The Little Train Robbery
About The Little Train Robbery
In a robbers' den hung with portraits of criminals, a Bandit Queen calls for volunteers and picks seven children. They steal ponies from a barn, block a miniature railroad with cross ties, and hide. When the train stops, a bandit knocks the engineer out with an axe. The gang takes candy and dolls from the passengers. Police close in. A confederate comes out of the woods, cuts a rope, and gets the Bandit Queen away.
Cast & crew
More about The Little Train Robbery
Edwin S. Porter directed the parody of his own The Great Train Robbery (1903). The robbers are children. The sets are a miniature railroad and a playhouse. He shot it in August 1905 at Olympia Park, near Connellsville, Pennsylvania. Edison Manufacturing and the Kleine Optical Company released it in 1905. A circulating copy runs 10 minutes 29 seconds. Wikidata lists 12 minutes.
Themes
Making
Porter took a children's railroad in a Pennsylvania park and staged the 1903 robbery beats on it: ties on the track, a stopped engine, a passenger holdup, a chase.
Music
Silent.
Preservation
A print survives. One circulating copy runs 10 minutes 29 seconds.
Notes
- The den walls are covered with pictures of famous bandit jobs.
- The loot is candy and dolls, not cash or watches.
- Two of the police are hung with revolvers, knives, and cartridge belts.
- The last gag is a confederate cutting the Bandit Queen free.
- Porter reused the holdup shape of the 1903 film and changed the scale.
Scenes
- The children lay cross ties on the little railroad and wait in the bushes.
- A bandit knocks the engineer down with an axe and the gang collects candy and dolls.
- A confederate cuts the rope and takes the Bandit Queen into the woods.
Influenced by
- The Great Train Robbery (1903)
Also available
- Internet Archive (TheLittleTrainRobbery1905SilentFilm)
- Wikimedia Commons (The Little Train Robbery (1905).webm)
