Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King
1901 film by Edwin S. Porter
- February 23, 1901 (1901-02-23)[1]
Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King is a 1901 American silent film directed by Edwin S. Porter. Produced by the Edison Manufacturing Company, it is the earliest known political satire in American film.[2] It features three actors, all of whom are unknown.
Plot
Consisting of two shots, the first shot is set in a wood during winter. The actor representing then vice-president Theodore Roosevelt enthusiastically hurries down a hillside towards a tree in the foreground. He falls once, but rights himself and cocks his rifle. Two other men, bearing signs reading "His Photographer" and "His Press Agent" respectively, follow him into the shot; the photographer sets up his camera. "Teddy" aims his rifle upward at the tree and fells what appears to be a common house cat, which he then proceeds to stab. "Teddy" holds his prize aloft, and the press agent takes notes. The second shot is taken in a slightly different part of the wood, on a path. "Teddy" rides the path on his horse towards the camera and out to the left of the shot, followed closely by the press agent and photographer, still dutifully holding their signs.
Background
Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King was inspired by political cartoons that originally ran in William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal. These cartoons depicted Roosevelt as a macho hunting enthusiast with a strong taste for publicity, killing a mountain lion in Colorado while the press took in the event. The film is based on 1901 New York Journal comics panels that ran on February 4 (first shot) and 18th (second shot) very closely.[3] As the Edison Company filed a copyright for the finished film on February 23, Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King must have been made very quickly indeed. A paper print (LC 1887) was filed with the Library of Congress at the time of copyright; it was later rephotographed to flexible film in order to preserve the subject.[4]
See also
References
- ^ Niver, Kemp R. (1985). Early Motion Pictures: The Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress. Library of Congress. p. 322. ISBN 0-8444-0463-2. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ Niver, Kemp R. (1968). The First Twenty Years: A Segment of Film History. Locare Research Group. p. 17. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ Musser, Charles (1991). Before the Nickelodeon: Edwin S. Porter and the Edison Manufacturing Company. University of California Press. pp. 163–164. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ American Memory Entry http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/edmp.1887
External links
Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King at Wikipedia's sister projects
Texts from Wikisource
Data from Wikidata
- Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King at the American Memory Site of the Library of Congress
- Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King at IMDb
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Films directed by Edwin S. Porter
- Faust and Marguerite (1900)
- The Magician (1900)
- Another Job for the Undertaker (1901)
- Day at the Circus (1901)
- Execution of Czolgosz with Panorama of Auburn Prison (1901)
- Kansas Saloon Smashers (1901)
- Laura Comstock's Bag-Punching Dog (1901)
- Love by the Light of the Moon (1901)
- The Martyred Presidents (1901)
- The Old Maid Having Her Picture Taken (1901)
- Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King (1901)
- What Happened on Twenty-third Street, New York City (1901)
- Why Mr. Nation Wants a Divorce (1901)
- Fun in a Bakery Shop (1902)
- Jack and the Beanstalk (1902)
- The Twentieth Century Tramp; or, Happy Hooligan and His Airship (1902)
- Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show (1902)
- Electrocuting an Elephant (1903)
- The Gay Shoe Clerk (1903)
- The Great Train Robbery (1903)
- Life of an American Fireman (1903)
- Rube and Mandy at Coney Island (1903)
- Uncle Tom's Cabin (1903)
- What Happened in the Tunnel (1903)
- Dog Factory (1904)
- The European Rest Cure (1904)
- How a French Nobleman Got a Wife Through the New York Herald Personal Columns (1904)
- Maniac Chase (1904)
- Parsifal (1904)
- "Weary Willie" Kisses the Bride (1904)
- How Jones Lost His Roll (1905)
- The Kleptomaniac (1905)
- The Little Train Robbery (1905)
- The Miller's Daughter (1905)
- The Night Before Christmas (1905)
- The Seven Ages (1905)
- The Train Wreckers (1905)
- The White Caps (1905)
- The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog (1905)
- Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906)
- Kathleen Mavourneen (1906)
- Life of a Cowboy (1906)
- Waiting at the Church (1906)
- College Chums (1907)
- Daniel Boone (1907)
- Laughing Gas (1907)
- The 'Teddy' Bears (1907)
- The Trainer's Daughter; or, A Race for Love (1907)
- The Boston Tea Party (1908)
- Saved by Love (1908)
- Skinner's Finish (1908)
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1910)
- Peg Woffington (1910)
- By the Light of the Moon (1911)
- Captain Nell (1911)
- The Lighthouse by the Sea (1911)
- A Night of Terror (1911)
- Silver Threads Among the Gold (1911)
- The Count of Monte Cristo (1912)
- His Neighbor's Wife (1913)
- The Prisoner of Zenda (1913)
- The Crucible (1914)
- A Good Little Devil (1914)
- Hearts Adrift (1914)
- The Spitfire (1914)
- Such a Little Queen (1914)
- Tess of the Storm Country (1914)
- Bella Donna (1915)
- The Dictator (1915)
- The Eternal City (1915)
- Jim the Penman (1915)
- Lydia Gilmore (1915)
- The Morals of Marcus (1915)
- Niobe (1915)
- The Prince and the Pauper (1915)
- Sold (1915)
- When We Were Twenty-One (1915)
- The White Pearl (1915)
- Zaza (1915)
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