Not a lot happens in this early Edison film; a young couple conduct their courtship on a train that travels through the picturesque Blue Ridge mountains and eventually take their marriage vows before the rear platform of the train. The couple spend much of the movie sitting on the rear carriage pointing at what are presumably areas of natural beauty. Even just a few years later the director would have cut away from the couple to show us what they are pointing at and commenting upon, but this being 1903 the camera remains stubbornly fixed on the pair throughout. At four and a half minutes long the film is too short to be boring, but there's certainly nothing memorable about it...
3 Reviews
Trains and Stories
Cineanalyst7 February 2010
This little and very old film isn't especially remarkable in anyway, but is another example of Edwin S. Porter and the Edison Company's early progress in producing story films. Filmed in August of 1903, Porter made "A Romance of the Rail" between his more famous "headliners": made after "Life of an American Fireman" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and before "The Great Train Robbery". 1903 was probably the pinnacle of Porter's career.
The story is supposed to be something of a comedy, with the added attraction of train travel, the latter of which was a very popular subject in early cinema. Both of these aspects require some explanation to modern viewers. Many actuality films, or proto-documentaries, were made back then; often, these were "phantom rides", with a point-of-view from the train and of the scenery. Presumably, "Romance of the Rail" would be included in programs offered by exhibitors along with "phantom rides" and other scenic views and films of trains. "The Great Train Robbery", another example of early cinema's fascination with trains, was also exhibited in similar fashion. Thus, "Romance of the Rail" features the train in every one of its six shots, and shot four is mostly an extended scenic tour. You won't see scenes like it outside of the earliest years of cinema; just when you think nothing in shot four is going to happen besides watching scenery and watching the two characters watch scenery, the camera slightly pans and a porter briefly talks to one of the main characters. Then and just as abruptly, the scene ends.
I wouldn't have more fully understood the comedy here if not for Charles Musser's research ("Before the Nickelodeon"). As he says, the film is a lighthearted spoof on advertisements by the "Lackawanna Railroad", which transported coal but advertised that its passenger trains were clean: "The Road of Anthracite" was one of their slogans, which is displayed on a sign in the film's second shot. The railroad clearly sponsored the film, so the film is an advertisement parodying promotions for the same company that the film is endorsing. Additionally, there's a marriage, and the final gag reveals tramps getting out from under the train. Going back to the clean train spoof, the tramps are well dressed and refuse a dusting off by a train attendant. The main two characters and the priest who marries them all wear white for the same purpose of playing on the train's clean image.
The story is supposed to be something of a comedy, with the added attraction of train travel, the latter of which was a very popular subject in early cinema. Both of these aspects require some explanation to modern viewers. Many actuality films, or proto-documentaries, were made back then; often, these were "phantom rides", with a point-of-view from the train and of the scenery. Presumably, "Romance of the Rail" would be included in programs offered by exhibitors along with "phantom rides" and other scenic views and films of trains. "The Great Train Robbery", another example of early cinema's fascination with trains, was also exhibited in similar fashion. Thus, "Romance of the Rail" features the train in every one of its six shots, and shot four is mostly an extended scenic tour. You won't see scenes like it outside of the earliest years of cinema; just when you think nothing in shot four is going to happen besides watching scenery and watching the two characters watch scenery, the camera slightly pans and a porter briefly talks to one of the main characters. Then and just as abruptly, the scene ends.
I wouldn't have more fully understood the comedy here if not for Charles Musser's research ("Before the Nickelodeon"). As he says, the film is a lighthearted spoof on advertisements by the "Lackawanna Railroad", which transported coal but advertised that its passenger trains were clean: "The Road of Anthracite" was one of their slogans, which is displayed on a sign in the film's second shot. The railroad clearly sponsored the film, so the film is an advertisement parodying promotions for the same company that the film is endorsing. Additionally, there's a marriage, and the final gag reveals tramps getting out from under the train. Going back to the clean train spoof, the tramps are well dressed and refuse a dusting off by a train attendant. The main two characters and the priest who marries them all wear white for the same purpose of playing on the train's clean image.
Rather Bland But Pleasant Feature
Snow Leopard20 August 2004
This rather bland but pleasant feature follows the experiences of an engaged couple who, for reasons good and sufficient to them, prefer to conduct their courting on a train. There are a number of light gags, and the atmosphere is an agreeable one, but it doesn't really have all that much to it aside from the basic idea.
It's interesting to notice how many of the earliest films involved trains. Several of the best-known films from the first decade or so of cinema revolved around trains, and so did many of the lesser-known movies. This is one of them for which the train itself is pretty much the main focus, since everything that follows is really only of interest due to the setting.
It's interesting to notice how many of the earliest films involved trains. Several of the best-known films from the first decade or so of cinema revolved around trains, and so did many of the lesser-known movies. This is one of them for which the train itself is pretty much the main focus, since everything that follows is really only of interest due to the setting.
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