Thanks for all the knowledgeable commentary on the film footage.  I've asked this before, but I'll ask again because we seem to have a new coterie of knowledgeable people on board:  is anyone aware of Twain having commented on cinema.  One of the newspaper clippings he quotes in "Italian Without a Grammar" includes advertisements of two cinemas--Sala Edison, showing _Quo Vadis; and Cinematografo, showing _Don Chisciotte_.   It's hard to imagine that he wouldn't have seen some films, even if not these, but an Italian version of Don Quixote seems especially irresistible to him.  

Any leads would be apreciated. 

Thanks, 

--LH
 
Larry Howe
Professor of English
Chair, Department of Literature and Languages
Roosevelt University
________________________________________
From: Mark Twain Forum [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rick Talbot [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 1:18 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: The only known MT film footage

What's old is new again. When Uncle Norman got the new color "Super 8"
camera in 1967, he pointed it at the family, who immediately took the stance
of deer in headlights, and shouted, "Move around. Move around! This is a
MOVIE camera."

Yes, there was stage direction going on in 1909. Had to be.

And Twain was HUGE on new developments, i.e., telephones, typewriters, and
the good old reliable Paige Compositor, etc. Seeing another opportunity at
self promotion he today would have had his own Web site, and Twitter account
and all the rest. He embraced technology.

And while I'm not particularly on the subject, did you guys see Twain's
quote as attached to Christy Gray's errata slip e-mail? If you've ever sent
an e-mail or forwarded a manuscript for publication this is one of the best
things I have ever seen. I loved it



... I take comfort from the following statement from Samuel Clemens to Sir
Walter Bessant (22 February 1898):
"And then there is that other thing: when you think you are reading proof,
whereas you are merely reading your own mind; your statement of the thing is
full of holes & vacancies but you don't know it, because you are filling
them from your mind as you go along. Sometimes -- but not often enough --
the printer's proof-reader saves you -- & offends you -- with this cold sign
in the margin: (?) & you search the passage & find that the insulter is
right -- it doesn't say what you thought it did: the gas fixtures are there,
but you didn't jet the lights."

Richard Talbot
1531 West Idaho Avenue
Falcon Heights, MN 55108-2118
(651) 646-6624
(651) 280 8734
[log in to unmask]


-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dave Davis
Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 8:46 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: The only known MT film footage

This mystery of the man who brings the hat seems to be deepening! ;-)

I think the best guess is still the butler. Walking in a member of the film
crew to a family scene seems unlikely to me.

Has anyone published about what was really going on in this staged media
event? It was a big deal, even in 1909,  to have a film crew visit a
celebrity at home and capture some moments-- it seems obvious to me that
there was some 'stageing'.  "Stand in the doorway" and "Walk around the
corner here" -- b/c films demand motion. "Have tea with your daughters."

So, who wanted/asked for the film to be created, and -- if it wasn't our
boy's idea (I wouldn't rule that out)-- then who's idea was it, and what
would SLC's motivation to cooperate be?

Bottom line: The film capture is a window into a moment. Fortunely, an
apparently happy moment, a good day. But the window hides more than it
tells, I think. Some deconstruction seems called for -- and I wonder if
anyone has already attended to that task?

DDD