Here, the infamous high-wire walker Juan (A.) Caicedo performs his basic routine for the camera. He appears to be quite at home with his flips and bounces, and seems perfectly relaxed. If you've ever seen any Edison shorts from 1894, then you'll know that many of them featured an athlete or dancer performing for the camera, and then when released to the public Edison would make money off these performers. In this case, Edison decided to film a high-wire walker. No story, nothing, but it's simply a video of a performer long dead. Not a great film but one which will no doubt interest historians and film buffs.(Note: Caicedo also appeared in another Edison film from the same year--"Caicedo (with spurs)". Presumably, this film is considered lost).

If you won't come see the artists, we make them come to you. Or at least their efforts put on tape. And most people back then would have wondered what tape is before watching the likes of Caicedo wowed them. The jumping is a bit repetitive, but it's a nice transition to the somersault, the highlight at the end of the film, from Juan A. Caicedo on the high wire. His dress is also quite nice to watch and elevates the visual viewing experience of these 20 seconds. Okay movie, okay performance, surely one of the better artist films, but not among Dickson's and Heise's very best short film works although I'd have probably paid back in the day to see Señor Caicedo perform.

. . . with his seemingly effortless 10 bounces (mostly off his rump) filmed in someone's backyard in what may be the first location shot in American film history. Wearing a costume not unlike something you would see at a bullfight, Juan Caicedo was a star attraction at a New York City performance hall for 17 weeks at the time of filming CAICEDO WITH A POLE July 25, 1894. Working with a slack wire and a balance pole about eight feet long, the mustached wire artist seems as if he could bounce back and forth forever on the narrow filament of which he's made a second home. While it's true one of the easiest ways to watch CAICEDO WITH A POLE is at the United States Library of Congress web site, the original score written for this 24.47-second short by theater organist Clark Wilson would be missing there. To approximate the experience users of the Edison Manufacturing Company's short-lived "kinetophone" product experienced, get your hands on disc one of the 4-dvd set entitled EDISON: THE INVENTION OF THE MOVIES from the Kino Company.

Sandow (1894) Carmencita (1894) Boxing Cats (1894) Caicedo With Pole (1894) Annabelle Butterfly Dance (1894)Cockfight, no. 2 (1894) These six shorts from Edison, still early in the movie game, are rather interesting because of the self promoting factor in them. It's clear a few famous folks thought appearing in movies might bring more people to their actual show and on that level these shorts remain very interesting today. That's especially true when you consider the lack of footage of such acts. Sandow is Eugene Sandow, the man who claimed to be the strongest in the world. Shot on March 6, 1894, we see Sandow flexing in various ways in front of the camera. I'm not sure what he was thinking at the time of shooting but seeing this today is quite a laugh. Carmencita is the famous dancer doing her belly dance on screen making her the first woman to appear in an American movie. The film has become somewhat famous over the past several years because of various documentaries doing studies about early sexuality and how it caused so much controversy. This film, as innocent as they come, did strike a bit of outrage when originally released so it's fun to look at with that in mind. It's also worth noting that this was the first movie listed on the IMDb. Boxing Cats would have PETA members throwing a fit today but in 1894 seeing two animals fight, in a funny manor, was quite entertaining. Prof. Welton can be seen in the center of the frame directing his two cats, with boxing gloves on, to fight. This is actually pretty funny and it's worth noting that the cats throw more punches than a lot of the real fights that were filmed around this time with humans. Caicedo With Pole has hire-wire specialist Juan Caicedo jumping, bouncing and flipping on his wire, which must have been an amazing site when originally released. Annabelle Butterfly Dance features the famous Annabelle Moore dancing around a stage in a white outfit with wings attached. This here probably remains one of the most viewed shorts from this era with its images being shown throughout the world when it comes to exploring early cinema. Cockfight, no. 2 would be controversial today as it features two birds going after one another while two men in the background make bets. This was actually a remake so to speak as the original film was released earlier in the year and was apparently so popular that the prints wore out, which caused the studio to make this version. Apparently the original version didn't feature the men in the background.