>> male narrator: 1890, A
MAGICAL TIME.
THE REASON?
FROM THIS DATE ON, MOTION CAN BE
CAPTURED ON CELLULOID:
SPORTS, DISAPPEARING CULTURES,
PROVOCATIVE ENTERTAINMENT.
AND THERE'S MONEY TO BE MADE--
LOTS OF IT.
THOMAS EDISON HOLDS MANY OF THE
PATENTS, BUT DID HE REALLY
INVENT MOTION PICTURES?
NOW THE REAL STORY BEHIND THE
BIRTH OF THE MOVIES ON MODERN
 MARVELS.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
1928, THOMAS ALVA
EDISON RECEIVES THE
CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL, THE
NATION'S HIGHEST CIVILIAN HONOR.
AT 81, HE'S A LIVING LEGEND--
THE MAN WHO'D LAID THE
TECHNOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR
THE 20th CENTURY AND CREATED
MOTION PICTURES TO RECORD THIS
NEW WORLD FOR POSTERITY ALONG
WITH HIS OWN ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
>> THE FIRST MOTION PICTURE
STUDIO EVER SET UP IN THE WORLD
WAS IN THE YARD OF MY LABORATORY
AT WEST ORANGE.
THE BUILDING REVOLVED TO FOLLOW
THE SUN.
WE DUBBED IT THE BLACK MARIAH.
>> narrator: AS RECREATED WITH
HIS OWN INVENTION, THE MOTION
PICTURE, EDISON WAS PORTRAYED AS
A MIX OF HORATIO ALGER PLUCK,
HOMESPUN YANKEE INGENUITY, AND
VISIONARY GENIUS.
THESE ARE SCENES FROM A 1915
EPIC ENTITLED THE BENEFACTOR.
FROM THE BEGINNING, HIS LIFE HAD
THE MAKINGS OF A GREAT MOVIE.
>> IN A SENSE, EDISON DEVISEDHAD
HIS OWN LEGEND OF THIS SORT OF
ROUGH-HEWN INVENTOR WHO DIDN'T
PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO SCIENCE.
IN FACT, EDISON PAID A LOT OF
ATTENTION TO SCIENCE.
WHAT HE DIDN'T PAY ATTENTION TO
WAS THE KIND OF HIGHER-LEVEL
PURE SCIENCE THAT DIDN'T HAVE
IMMEDIATE PRACTICAL APPLICATION.
>> narrator: 30 YEARS OLD,
EDISON APPLIED HIS PRACTICAL
GENIUS AND PRODUCED THE TALKING
MACHINE.
TOPPING HIMSELF TWO YEARS LATER,
HE LIT UP THE WORLD WITH THE
ELECTRIC LIGHT.
BY THEN, THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO
BELIEVED HE COULD DO ANYTHING--
MOST OF ALL, EDISON HIMSELF.
>> MOST INVENTORS HAVE RATHER
LARGE EGOS.
THEY FEEL THEY CAN AFFECT THE
WAY OTHER PEOPLE LIVE THEIR
LIVES.
AND THE WAY THEY CAN DO THAT IS
NOT THROUGH MANAGEMENT OR
NECESSARILY THROUGH IDEAS,
INTELLECTUAL IDEAS, BUT RATHER
THROUGH CREATING TECHNOLOGIES
AND SYSTEMS THAT PEOPLE WILL
LIVE WITH AND WORK WITH.
>> narrator: EDISON'S
SELF-ABSORBED INVOLVEMENT WITH
HIS WORK HAD DISASTROUS EFFECTS
ON A FIRST MARRIAGE.
WEAKENED BY DECLINING HEALTH,
HIS WIFE MARY STILWELL DIED IN
1884, NEGLECTED AND MENTALLY
UNSTABLE.
LEFT WITH THREE CHILDREN, EDISON
REMARRIED IN 1887.
HIS SECOND WIFE MINA MILLER WAS
THE DAUGHTER OF A MILLIONAIRE.
EDISON REMAINED EDISON.
BUT WITH THE SUPPORT OF FAMILY
AND FRIENDS, MINA WAS BETTER
PREPARED TO BE THE WIFE OF A MAN
CALLED "THE WIZARD OF MENLO
PARK."
BURSTING WITH IDEAS FOR NEW
INVENTIONS, IN 1887, EDISON
MOVED INTO A HUGE NEW LABORATORY
COMPLEX IN WEST ORANGE, NEW
JERSEY--
TEN TIMES LARGER THAN HIS OLD
QUARTERS A FEW MILES AWAY IN THE
VILLAGE OF MENLO PARK.
FOR MINA AND HIS CHILDREN, HE
BOUGHT GLENMONT, A LAVISH NEARBY
ESTATE.
SETTLED IN WEST ORANGE, IT
WASN'T LONG BEFORE EDISON FOUND
HIMSELF AT HIS DESK IN HIS
LIBRARY THINKING ABOUT THE
REALIZATION OF A VERY OLD DREAM:
MOVING PICTURES.
THIS BOOK WRITTEN IN 1646 BY
ATHANASIUS KIRCHER, A JESUIT
PRIEST, RECORDS THE EARLY
HISTORY OF PROJECTED IMAGES.
IT BEGAN WITH THE MAGIC LANTERN,
FORERUNNER OF TODAY'S SLIDE
PROJECTOR.
THE MAGIC LANTERN WAS A DEVICE
THAT USED LIGHT FROM A LAMP TO
PROJECT IMAGES PAINTED ON GLASS
PLATES.
THE EFFECT ON VIEWERS WAS TRULY
MAGICAL.
AND THESE WERE ONLY STATIC
DRAWINGS.
EAGER FOR THE ENERGY OF MOTION,
EARLY INVENTORS CREATED
INGENIOUS DEVICES TO ADD LIFE TO
THEIR SHOWS.
SLIDES WITH MOVABLE PARTS WERE
POPULAR.
THE MORE SOPHISTICATED ILLUSION
OF MOVEMENT CAME IN 1834 WITH
THE CREATION OF THE ZOETROPE BY
ENGLISH INVENTOR GEORGE HORNER.
HERE, SPINNING SEQUENTIAL IMAGES
APPEAR TO MOVE.
IT WAS AN EXAMPLE OF A
PHYSIOLOGICAL PHENOMENON
DESCRIBED IN 1884 BY PETER MARK
ROGET OF THESAURUS FAME.
IT'S CALLED "PERSISTENCE OF
VISION."
>> WITH CINEMA, WHEN YOU PROJECT
AN IMAGE ON THE SCREEN, WHICH
CREATES THE ILLUSION OF MOTION,
WHAT YOU'RE PROJECTING ON
THE SCREEN IS REALLY A SERIES OF
STILL PHOTOGRAPHS.
AND WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT THE EYE
SYNTHESIZED THE SLIGHTLY
DIFFERENT PHOTOGRAPHS IN SUCH A
WAY THAT IT CREATES THE ILLUSION
OF MOTION.
