MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Down 17,762 this week

Electrocuting an Elephant (1903)

3.6
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 3.6/10 from 653 users  
Reviews: 26 user | 1 critic

This is a film taken of the execution of Topsy, an elephant employed to help build Luna Park on Coney Island. She had killed three men, including a drunken spectator who fed her a cigarette... See full summary »

0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 2383 titles created 7 months ago
 
a list of 30 titles created 11 months ago
 
a list of 43 titles created 09 Mar 2012
 
a list of 832 titles created 24 Oct 2011
 
a list of 1042 titles created 10 Mar 2012
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Electrocuting an Elephant (1903)

Electrocuting an Elephant (1903) on IMDb 3.6/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Electrocuting an Elephant.
Edit

Cast

Credited cast:
Thomas A. Edison ...
Himself
Topsy ...
Herself
Edit

Storyline

This is a film taken of the execution of Topsy, an elephant employed to help build Luna Park on Coney Island. She had killed three men, including a drunken spectator who fed her a cigarette. Cyanide-laced carrots fed to her by park officials failed, and the ASPCA forbade a hanging. Thomas Edison, meanwhile, had been publicly killing dogs and cats with AC power to show that his DC power was more effective and less dangerous. Edison performed the execution of Topsy and captured it on film, though the brief short shows only the event, and not the background behind it. It makes a disturbing sight, particularly embedded in Errol Morris's Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.. Written by Scott Andrew Hutchins <scottandrewh@home.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Genres:

Documentary | Short

Edit

Details

Country:

Release Date:

12 January 1903 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Electrocution of an Elephant  »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the very few films released by the Edison Manufacturing Company for which Thomas Edison played an active role in its production. See more »

Connections

Referenced in QI: Electricity (2007) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Despicable
16 February 2006 | by (Halifax, Nova Scotia) – See all my reviews

This vicious little film is horrendous. My low rating for it comes for two main reasons. The first is that it is an animal snuff film and I find that whole concept so vile it turns my stomach. Filmed over a hundred years ago, I can only hope that we've evolved into something a little more humane and compassionate. This film is complete and utter exploitation, made to cash in on the sensational aspects of the film and the subject. Historical interest aside, this is something to watch only if one finds themselves in the grip of morbid fascination.

Reason number two? Look at the way that the camera is set up. It is placed in the best possible location to fully capture the full effect: long march forward of the elephant, perfect view of the electrocution platform and a cold and clinically dispassionate viewpoint of the elephant with smoke coming out of it before it finally collapses. Sickening.

Thomas Edison did many great things for civilization and his talents and intelligence aren't in doubt. Nobody is perfect, but when you realize that this film provided A) an opportunity for him to trump early cinematic competitors with a sensationalist film of an elephant being electrocuted and B) he filmed the execution to demonstrate the greater effectiveness of DC as opposed to AC, you can't help but wonder if the scientist in him was a little TOO dispassionate and cold. Any number of Peter Cushing's mad scientists would be proud. The rest of us should be ashamed and revolted.


17 of 26 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
BACK OFF. GrEmLiN-X
It wasn't Edison's idea to kill Topsy.... stokepogue2001
I was horrified by this film Localfreak
Discuss Electrocuting an Elephant (1903) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page