It's fascinating to view the variations of the 1904 film "Personal" and not scratch your head at the blatant copying, scene by scene, of this first effort of a rich guy placing an ad for a future wife, only to be mobbed by several suitors. You would think the Edison Manufacturing Company and its primary director, Edwin Porter, in its "How a French Nobleman Got a Wife Through the New York Herald Personal Columns (1904)" would at least come up with some original women-chasing-nobleman scenarios. But the Porter film literally, besides a clip in the beginning where the man is reading his ad in the paper, duplicates each scene from "Personal."
I've read Biograph submitted lawsuits to cease such practices, but the courts allowed the rip offs to continue during this period. The plagiarizing stifled the creative juices of many imaginative minds who wanted to shape early cinema. The laborious technique of filming every woman as they chase the running man gets old after a couple of camera set-ups.
The film does interest this viewer, however, by the outfits the female sex wore in 1904. The women are dressed from head to toe, with broad hats they had to hold tightly to their heads. The movie gives an indication that even during informal times, attire was overly formal. What a contrast to how people dressed 100 years later.
But what this film is known for is that it's one of the first to introduce two plot lines: the placing of the ad in a newspaper and the funny chase that follows. And to think, one can visit Grant's Tomb today and stand at the exact spot director Wallace McCutcheon stood while creating this 1904 classic.
I've read Biograph submitted lawsuits to cease such practices, but the courts allowed the rip offs to continue during this period. The plagiarizing stifled the creative juices of many imaginative minds who wanted to shape early cinema. The laborious technique of filming every woman as they chase the running man gets old after a couple of camera set-ups.
The film does interest this viewer, however, by the outfits the female sex wore in 1904. The women are dressed from head to toe, with broad hats they had to hold tightly to their heads. The movie gives an indication that even during informal times, attire was overly formal. What a contrast to how people dressed 100 years later.
But what this film is known for is that it's one of the first to introduce two plot lines: the placing of the ad in a newspaper and the funny chase that follows. And to think, one can visit Grant's Tomb today and stand at the exact spot director Wallace McCutcheon stood while creating this 1904 classic.