Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Slavery Days
(1903) American
B&W : 1100 feet
Directed by Edwin S. Porter

Cast: (unknown)

Edison Manufacturing Company production; distributed by Edison Manufacturing Company. / From the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Cinematography by Edwin S. Porter. / © 30 July 1903 by Thomas A. Edison [H34001]. Released September 1903. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.37:1 format. / Possibly the first version of the book and stage play, but the Lubin version was copyrighted before this Edison version. This film was the earliest use in the Library of Congress paper print collection of main titles and of intertitles to describe the following scene. The film utilizes double-exposure, miniature set photography, and studio ‘day for night’ sets. 14 scenes.

Drama: Historical: Civil War.

Synopsis: [From Edison promotional materials] : In this film we have made a departure from the old method of dissolving one scene into another by inserting announcements with brief descriptions as they appear in succession.

Survival Status: Print exists in the Library of Congress film archive (paper print collection) [35mm paper positive].

Keywords: African-Americans - Alcohol - Angels - Animals: Dogs - Bar rooms - Beds - Blackface - Children - Cotton pickers - Crime: Murder - Dance - Death - Fans - Fights - Fire - Flogging - Games: Dice - Hats: Top hats - History: USA: American Civil War: 1861-1865 - Ice floes - Lightning - Log cabins - Miniatures - Moons - Night scenes - Riverboats - Rivers - Saloons - Signage - Slave auctions - Slavery - Snow - Spats - Umbrellas - Visions - Water - Weapons: Guns - Whips

Listing updated: 17 March 2008.

References: Film credits, film viewing : Bohn-Light pp. xvii, 18; Everson-American p. 37; Fell-History p. 46, 47; Musser-Before p. 22; Niver-First pp. 33-34, 61; Null-Black pp. 9, 10; Pitts-Hollywood p. 7; Robinson-Palace pp. 121, 122, 124, 125; Shipman-Cinema p. 28; Sklar-Movie p. 26 : Website-AFI.

Home Video: DVD.