A Nymph of the Waves
About A Nymph of the Waves
Catarina Bartho dances in ballet slippers, a large white hat, and a long white dress, lifting the skirt as she turns. The figure is a double exposure. Her 1899 dance film, M'lle. Cathrina Bartho, is laid over Upper Rapids, from Bridge, shot in 1896, so the water appears to run under her feet.
Cast & crew
More about A Nymph of the Waves
Frederick S. Armitage produced the one-minute short for American Mutoscope and Biograph in 1900 and is credited as director. It is a superimposition of two earlier Biograph subjects: the dancer film M'lle. Cathrina Bartho (1899) and the water film Upper Rapids, from Bridge (1896).
Themes
Making
Biograph printed the 1899 dance negative over the 1896 rapids negative. The dancer never shares a set with the water.
Look
Armitage combined two existing Biograph negatives. The dance stays sharp while the rapids move behind and under the figure.
Technique
A double exposure joins a 1899 dance film to a 1896 view of rapids.
Music
Silent.
Preservation
A print survives.
Notes
- Bartho holds the skirt edges and kicks. A dark garter shows on one leg.
- The water plate is four years older than the dance plate.
- Armitage is better known as a director. This is one of the few films credited to him as producer.
- The trick is a double exposure, not a dancer standing in a tank.
- A print survives.
Scenes
- Bartho turns in the white dress while the 1896 rapids run through the same frame.
Influenced by
- M'lle. Cathrina Bartho (1899)
- Upper Rapids, from Bridge (1896)
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (A Nymph of the Waves (1900).webm)
