The Great Train Robbery
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What is 'The Great Train Robbery'?
The Great Train Robbery, a silent Western film released in 1903, is historically significant for its innovative film editing and narration. Directed by Edwin S. Porter, it is recognized as the first narrative film to successfully establish continuity of action, combining related shots into a cohesive sequence.
The film's story revolves around four bandits who rob a train but are eventually tracked down and killed by a posse. Filmed in New York and New Jersey, it utilized outdoor locations and an expansive cast. The Great Train Robbery achieved temporal continuity through 14 separate shots, a departure from earlier filmmaking techniques. Its success led to longer movies and the establishment of permanent nickelodeons. In 1990, it was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry.
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Who made 'The Great Train Robbery' and when was it created?
The Great Train Robbery, a historically significant American silent Western film, was directed by Edwin S. Porter and released in 1903. The film was written by Porter and American playwright Scott Marble and was partially based on Marble’s play of the same name.
The film is recognized as the first narrative film to successfully establish continuity of action through innovative film editing. Its compelling story follows four bandits who stage a train robbery but are eventually tracked down and killed by a local posse.
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What is the plot or story of 'The Great Train Robbery'?
In The Great Train Robbery, two bandits force a telegraph operator to stop a train, then knock him out. Four bandits board the stopped train, and two enter the mail car. They kill a messenger, and blow open a strongbox to steal valuables. Simultaneously, the other two bandits fight the train's engineer, throw him from the train, and order the engineer to stop the train. The bandits rob the passengers at gunpoint, then escape on the locomotive with their loot. The operator wakes up, tells the locals, and a posse forms to track down the bandits, eventually shooting them all dead.
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Why is 'The Great Train Robbery' considered important in film history?
The Great Train Robbery, released in 1903, holds historical significance for its innovative film editing and narration. It is recognized as the first narrative film to successfully establish continuity of action by combining related shots into a cohesive sequence, a departure from the theatrical staging common at the time.
Directed by Edwin S. Porter, the film's success led to longer movies and the establishment of permanent nickelodeons. Its compelling story, use of outdoor locations, expansive cast, and techniques like cross-cutting contributed to its success and influence on filmmaking. The film's popularity also tapped into the public's fascination with the Old West, establishing westerns as a Hollywood staple.
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What innovative techniques did 'The Great Train Robbery' introduce to movies?
The Great Train Robbery (1903) is historically significant for its innovative film editing and narration. It was the first narrative film to successfully establish continuity of action by combining related, noncontinuous shots into a cohesive sequence.
Director Edwin S. Porter's pioneering use of cross-cutting, location shooting, and close-ups revolutionized filmmaking. The film employed 14 separate noncontinuous shots to show the robbery, the formation of the posse, and the pursuit of the robbers, which was a dramatic departure from the theatrical staging of the time. The Great Train Robbery was also innovative for its use of outdoor locations and its large cast.
The film's success led to the making of longer movies and the establishment of permanent nickelodeons.
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How did 'The Great Train Robbery' influence later filmmakers and storytelling in movies?
The Great Train Robbery (1903) significantly impacted filmmaking through its innovative techniques in film editing and narration. As the first narrative film to successfully establish continuity of action, it combined related shots into a cohesive sequence, influencing later filmmakers to adopt this approach.
Directed by Edwin S. Porter, the film's use of cross-cutting, location shooting, and close-ups revolutionized filmmaking. Its success led to longer movies and the establishment of permanent nickelodeons. The Great Train Robbery tapped into the public’s fascination with the Old West, making westerns a Hollywood staple. The film is credited with establishing the realistic narrative as the commercial cinema’s dominant form.
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The Great Train Robbery, American silent western film, released in 1903, that is historically significant for its innovative approach to film editing and narration. The Great Train Robbery is acknowledged as the first narrative film to successfully establish continuity of action (the process of combining related, but noncontinuous, shots into a cohesive sequence). The film’s simple story follows four bandits who stage a train robbery and are eventually tracked down and defeated by a local posse. It is one of the earliest American silent films to survive, and it is considered an essential film classic.
The Great Train Robbery was directed by American filmmaker Edwin S. Porter, a pioneering director whose innovative use of cross-cutting (cutting between two or more shots to show simultaneous action), location shooting, and close-ups revolutionized filmmaking. He worked as a director and camera operator on several early Edison-produced films, including Kansas Saloon Smashers (1901) and The Finish of Bridget McKeen (1901). The Great Train Robbery was written by Porter and American playwright Scott Marble and was partially based on Marble’s play of the same name. It was filmed in November 1903 at Edison’s New York City studio and at outdoor locations in Essex county parks in New Jersey and along the Lackawanna Railroad, likely between Denville and Dover, New Jersey. It had a budget of $150 (which is roughly equivalent to $5,100 in 2023).
The film’s story is simple yet compelling. Two bandits force a telegraph operator to order a train to stop, before they knock him unconscious and tie him up. When the train stops, the group of bandits, now numbering four, slips aboard; two of them enter a mail car, kill the mail car’s messenger, and use an explosive to open a strongbox containing valuables. In the meantime, the two other bandits attempt to overtake the train’s engineer and fireman. A dramatic fight ensues between one of the bandits and the fireman, who is knocked senseless and thrown from the moving train. The bandits order the engineer to stop the train, and then the passengers are lined up and robbed at gunpoint. One passenger attempts to run away and is shot. The bandits steal the locomotive, drive it down the railroad line, abandon the locomotive, and flee on horseback with their loot. Assisted by his daughter, the telegraph operator awakens and staggers into a busy saloon to tell the locals about the robbery, and a posse is quickly formed. The posse eventually tracks down the bandits and shoots them all dead. The film ends with a startling close-up of American actor Justus D. Barnes, who fires his pistol repeatedly while facing the audience.
The establishment of temporal continuity was problematic in early silent films, and The Great Train Robbery is acknowledged to be the first narrative film to have achieved such continuity of action. Using 14 separate noncontinuous shots, Porter shows the robbery, the formation of the posse, and the pursuit of the robbers—a dramatic departure from the frontally composed, theatrical staging used by French filmmaker Georges Méliès and other contemporaries. The film is also notable for its use of outdoor locations, which made filming challenging because of the handling and maneuvering of large cameras and other equipment, and its expansive cast of players. Porter’s use of cross-cutting, panning shots, and the close-up at the film’s conclusion was not new; however, The Great Train Robbery was the first film to use these techniques in a single motion picture.
The film was a tremendous success at the time of its release and was shown at nickelodeons around the United States for many years. Its success encouraged the making of longer movies and led to the establishment of permanent nickelodeons, the forerunners of traditional motion picture theatres. One of the reasons The Great Train Robbery was so successful is that it tapped into the public’s fascination with the Old West and all of the tropes associated with that genre. Westerns quickly became a Hollywood staple as motion pictures evolved from 15-minute shorts to feature-length films. The Great Train Robbery was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1990.
Production notes and credits
- Studio: Edison Manufacturing Company
- Director: Edwin S. Porter
- Producer: Thomas Edison
- Writers: Edwin S. Porter and Scott Marble
- Running time: 12 minutes
Cast
- Gilbert M. (“Bronco Billy”) Anderson (bandit)
- A.C. Abadie (sheriff)
- Justus D. Barnes (bandit)
- Walter Cameron (sheriff)
- John Manus Dougherty, Sr. (bandit)
- Frank Hanaway (bandit)
- Adam Charles Hayman (bandit)
- Robert Milasch (trainman and bandit)