The Great Train Robbery (1903)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Writers:

Release Date:

1 December 1903 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Action | Crime | Western

Plot:

A group of bandits stage a brazen train hold-up, only to find a determined posse hot on their heels.

Plot Keywords:

Train | Bandit | Sheriff | Train Station | Posse

Awards:

1 win

Cast

A.C. Abadie	...	Sheriff (uncredited)
Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson	...	Bandit / Shot Passenger / Tenderfoot Dancer (uncredited)
George Barnes	...	(uncredited)
Justus D. Barnes	...	Bandit Who Fires at Camera (uncredited)
Walter Cameron	...	Sheriff (uncredited)
John Manus Dougherty Sr.	...	Fourth Bandit (uncredited)
Donald Gallaher	...	Little Boy (uncredited)
Frank Hanaway	...	Bandit (uncredited)
Adam Charles Hayman	...	Bandit (uncredited)
Morgan Jones	...	(uncredited)
Marie Murray	...	Dance-Hall Dancer (uncredited)
Mary Snow	...	Little Girl (uncredited)

Runtime:

11 min (18 fps) (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (hand-colored)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Dover, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Edison Manufacturing Company

Trivia:

The original camera negative still exists in excellent condition. The Library of Congress, who holds it, can still make new prints.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the bandits have robbed the passengers they run towards the rear of the train instead of towards the front, where their getaway locomotive is waiting. In the next shot, they are seen running towards the locomotive.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in American Gangster (2007)

A start that filmmakers should be proud of...

As an early film, this film is quite spectacular. Ok, so it's only twelve minutes, but that is twelve minutes of pure action and entertainment. When this film was made, things like special effects were hardly thought of, but notice how well the transgression from person to doll on the "throw the dead guy off the train" goes, and how nicely they have "moved the train" without moving the camera when they leave the locomotive behind.

This movie is probably the best preview to how modern westerns became, at least if you take the best twelve minutes of many westerns, the twelve where people get shot, beat up and alerted. The movie follows it's storyline perfectly, and is easy to grasp the continuance throughout the film, in all, quite a masterpiece that comes highly recommended.

Christian Lockert