I was really entertained by this, watching the people get on and off the cable cars while they travel by, the crazy drivers weaving in and out of the traffic, the animal drawn wagons. Even the paperboy who obviously sees the camera and makes several attempts to get on the film. Watch how the people react to the cars and trucks and wagons too. Great stuff! Enjoy
June 23, 2010
An interesting way to spend 7 minutes...
A friend of mine sent me this link a movie clip. What makes this so interesting is the age of it and the subject. From her description: You are "there" for a cable car ride in San Francisco This film was "lost" for many years. It was the first 35mm film ever. It was taken by a camera mounted on the front of a cable car. The number of automobiles is staggering for 1906. Absolutely amazing! The clock tower at the end of Market Street at the Embarcadero wharf is still there. This film, originally thought to be from 1905 until David Kiehn with the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum figured out exactly when it was shot. From New York trade papers announcing the film showing to the wet streets from recent heavy rainfall & shadows indicating time of year & actual weather and conditions on historical record, even when the cars were registered (he even knows who owned them and when the plates were issued!).. It was filmed only four days before the Great California Earthquake of April 18th 1906 and shipped by train to NY for processing. Amazing, but true!
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3 comments:
This is amazing, Peng. I grew up in SF, using cable cars and street cars, but traffic was a bit more orderly by then. It's really heart-rending to think that all those people managed to survive their near-miss traffic incidents while the big earthquake was just waiting to get some of them.
The camera must have been really big to have attracted so much attention. Of course, there would be a camera man, too. So different from our tiny little point and shoot cameras that even take movies now.
Thank you for sharing this.
This had a surprisingly poignant affect on me. While my uncle and I were searching for his grandfather's marriage certificate (his grandfather being my great grandfather), his cousin gave us a clipping from this same time frame, from a Binghamton, NY newspaper detailing the death of a child.
I've just searched for it in vain, but wording was more informal than today, talking about how the little nipper shouldn't have been playing in the street and that the danger of trolley cars was known to all.
My would be great uncle was killed by a trolley in Binghamton, just about 1906. I've tried to imagine how a child could be left to be hit by a trolley and still can't, but this brings home the danger.
Even still the film is mezmerizing.
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