>> narrator: A POPULAR EARLY TOY
ILLUSTRATES THIS SYNTHESIS OR
BLENDING BY THE BRAIN.
WHEN A CARD WITH A PICTURE OF A
BIRD ON ONE SIDE AND A PICTURE
OF A BIRDCAGE ON THE OTHER IS
TWIRLED RAPIDLY, THE BRAIN
COMBINES THE TWO PICTURES,
CREATING THE ILLUSION THAT THE
BIRD IS IN THE CAGE.
THE ZOETROPE, AND MANY DEVICES
LIKE IT, BECAME POPULAR IN 19th
CENTURY PARLOR AMUSEMENTS.
BUT IN 1829, A VITAL STEP IN THE
EVOLUTION OF THE MOTION PICTURE
TOOK PLACE.
LOUIS DAGUERRE PERFECTED A
TRULY MAGICAL TECHNOLOGY,
PHOTOGRAPHY.
NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME, A
GLIMPSE OF THE REAL WORLD HAD
BEEN CAPTURED FOREVER, FROZEN ON
A LIGHT-SENSITIVE GLASS PLATE.
BUT CREATING EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS
TOOK AS LONG AS FIVE MINUTES PER
IMAGE--TOO SLOW FOR MOVIES.
BY THE 1870s, FASTER
PICTURE-TAKING WAS POSSIBLE.
THIS ALLOWED EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE,
STUDYING THE MOVEMENT OF
ANIMALS, TO MAKE ANOTHER MAJOR
STEP TOWARD MOTION PICTURES.
CALIFORNIA RAILROAD MAGNATE
LELAND STANFORD HIRED MUYBRIDGE
TO PROVE A BET.
DID ALL FOUR HOOVES OF A RUNNING
HORSE EVER LEAVE THE GROUND AT
THE SAME TIME?
WORKING AT STANFORD'S PALO ALTO
FARM, MUYBRIDGE LINED UP A
SERIES OF CAMERAS ALONG A SHORT
TRACK.
THREADS STRETCHED ACROSS THE
TRACK WERE ATTACHED TO EACH OF
THE CAMERA'S SHUTTERS.
WHEN A HORSE RACED BY, IT BROKE
THE THREADS, WHICH IN TURN
RELEASED THE CAMERA SHUTTERS ONE
AFTER ANOTHER.
THE RESULT WAS A SERIES OF
SEQUENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHS.
SURE ENOUGH, THERE WAS A TIME
WHEN ALL FOUR OF THE HORSE'S
LEGS WERE OFF THE GROUND.
BUT MORE IMPORTANT, MUYBRIDGE
PAINTED COPIES OF HIS
PHOTOGRAPHS ON A GLASS WHEEL AND
CREATED A VIEWING DEVICE CALLED
THE ZOOPRAXISCOPE.
FOR THE FIRST TIME, THERE WAS A
PHOTOGRAPHICALLY ACCURATE
ILLUSION OF MOVEMENT.
WHEN THOMAS EDISON HEARD OF
MUYBRIDGE'S WORK, HE WAS
INTRIGUED.
IN 1888, HE AND MUYBRIDGE MET.
>> WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY TALKED
ABOUT ENTIRELY.
BUT CERTAINLY ONE THING THEY DID
TALK ABOUT WAS HOW TO POSSIBLY
LINK THE ZOOPRAXISCOPE WITH
EDISON'S PHONOGRAPH.
EDISON HAD SORT OF FOUND, TO HIS
SURPRISE, THAT SOME OF HIS
COMPETITORS HAD MADE MAJOR
INNOVATIONS ON HIS TINFOIL
PHONOGRAPH.
AND HE WAS TRYING TO ONE-UP
THEM.
>> narrator: PHOTOGRAPHS THAT
MOVED AND TALKED, NOW, THAT
WOULD SHAKE UP THE COMPETITION.
BUT WORK ON MOVIES DIDN'T BEGIN
IMMEDIATELY.
EDISON'S RESTLESS MIND WAS
ELSEWHERE.
AT A MINE HE OWNED IN NEARBY
OGDENSBURG, HE WAS FOCUSED ON A
LITTLE-KNOWN OBSESSION OF HIS
LIFE, A MACHINE TO SEPARATE IRON
ORE WITH LARGE MAGNETS.
IT WAS TYPICAL OF EDISON TO WORK
ON MANY IDEAS AT THE SAME TIME.
IN 1888, MOVING PICTURES WAS
ADDED TO HIS LIST.
TO HELP, HE CHOSE A TRUSTED
ASSISTANT FROM THE ORE MINING
PROJECT, WILLIAM KENNEDY LAURIE
DICKSON, AN AVID PHOTOGRAPHER 
WHO TOOK MOST OF THE PICTURES
AROUND THE LAB, INCLUDING THIS
FAMOUS PORTRAIT OF EDISON AS THE
NAPOLEON OF INVENTION.
THE MOTION PICTURE PROJECT WAS
PERFECT FOR DICKSON.
FROM THE BEGINNING, EDISON
CONCEIVED OF A MOTION PICTURE
MACHINE LINKED TO THE
PHONOGRAPH--
SOUND AND PICTURES TOGETHER.
ON OCTOBER 8, 1888, HE WROTE A
CAVEAT OR PRELIMINARY
ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS WORK IN
PROGRESS:
"I'M EXPERIMENTING UPON AN
INSTRUMENT WHICH DOES FOR THE
EYE WHAT THE PHONOGRAPH DOES FOR
THE EAR, WHICH IS THE RECORDING
AND REPRODUCTION OF THINGS IN
MOTION."
THE NEW INVENTION WAS CALLED THE
KINETOSCOPE FROM THE GREEK WORDS
FOR MOTION AND VIEW.
DICKSON'S JOB WAS TO TURN THIS
EXOTIC NAME INTO A WORKING
MACHINE.
WITH TIME, HIS WORLD CHANGED
FROM ASSISTANT TO COLLABORATOR--
TO SOME SAY UNACCREDITED
CO-INVENTOR.
>> EDISON LITERALLY WAS NOT
PRESENT IN WEST ORANGE FIVE OR
SIX DAYS OF THE WEEK.
HE WAS UP IN NORTHWESTERN JERSEY
ON HIS IRON ORE MINE.
DICKSON WAS THE PROPRIETOR OF 
THE LAB.
AND HE WAS THE MAN WHO WAS
WORKING MOST CLOSELY ON
DEVELOPING THE TECHNOLOGY FOR
THE MOTION PICTURE.
>> narrator: EDISON'S FIRST IDEA
WAS TO WRAP A PIECE OF FILM ON A
CYLINDER AND EXPOSE A SPIRAL
OF TINY PHOTOGRAPHS.
BUT TO FIT ON A PHONOGRAPH
CYLINDER, DICKSON NEEDED TO MAKE
THE PICTURES EXTREMELY SMALL.
