9th Infantry Boys' Morning Wash (1898) User Reviews

Good Edison short

[Michael_Elliott · 14 March 2009]

9th Infantry Boys' Morning Wash (1898)

*** (out of 4)

Part of Edison's "War Extra" series, which lead to various shorts being done on the military during 1898. This one here runs a very short 27-seconds but it's also one of the most fascinating. We see dozens of men standing over a pail of water with wash clothes scrubbing away at themselves. Once again, if you're looking for entertainment then you're not going to find it here in the traditional sense of the word. These type of films work best as a historical document and that's why this one here is so interesting. I'm not sure how many people has ever wondered how the soldiers took a bath back then but this film here shows you that just in case you were interested.

Washing boys

[rbverhoef · 6/10 · 2 August 2006]

Not the most original single shot film, '9th Infantry Boys' Morning Wash' shows us exactly that for about thirty seconds. Interesting, but without any imagination.

From its first film the Edison Manufacturing Company has produced over a thousand of short films. The most famous is probably 'The Great Train Robbery', considered to be the first western, even though it was shot in New Jersey. The Brothers Lumière and Georges Méliès did their part in developing the cinema in France, Edison and later D.W. Griffith were their American counterparts.

As for the single shot films from the Edison Manufacturing Company, they are all historically interesting. For some reason those from Lumière have a higher entertainment value, if that's what you should call it, but that does not mean they are more important. The Edison Manufacturing Company's short films existing out of multiple scenes belong to the highpoint of American cinema.