Gordon Sisters boxing / Thomas A. Edison, Inc.

PREVIOUS

NEXT

The American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment, 1870-1920

View this film:
(To download the film for future viewing, be sure to set your browser to the "load to disk" or "retrieve to disk" option.)

Part 1 of 1

RealMedia format ... for 28.8 or higher modem
MPEG format ... 14 megabytes
Quick Time format ... 8 megabytes

Gordon Sisters boxing / Thomas A. Edison, Inc.

CREATED/PUBLISHED
United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1901.

SUMMARY
Two women on a stage approach from either side of the painted backdrop of a garden and engage in a boxing match. Both the boxing gloves and the hits exchanged between the women seem genuine. One woman wears a modest white dress with long sleeves and a skirt to mid-calf, dark stockings, and laced boots. The other woman--taller, thinner, and perhaps younger--sports a shorter, dark, sleeveless dress and the same dark stockings and boots.

From Edison films catalog: Champion lady boxers of the world. Here we depict two female pugilists that are really clever. They are engaged in a hot and heavy one-round sparring exhibition, which is photographed against a very pleasing background, consisting of a park, with marble entrance and walk, and beautiful trees and shrubbery. The exhibition is very lively from start to finish; the blows fall thick and fast, and some very clever pugilistic generalship is exhibited. Length 100 feet. $15.00 We also furnish an excellent 50-foot strip $7.50.

NOTES
Copyright: Thomas A. Edison; 6May01; H4083.

Original main title lacking.

Duration: 1:36 at 19 fps.

Materials listed originate from the paper print chosen best copy of two for digitization; for other holdings on this title, see the M/B/RS Paper Print database.

Two sets of Gordon Sisters advertised their bag punching and boxing act in the New York clipper: Bessie and Minnie in 1901, and Bessie and Alice in 1903. The sisters performing in this film are most likely Bessie and Minnie, given a photo of the two that ran in the 11/15/02 issue of the Clipper. Photo caption: "Gordon Sisters, Bessie and Minnie, have successfully played Eastern houses for the past six or seven years. They are now with the Oriental Burlesquers, as the feature act. Their specialty also introduces bag punching by Bessie Gordon. They claim to be the originators of the lady boxing acts, presenting only scientific sparring. Both play leading parts in the burlesque" (p. 836).

Code names (for telegraphic orders): Ungallant (100 ft.), Ungartered (50 ft.)

Ref print and dupe neg include pullbacks and almost 1 ft. of black; these printing errors have been edited out in production of a digital file.

NCN046321; Gordon Sisters boxing.

Sources used: Copyright catalog, motion pictures, 1894-1912; Niver, K.R. Early motion pictures, 1985; Edison films catalog, no. 105, July 1901, p. 51; AFI cat.: film beginnings, 1893-1910, 1995.

Received: 12/6/94 from LC film lab; ref print; preservation; Paper Print Collection.

Received: 10/18/94 from LC film lab; dupe neg; preservation; Paper Print Collection.

Received: 5/6/01; paper pos; copyright deposit; Paper Print Collection.

SUBJECTS
Boxing matches--United States.
Boxers (Sports)--United States.
Sports for women--United States.
Sisters--United States.
Silent films.
Vaudeville.
Sports event coverage and commentary.
Shorts.

MEDIUM
1 reel of 1 (115 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm. ref print.
1 reel of 1 (115 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm. dupe neg.
1 roll (114 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm. paper pos.

CALL NUMBER
FEC 1125 (ref print)
FPE 7599 (dupe neg)
LC 1628a (paper pos)

DIGITAL ID
(m) varsmp 1628

PREVIOUS NEXT NEW SEARCH