PRODUCED SOMETIME IN 1889, THESE
ARE FRAMES FROM THE EARLIEST
SURVIVING MOTION PICTURE,
NICKNAMED MONKEYSHINES.
TO SEE THEM, A VIEWER HAD TO
LOOK THROUGH A MICROSCOPE.
HERE, THE INDIVIDUAL FRAMES HAVE
BEEN RECONSTRUCTED INTO
MOVEMENT.
AN AGILE PIPE FITTER FROM THE
ISLAND OF MALTA WAS DRAFTED TO
STAR.
LASTING ONLY A FEW SECONDS, THE
IMAGE WAS CRUDE AND THE SOUND,
NOW LOST, UNINTELLIGIBLE.
STILL BY THE END OF 1890, AFTER
CENTURIES OF SEARCHING, FALSE
STARTS, AND DEAD ENDS, THE DREAM
OF MOVING PICTURES WAS ABOUT TO
BE REALIZED.
BUT EDISON AND DICKSON WEREN'T
THE ONLY MEN NEARING THE
SOLUTION.
>> narrator: WHEN THOMAS EDISON
BEGAN EXPERIMENTING WITH MOTION 
PICTURES IN 1888, HE WASN'T 
ALONE.
>> IN THE LATER PART OFSN'T 
THE 19th CENTURY, THERE WERE A
WHOLE SERIES OF TECHNOLOGICAL
INNOVATIONS THAT REALLY MADE THE
CINEMA--MADE MODERN MOTION
PICTURES POSSIBLE.
AND THERE WERE AN ARRAY OF
PEOPLE IN EUROPE, IN FRANCE, IN
ENGLAND, IN GERMANY, IN THE
UNITED STATES WHO WERE
EXPERIMENTING WITH THESE
ELEMENTS AND TRYING TO PULL THEM
TOGETHER IN THINGS THAT
RESEMBLED MOTION PICTURES.
>> narrator: IN FRANCE, THERE
WAS ETIENNE-JULES MAREY.
LIKE EDISON, MAREY WAS
INFLUENCED BY EADWEARD
MUYBRIDGE'S WORK.
HE TOO WAS INTERESTED IN
STUDYING THE MOVEMENTS OF
ANIMALS WITH PHOTOGRAPHY.
BUT UNLIKE MUYBRIDGE'S
MULTI-CAMERA SETUP, HE
DEVELOPED A SINGLE-CAMERA
SYSTEM.
MAREY'S CAMERA LOOKED LIKE A
RIFLE.
BUT THE CYLINDERS OF HIS
PHOTOGRAPHIC GUN CONTAINED
LENSES, NOT BULLETS.
WHEN HE PULLED THE TRIGGER, THE
CYLINDER REVOLVED, TAKING
SEQUENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHS ON A
STRIP OF FILM.
IN 1889, WITH HIS CYLINDER
MOTION PICTURE WORK APPROACHING
A DEAD END, EDISON DECIDED TO GO
TO PARIS FOR AN EXHIBITION
MARKING THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF
THE INVENTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY.
AT THE EXHIBITION, EDISON'S
DISPLAY OF ELECTRICAL MARVELS
WAS A PARISIAN TRIUMPH, AS
MEMORABLE AS THE NEW EIFFEL
TOWER.
MOTION PICTURES WERE PROBABLY
FAR FROM HIS MIND.
DESPITE THIS, UNKNOWINGLY,
EDISON WAS ALSO APPROACHING A
TURNING POINT IN HIS WORK TOWARD
TRUE MOVING PICTURES.
IN PARIS, HE MET MANY
SCIENTISTS AND RESEARCHERS.
ETIENNE-JULES MAREY, THE
INVENTOR OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC
GUN, WAS ONE OF THEM.
>> IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TOHIC
REMEMBER THIS IN TERMS OF
UNDERSTANDING EDISON'S
SUCCESSFUL INVENTIVE PROCESS.
HE DID NOT GET THESE IDEAS
SIMPLY OUT OF SOME CORNER RECESS
IN HIS BRAIN.
HE READ WIDELY.
HE ATTEMPTED TO FIND OUT WHAT
EVERYBODY ELSE WAS DOING IN
ORDER TO INCORPORATE THESE
IDEAS AND GIVE THEM A NEW TWIST.
[foghorn blaring]
>> narrator: BACK IN AMERICA IN
OCTOBER 1889, EDISON CHANGED THE
DIRECTION OF HIS MOTION PICTURE
RESEARCH.
HE ABANDONED THE CYLINDER
CONCEPT.
INSTEAD, HE WANTED PERFORATED
STRIPS OF FILM, A VARIATION OF
MAREY'S IDEA.
EDISON'S ASSISTANT
W.K.L. DICKSON WAS SOON
AT WORK ON A NEW MOTION PICTURE
MACHINE.
UNLIKE TODAY'S CAMERAS AND
PROJECTORS, THE FILM MOVED
LATERALLY THROUGH THE MECHANISM,
NOT TOP TO BOTTOM.
IN MARCH OF 1890, DICKSON WAS
HANDIWORK.
EDISON WAS IMPRESSED.
"THAT'S IT," HE SAID.
"WORK LIKE HELL."
DICKSON DID.
WORKING WITH HIS PARTNER
MACHINIST THOMAS HEISE, THE TWO
ARE SEEN ON A FRAME FROM AN 1892
EXPERIMENTAL FILM.
TOGETHER, THEY WERE INVENTING
MOTION PICTURES.
THEY STARTED WITH FILM STRIPS
3/4 INCHES WIDE--
MOVING LATER TO 1-1/2-INCH
STRIPS, CLOSE TO TODAY'S
STANDARD OF 35 MILLIMETER.
SPROCKET HOLES WERE PUNCHED WITH
A MANUAL PERFORATOR.
ON MAY 20, 1891, DICKSON HAD
MADE ENOUGH PROGRESS FOR A
SURPRISE PREMIERE.
ON THAT DAY, A GROUP OF WOMEN
WERE VISITING EDISON'S WIFE MINA
AT GLENMONT.
THEY WERE USHERED INTO THE LAB
WHERE ONE BY ONE, THEY WERE
ASKED TO LOOK INTO A WOODEN BOX.
INSIDE, THEY SAW SOMETHING
STARTLING, A PHOTOGRAPH OF
DICKSON THAT MOVED.
THE LITTLE BLACK AND WHITE IMAGE
GALLANTLY REMOVED HIS STRAW HAT.
THESE ARE THE FEW REMAINING
FRAMES OF THAT LANDMARK MOVIE.
MINA'S LUNCHEON GUESTS WERE THE
FIRST OUTSIDERS TO SEE THE
STILL-EXPERIMENTAL KINETOSCOPE
IN ACTION.
AND EDISON'S LITTLE SURPRISE
WASN'T A CASUAL DECISION.
