The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog
About The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog
A card asks "DO YOU KNOW THIS FAMILY?" and the Dams are introduced one at a time: Mr. I.B. Dam, who sneezes; his wife; Miss U.B. Dam; Jimmy Dam, who smokes; and the younger children. Cut-out letters form the title, and a paper silhouette of the dog wags, then blows apart when firecrackers are tied to its tail. At dinner the dog, Mannie, sits in the father's chair, fights him for it, and finally yanks the tablecloth so the meal hits the floor.
Cast & crew
More about The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog
Edwin S. Porter directed and photographed it for Edison. Thomas A. Edison copyrighted it on 31 May 1905 (H61456). AFI and Silent Era date the release to July 1905. Lengths on file are 540 feet and 300 feet. Edison sold it as a picture of a postcard fad that had also been a New York vaudeville sketch. Silent Era notes that the copyright copy includes a retake of the last scene because of the dog.
Themes
Making
The letter jumble is single-frame cut-out animation, a device Porter had used two months earlier in How Jones Lost His Roll. Wikipedia describes the family makeup, beyond whiskers and blackface, as the earliest of its kind on film, used so the players would look related.
Look
Edwin S. Porter photographed the close views of each Dam and the dinner table.
Technique
Single-frame exposures animate the title letters and a paper dog whose tail wags until firecrackers blow the drawing apart.
Preservation
A paper print is in the Library of Congress.
Notes
- Silent Era's cast is Frank Daniels as Mr. I.B. Dam, May Irwin as Mrs. Dam, William Courtenay as Jimmy Dam, and Charlotte Walker as Miss U.B. Dam.
- Wikipedia times a print at 5 minutes 30 seconds.
- Edison sold 92 prints in 1905 and 136 copies within a year and a half.
- The dog is Mannie, already used in Laura Comstock's Bag-Punching Dog (1901).
- Two months later Lubin released I.B. Dam and the Whole Dam Family, close-ups only.
- A 1905 song of the same name was credited to George Totten Smith and Albert von Tilzer.
Scenes
- Each Dam is shown in close view with a name card and a bad habit.
- Paper letters assemble into the title, and the paper dog's tail is blown up.
- Mannie hauls the cloth and the dinner onto the floor.
Influenced by
- A picture-postcard series of the Dam family
- How Jones Lost His Roll (1905)
Also available
- Library of Congress (paper print collection)
Quotes
DO YOU KNOW THIS FAMILY?
