Lone Fisherman
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About Lone Fisherman
A young fisherman sits on a plank over the water, waiting for a bite. A practical joker pulls out the stone that holds the other end, and the fisherman drops in. A couple in a carriage stops to laugh. The joker jumps in after him.
Cast & crew
More about Lone Fisherman
James H. White directed it for Edison. William Heise was the cameraman. The Library of Congress dates the filming to early September 1896 and places it in Fanwood, New Jersey. The Edison catalog, number 105, describes the fisherman on the plank and the joker taking the stone. Thomas A. Edison is the producer in the AFI credits. The gag is taken from the painting Fisherman’s Luck by James Maffit.
Themes
Making
White and Heise staged a single outdoor gag rather than a studio trick. The camera stays put while the plank, the stone, and the splash do the work.
Look
William Heise cranked a fixed camera on the plank, the joker, and the drop into the water.
Preservation
The Library of Congress holds a 35mm viewing print of 109 feet in the Gordon Hendricks Collection.
Notes
- AFI also lists the title The Lone Fisherman, and lengths of 150 feet and 115 feet.
- The Library of Congress viewing print is 109 feet, renumbered from FEC 8075 to FYA 1133, and is timed at 58 seconds when run at 30 frames a second.
- AFI’s synopsis adds a couple who stop their carriage to laugh, and the joker jumping in after the fisherman.
- The record places the print in the Gordon Hendricks Collection.
Scenes
- The joker pulls the stone, the plank drops, and the fisherman falls in.
- A couple stops a carriage to laugh, and the joker jumps in after him.
Influenced by
- James Maffit's painting Fisherman's Luck
Also available
- Library of Congress (00694129)
