Capture of Boer Battery by British
About Capture of Boer Battery by British
For about a minute, men dressed as Gordon Highlanders hold a position while Boer rifle fire comes in. The action was staged for the camera. It is not a record of a battle in South Africa.
Cast & crew
More about Capture of Boer Battery by British
James H. White produced the short for Edison. It was filmed in West Orange, New Jersey, and released on April 14, 1900. Edison sold it as a picture of the South African War.
Themes
Background
Britain and the Boer republics were at war from 1899 to 1902. American companies staged short battle pictures for vaudeville and penny arcades while the cables were still carrying the campaign.
Making
White's unit dressed extras as Highlanders on the West Orange grounds and sold the result as war news.
Look
James H. White's Edison crew filmed the staged skirmish outdoors in West Orange.
Preservation
A print survives.
Notes
- The Second Boer War was still being fought when Edison released the short.
- The Highlanders and the Boer fire are acted in New Jersey, not photographed at the front.
Scenes
- The Highlanders take incoming fire in a one-minute skirmish filmed in New Jersey.
Also available
- Internet Archive (capture-of-boer-battery-by-british-1900-directed-by-james-h.-white)
- Wikimedia Commons (Capture of Boer Battery by British 1900 James H White Thomas Edison.webm)
