Edwin S. Porter - what happened in the tunnel - 1903

USA

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• cinema
• mute
• porter
• edison

[PoetReid]

I see it as a delightfully fresh turn of the table by two clever women working in concert against the masher.

There's not a thing wrong with it then nor now.

The maid and the miss made a formidable team.

That's probably Porter himself as the masher?

[kineofilms]

The masher is Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson, is an actor, producer, director and photografer of the time. He start to work with Porter like a script too, then was one of the first stars of Western Films

[ranardo007]

wats wrong wit kissing the black lady dats jus offensive and mean

[kineofilms]

seeing racism in it says a lot of things about who you are. It's only a little example of the cinema history, an expression of the society of the time.

[bencheshire]

Look, I think the joke is based on the fact that the maid is not who he wanted to kiss: and I think the fact that she is african-american is used to add to the joke. I think we should be able to overlook this aspect and appreciate the ingenuity of the gag.

[trigger1979]

i didnt see any racism... just the ole' switch a-roo-peek-boo for some laughs. You gotta relax a bit man, stop fightin' the power for a sec and chillax.

[Ivanatis]

lol owned

[Kell1295]

a kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a siiiigh...

[ayjntghost]

@trigger1979 it is because of the fact that an overweight black woman was casted to play the character of "mammy"... at the time african americans were already highly mistreated by early american cinema; this film is evident of that.

[MadameLil]

@unrequited416 I'm still waiting for someone to post the 1907 film Laughing Gas, where a black woman named Mandy overreacts hilariously to the title stuff after a trip to the dentist. I saw that on the Edison DVD box set 5 years ago - there probably would be problems with the copyright (from the multidisc collection as opposed to the original one that's long expired) that would prevent it being on here, though.

[7slazenger]

This was 'Broncho Billy' Gilbert M. Anderson's very first film! What a groundbreaking film, indeed. Lot's of social barriers were broken in this film. Anderson immediately went to do 3 different parts in his collaboration with Porter THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY [released 1 Dec 1903]. Anderson was the assistant director/second unit director of that film. He became America's very 1st movie star by 1907 and the very 1st cowboy star of the Western film genre.

[unrequited416]

Do you have any other shorts with "black women" in them?

[bettygoodbody]

is he spitting into the newspaper? wow, i am surprised that in those years a man would do that on film they were so very racist weren;t they?

[hilbert2547]

a black and a white side by side? There was racial segregation at that time

[hrb266]

Reminds me of the joke about Clinton and Bush and some women on a train going into a tunnel, Clinton gets slapped, ....by Bush.

[SabrinaMessenger]

pretty daring for the times...