President McKinley's Inauguration

Plot

This historic short film captures the inauguration ceremony of William McKinley as the 25th President of the United States on March 4, 1897. The footage documents McKinley taking the oath of office on the east portico of the U.S. Capitol, surrounded by dignitaries and crowds. The film shows the formal proceedings including the presidential oath and inaugural address, marking a significant moment in American political history. As one of the earliest motion pictures of a presidential event, it preserves the pomp and ceremony of late 19th-century American governance for posterity.

Historical Background

The film was created during the Gilded Age, a period of rapid industrialization and technological innovation in America. 1897 marked the beginning of McKinley's presidency, which would oversee the Spanish-American War and American expansion into global power status. The motion picture industry itself was in its infancy, with Thomas Edison and competitors like the American Mutoscope Company racing to develop and commercialize film technology. This period saw the emergence of actuality films - short documentaries of real events - as a popular form of entertainment. The inauguration took place during a time of increasing American prosperity and confidence, with the country emerging from the economic depression of the 1890s. The film captured not just a presidential ceremony, but a nation on the cusp of the 20th century, embracing new technologies that would define the coming era.

Making Of

The filming of McKinley's inauguration represented a significant achievement in early cinema, requiring coordination between the American Mutoscope Company and federal authorities. The camera equipment of 1897 was cumbersome, requiring multiple operators and careful positioning to capture the ceremony without obstructing views or disrupting proceedings. The filmmakers had to obtain special permission from the Capitol police and inauguration committee to set up their equipment. The Mutograph camera used for this film employed a unique mechanical system that advanced the film using a claw mechanism, providing smoother motion than earlier cameras. The footage was likely processed and developed on-site or nearby to ensure quick distribution to the public. This production helped establish the precedent for filming presidential events, though it would be several years before presidents regularly appeared in motion pictures.

Visual Style

The cinematography of this 1897 film reflects the technical limitations and aesthetic conventions of early cinema. The camera was positioned in a fixed location, likely on a platform or tripod, providing a single static viewpoint of the inauguration ceremony. The composition shows the formal arrangement of the ceremony, with McKinley and other officials visible on the Capitol portico. The film was shot in black and white, as color technology would not be developed for decades. The frame rate was likely between 16-24 frames per second, typical of the era, resulting in somewhat jerky motion by modern standards. The 68mm film stock used by the American Mutoscope Company provided relatively high image quality for the time, though the footage appears grainy and lacks fine detail by contemporary standards. The camera's wide angle captures both the central figures and the surrounding crowd, emphasizing the scale and importance of the event.

Innovations

This film represents several important technical achievements for its era. The use of the American Mutoscope Company's Mutograph camera, which employed 68mm film, provided superior image quality compared to Edison's 35mm format. The successful filming of an outdoor political ceremony demonstrated the increasing portability and reliability of motion picture equipment. The production showcased early location filming techniques, overcoming challenges of lighting, weather, and crowd management. The film's preservation of a significant historical event demonstrated cinema's potential as a documentary medium. The rapid processing and exhibition of the footage showed the growing efficiency of film production and distribution systems. This production also helped establish technical protocols for filming official events, including camera placement and crowd management techniques that would influence future political and news filmmaking.

Music

As was typical for films of 1897, this production was completely silent. No musical score or sound effects were originally recorded or synchronized with the visuals. During exhibition in Mutoscope parlors, the viewing experience was purely visual, with no audio accompaniment. If the film was shown in early theater exhibitions, it might have been accompanied by live piano music or orchestra, though specific details about any musical accompaniment are not documented. The lack of sound was a standard limitation of the technology of the era, and audiences of the time were accustomed to silent moving images. The absence of audio means that modern viewers must imagine the sounds of the inauguration ceremony - the oath of office, applause, and inaugural address that would have accompanied the visual proceedings.

Memorable Scenes

• The moment when President McKinley stands to take the oath of office, captured on film for the first time in presidential history

What Critics Said

Contemporary reception of the film was largely focused on its novelty as a technological achievement rather than its artistic or documentary merits. Newspapers of the era reported on the filming as an example of modern innovation, with some publications expressing amazement that the presidential inauguration could be captured and reproduced through moving images. Film trade journals praised the technical execution given the limitations of 1897 equipment. Modern film historians and archivists recognize the film as a crucial historical document, though they note that its brief running time and limited camera movement reflect the primitive state of cinema at the time. The film is now studied as an important example of early documentary filmmaking and the beginnings of political media coverage.

What Audiences Thought

Audiences in 1897 were fascinated by the ability to see real events and people captured in motion, and the presidential inauguration film was particularly compelling due to its subject matter. The film was likely shown in Mutoscope parlors and early film exhibitions, where viewers paid a penny to watch through individual viewing machines. Many spectators had never seen the President in person, making the moving image a remarkable experience. The film's novelty value was high, as most early cinema featured staged scenes or everyday activities rather than significant political events. Contemporary accounts suggest that viewers were impressed by the clarity of the image and the historical importance of what they were witnessing. The film helped establish public appetite for newsreels and actuality films that would become a staple of early cinema programming.

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