Film: The Great Train Robbery

In 1903 Edwin S. Porter made his landmark film The Great Train Robbery, and he does in fact tell a narrative story, for it has a beginning, middle, and end. However, he goes beyond telling a mere story: He introduces a genre of film, uses editing technique (although not his inventions) for maximum results, and weaves in camera shots, e.g. longs shot, pan shots, medium shots, to emphatically tell this story on film. In addition Mr. Porter doesn’t stick to the traditional, chronological sequence of events—the camera following one story line from beginning to end—rather he surprises the audiences with daring leaps of time and a new thread of story line. All of this is accomplished in a surprisingly short twelve minute film—a one-reeler.


In fact, there are just fourteen short scenes in his film—although it should have been thirteen, as one scene is a “shock value” scene meant only for entertainment, more on this later. In scene one, two bandits hold up, gag, and tie-up the telegraph operator at the train station to ensure he doesn’t alarm the town folks of the robbery in action. Then the film progresses through scenes two through five where the story unfolds before the audience’s eyes. The audience witnesses the train pull up to the water tower where the awaiting bandits board the train. In the next scene, the attendant in the cargo car is shot and the safe is blown open. By this time the tension is high and suspense has been well established. But wait, the tension is ratcheted even more as the audience witnesses further atrocities: the bandits beat up one of the conductors and force the other to uncouple the passenger and cargo cars from the main locomotive engine. In scene six, the bandits firmly committed to their criminal act, unload the passengers and steal their personal belongings. One of the passengers foolishly tries to escape; he, however, is shot in the back immediately. Scenes seven, eight, and nine have the audience witnessing the bandits “making off with loot.” The criminals make good use of the main locomotive, and then they’re off on foot, through a brook, to a field hide-out, and onto fresh and awaiting horses. In these scenes (seven through nine) one can easily see Mr. Porter creative use of camera shots, as they stand eminently, although they are used throughout the film.


By the time scene ten comes around the audience is well entrenched in the continuous story line as it has, so far, progressed in an orderly and chronological fashion. Here Mr. Porter throws a “monkey wrench” into the works. In this scene (what some of today’s movie buff call a “meanwhile back at ranch” scene) the audience learns that a young girl is untying the telegraph operator that was initially shown in the first scene. In affect, Mr. Porter is now adding a new story thread—a new parallel story if you will. It is now up to the audience to determine how much time has elapsed; thus, the audience is no longer a passive observer. In scene eleven, the film cross-cuts to a square dance where the audience sees the telegraph operator interrupt and inform the revelers of the heist. Here the alarmed partiers form a posse for the purpose of going after the bandits. A huge jump in time is used in scene twelve, for in this scene and the next one the audience sees the posse in hot pursuit of the bandits. Bullets are flying all over the place and bodies are falling by the side of the trails. (Oh, boy! Pass the popcorn!) Scene thirteen wraps up the movie: the bandits are shot down and the posse recovers the loot.


All’s well that ends well, right? No! Mr. Porter gives the audience a parting shot (excuse the pun) the last one, scene fourteen—in which a cowboy aims and fires his revolver at the audience. They must have gasped in surprise. The final scene is a shock value scene and is out of context with the film, but nonetheless a nice final flourish to a wonderful small film. Also, the final scene, according to film historians, could have been the first scene.


Whether the last scene could have been the first or final scene is a moot point and does not detract from this landmark film. For in this short film, Mr. Porter entertains movie goers with use of editing and camera usages unparalleled at the time. He did not invent these techniques: he instructed generations of film makers in the use of them, for intelligence is nothing without the proper use of it, and for that lesson millions of movie enthusiasts around the world owe him a heart felt: “Thank you, Mr. Porter.”