Year: 1895
Director: William Dickson
Country: US
Language: N/A
To nobody's surprise the early films of Cinema history were made for an audience of men. They would watch short films, no more than a minute long each, through a peepshow device known as the Edison Kinetoscope. The topics chosen were taken from vaudeville performances created to appeal to male audiences, thus the moving pictures often featured clips with female dancers, railway trains, fire and police workers and sporting events. Yes, Annabelle Serpentine Dance was created for masculine amusement, but many women did enjoy it too.
In this, Annabelle (Whitford) Moore performs one of her popular dance routines. She uses her dance steps and her long, flowing skirts to create a variety of visual patterns.
Annabelle Serpentine Dance employs a “direct” film manipulation element, as each black and white frame of the film has been hand-tinted in different colour. It is the first film (that we know of) to employ this technique. The tint been employed to imitate the original performance by Loie Fuller who had light in different colours projected onto her costume while performing. The result is astonishing, making the actress seem out of this world.
Annabelle's costume changes as she moves, creating a vast variety of visual patterns that must have been a sight to behold back in the 19th Century. Later Annabelle acknowledges the camera by smiling, creating a bond between her and the audience. At this moment we are not peeping toms, but rather spectators in the art of voyeurism.
Though some at the time thought this picture was erotic in nature (the publicity posters did market it this way), I have no doubt of the magical spell this had/has on contemporary and modern audiences. This is my favourite picture of early cinema because of how fascinating it is. The art of dance and the art of film emerge in one beautiful display.
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