The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog

Here's the Dam family, with names like I.B. Dam and U.B. Dam, each with quirks. One sneezes, one chatters, and so forth.

It's based on a campaign of cards for Keystone Cigars which ran originally in 1900. In those days, cigar and cigarette companies issued cards, like bubble gum manufacturers do today. Considered risqué at the time, it undoubtedly sold a lot of cigars and elicited the same sort of sniggers that the movie MEET THE FOKKERS did in 2004.

Lubin issued I.B. DAM AND THE WHOLE DAM FAMILY almost simultaneously.

Although only mildly entertaining in its own right, this comedy feature is interesting as a pop culture curio that preserves the memory of a popular fad of its day. Pop culture icons come and go in every era, and moving pictures have proved to be one of the most enduring ways that the various whims and crazes of public taste are kept from being completely forgotten.

The concept of the 'Dam family' was based on some highly popular postcards of the time. The new Kino collection of Edison films includes a photograph of one of these postcards, which allows you to see how closely the characters in Edwin S. Porter's movie resemble the original conceptions. Indeed, a large part of the film consists simply of a series of close-ups of the characters, each one held much longer than would normally be necessary. These are then followed by a short comic sequence starring the family dog.

The one innovation in the actual film is the animated title cards, which are pretty good for 1905. They also lend the appropriate jaunty tone to the movie.

The whole movie is deliberately silly, and while it's still good for a smile or two, its appeal at first seems a bit mystifying. But then again, the trends and fads of every era often mystify later generations. This little movie may not seem like much in itself, but if nothing else it provides a little interesting food for thought.

Many folks today assume that back in the old days, folks never swore and films were 100% squeaky clean. Well, if that was true, then the Edison Company would never have brought out a film called "The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog"! Obviously they were trying to get the folks' attention to draw them into theaters!

The film itself is a bit of a disappointment, as it's basically the same Dam joke again and again and it lacks the narrative or jokes to make it memorable...just the title. The film starts with an over-long introduction where you meet all of this Dam family. Then in the story itself, the family is eating dinner and nothing happens until the very end. Overall, I was just Dam disappointed.

A mildly entertaining short that expands on a popular postcard of 1905. It presents a complete family with the last name of Dam. They each mug for the camera as they are introduced. Then they all sit together as if for a postcard. Then, following a brief interlude of animation that presents the name of short, the family sits down for a meal. After fighting with the Dam dog, the Father Dam yells at Jimmy Dam for smoking at the table. All is interrupted though when the dog returns and proceeds to pull the tablecloth off of the table.

The characterizations are okay but, do the time constraints, only hit one note. The dog steals the picture of his obvious joy of fighting with the father and barking at the family. The chaos he provides livens up the mundane picture.

Overall, I give 4 out of a 10.

Contrary to one reviewer's opinion on The Dam Family Edison Studio short film, this movie was allegedly based on a popular series of postcards depicting the Dam Family, a novel twist on a profane word that drops the letter N.

Edwin Porter, creative genius of 1903's The Great Train Robbery, puts his idea of transferring pop art onto film when he introduces each member in a "breaking the fourth wall" format. This is the first time cinema has taken a pop art phenomenon and created a movie of it, something that is so popular today in films like the Marvel Studio's action heroes.

What's novel of Porter's singular portrayal of each member is the text masked on the bottom of the screen describing the name of the individual Dam family. Porter seemingly anticipated the Chiron title effect we are so familiar with on today's TV news shows.

As mentioned elsewhere, there is stop-motion animation in the titles within the movie's framework. This is one of the earliest examples of film animation, this time manipulating both letters and a figure of a dog to create titles going in and out of frame.

The final third of the film is rather static with a held-down camera wide shot showing the family in action at the dinner table. This is the portion where the Dam Dog is seen disrupting the otherwise dysfunctional Dam Family's placid food feast. From a historical perspective the Edison movie breaks new ground. Otherwise, don't expect this to be a blockbuster if it is reissued to be shown at your local cinema.