Annabelle Serpentine Dance

This very early feature contains quite a bit of talent on display, both on the part of the dancer Annabelle and on the part of the Edison filming and production crew. The 'serpentine' dancing creates quite an attractive scene, and the motion is almost hypnotic in its effect. To top it off, there is the hand coloring of portions of the print, one of the earliest such efforts.

The photography catches the action of the dances very well, and it is especially commendable for such an early effort. The camera field catches everything, and uses the space most efficiently. The color still looks good, and it might have looked even more impressive in its original condition.

The dance itself is well worth seeing. The skillful movement of the dancer's dress allows the viewer to sense a rhythm even without the original musical accompaniment. It creates a pleasing effect that has held up well.

In this approximately 34-second Thomas Edison-produced short, we see Annabelle Moore performing the Loie Fuller-choreographed "Serpentine Dance" in two different fantastical, flowing robes.

Moore was one of the bigger stars of the late Victorian era. She was featured in a number of Edison Company shorts, including this one, which was among the first Kinetoscope films shown in London in 1894.

Loie Fuller had actually patented the Serpentine Dance, which Moore performs here in robes (as well as entire frames) that are frequently hand tinted in the film, presaging one of the more common symbolic devices of the silent era. Supposedly, the Moore films were popular enough to have to be frequently redone (including refilming). The version available to us now may be a later version/remake. Moore became even more popular when it was rumored that she would appear naked at a private party at a restaurant in New York City. She later went on to star as the "Gibson Bathing Girl" in the Ziegfeld Follies in 1907. She appeared there until 1912.

The short is notable for its framing of motion, which, especially during the "second half", becomes almost abstract. It somewhat resembles a Morris Louis painting, even though this is almost 60 years before Louis' relevant work.

You should be able to find this short on DVD on a number of different anthologies of early films.

In a flowing-robe of a dress, Annabelle gracefully moves her arms while standing in place. This causes a swirl of material to float about her body in an effect that is both spectacular and artistic. It does show much less of Annabelle than we saw in "Annabelle Butterfly Dance".

The film version that I viewed had "copyright Aug. 1897" imprinted on several frames. It was hand-tinted so that the Ms. Whitford's robe changed to various pastel colors as it swirls. The tinting process, usually done by women, had to be laborious. The Kinetograph would film at 48-frames per second. If that were the case for this 18-second film, there would be 864 frames where only the dress would be hand-painted.

Part of the prints were hand-colored. It was the very first time a film is hand-tinted. Before that, probably only fully animated movies had colours, such as Émile Reynaud,s Pauvre Pierrot, from 1892. Annabelle Moore's dancing in 1895 in studio acquired a very special effect, particularly when there is a change in colour.

First hand-colored film that we INHERITED. Imperial Japanese Dance is earlier, but the colored footage is lost.

However, I would romantically accept this Annabelle masterpiece as a quiet opening of an era, simply because of how later it influenced our great Max Skladanowsky to imitate it, but also how beguiling Annabelle has presented to our audiences. The color changes like how it always First hand-colored film that we INHERITED. Imperial Japanese Dance is earlier, but the colored footage is lost.

However, I would romantically accept this Annabelle masterpiece as a quiet opening of an era, simply because of how later it influenced our great Max Skladanowsky to imitate it, but also how beguiling Annabelle has presented to our audiences. The color changes like how it always be.