Cripple Creek Bar-Room Scene

This is terribly poor quality in almost every way, compared to the Lumiere brothers' output at a similar or earlier time - mis en scene apparently hadn't been invented yet, and the casting is questionable - the barmaid is a bloke in drag, right? - but at least it was attempting to have some narrative. However, whilst there are times when the elegant simplicity of a train arriving could be considered a superior production, this tale's got the slapstick (just watch that hat fly!) and the laughs.

The western was among the first film genres, growing in status alongside the development of Hollywood's studio production system. There were only a few great silent westerns, although the best ones established some of the archetypes that are part of the genre even today. The earliest westerns (silent films without the sound of gunfire, horse's hoof beats, and the cattle trail) are gems of American history.

The earliest cowboy film may possibly be Thomas Edison's Cripple Creek Bar Room Scene (1898), perhaps it was the first filmed western with a plot (be it ever so thin). Shows the tap room of the Miners' Arms, a stout lady at the bar, and three men playing cards. Old toper with a silk hat asleep by the stove. Rough miner enters, barmaid serves him with Red Eye Whiskey and he proceeds to clean out the place. Barmaid takes a hand with a siphon of vichy, and bounces the intruder, with the help of the card players, who line up before the bar and take numerous drinks on the house.

'Cripple Creek Bar-Room Scene,' a 46-second, one shot film produced by the Edison Manufacturing Company, is a decidedly unremarkable achievement, even for the era in which it was made. However, the film receives bonus marks for being, quite possibly, the first Western ever made, predating Edwin S. Porter's celebrated 'The Great Train Robbery' by four years. This title is regularly contested by film historians, many arguing over exactly what constitutes a Western. Admittedly, we may be missing the horses and the gunfights, but 'Cripple Creek Bar-Room Scene' adequately captures what would later become a staple in every Western film produced: the bar scene.

The depicted scene takes place at a bar, with the stout barmaid (allegedly played by a man) watching three of her patrons good-naturedly playing cards at the nearest table, as a drunken toper sleeps by the door. In stumbles a bumbling drunkard who waltzes straight up to the bar and demands a whiskey. The barmaid complies, and the man turns to leave. As he reaches the door, the drunk notices the sleeping toper, and he mischievously flicks the hat off the sleeping man's head. The man wakes suddenly, stares indignantly around the room, and a minor scuffle breaks out. The ready-thinking barmaid, however, promptly escorts the men to the door to settle their disputes outside. The three card-playing cowboys congratulate the lady on a job well done.

'Cripple Creek Bar-Room Scene' isn't precisely a riveting cinematic experience, but it is an interesting little curio from the 19th century, and it paved the way for the likes of Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood and John Wayne in the next century. Essential viewing for all Western-lovers.

This was another very brief Edison film that I discovered on the Internet Archive site. Supposedly the first movie western, Cripple Creek Bar-Room Scene has no horses, no guns, and no fistfights. What it does have is the bar setting, three men playing cards, a drunk that's lying around, a barmaid, and another drunkard who comes in, gets a drink, threatens the other tramp to a fight, and then both get thrown out by the barmaid and those three card-playing men. Since this was approximately four years before the first story short The Great Train Robbery, the only interest this would be for anyone are those who have an interest in early cinema. On that note, Cripple Creek Bar-Room scene is at least worth a look.

Cripple Creek Bar-Room Scene (1899)

*** (out of 4)

Fun Edison film is perhaps the first Western movie. We see a drunk walk into a bar, order a drink and then knock the hat off a man he thinks is passed out. The two then quickly get into a fight before the owner chases them off. As you can tell, we get a few early staples of the Western with the drunk, the fighting and we even have a bunch of guys sitting around playing cards. The movie runs 46-seconds and was shot in one take but it was surprisingly very entertaining and it actually tried to tell a story, a good four years before Edwin S. Porter and his THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY. There's certainly nothing amazing here but it's an early part of cinema history that has been forgotten (but thankfully saved).