Jack Brawn in Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906)

Thomas A. Edison in Uncle Josh's Nightmare (1900)

Georges Méliès in Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship (1906)

Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship

Robert Hilliard

Edwin Holland

A recently released prisoner struggles to support his family.

Edwin S. Porter

The Ex-Convict

Early Social Commentary Film

This early Edison Company story film, &quot;The Ex-Convict&quot;, made by Edwin S. Porter (of &quot;The Great Train Robbery&quot;) is one of the earliest sustained social commentary pictures. It presents and is critical of a social problem, which in this case is an ex-convict who is discouraged into returning to crime. Other such early message films include Georges Méliès&apos;s stance against anti-Semitic injustice with &quot;The Dreyfuss Affair&quot; (1899), James Williamson&apos;s &quot;The Little Match Seller&quot; (1902) about a homeless child freezing to death, the teetotal message &quot;Buy Your Own Cherries&quot; (1904), Pathé&apos;s &quot;La Grève&quot; (The Strike) (1904), and another Edison film, &quot;The Kleptomaniac&quot; (1905). Historian Charles Musser (&quot;Before the Nickelodeon&quot;) also praises &quot;The Ex-Convict&quot; for being an early example of a play adapted for the screen, as opposed to the filmed plays, which were more of transports rather than adaptations, such as Porter&apos;s earlier &quot;Uncle Tom&apos;s Cabin&quot; (1903) and &quot;Parsifal&quot; (1904). &quot;The Ex-Convict&quot; makes use of locations and added to the narrative, which was originally a one-act vaudeville play.

In its eight shots, the ex-convict loses a job and fails to find another due to his past. Adding to the sympathy, he has a wife and sick child at home. He also saves another child from being hit by a speeding motorcar. Out of desperation, he burglarizes a home, but is saved when recognized for his earlier heroism. It&apos;s a rather sweet ending for a brief, primitive film from 1904. A title card introduces each scene, and in the tableau fashion, tells us what we later will see. Titles stating &quot;That man is an ex-convict&quot; and &quot;That man saved my life&quot; discourage much of the pacing from today&apos;s perspective. Additionally, the scenes here were filmed from an extreme long shot position-farther away from the characters than was usual even back then. The theatrical source seems to become most apparent in the interior scenes, where a few feet of floorboards visibly separate us from the characters-maintaining the proscenium arch. Of course, much is to be forgiven in the film due to its age and brevity; and, besides, it&apos;s one of the more interesting early subjects.

This early Edison Company story film, "The Ex-Convict", made by Edwin S. Porter (of "The Great Train Robbery") is one of the earliest sustained social commentary pictures. It presents and is critical of a social problem, which in this case is an ex-convict who is discouraged into returning to crime. Other such early message films include Georges Méliès's stance against anti-Semitic injustice with "The Dreyfuss Affair" (1899), James Williamson's "The Little Match Seller" (1902) about a homeless child freezing to death, the teetotal message "Buy Your Own Cherries" (1904), Pathé's "La Grève" (The Strike) (1904), and another Edison film, "The Kleptomaniac" (1905). Historian Charles Musser ("Before the Nickelodeon") also praises "The Ex-Convict" for being an early example of a play adapted for the screen, as opposed to the filmed plays, which were more of transports rather than adaptations, such as Porter's earlier "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (1903) and "Parsifal" (1904). "The Ex-Convict" makes use of locations and added to the narrative, which was originally a one-act vaudeville play.

In its eight shots, the ex-convict loses a job and fails to find another due to his past. Adding to the sympathy, he has a wife and sick child at home. He also saves another child from being hit by a speeding motorcar. Out of desperation, he burglarizes a home, but is saved when recognized for his earlier heroism. It's a rather sweet ending for a brief, primitive film from 1904. A title card introduces each scene, and in the tableau fashion, tells us what we later will see. Titles stating "That man is an ex-convict" and "That man saved my life" discourage much of the pacing from today's perspective. Additionally, the scenes here were filmed from an extreme long shot position-farther away from the characters than was usual even back then. The theatrical source seems to become most apparent in the interior scenes, where a few feet of floorboards visibly separate us from the characters-maintaining the proscenium arch. Of course, much is to be forgiven in the film due to its age and brevity; and, besides, it's one of the more interesting early subjects.

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The Ex-Convict

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