Hadj Cheriff
About Hadj Cheriff
In the Black Maria at West Orange, Hadji L. Cheriff holds a large knife, throws it aside, and goes into a run of cartwheels and spins. William K. L. Dickson produced the kinetoscope film. William Heise was the cameraman. They filmed it on 6 October 1894. The Library of Congress also lists it as Hadji Cheriff, and Charles Musser's variant title is Arab Knife Juggler.
Cast & crew
More about Hadj Cheriff
Edison catalogue MU 75. GRIMH gives the length as 50 feet and the place as the Black Maria. Wikidata times it at 20 seconds. Heise cranked the camera. Dickson is the production credit on the Library of Congress record. No copyright registration is noted on that record.
Themes
Making
The Black Maria's black interior and sun-aimed roof are the whole set. Cheriff performs in the open space in front of the camera, with no plot around the knife and the cartwheels.
Look
William Heise filmed Cheriff in the Black Maria on 6 October 1894, against the studio's black backdrop.
Preservation
A paper print is at the Library of Congress, digital id edmp.4027, from the Gordon Hendricks Collection. A file is on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- The performer is billed Hadji L. Cheriff.
- A Mexico City showing on 7 February 1895, by John R. Roslyn, used the title Ejercicios árabes.
- The Library of Congress paper print is in the Gordon Hendricks Collection, digital id edmp.4027.
- The act starts with the knife and then leaves it for the tumbling.
- A Commons file uses the title Hadj Cheriff (1894).
Scenes
- Cheriff holds the knife, throws it away, and turns into a run of cartwheels and spins.
Also available
- Library of Congress (edmp.4027)
- Wikimedia Commons (Hadj Cheriff (1894).webm)
