Heise, William, camera. Irwin, May, 1862-1938, cast. Rice, John C., cast. McNally, John J., 1853 or 1854-1931. Thomas A. Edison, Inc. Hendricks (Gordon) Collection (Library of Congress) DLC moving image Comedy films. lcgft Novelty films. lcgft Short films. lcgft Silent films. lcgft United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1896. eng From Maguire & Baucus catalogue: An osculatory performance by May Irwin and John Rice. The most popular subject ever shown. From Edison films catalog: By May Irwin and John Rice. They get ready to kiss, begin to kiss, and kiss and kiss and kiss in a way that brings down the house every time. 50 feet. $7.50. Duration: 0:18 at 30 fps. Scene from the New York stage comedy, The widow Jones, by John J. McNally, in which Irwin and Rice starred. According to Edison film historian Charles Musser, the actors staged their kiss for the camera at the request of the New York World newspaper, and the resulting film was the most popular Edison Vitascope film in 1896. Sources used: Copyright catalog, motion pictures, 1894-1912; Musser, C. Edison motion pictures 1890-1900, 1997, p. 197-99; Maguire & Baucus. Edison and international photographic films catalogue, April 1897, p. 11 [MI]; Edison films catalog, no. 105, July 1901, p. 70 [MI]; Eagan, D. America's film legacy, p. 4-5. Camera, William Heise. May Irwin (Beatrice Byke), John C. Rice (Billy Bilke). Filmed April 1896, in Edison's Black Maria studio in West Orange, New Jersey. This film was selected for the National Film Registry. Kissing. Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as digital files. May Irwin kiss https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/ntscrm.00047798