>> EDISON WAS AWARE THAT HE WAS
WORKING AGAINST A WHOLE GROUP OF
WOULD-BE COMPETITORS.
AND SO, I THINK AS SOON AS AN
EXPERIMENT WAS PERFECTED OR EVEN
ABLE TO BE SHOWN, HE WOULD FIND
AN OPPORTUNITY OR AN EXCUSE TO
SHOW IT TO A PUBLIC.
BECAUSE THAT BECAME KEY
EVIDENCE IN PATENT BATTLES.
BUT HE WOULD ALWAYS MAINTAIN
THAT IT'D BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG
TIME.
SO THAT IF SOMEONE, YOU KNOW,
CAME UP WITH AN EARLIER DATE, HE
COULD FUDGE IT A LITTLE BIT.
AND HE, IN FACT, WAS THE MASTER
OF FUDGING DATES.
>> narrator: DESPITE ITS PRIVATE
DEBUT FOR MINA'S FRIENDS, THE
KINETOSCOPE STILL NEEDED WORK.
THE IMAGES WERE BLURRY AND THE
ACTION JERKY.
BUT INSTEAD OF RUSHING TO
IMPROVE HIS INVENTION, EDISON
TURNED, AGAIN, TO OTHER WORK.
IT SEEMED LIKE HE WAS ALWAYS
JUGGLING TOO MANY PROJECTS.
THIS NOTEBOOK CONTAINS STRIPS OF
EXPERIMENTAL FILM SIDE BY SIDE
WITH NOTES FOR EDISON'S
ORE MINING PROJECT.
IT WASN'T UNTIL A YEAR LATER,
JULY 1891, THAT HE APPLIED FOR
THE KINETOSCOPE'S FIRST BASIC
PATENT.
ONLY TWO YEARS LATER IN 1893,
EDISON'S FORTUNES WERE DOWN.
HE WAS IN NEED OF ANOTHER
MONEY-MAKING MARVEL.
HE DECIDED TO ANNOUNCE THE
KINETOSCOPE AT THE COLUMBIA
EXPOSITION IN CHICAGO.
BUT THE MACHINE WAS FAR FROM
FINISHED.
FORCED TO DIVIDE HIS TIME,
W.K.L. DICKSON WORKED FEVERISHLY
TO PERFECT THE BULKY MECHANISM.
IN THE PROCESS, HE WORKED AS
DESIGNER, ENGINEER,
PROJECTIONIST, AND OFTEN ACTOR
IN THE EARLY FILMS.
HERE, HE PLAYS THE VIOLIN INTO A
PHONOGRAPH RECORDING HORN.
THE SOUND HAS BEEN LOST.
A MEANS TO SYNCHRONIZE SOUND AND
PICTURES REMAINED ELUSIVE.
THE PRESSURE ON DICKSON KEPT
BUILDING UNTIL HE SNAPPED.
>> DICKSON ENDED UP WITH A
NERVOUS BREAKDOWN.
HE WAS PURSUING TOO MANY OF
EDISON'S IDEAS SIMULTANEOUSLY.
THE WORK SCHEDULE WAS INSANE.
HE COLLAPSED AND HAD TO GO DOWN
TO FLORIDA FOR A NUMBER OF
MONTHS.
>> narrator: THE DEADLINE FOR
THE COLUMBIA EXPOSITION CAME AND
WENT.
IT WAS A MAJOR OPPORTUNITY LOST.
BUT EDISON STILL SEEMED UNSURE
ABOUT THE VALUE OF HIS MOVING
IMAGE MACHINE.
IN 1893, HE WROTE TO EADWEARD
MUYBRIDGE: "I HAVE CONSTRUCTED A
LITTLE INSTRUMENT I CALL THE
KINETOGRAPH, BUT I'M VERY
DOUBTFUL IF THERE'S ANY
COMMERCIAL FEATURE IN IT."
EDISON HAD MISSED HIS
OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW HE WAS FIRST
WITH THE MOTION PICTURE MACHINE.
BUT THERE WERE OTHERS CLOSE
>> narrator: THE MAIN THEME OF
THE 1893 COLUMBIA EXPOSITION IN
CHICAGO WAS ELECTRICITY.
EXPOSITION HALLS WERE FILLED
WITH THE GIANT DYNAMOS SPAWNED
BY EDISON'S CREATION OF THE
FIRST ELECTRIC LIGHTING SYSTEM
IN 1882.
EDISON WAS CHOSEN AS THE LIVING
AMERICAN WHO WOULD MOST BE
REMEMBERED 100 YEARS LATER,
1993.
NOT FAR FROM THE TRUTH, BUT
EDISON'S MOST RECENT INVENTION,
A MOVING PICTURES MACHINE, WAS
NOWHERE TO BE SEEN.
LATER IN 1893, ANXIOUS TO
DEMONSTRATE HIS LEAD, EDISON
HELD A PUBLIC SHOWING OF THE
KINETOSCOPE FOR A GROUP OF
SCIENTISTS AT THE BROOKLYN
INSTITUTE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES.
[seagulls cawing]
THE FILM HE SHOWED WAS ONE OF
DICKSON'S MINI-MOVIES, THE
 BLACKSMITH'S SHOP.
THESE ARE TWO FRAMES FROM THAT
FILM.
IN 1894, DICKSON'S HEALTH HAD
IMPROVED, AND HE WAS BACK IN THE
LAB.
HIS FIRST ASSIGNMENT: DESIGN AND
BUILD THE FIRST MOVIE STUDIO.
CONSTRUCTED AT A COST OF $638,
COVERED WITH BLACK TAR PAPER, IT
RESEMBLED A 19th CENTURY POLICE
PATROL WAGON AND WAS CALLED THE
 BLACK MARIAH.
A MODEL SHOWS HOW A SECTION OF
THE BUILDING'S ROOF OPENED TO
LET IN THE LIGHT.
AND THE WHOLE STRUCTURE TURNED
ON A RAIL TRACK SO THAT IT COULD
FOLLOW THE SUN.
EARLY FILM NEEDED BRIGHT
SUNLIGHT TO PRODUCE CLEAR
IMAGES.
MAKING MOVIES IN THE BLACK
MARIAH WAS SLOW AND HOT.
WORKING WITH THE BULKY
EQUIPMENT, IT OFTEN TOOK DICKSON
A WEEK TO GET 15 SECONDS OF
USABLE FILM.
THIS IS THE KIND OF CAMERA HE
USED CALLED A KINETOGRAPH.
ONE OF THE FIRST MOVIES PRODUCED
IN DICKSON'S BLACK MARIAH STUDIO
STARRED A COWORKER FRED OTT,
 THE SNEEZE.
 IT WAS SHORT AND TO THE POINT.
IN 1894 WITH AN APPLICATION
SIGNED BY DICKSON AND SUBMITTED
WITH A 50 CENT FEE, THE EDISON
 KINETOSCOPIC STUDY OF THE
SNEEZE WAS THE FIRST FILM TO BE
COPYRIGHTED WITH THE LIBRARY OF
CONGRESS.
