Comedy cake walk Comedy cakewalk American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress) moving image motion picture two-dimensional moving image Filmed vaudeville acts. Comedy films. Silent films. Short films. Nonfiction films. xxu 1903 monographic United States American Mutoscope and Biograph Company c1903 189705-- 189706-- eng
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viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (11 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm. viewing print 1 film reel of 1 (27 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm. dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (11 ft.) : si., b&w ; 16 mm. dupe neg pic 1 film reel of 1 (27 ft.) : si., b&w ; 35 mm. paper pos 1 roll of 1 (ca. 30 ft.) : b&w ; 35 mm. paper pos (copy 2) 1 roll of 1 (ca. 30 ft.) : b&w ; 35 mm. Five African Americans--three men and two women--perform an exaggerated cakewalk in fancy evening clothes. Two of the men wear formal black tie in tuxedos with tails, while the third wears a gray tux of shiny material with an extremely long overcoat and exaggerated cuffs. All have matching top hats and canes. The women wear highly decorated hats and tight-fitting, frilly dresses of only mid-calf length, with one hand on their hip pulling up that side of the skirt. Two couples step in time against a white background as the third, center man prances forward and executes a comedic, wobbly-kneed step. He then moves back to lead the others in the strutting around the stage, all the time spinning and prancing among them. As the couple to stage left jaunt past the camera, the woman pauses to hitch up her stocking. The man in the gray suit on the right twirls his cane and struts toward the camera with his partner; they then pause on opposite sides of the frame. The woman kisses a handkerchief she is holding in one hand and flirtatiously throws it on the ground. As the man smiles knowingly and reaches for it, however, the woman yanks the fabric back to her on a string. Both laugh and continue strutting. All five dancers then return to a line and start a fancy step towards the camera. "Amusing cake walk of three men and two women (colored) in costume, showing the usual antics that occur in affairs of this kind"--American Mutoscope & Biograph picture catalogue. American Mutoscope and Biograph Company. Copyright: American Mutoscope & Biograph Co.; 11May1903; H31675. Original main title lacking. DLC Niver's Early motion pictures incorrectly credits the Americus Quartet as performers. Niver's credit for F.S. Armitage as cameraman cannot be confirmed in secondary sources. Duration: 0:27 at 16 fps. Biograph production no. 234. Paper print shelf number (LC 0377) was changed when the paper prints were re-housed. DLC Additional holdings for this title may be available. Contact reference librarian. DLC Sometimes confused with the film, Cake walk, which LC also holds. The AFI catalog gives incorrect copyright information for this film, erroneously listing the title and registration number for the film, Cake walk. Sources used: Copyright catalog, motion pictures, 1894-1012; Niver, K. Early motion pictures, p. 63; AFI catalog: film beginnings, 1893-1910, p. 210; American Mutoscope & Biograph picture catalogue, Nov. 1902, p. 12; Biograph photo catalog, vol. 1, no. 234, viewed online via the New Jersey Digital Highway, July 11, 2014; Biograph production logs, 1896-1899. Filmed at the Biograph New York City studio in May-June, 1897. Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as digital files. Early motion pictures : the Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress / by Kemp R. Niver. Library of Congress. 1985. n-us--- Cakewalk (Dance) Dance, Black United States African American dance FLA 3391 (viewing print) FYA 1235 (viewing print) FRA 0689 (dupe neg pic) FPE 7916 (dupe neg pic) Box 0177C (paper pos) Box 5267E (paper pos, copy 2) Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/ntscrm.00046290 Comedy cake walk AVCMS (DLC) 46290 96520379 aacr amim DLC 960930 20250606175247.2 11683964 Converted from MARCXML to MODS version 3.8 using MARC21slim2MODS3-8_XSLT1-0.xsl (Revision 1.172 20230208)