What Happened in the Tunnel
About What Happened in the Tunnel
In a railroad car a Black maid, played by Bertha Regustus, sits beside a white woman while Gilbert M. Anderson, behind them, returns a dropped handkerchief and starts to flirt. The train enters a tunnel and the picture fades out. When it fades in, the women have switched seats and he is kissing the maid. He sits down, and the two women laugh.
Cast & crew
More about What Happened in the Tunnel
Edwin S. Porter directed and photographed it. Edison produced it, and Edison and Kleine Optical distributed it. The release date is November 6, 1903. It runs about 1 minute. The tunnel is a fade to black, and the women change places while the screen is dark.
Themes
Look
Edwin S. Porter shot the gag in one carriage set and covered the change of seats with a fade to black.
Technique
The tunnel is not a location. The fade-out is the dark, and the women trade places before the fade-in.
Preservation
A print survives and has been digitized.
Notes
- Anderson later worked as Broncho Billy.
- Kleine Optical shared the distribution with Edison.
- Regustus is credited as the maid. The white woman is not named in the cast list.
- The gag is the switch of seats, not a fight in the dark.
Scenes
- The picture goes black in the tunnel and comes back on Anderson kissing the maid.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (What Happened in the Tunnel (1903) - yt.webm)
