The Little Train Robbery

Edwin S. Porter's "The Great Train Robbery" met with great success, being the first western and one of the first 'full length' (by the standards of the time) movies. So, two years later he thought to parody it, by changing the bandits to children who commit crimes. Thus, "The Little Train Robbery" was made. While the idea is clever at least, there is no medium closeup of the bandit firing at the camera at the end and because of the lack of this, it has not become nearly as well known.

If you've seen the original movie before then you're probably already familiar with the plot: a train is robbed, bandits are caught. The thing isn't even much of a western at all like the original because of the lack of violence (no gun shots are fired and the closest they get is one kid hitting the engineer over the head) and a great deal of it is devoted to the chase scenes, which go on a little too long. It isn't a bad film by any means but lacks the action and attention-holding pacing of its predecessor. Worthwhile for fans of "The Great Train Robbery", but if you haven't seen that yet then you'll have to watch it before giving this one a go.

Edwin S. Porter made one of the most important early films "The Great Train Robbery". Some have referred to it as the first full-length film, though Georges Méliès made his "Voyage Dans Le Lune" the same year and a couple other films also claim to be the first. Regardless, it was a huge milestone in film history and was the first great American western. So, it's not at all surprising that Porter would seek to capitalize on this success--though I am surprised it took him two full years to get to "The Little Train Robbery".

"The Little Train Robbery" is a parody of his previous film--and it IS unusual for a person to parody their own work. In this case, you have a similar plot but it's acted by kids. And, as they are kids, they ride ponies and the train is an amusement park type they'd have for the young kids. It's a clever idea BUT it's also an idea that runs thin--even when full-length meant 10-20 minutes as it did in 1905. In many ways, it's a lot like the much later (and dreadfully awful) "The Terror of Tiny Town"--the first all-midget western! So is it worth your time? Not especially. But, if you love early films and have already seen "The Great Train Robbery", it's worth a look.

This film, made in 1905, is a parody of "The Great Train Robbery," from 1903. The main difference is that the robbers this time are children; therefore, everything occurs on a smaller-scale level. If you liked the first one, consider seeing this movie as well--it is entertaining as well as adventurous.

I have to be honest: I'm a huge Edwin Porter fan and I loved his 1903 "The Great Train Robbery." The groundbreaking film had crisp elliptical editing, short, unfolding scenes and convincing special effects. Here, two years later, in a parody of his earlier success, Porter's craftsmanship has slipped several notches.

The idea of using teenagers as the robbers/cops was clever. Beyond that, however, the technical aspects of "The Little Train Robbery" is inferior to the production of the movie it's making fun of. Porter's scenes here are excessively long and drawn out. In his earlier effort where he clipped the chase scenes in compressing the action, in the 1905 version, the camera lingers as the long string of individuals runs by the camera--including the last person trailing the posse. After several camera placements showing the chase, the viewer can be excused for eliciting a string of yawns.

Historically, the LTR is worth watching since it is the very first parody, an imitated work that is intended to showcase a comedic side of a very serious event the 1903 version highlighted. For that the LTR is of utmost importance for anyone who is remotely interested in the origins of cinema.

The first parody in the history of cinema. A remake of the very first Western, 'The great train robbery', but here children are the outlaws. A funny idea: a little train robbery. Many small objects (short talvez, ponies....) and obviously that train contribute to an amusing outcome. However, I did miss a remake of the famous shooting scene.