The Burglar's Slide for Life
About The Burglar's Slide for Life
A burglar hides in a portable vapor bath in an apartment. Two women light the lamp, steam pours out, and he bursts through the cloth and jumps out the window. He slides down a clothesline toward the yard. Mannie, the Edison dog, follows, catches his trousers in mid-air, and the two drop together. The burglar climbs a fence and thumbs his nose. The dog pulls him back, and the women beat him with brooms.
Cast & crew
More about The Burglar's Slide for Life
Edwin S. Porter photographed it on 14 and 17 April 1905 at the Edison studio in New York City. Thomas A. Edison copyrighted it on 28 April 1905 (H60117). Edison released it in July 1905. The Edison catalog, number 288, gives the length as 265 feet. AFI also lists 335 feet.
Themes
Look
Edwin S. Porter photographed the apartment interior and the tenement-yard set.
Preservation
Prints are at the Library of Congress, in the paper print collection, and at the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Notes
- Mannie, the Edison dog, is the named performer.
- Silent Era marks Porter's director credit as uncertain and credits him with the camera, which matches the AFI listing.
- The Library of Congress holds a paper print. UCLA also has a print.
- The Edison catalog says most of the chase is a backyard set of a three-story tenement, with neighbors leaning out of windows.
Scenes
- Steam drives the burglar out of the vapor bath and through the window.
- Mannie clamps onto his trousers as he slides the clothesline.
- The women beat him with brooms after the dog pulls him off the fence.
Also available
- Library of Congress (paper print collection)
- UCLA Film and Television Archive
