guardian of some kind (?) to beat him up.
#32 — HOW A FRENCH NOBLEMAN GOT A WIFE THROUGH THE ‘NEW YORK HERALD’ PERSONAL COLUMNS (1904)
Wait, so how did a French nobleman get a wife through the New York Herald personal columns? This ridiculous comedy chase short will tell you!
#31 — THE TWENTIETH CENTURY TRAMP; OR, HAPPY HOOLIGAN AND HIS AIRSHIP (1902)
This installment in the popular Happy Hooligan series of the day echoes a rash of copies of Ferdinand Zecca’s À LA CONQUÊTE DE L’AIR (1901), in which a man pilots a flying machine through the air over a city skyline. Pretty futuristic, and obviously telling of the public consciousness when it came to man conquering the sky. Porter’s version is less striking, but nevertheless an impressive novelty.
#30 — THE LITTLE TRAIN ROBBERY (1905)
A parody of Porter’s own great success THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (we’ll get to it in short order), THE LITTLE TRAIN ROBBERY is a cute little bit of film history as a film that makes light of the maker’s own work.
#29 — KATHLEEN MAVOURNEEN (1906)
KATHLEEN MAVOURNEEN really struck me because of its exterior and indoor settings.
#28 — TRAIN WRECKERS (1905)
Visually, TRAIN WRECKERS echoes a bit of THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY, although ultimately, there are a lot more railroad-based shenanigans (and crimes) being committed.
#27 — SCENES AND INCIDENTS, RUSSO-JAPANESE PEACE CONFERENCE, PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (1905)
This actuality features a bunch of scenes of people milling about and historical figures arriving and leaving places, but there is so much magic in seeing real events from a period that was not, in spite of the popularity of actualities essentially up to this point, heavily documented by motion picture film.
#26 — THE HOUSE OF CARDS (1909)
THE HOUSE OF CARDS is a more ambitious Western drama from later in Porter’s career, and the story line, involving gambled (and lost) money and a love triangle, is more developed for it.
#25 — HOLDUP OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN EXPRESS (1906)
It’s real simple, but the POV at the head of a moving train casts this train robbery short (seeing a pattern here) in a different light.
#24 — LIFE OF AN AMERICAN POLICEMAN (1905)
I suppose you could call LIFE OF AN AMERICAN POLICEMAN a spiritual successor of sorts to Porter’s better known LIFE OF AN AMERICAN FIREMAN. In it, he and co-director McCutcheon detail a pretty eventful day for a heroic cop.
#23 — THE SEVEN AGES (1905)
This clever little short showcases courtship and romance at each milestone of life. It has a bit more potency as a rumination of mortality than it has any right to have.
#22 — A LITTLE GIRL WHO DID NOT BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUSE (1907)
Dawley and Porter tell a silly yet endearing little Christmas tale; I was most impressed by the close up shots at the beginning and the superimposition of another scene during a dream. (Co-directed with Dawley)
#21 — THE WHITE CAPS (1905)
No, those aren’t KKK members, but they sure do evoke them. Whitecapping was vigilante violence that took care of anything the group deemed in violation of community standards. The KKK took part in that. In THE WHITE CAPS, our “heroes” tar and feather a domestic abuser. Just and thrilling, maybe? This is one of those “favorites” that isn’t necessarily placed on a pedestal so much as elevated to inspect troubling historical movements.
#20 — RUBE AND MANDY AT CONEY ISLAND (1903)
I love movies that incorporate old-school Coney Island, and this impressively lengthy comedy short gives me that at the earliest date I’ve yet seen on film.
#19 — PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION AT NIGHT (1901)
As mentioned earlier, Porter was sometimes sent to incredible sights just to pan the camera around a bit. This short isn’t impressive because of technique, but it sure is a beautiful meditation on progress.
#18 — THE WHOLE DAM FAMILY AND THE DAM DOG (1905)
Besides the hilarious name, this short based on a postcard trend is notable for featuring extended sequences of, essentially, close up shots.
#17 — THE EX-CONVICT (1904)
One of a series of social commentary dramas Porter seemed to be taken with in the mid-1900s, THE EX-CONVICT posits that a person’s punishment for a crime should be over when they’ve been “rehabilitated” by the system. It’s a worthy message, and given more edge and nuance since we never learn the ex-convict’s crime.
#16 — WHAT HAPPENED ON TWENTY-THIRD STREET, NEW YORK CITY (1901)
Marilyn Monroe, eat your heart out. Weird men found hot air blowing up a woman’s ass hot half a century before you! (I need to clarify that I’m not actually aggressively shaming a long-dead celebrity but this short is just too silly, like the scene in THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH [1955]. Also, it’s “co-directed” by Fleming).
#15 — THE KLEPTOMANIAC (1905)
A progressive short like THE EX-CONVICT, THE KLEPTOMANIAC defends the necessity to steal in dire situations, not unlike the former. It derides the thrill-seeking shoplifting of an upper class lady while illustrating the cruelty of ruining the life of a poor mother. Porter did good, sometimes.
