The Great Train Robbery

The Great Train Robbery (1903)

Timing: 0:12 (12 min)

7/10
569

All about film

Video 0

Photo 11

Actors and characters

Release date

1903-12-07

Country

United States

Production

Edison Studios

Genre

Crime, Action, Western, Drama, Adventure, Thriller, History

Budget

$150

Revenue

$0

Website

Director

Edwin S. Porter

Actors

Gilbert M. Anderson, John Manus Dougherty Sr., Frank Hanaway, Adam Charles Hayman, Robert Milasch, Marie Murray, Mary Snow, A.C. Abadie, Walter Cameron, Donald Gallaher
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Edwin S. Porter

Producer

Edwin S. Porter

Operator

Edwin S. Porter

Composer

Artist

Audition

Editing

All team (3)

• The film is based on a story by Scott Marble, written in 1896. However, the screenplay also draws on real events that occurred later than Marble's book. On August 29, 1900, four criminals from the 'Hole in the Wall' gang, led by the legendary figure of many subsequent Westerns, Butch Cassidy, attacked Union Pacific train No. 3 passing through Table Rock, Wyoming. The bandits forced the conductor to detach the passenger cars, then blew up the safe in the mail car and escaped with $5,000 in cash.
• Edwin S. Porter, inspired by Méliès' famous 'A Trip to the Moon,' became eager to make a similar film using technical techniques unusual for the time. The film employs innovations such as cross-cutting (changing episodes creating the impression of simultaneous on-screen action) and double exposure. Finally, location shooting instead of purely studio work created a complete sense of realism.
• The film consists of 14 scenes, which were shot in November 1903 in New Jersey, where Thomas A. Edison's New Studio was located. Specifically, the railroad episodes were filmed on the Lackawanna Railroad, near Paterson, New Jersey. All other scenes of 'The Great Train Robbery' were filmed in Essex County Park near West Orange, New Jersey.
• The use of the most modern special effects, and especially the final scene, shocked audiences at the premiere.