The Martyred Presidents is a 1901 American film directed by Edwin S. Porter.
Plot summary
The film, just over a minute long, is composed of two shots. In the first, a girl sits at the base of an altar or tomb, her face hidden from the camera. At the center of the altar, a viewing portal displays the portraits of three U.S. Presidents—Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, and William McKinley—each victims of assassination.[1]
In the second shot, which runs just over eight seconds long, an assassin kneels at the feet of Lady Justice.
Production
Evocative of early magic lantern and Phantasmagoria shows, The Martyred Presidents is part of a cycle of films made by the Edison Studios to chronicle the McKinley assassination in Buffalo, New York at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition.[2] An Edison catalog from the time suggests to exhibitors that The Martyred Presidents be used as a closing tableau when "...shown in connection with the funeral ceremonies of the illustrious McKinley."[3]
See also
References
- ^ Niver, Kemp R. (1968). The First Twenty Years: A Segment of Film History. Locare Research Group. p. 21. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ Musser, Charles (Autumn 1979). "The Early Cinema of Edwin Porter". Cinema Journal. 19 (1): 16–17.
- ^ "The martyred presidents / Thomas A. Edison, Inc". Retrieved 9 March 2013.
External links
- The Martyred Presidents at IMDb
- The Martyred Presidents is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