HARDLY BORN, THE MOVIES BEGAN
TAKING THEIR FIRST FULL STRIDES.
THE DAY WOULD COME WHEN A SINGLE
FILM WOULD COST OVER $100
MILLION.
EDISON'S ACCOUNT BOOKS SHOW THAT
THE ENTIRE PROCESS OF CREATING
THE FIRST KINETOSCOPE WAS
$24,118.04--ABOUT $200,000
TODAY.
EDISON NEVER AVOIDED A PROFIT.
BUT DESPITE DICKSON'S PROGRESS,
HE CONTINUED TO DELAY COMMERCIAL
RELEASE OF THE KINETOSCOPE.
WITHOUT SOUND, HE WASN'T
SATISFIED.
IT TOOK OTHERS IN HIS COMPANY TO
PUSH THE SILENT KINETOSCOPE INTO
THE MARKETPLACE.
[train chugging]
IN 1894, A GROUP OF OUTSIDE
INVESTORS BOUGHT 25
KINETOSCOPES AND SET UP SHOP
WITH TEN MACHINES AT 1155
BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY.
EDISON MADE SURE HE GOT HEFTY
ROYALTIES FROM THEIR EFFORTS.
THE FIRST MOVIE PREMIERE WAS
APRIL 14, 1894.
THE KINETOSCOPE WAS AN INSTANT
SENSATION.
SOON KINETOSCOPE PARLORS WERE
ALL THE RAGE.
AN EARLY SPECIAL EVENT WAS A
BOXING MATCH BETWEEN FORMER
CHAMP GENTLEMAN JIM CORBETT AND
A PUNCHING-BAG CHALLENGER NAMED
PETE COURTNEY.
SWEATING IN THE IMPRESSIVE HEAT
OF THE BLACK MARIAH, DICKSON
SHOUTED INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE
SURE CORBETT KNOCKED OUT HIS
OPPONENT DURING THE APPOINTED
SIXTH ROUND AND IN A SPOT WHERE
THE ACTION COULD BE FOCUSED.
IN KINETOSCOPE PARLORS, ONE
ROUND OF THE FIGHT WAS ASSIGNED
TO EACH OF SIX MACHINES.
AND VIEWERS PAID 50 CENTS TO
MOVE FROM MACHINE TO MACHINE
UNTIL THEY REACHED KINETOSCOPE
NUMBER SIX AND THE CLIMATIC
KNOCKOUT.
OTHER LESS VIOLENT FARE ALSO
ATTRACTED PREDOMINANTLY MALE
AUDIENCES LIKE THE RISQUE
 CARMENCITA'S DANCE.
THE MOVIES CERTAINLY DIDN'T
BEGIN AS HIGH-CLASS
ENTERTAINMENT, BUT THEY
REFLECTED EDISON'S DOWN-TO-EARTH
TASTES.
>> AFTER THE BLACK MARIAH WASRTH
BUILT, YOU BEGAN TO SEE A STREAM
OF ENTERTAINERS, VAUDEVILLE
ACTS--THE WORLD'S STRONG MAN OF
THE TIME EUGEN SANDOW--COME TO
THE LABORATORY AT WEST ORANGE TO
PERFORM IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA.
EDISON WOULD GO OUT.
HE WOULD HORSE AROUND WITH
SANDOW.
THE REPORTERS WERE THERE EVERY
TIME ONE OF THESE FILMS WERE
TAKEN, AND THEY'D WRITE
HEADLINES LIKE "WORLD'S SMARTEST
MAN MEETS WORLD'S STRONGEST
MAN."
EVERYBODY HAD A GOOD TIME, AND
THE LAB STAFF GOT FREE PASSES TO
BROADWAY SHOWS.
>> narrator: AS SIMPLE AS THE
EARLY MOVIES WERE, THE POWER OF
THE NEW MEDIUM QUICKLY MADE
ITSELF KNOWN--PUSHING 19th
CENTURY PROPRIETIES.
THIS FILM WAS CALLED HER FIRST
 CIGARETTE.
THESE EARLY KINETOSCOPE FILMS,
IN IMPORTANT WAYS, HAD A MAJOR
IMPACT ON AMERICAN CULTURE RIGHT
FROM THE START.
A LOT OF THESE FILMS WERE OFIGHT
THINGS THAT WERE REALLY
FORBIDDEN TO BE SEEN IN THE
FLESH.
HIS MOTION PICTURES REALLY FROM
THE OUTSET SORT OF TURNED
COMMERCIAL, POPULAR CULTURE ON
ITS EAR.
I MEAN, IT WAS A VERY DISRUPTIVE
FORCE.
>> narrator: BY 1895,
KINETOSCOPE AUDIENCES WERE
INCREASING.
BUT EDISON'S PARTNER DICKSON
WANTED TO TAKE THE INVENTION ONE
STEP FURTHER AND PROJECT THE
IMAGES ON A SCREEN.
EDISON VEHEMENTLY DISAGREED.
"WHY KILL THE GOOSE THAT LAYS
THE GOLDEN EGG?" HE INSISTED.
>> IF HE FELT THAT YOU WEREYS
INFRINGING UPON HIM IN ANY WAY,
QUESTIONING HIS AUTHORITY,
QUESTIONING HIS INTEGRITY OR HIS
IMAGINATION, DIFFERING WITH THE
DIRECTION THAT HE THOUGHT SHOULD
BE TAKEN IN A GIVEN PROJECT,
THEN HE'D BECOME VERY CONTRARY
AND ARBITRARY, ANGRY.
HE WOULD--HE COULD STOP SPEAKING
TO YOU FOR 25 YEARS.
>> narrator: WHATEVER EDISON
THOUGHT, AMBITIOUS ENTREPRENEURS
WEREN'T WAITING FOR THE WIZARD
TO COME UP WITH A PROJECTING
KINETOSCOPE.
FRUSTRATED WITH LAB MANAGERS AND
EAGER TO INNOVATE, W.K.L.
DICKSON STARTED WORKING ON A
PROJECTION SYSTEM OF HIS OWN--
IN SECRET WITH SOMEONE ELSE.
>> narrator: IN 1895, FRUSTRATED
WITH HIS BOSS'S REFUSAL TO
DEVELOP A PROJECTION SYSTEM,
EDISON PROJECT MANAGER W.K.L.
DICKSON HAD BEGUN WORKING WITH
EDISON COMPETITORS.
WHEN HIS ACTIVITIES WERE
DISCOVERED, HE WAS FORCED TO
LEAVE THE LAB.
EDISON FELT HE'D BEEN
DOUBLE-CROSSED.
DICKSON WENT ON TO HELP FOUND
THE NEW MOVIE COMPANY AMERICAN
MUTOSCOPE.