#14 — THREE AMERICAN BEAUTIES (1906)
Another simple film with a co-directorial credit (this time with McCutcheon), THREE AMERICAN BEAUTIES is an incredibly short pair of shots showcasing a beautiful woman, an American Beauty rose, and of course, the American flag. The colorization is hypnotizing, which is why it’s at #14.
#13 — THE LIGHTHOUSE BY THE SEA (1911)
A key late period Porter film, THE LIGHTHOUSE BY THE SEA almost feels like a proto-Victor Sjöström film, who was quite taken with seafaring dramas. Beautiful shots of the ocean and more compelling performances make this one of Porter’s best.
#12 — EUROPEAN REST CURE (1904)
EUROPEAN REST CURE is a genuinely funny short that kicks off with great footage of the New York City skyline (and docks) and continues through impressive “exotic” sets.
#11 — LIFE OF AN AMERICAN FIREMAN (1903)
Oft-praised for his innovations with this film, Porter implemented cross-cutting across multiple scenes to tell one of the most cinematic narratives in American film history up to that point, brief though it may have been. But it should also be pointed out that LIFE OF AN AMERICAN FIREMAN was co-directed by Fleming, and had much in common with Williamson’s FIRE! (1901). Nevertheless, it’s a compelling bit of early filmic drama.
#10 — CONEY ISLAND AT NIGHT (1905)
I told you I love Coney Island, and this short is positively electric. Get it!?!
#9 — THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1905)
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS is one of Porter’s most Méliès-esque films. It has a touch of the féerie about it, driven home by a sequence of Santa’s sleigh being pulled through the snow and into the air, rendered by charming little cut outs.
#8 — THE MILLER’S DAUGHTER (1905)
One of McCutcheon and Porter’s more “nuanced” films for the time, THE MILLER’S DAUGHTER tells an emotional story about a woman ostracized from her family due to her taste in men. Its ending leaves much to be desired, but the deterioration of the main character is tearjerking stuff.
#7 — JACK AND THE BEANSTALK (1902)
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS may be one of Porter’s most Méliès-esque films, but JACK AND THE BEANSTALK is Porter’s most Méliès-esque film. Another Fleming co-production, JACK AND THE BEANSTALK is a fantastical little adventure with plenty of beautiful sets and silly effects.
#6 — UNCLE TOM’S CABIN (1903)
Let me come right out of the gate and say I don’t love any version of UNCLE TOM’S CABIN. But Porter’s film adaptation is ranked so highly, among his filmography I should point out, because of its complexity for 1903. At about 20 minutes, it was certainly one of Porter’s longest films, and though it is essentially stage bound, it incorporated more “narrative” elements found in LIFE OF AN AMERICAN FIREMAN and THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY while showcasing beautifully painted backdrops with illusory depth, like a certain French filmmaker. It is not a film to be truly admired, but one to be understood as a great success for its time and part of an ugly tradition of silent adaptations of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel.
#5 — ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND (1910)
Porter’s telling of Lewis Carroll’s bonkers story is a bit too understated, but it gets the job done: ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND is a bizarre visual experience, and besides, isn’t that what the novel is all about?
#4 — DREAM OF A RAREBIT FIEND (1906)
Although nowhere near as magical as Winsor McCay’s own animated adaptations of his groundbreaking cartoon strips, Porter and McCutcheon’s live action attempt is still incredibly strong. DREAM OF A RAREBIT FIEND features a lot of impressive special effects, not the least of which is the mesmerizing shot of a bed flying across a pitch-black sky, with a city far below it.
#3 — THE ‘TEDDY’ BEARS (1907)
One of Porter’s (and McCutcheon’s) few flirts with stop motion, if not only, THE ‘TEDDY’ BEARS seems to revisit a favorite subject of Porter’s: President Theodore Roosevelt. OK, that’s a bit of a stretch, but nevertheless, the short is fun. Anthropomorphic bear costumes, the aforementioned stop motion bringing the titular stuffed animals to life, and a doofy chase through a snowy forest make THE ‘TEDDY’ BEARS one of Porter’s most timeless shorts.
#2 — TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY (1914)
One of the few feature films Porter made at the end of his career (and perhaps the only surviving/readily accessible one), TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY’s scope cannot be discounted amid a filmography comprised almost entirely of shorts. Porter was suddenly in a different era of filmmaking, on the precipice of a whole new form, which as mentioned, he could not keep up with. But he tried in those last couple years of his directorial days, and TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY, for all that, is an impressive product of them. A key role in the stardom of Mary Pickford, Tess brought her to renown to match the “supersized” feature film. This early feature is not easily sustained by Porter’s overly restrained hand, but the story is compelling enough, and its status important enough to elevate it to such a high position in Porter’s vast body of work.
#1 — THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903)
Oh, what can be said? Although it’s often very incorrectly misidentified as the “first narrative film,” THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY certainly ushered in a new era of “realism” in American fiction filmmaking that was informed by British sensibilities and, in turn, would influence and bring low the fantastical machinations of other European creators. It’s as compelling a bit of grounded drama as you’ll find from these early days of cinema that Porter helped to define. THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY deserves its place as his most praised and well-known film because it’s certainly his best, his most daring and important.
