Divers at Work on the Wreck of the "Maine"
About Divers at Work on the Wreck of the "Maine"
The wreck of the USS Maine lies on the bottom of Havana harbor. Three divers in standard dress, air hoses running up out of frame, reach the ship and find a corpse. They tie a rope around its waist. The body is hauled toward the surface while they keep searching the wreck.
Cast & crew
More about Divers at Work on the Wreck of the "Maine"
Georges Méliès staged it as one of four reconstructed actualities on the Spanish-American War. Star Film catalogue number 147, advertised as plongeurs et poissons vivants, divers and real fish. An aquarium stood between the camera and the actors so live fish crossed the frame, and a painted gauze softened the view. The corpse is a mannequin. The film runs 20 meters. It played at the Théâtre Robert-Houdin with the other war subjects. Warwick Trading Company handled it in Britain.
Themes
Background
The USS Maine blew up in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. Méliès sold this staged visit to the wreck the same year, while the Spanish-American War was the news.
Making
Méliès put a tank of real fish in front of the lens instead of trying to photograph a dive. The gauze and the aquarium do the water.
Technique
Live fish in a tank in front of the lens stand in for an underwater photograph.
Preservation
A print from the Paisley Philosophical Institution in Scotland was given to the National Film Library in London, now the BFI National Archive, in the 1930s.
Notes
- The French title is Visite sous-marine du Maine.
- British release titles include Divers at Work on a Wreck Under Sea and Divers at Work on a Wreck Under Water.
- The American title names the Maine. The British titles do not.
- The hoses on the diving suits tangle near the end of the shot.
Scenes
- The divers rope the mannequin corpse and send it up while fish pass between them and the lens.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Visite sous-marine du "Maine" (1898).webm)