AS COMPETITION TO THE
KINETOSCOPE, AMERICAN MUTOSCOPE
CREATED A PEEP SHOW MACHINE THAT
USED IMAGES ON FILE CARDS THAT
FLICKED PAST THE VIEWER.
THIS SIMPLER SYSTEM WAS CHEAPER
AND MORE RELIABLE THAN THE
FILM-BASED KINETOSCOPE.
AT THE SAME TIME, DICKSON AND
HIS PARTNERS PUSHED AHEAD ON A
PROJECTION SYSTEM.
IT WAS A WORLD-WIDE RACE.
IN FRANCE, THERE WERE TWO
BROTHERS AUGUSTE AND LOUIS
LUMIERE, OWNERS OF A SUCCESSFUL
PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT BUSINESS.
THEIR LUMIERE MOTION PICTURE
MACHINE WAS CALLED THE
CINEMATOGRAPHE.
LIGHT AND PORTABLE, UNLIKE
EDISON AND DICKSON'S BULKY
APPARATUS, THE CINEMATOGRAPHE'S
ELEGANTLY DESIGNED CAMERA
PROJECTOR ALSO REDUCED EDISON'S
46-FRAMES-PER-SECOND SPEED TO 16
FRAMES FOR QUIETER, LESS JITTERY
PROJECTION.
ALSO RATHER THAN USING BULKY
ELECTRIC POWER, THE LUMIERE
CAMERA WAS HAND-CRANKED, READY
TO GO ANYWHERE.
THIS IS ONE OF THE EARLY LUMIERE
FILMS.
THEY WERE FIRST PROJECTED ON A
LARGE SCREEN ON DECEMBER 28,
1895.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE
CINEMATOGRAPHE'S PORTABILITY,
LUMIERE FILMS DELIGHTED
AUDIENCES WITH SCENES FROM
EVERYDAY LIFE--
IN CONTRAST TO EDISON'S
VAUDEVILLE ACTS AND STAGE
PRESENTATIONS.
BACK IN AMERICA A FEW WEEKS
AHEAD OF THE LUMIERES, CHARLES
JENKINS AND THOMAS ARMAT
DEMONSTRATED ANOTHER PROJECTION
SYSTEM IN SEPTEMBER OF 1895.
[seagulls cawing]
THEY CALLED THEIR PROJECTOR THE
PHANTOSCOPE.
BY RAPIDLY STARTING AND STOPPING
THE FILM AS IT PASSED THROUGH
THE PROJECTOR, THE PHANTOSCOPE
ELIMINATED THE ANNOYING FLICKER
IN EDISON'S CONTINUOUS-MOTION
KINETOSCOPE.
EDISON WAS STUBBORN.
IT WAS USUALLY HIS WAY OR NOT AT
ALL.
BUT WITH AUDIENCES DEMANDING
MOVIES ON A SCREEN, HE WAS
FINALLY CONVINCED TO PUT HIS
NAME ON A PROJECTOR.
NOT HIS, HE LICENSED THE MACHINE
INVENTED BY JENKINS AND ARMAT.
THEY RENAMED IT THE VITASCOPE.
THE VITASCOPE MOTION PICTURE
PROJECTOR DEBUTED ON APRIL 23,
1896 AT KOSTER AND BIAL'S MUSIC
HALL IN NEW YORK CITY.
MODERN MOVIES WERE BORN.
FOR AUDIENCES, IT WAS LOVE AT
FIRST SIGHT.
>> THE MOST IMPRESSIVE SHORTT
FILM WAS OF SURF CRASHING ONTO
THE SHORE AT DOVER.
AND THIS WAS A FILM LOOP THAT
WAS REPEATED OVER AND OVER
AGAIN.
AND A NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE
AUDIENCE, SO STRUCK BY THE
REALISM OF THIS, DIVED UNDER
THEIR SEATS THINKING THAT THEY
WERE GOING TO GET HIT BY A WAVE.
>> narrator: UNACKNOWLEDGED IN
THE BACK OF THE HOUSE, THOMAS
ARMAT, ONE OF THE VITASCOPE'S
TRUE INVENTORS, WATCHED HIS
MACHINE, MAKING SURE EVERYTHING
WENT WELL WHILE AUDIENCES
CHEERED EDISON'S LATEST MARVEL.
THE EDISON NAME MEANT BOX
OFFICE.
 THE KISS WAS ONE OF EDISON'S
EARLIEST HITS.
IT RECREATED A SCENE FROM A
POPULAR BROADWAY SHOW AND HAD
THE FURTHER DISTINCTION OF
INSPIRING PROBABLY THE FIRST
COMPETITIVE MOVIE REMAKE.
IN APRIL 1896, AFTER SIX YEARS,
EDISON'S PATENT ON THE
FUNDAMENTAL MOTION PICTURE
SYSTEM WAS APPROVED.
BUT EVEN THAT DIDN'T STOP THE
COMPETITIVE WARFARE.
IN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES,
ALTERNATIVE PROJECTING MACHINES
WERE POPPING UP EVERYWHERE.
>> EVERYBODY WAS SUING THE
DAYLIGHTS OUT OF EVERYBODY ELSE,
TRYING TO PROMOTE THEIR OWN
COMPETITIVE POSITION.
AND EVERYBODY WAS PROBABLY
GUILTY OF SHADING THE TRUTH IN
TERMS OF ARGUING WHAT THEY HAD
REALLY DONE AND MAKING CLAIMS
AGAINST THEIR COMPETITOR.
>> narrator: NOT EVEN LEGAL
TURMOIL COULD STOP THE GROWING
INFLUENCE OF MOTION PICTURES.
[ragtime piano music]
FROM STOREFRONTS, SPECIAL PLACES
FOR MOVIES EVOLVED.
THEY WERE CALLED NICKELODEONS.
COMBINING PEEP SHOW ARCADES WITH
PROJECTION THEATERS,
NICKELODEONS BEGAN PROVIDING
POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT FOR
MIDDLE-CLASS AUDIENCES.
NEXT CAME THEATERS DEDICATED TO
PROJECTED FILMS.
ONE OF THE FIRST WAS TALLY'S IN
LOS ANGELES.
EARLY MOTION PICTURE AUDIENCES
WERE WHISKED AROUND THE WORLD
AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
VANISHING PEOPLE AND PLACES WERE
CAPTURED FOREVER.
PERCEPTIONS OF TIME AND DISTANCE
HAD BEGUN TO SHRINK.
IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG FOR THE
POWER AND INFLUENCE OF THE
MOVIES TO BE APPRECIATED.
IN 1898, W.K.L. DICKSON, NOW
LIVING AND WORKING IN ENGLAND,
SCORED ANOTHER MOTION PICTURE
FIRST WHEN HE WAS GRANTED
PERMISSION TO FILM POPE LEO XIII
IN THE VATICAN.
DICKSON'S CAREER IN EUROPE WOULD
EVENTUALLY GO INTO GRADUAL
DECLINE.
