Life of an American Fireman

Director Edwin S. Porter ignites things early in Life of an American Fireman with little let up in this 1903 display of narrative filmmaking. Porter literally juxtaposes (early split screen) exposition before sounding the alarm for the smoke eaters to jump into action. After some firehouse mobilization we are treated to a stunning parade of galloping fire engines in what looks to be a twelve alarm fire. Arriving at the fire (actually more smoke) engulfed home the firemen battle their way into the house to save woman and child.

Fireman has all the visual and circumstantial elements of suspense and action. It is the Towering Inferno of its day filled with human drama and in the balance moments. Porter's action is both non-stop and engrossing and if he needed any indication that this stuff had a future for making money he need look no further to the crowd quickly multiplying to watch the racing fire chariots in a top rate action film from this early period of film.

The glimpse at Edwardian America is the main reason to view this appealing short. The fashion, the things, the people and the age are marvels and wonders of film preservation and history. The time machine aspect is compelling and moving. If only film was invented earlier.

The only problem I have with this is that half the film shows tanker after tanker going down a road in front of bystanders. It seemed as though the film firemen would never get to the fire. But, eventually they do and the film viewer gets a look at this dangerous occupation.

Once again, I'm reviewing another of Edwin S. Porter's early films. In this one, a fireman wakes up and goes to work when an emergency is called out. So he and his men go to rescue some people and put out the fire. This was an early film that employed many cuts though some of those scenes took a static approach in depicting the action such as when you see fire vehicle after vehicle moving across the screen without any cuts to any particular vehicle. So the rescue scenes aren't as exciting to watch as when cross-cutting were employed in later films. So in summary, Life of an American Fireman was interesting and nothing else. Now on to Porter's most famous work: The Great Train Robbery...

Kenneth MacGowan in his book "Behind The Screen" discusses this film at length. He was familiar both with the controversial print and the paper print in the Library of Congress. He didn't think that the evidence of the paper print was conclusive. At the time, a movie could be copyrighted only as a collection of still photos, which is why the paper prints were made. For that purpose, it didn't matter whether they were in the final edited form,or even if there was more footage than in the released version. MacGowan thought that a hastily assembled negative was used to make the paper print,with all of the footage shot from one angle together. Porter therefore had more time for final editing without delaying the copyright process.

The question is, if the existing copy was reedited, who did it and why? Certainly not during the silent era? By the time such editing became more common, this picture was an obsolete relict of a primitive era. And if reedited then, where are the title cards? They weren't in use in 1903 when the picture was made,but came into general use a few years later. So why "modernize" the movie in one way, but not another? It seems strange that they were not added.

Perhaps the most likely explanation is that Porter himself made the reedited version in the 20's or later to show people how he originally wanted the picture to be.

MacGowan admits that there is certainly a question about the complex editing, but points out that Porter took exactly the shots he needed for it. And as to why he never used it again, there are two factors. It may have been too advanced and confusing for the audiences of 1903,just as later audiences found the more complex editing of Griffith's "Intolerance" even more confusing. And there is evidence that Edison disapproved of Porter's editing. Edison involved himself in every aspect of his companies' operation, insisting on personally approving each piece of music that went on his records,for example. Which didn't help sales, as he didn't have very good taste. Edison's word was law, and Porter would have bowed to it without complaint. In addition, the Edison Catalogue of that time specifically stated that after the woman was carried out of the room by the fireman, there was a dissolve to the outside of the building,the woman pleads for the fireman to rescue the child, and he returns up the ladder. The copyright version shows the fireman carrying out the mother and returning immediately to rescue the child in one continuous shot with no dissolve to the outside. Since the catalogue is so specific on this point it would certainly seem that there was inter cutting not shown in the copyright print.