Top of page

Film, Video Jumbo, the trained elephant Inventory title: Spanuth's vodvil - Zouary no. 148 / Vaudeville de-luxe: four acts / Zouary can no148

Digital viewing copy

About this Item

Title

  • Jumbo, the trained elephant

Other Title

  • Inventory title: Spanuth's vodvil - Zouary no. 148
  • Vaudeville de-luxe: four acts
  • Zouary can no148

Summary

  • Camera iris opens from black to a smiling man standing in front of an elephant, who is seated on her haunches on a stool with her front legs raised in the air. They are apparently on a stage with a painted backdrop of a forest. The man gives the elephant a treat, who then stands as the iris closes. Another iris effect opens on a stage with a painted backdrop of a castle. A man enters, dressed in a trainer or ringmaster's uniform of a dark suit with shoulder braids and a white cap. He is followed by Jumbo, a small Indian elephant with clipped tusks wearing a headress or headband. Both bow to the camera. A circus stool is rolled on the stage and Jumbo steps onto it with her front legs. A pony and dog enter the stage and create a domino effect behind the elephant, with the pony's front legs on Jumbo's rear and the dog's front legs on the pony's rear. Cuts to the dog making figure eights around Jumbo's legs as the elephant walks. Cuts to Jumbo lying down, then the pony and dog stand on either side of her with their front legs on her sides. Cuts to the pony walking across the stage on its hind legs, and then bowing with the trainer to the camera.
  • Cuts to Jumbo climbing on the circus stool with all four legs. The trainer gives her one end of a rope to hold with her trunk, and he twirls the other end as the dog jumps the rope. The trainer and the dog then jump the rope together as Jumbo watches. Cuts to the elephant sitting on the stool as the trainer places a handbell on a small table in front of her. Jumbo picks up the bell with her trunk and rings it. The man sets a plate on the table, from which Jumbo eats and then tosses aside. She rings the bell again and appears to drink from the bottle which her trainer brings in response. A series of jump cuts show Jumbo crawling on the ground in a circle on her back knees, standing on her hind legs, performing a handstand on her front legs, balancing on the circus stool with various combinations of two legs, and dancing in place with her front legs. Cuts to a frame of intertitle: "Oh! How she dances." With her back to the camera, Jumbo shuffles her hind legs in a kind of dance. Cuts to a closeup of Jumbo's open mouth as she walks toward the camera. Closes with her picking up a series of flags on the ground with her trunk and tossing them over her back. She holds the last one--a U.S. flag--as she turns in a cirle, the trainer bows, and the dog excitedly jumps around on stage.

Names

  • Spanuth, Hans A., production
  • Commonwealth Pictures Corporation
  • U.S. Personal Film Company
  • AFI/Zouary (Maurice) Collection (Library of Congress)

Created / Published

  • United States : [Commonwealth Pictures Corp., 1919?]

Headings

  • -  Jumbo--(Elephant)
  • -  Elephants--United States
  • -  Asiatic elephant--United States
  • -  Circus animals--United States
  • -  Dogs--United States
  • -  Ponies--United States
  • -  Silent films

Genre

  • Vaudeville
  • Animal films and programs
  • Shorts

Notes

  • -  Copyright: reg. unknown.
  • -  Reissued by U.S. Personal Film Co. at an unknown date with three other Spanuth acts, two of which were copyrighted under different release numbers, as "Vaudeville de-luxe: four acts"; LC holds reissue copy.
  • -  No copyright registration or original production and distribution information could be found for an act under this name, but the film appears to be an uncopyrighted Spanuth's original vod-a-vil movie given the similarities in camera technique to--and its inclusion on the reissue with--identified Spanuths.
  • -  Duration: 2:53 (part 1) and 1:43 (part 2) at 16 fps.
  • -  NCN015168; Zouary can no148.
  • -  Third film on reel with: Tetsuwari Japs [Spanuth's original vod-a-vil movies, no. 1], The Great Vulcano [Spanuth's original vod-a-vil movies, no. 13], and [Harry Codger and his cycling misses].
  • -  Sources used: Copyright catalog, motion pictures, 1912-1939; M/B/RS copyright descriptions; M/B/RS Acquisition files (AFI/Zouary file); M/B/RS shelflist cards.
  • -  Probably filmed ca. 1918 in Chicago.
  • -  Received: 4/1/80 from LC film lab; ref print; preservation; AFI/Zouary (Maurice) Collection.
  • -  Received: 1/14/77 from LC film lab; dupe neg; preservation; AFI/Zouary (Maurice) Collection.

Medium

  • 1 reel of 1 (272 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm. ref print.
  • 1 reel of 1 (272 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm. dupe neg.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • FEB 3201 (ref print)
  • FPD 1668 (dupe neg)

Repository

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

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 96521480

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is not aware of any U.S. copyright or other restrictions in the vast majority of motion pictures in these collections. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse.

In rare cases, copyrighted motion pictures are made available by special permission to the Library and may be used only for educational purposes. For example, the Gershwin home movies fall within this category. Rights assessment is your responsibility. No registration information exists for some titles, and reproduction of some titles may be restricted by privacy rights, publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Additionally, some works may still be protected by copyright in the United States or some foreign countries. The written permission of the copyright owners in materials not in the public domain is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions.

Whenever possible, we provide information that we have about copyright owners and related matters in the catalog records, finding aids and other texts that accompany collections. You should consult the catalog information that accompanies each item for specific information. This catalog data provides the details known to the Library of Congress regarding the corresponding item and may assist you in making independent assessments of the legal status of these items for their desired uses. You should also consult restrictions associated with donations to the Library.

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

More about Copyright and other Restrictions.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

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

Chicago citation style:

Commonwealth Pictures Corporation, U.S. Personal Film Company, and Afi/Zouary. Jumbo, the Trained Elephant. produceds by Spanuth, Hans A.Uction [United States: Commonwealth Pictures Corp., ?, 1919] Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/96521480/.

APA citation style:

Commonwealth Pictures Corporation, U.S. Personal Film Company & Afi/Zouary. (1919) Jumbo, the Trained Elephant. Spanuth, H. A. U., prod [United States: Commonwealth Pictures Corp., ?] [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/96521480/.

MLA citation style:

Commonwealth Pictures Corporation, U.S. Personal Film Company, and Afi/Zouary. Jumbo, the Trained Elephant. prod by Spanuth, Hans A.Uction [United States: Commonwealth Pictures Corp., ?, 1919] Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/96521480/>.