BUT IN PARIS, HE PROUDLY POSED
WITH FELLOW MOVIE PIONEER
ETIENNE-JULES MAREY.
BACK IN AMERICA IN 1900, THE
EDISON MOTION PICTURE COMPANY
GAINED ANOTHER INFLUENTIAL
EMPLOYEE.
HIS NAME: EDWIN S. PORTER.
THIS 1902 EDISON FILM MADE BY
PORTER, JACK AND THE BEANSTALK,
IS TYPICAL OF ITS TIME.
ALL THE ACTION IS TAKEN FROM ONE
UNMOVING POSITION.
AUDIENCES WERE GETTING BORED.
PORTER RECOGNIZED THAT THE
MOVIES NEED NEW FORMS.
>> THE QUESTION WAS HOW TO FIND
A NEW KIND OF SUBJECT MATTER
THAT WOULD GET PEOPLE BACK IN
THE THEATERS.
AND THE SOLUTION REALLY WAS A
SIMPLE ONE.
IT WAS THE STORY FILM.
>> narrator: A LANDMARK IN ITS
DEVELOPMENT IS THIS 1903 FILM
PORTER MADE FOR EDISON, THE
 GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY.
HERE IS CERTAINLY THE FIRST
MOVIE WESTERN.
ALTHOUGH ITS CLAIM TO BE THE
FIRST FILM TO TELL A STORY COULD
BE CHALLENGED BY EUROPEAN MOVIES
OF THE DAY.
STILL, PORTER'S FILM SHOWS HOW
FAR MOTION PICTURE TECHNIQUE HAD
COME IN LITTLE MORE THAN A
DECADE, INCLUDING SPECIAL
EFFECTS LIKE THE IMAGE OF A
TRAIN INSERTED IN THE STATION
HOUSE WINDOW.
WITH LONGER STORY-TELLING FILMS,
MOVIES WERE EVEN FARTHER THAN
EVER FROM THE FIRST KINETOSCOPE
ENTERTAINMENTS.
BUT DESPITE PORTER'S EXAMPLE,
EDISON WAS SLOW TO GO INTO
FEATURE-LENGTH FILM PRODUCTION.
WHEN PORTER RESISTED MAKING
MOVIES LIKE FACTORY PRODUCTS IN
1909, EDISON FIRED HIM.
IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE END
FOR THE EDISON MOTION PICTURE
COMPANY.
EDISON WAS NEVER INTERESTED IN
BEING A FILM PRODUCER.
IN THE END, HE LEFT IT TO OTHERS
TO TURN AN INGENIOUS TECHNOLOGY
INTO THE 20th CENTURY'S MOST
POWERFUL COMMUNICATIONS MEDIUM.
>> narrator: FROM SHORT
VIGNETTES BY 1902, MOVIES WERE
EXPLORING NEW FORMS.
THE FILM A TRIP TO THE MOON
REPRESENTS AN EXPLOSION OF
INNOVATION.
IT'S THE WORK OF FRENCH MAGICIAN
FILMMAKER GEORGES MELIES.
EVEN BEFORE EDISON EMPLOYEE
EDWIN S. PORTER, MELIES AND
OTHER FRENCH FILMMAKERS WERE
BEGINNING TO TELL STORIES IN
MOTION PICTURES.
INSPIRED BY THE LUMIERE
BROTHERS, MELIES WAS CREATING
DRAMAS THAT COULD ONLY BE
PRESENTED ON FILM.
IT WAS A NEW MEANS OF STORY
TELLING AND THE BEGINNING OF A
NEW ART FORM.
FOR EDISON, THERE WERE OPPONENTS
OVERSEAS AS WELL AS AT HOME.
>> EDISON WAS ALWAYS TRYING TO
DEFEND HIS POSITION.
HE, AFTER ALL, HAD STARTED OFF
AS THE ONLY MOTION PICTURE
PRODUCER IN THE WORLD.
PRETTY SOON THE FRENCH WERE
COMING IN.
THEN HE HAD A WHOLE SERIES OF
AMERICAN COMPETITORS.
HE ALWAYS FELT HE WAS ON THE
VERGE OF SORT OF BEING
MARGINALIZED, BEING PUT OUT OF
BUSINESS.
AND HE WAS TRYING TO DEFEND
HIMSELF AND HIS COMMERCIAL
INTERESTS.
AND, OF COURSE, ONE OF HIS
GREATEST STRENGTHS WAS HIS
PATENTS.
>> narrator: IN 1909 IN THE
MIDST OF CONTINUING INDUSTRY
WARFARE, FOR MUTUAL SURVIVAL,
EDISON AND HIS BIGGEST
COMPETITORS DECIDED TO CALL A
TRUCE.
THEY JOINED TOGETHER IN THE
MOTION PICTURES PATENT COMPANY,
AN ATTEMPT TO WREST CONTROL OF
THE MOVIE BUSINESS RUNNING WILD
WITH FOREIGN COMPANIES AND
INDEPENDENT ENTREPRENEURS.
HIRED ENFORCERS RAIDED
NON-PATENT COMPANY PRODUCTIONS,
SOMETIMES SHOOTING HOLES THROUGH
BOOTLEG CAMERAS.
KODAK'S GEORGE EASTMAN JOINED
EDISON AND REFUSED TO SELL FILM
STOCK TO INDEPENDENTS.
SUCH ACTIONS LED PRODUCERS TO
MOVE FARTHER AWAY FROM NEW YORK
AND NEW JERSEY WHERE MOST MOVIES
WERE MADE.
EVENTUALLY, MANY SETTLED IN A
RURAL TOWN NEAR LOS ANGELES.
THE AREA HAD GOOD CLIMATE,
VARIED LOCATION POSSIBILITIES,
AND ALSO IT WAS CONVENIENT TO
THE MEXICAN BORDER IN CASE OF
TROUBLE FROM EDISON'S PATENT
MEN.
THE NEW FILM CENTER WAS CALLED
HOLLYWOOD.
FINALLY AFTER YEARS OF COURT
FIGHTS, INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS
WILLIAM FOX AND CARL LEMBLY,
FOUNDER OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS,
WON.
BUT BY THAT TIME, THOMAS EDISON
WAS NO LONGER A MOVIE PRODUCER.
IN 1911 BEFORE HE LEFT MOVIES TO
OTHERS, EDISON MADE ONE LAST
ATTEMPT AT AN OLD DREAM, MOTION
PICTURES WITH SYNCHRONIZED
SOUND.
SILENT FILMS WERE NEVER REALLY
SILENT.
LIVE OFFSTAGE SOUND EFFECTS WERE
OFTEN USED, AND MUSIC FROM A
SINGLE PIANO TO A FULL SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA WAS COMMON.
TRUE SYNCHRONIZED SOUND HOWEVER
REMAINED ELUSIVE.
SPURRED BY RECENT IMPROVEMENTS
IN HIS PHONOGRAPH, EDISON LINKED
HIS SOUND MACHINE WITH HIS MOVIE
EQUIPMENT.
