Annabelle Serpentine Dance

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.

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.

IMDb's keywords: Dance | Wings | Kick | Dance Routine | Leg describe the entire film. They're sorta spoiling the film themselves that way, but it's hard when a film is a short documentary. I gave this movie five stars because it is a mesmerizing spectacle of the early cinema. Yet, I didn't rate it higher because the mesmerizing spectacle wears off as the film goes on. You have to understand that this was not made to be a narrative film. It's only something to look at, and not even for the entirety of the film itself. So, I say, it's not enough to keep your interest, but it is worth looking at for a minute to see a bit of history.

Annabelle Serpentine Dance (1895)

Mention Annabelle Moore to a sold-out crowd at the latest summer blockbuster and it's doubtful a single person could tell you who she was. In fact, it would be hard to find anyone who could tell you who she was except for the most knowledgeable film buffs out there. In a short period, Annabelle Moore made about ten films for the Edison studio where she pretty much danced in a variety of ways. The title tells you what's going on in this film that clocks in just under a minute. Obviously most people aren't going to see anything special in what's going on here and it's doubtful most would even be entertained by the dance today. With that said, those who enjoy these early movies from Edison will like this simply because of Annabelle's style when she dances and the way the camera captures it.