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About this Item

Title

  • Kiss me

Summary

  • Opens on a stage set of a street with a sidewalk and a high fence completely covered with female burlesque troupe posters. The four posters visible advertise actual contemporary burlesquers Fred Irwin's Majestics, Rose Sydell (of her London Belles), Phil Sheridan's New City Sports (with the tag line "Ain't we three birds"), and the Rentz-Santley Co. One of the center posters--that for Rose Sydell--features an attractive woman with nude shoulders. Two well-dressed women pass along the sidewalk, glancing disapprovingly at the images covering the fence. They are followed by a woman and a younger girl, perhaps her daughter. The latter pauses to look at the Sydell poster; the older woman, looking back, reacts in horror at what she sees and drags the girl away. An older bearded gentleman then strolls by, enjoying an eyeful of the posters, and is about to walk off when he is drawn back to the woman in the Rose Sydell ad. He jumps as she seemingly comes to life and turns to look at him seductively, pursing her lips. The man rubs his eyes, but still the woman in the poster watches him. He finally puts on his eyeglasses and examines the girl closely. Unbeknownst to him, an older woman enters the scene. Shocked, she grabs the man by his ear and drags him away as he blows a kiss to the "poster."
  • "A high board fence is shown covered with theatrical posters. The one in the center shows the head and shoulders of a pretty girl. An old farmer and his wife are strolling along, the old gentleman being a little ahead. He looks at the picture of the girl and fancies he sees the eyes winking at him. He puts on his glasses to make sure that he is not dreaming, when the girl leans forward with an expression as if inviting him to have a kiss. The old man is about to take advantage of his delusion when his wife appears on the scene, and taking him by the ears rushes him away. 68 feet"--Biograph bulletin no. 55.

Names

  • Weed, A. E., camera.
  • American Mutoscope and Biograph Company.
  • Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)

Created / Published

  • United States : American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, 1904.

Headings

  • -  Theatrical posters--Humor
  • -  Kissing--Humor
  • -  Older couples--Humor

Genre

  • Comedy films
  • Trick films
  • Silent films
  • Short films
  • Fiction films

Notes

  • -  H42803 U.S. Copyright Office
  • -  Copyright: American Mutoscope & Biograph Co.; 27Feb1904; H42803.
  • -  Original main title lacking.
  • -  Camera, A.E. Weed.
  • -  Duration: 1:06 at 16 fps.
  • -  Biograph production no. 2812.
  • -  Paper print shelf number (LC 1672) was changed when the paper prints were re-housed.
  • -  Additional holdings for this title may be available. Contact reference librarian.
  • -  Filmed February 17, 1904, in the Biograph New York City studio.
  • -  Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as digital files.
  • -  Sources used: Copyright catalog, motion pictures, 1894-1912; Niver, K. Early motion pictures, p. 176; AFI cat.: film beginnings, 1893-1910, 1995; Biograph bulletins 1896-1908, 1971, p. 205; Biograph photo catalog, v. 6 [MI]; Zeidman, I. The American burlesque show, 1967; Sobel, B. A pictorial history of burlesque, 1956; Biograph production logs, Vol. 2: 1903-1912, p. 32.
  • -  Early motion pictures : the Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress / by Kemp R. Niver. Library of Congress. 1985.
  • -  35 mm viewing print renumbered: FEC 1126 to FYA 2093.

Medium

  • viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (26 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (66 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.
  • dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (26 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm.
  • dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (66 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm.
  • paper pos 1 roll of 1 (ca. 65 ft.) : b&w ; 35 mm.
  • paper pos (copy 2) 1 roll of 1 (ca. 65 ft.) : b&w ; 35 mm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • FLA 4686 (viewing print)
  • FYA 2093 (viewing print)
  • FRA 1714 (dupe neg pic)
  • FPE 7603 (dupe neg pic)
  • Box 0084A (paper pos)
  • Box 5118B (paper pos, copy 2)

Repository

  • Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA dcu

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 96520173

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress American Variety Stage collection is in the public domain and is free to use and reuse.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Weed, A. E., Camera, American Mutoscope And Biograph Company, and Paper Print Collection. Kiss Me. United States: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, 1904. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/96520173/.

APA citation style:

Weed, A. E., American Mutoscope And Biograph Company & Paper Print Collection. (1904) Kiss Me. United States: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/96520173/.

MLA citation style:

Weed, A. E., Camera, American Mutoscope And Biograph Company, and Paper Print Collection. Kiss Me. United States: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, 1904. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/96520173/>.