THE RESULT WAS THE KINETOPHONE.
THE KINETOPHONE WAS NOTHING MORE
THAN A VARIABLE SPEED CONTROL ON
THE PHONOGRAPH THAT ALLOWED THE
PROJECTIONIST TO ADJUST THE
SOUND TO KEEP IT IN SYNCH WITH
THE PICTURE...HOPEFULLY.
IN FEBRUARY 1912, 50
KINETOPHONES WERE INTRODUCED
INTO THE THEATERS.
 THE NEW YORK TIMES REPORTED
GASPS OF ASTONISHMENT.
BUT SOON SOUND AND PICTURE BEGAN
TO DRIFT APART.
>> AFTER THE AUDIENCE'SURE BEGAN
EXPECTATIONS HAD BEEN BUILT UP,
TO HAVE THE SOUND SERIOUSLY OUT
OF SYNCH WITH THE PERFORMANCE ON
THE SCREEN LED TO UPROAR, PEOPLE
HOOTING, RIDICULE, CRITICAL
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES MAKING FUN OF
THIS.
AND CERTAINLY EDISON WASN'T
PLEASED ABOUT ENDING UP BEING AN
OBJECT OF RIDICULE AFTER ALL OF
THE EFFORT THAT HE PUT INTO THIS
TECHNOLOGY.
>> narrator: SO ENDED THE
LONGEST SINGLE EXPERIMENT IN THE
HISTORY OF EDISON'S LABORATORY.
ON MARCH 30, 1918, THE INVENTOR
SOLD HIS BRONX STUDIO AND ALL
HIS MOTION PICTURE INTERESTS.
THE END OF HIS INTEREST IN THE
MOTION PICTURE WAS MORE THAN THE
RESULT OF FINANCIAL FAILURE.
IT WAS ALSO A PART OF A PATTERN
IN HIS LIFE.
>> HE LACKED THE CAPACITY FORRN
SUSTAINED RESEARCH IN A SINGLE
FIELD.
HE STARTS IN TELEGRAPHY; HE
GIVES UP TELEGRAPHY.
HE MOVES TO TELEPHONY; HE GIVES
UP TELEPHONY.
HE MOVES TO THE PHONOGRAPH; HE
GOES TO THE ELECTRIC LIGHTING
SYSTEM.
HE COMES BACK TO MOTION
PICTURES--ALL OF WHICH HAVE
COMBINATIONS AND BITS AND PIECES
OF EACH OTHER BUT WHICH ARE NOT,
IN FACT, THE SAME SYSTEM.
>> narrator: WHILE EDISON
DRIFTED AWAY FROM THE MOVIE
BUSINESS.
THE SILENT FILM WAS MATURING
INTO THE CENTRAL ART FORM OF THE
20th CENTURY.
D.W. GRIFFITH WOULD SOON CREATE
THE CONTROVERSIAL CLASSIC
 THE BIRTH OF A NATION.
AN ENGLISH MUSIC HALL COMEDIAN
CHARLIE CHAPLIN WOULD BECOME
FIRST AND PERHAPS THE GREATEST
INTERNATIONAL MOVIE STAR.
ALL THIS HARDLY 30 YEARS AFTER
W.K.L. DICKSON'S PIONEERING
EXPERIMENTS IN THE BLACK MARIAH.
BUT IN THE 1920s, NO ONE KNEW
DICKSON'S NAME.
THOMAS EDISON WAS THE INVENTOR
OF THE MOTION PICTURES, A LIVING
LEGEND.
>> HE BECAME THE MOST WIDELY
KNOWN INVENTOR OF THE AGE.
IN SURVEYS OF THE TOP TENELY
FIGURES IN HISTORY, EDISON OFTEN
FIGURED NEAR THE TOP, SOMETIMES
AT THE VERY TOP--
VERY UNUSUAL FOR AN INVENTOR WHO
WERE OFTEN SEEN AS KIND OF ODD
FOLKS.
YET HERE WAS EDISON SEEMING TO
BE BOTH EVERYMAN AND THIS GREAT
GENIUS AT THE SAME TIME.
>> narrator: 1927 WAS A LANDMARK
YEAR.
IT WAS EDISON'S 80th BIRTHDAY.
BUT IT WAS ALSO THE YEAR THAT
PRODUCED THE JAZZ SINGER, THE
FIRST SUCCESSFUL TALKING
PICTURE.
MOVIE TECHNOLOGY HAD PASSED HIM
BY.
BUT THE OLD WIZARD COULD STILL
CHARM NEWSREEL REPORTERS,
POKING FUN AT HIS LIFELONG
HEARING PROBLEM.
>> WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE
PICTURES TODAY?
>> WHAT DO I THINK OF THE
TALKING PICTURE?
>> YEAH.
>> WELL, I DON'T KNOW.
I'VE NEVER HEARD THEM.
>> [laughing]
>> WELL, I HAVE A LITTLE TROUBLE
NOW AND THEN, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE
I'M GETTING OLD.
BUT I'VE GOT A LOT OF GINGER
YET.
>> [laughing]
>> narrator: FOUR MONTHS LATER,
THE WIZARD OF MENLO PARK WAS
DEAD.
THE WORLD MOURNED THE MAN WHOSE
LEGEND CLAIMED THE PHONOGRAPH,
THE ELECTRIC LIGHT, AND THE
MOVIES.
>> SOMETHING SO INCREDIBLE--
>> narrator: IN 1935, FOUR YEARS
LATER, SUFFERING FROM HARD
TIMES, ANOTHER MAN DIED QUIETLY
IN ENGLAND, WILLIAM KENNEDY
LAURIE DICKSON.
TO THE END, EDISON CONSIDERED
DICKSON A DOUBLE-CROSSER.
EDISON AND CERTAINLY THE EDISON
LEGEND LEFT NO ROOM FOR
CO-INVENTORS.
>> IN FACT, IT WAS A TRUE
COLLABORATIVE EFFORT.
BOTH OF THEIR ROLES WERE
ESSENTIAL TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS.
>> narrator: DESPITE DICKSON'S
KEY ROLE, OTHER EDISON SCHOLARS
ARGUE THAT EDISON MIGHT HAVE
FOUND ANOTHER DICKSON, BUT
DICKSON COULD NEVER HAVE FOUND
ANOTHER THOMAS EDISON.
THIS IS EDISON'S DEATH MASK,
NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN ON
TELEVISION--HIS EXPRESSION,
SERENELY CONFIDENT TO THE END.
DOGGED AND DETERMINED, RUTHLESS
WHEN HE NEEDED TO BE, THOMAS
EDISON MAY NOT HAVE THOUGHT OF
ALL THE IDEAS OF HIS INVENTION.
BUT HE WAS THE MAN WHO GOT THEM
MADE.
Captioning by Kyong
at CaptionMax
www.captionmax.com
