A Century In Video - 1915

Here is another Edison short. This one is 3:42 of people coming out after a show in the Claremont Theater in NYC.

This is the type of film I love finding - a little slice of everyday life.



Many of the theatre goers seem to be aware of the camera filming them as they leave, but since they are watching Edison films (perhaps even a few of the ones posted in the series), they may have been told about the camera. You'll notice a few people wave at the camera as they leave.

The clothing is, of course, very different than today. For one thing ALL the young boys are dressed in knickerbockers and ALL the women are in long dresses. But everyone acts pretty well the same as they would now for the same sort of "event"

If you take a closer look at the clothing you may note as I did that the clothing seems rather formal. Keep in mind that going to the movies was a big deal in 1915. Most of these people probably had never seen a film before.

Good news - the building is still around: Remembering an Architect Who Shaped the West Side

Here is a comparison. The old one is a screen shot from the film and the new one is from the above NYT article. (click to embiggen)



More info about the film via the Library of Congress can be found here