How They Rob Men in Chicago | 1900 | Comedy-Drama, Crime

Title: How They Rob Men in Chicago | 1900 | Comedy-Drama, Crime Director: Wallace McCutcheon Studio: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company Release Date: April 1900 Runtime: 0.5 Format: Silent, black-and-white Country: United States Language: Silent Genres: Comedy-Drama, Crime --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Street scene 00:00:05 Passing glances 00:00:12 Ambush 00:00:18 Pockets rifled 00:00:24 Policeman takes watch --- Summary: On a city street, a well-dressed gentleman is distracted by a passing woman. A lurking thug seizes the moment, strikes him from behind, and robs him as he collapses to the pavement. A uniformed policeman arrives, surveys the unconscious victim, and quietly removes an additional possession before walking away. The vignette delivers a brisk, satirical jab at urban crime and official indifference. --- Background: Produced by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, the film was photographed at the company’s rooftop studio at 841 Broadway in New York City and released in April 1900. Extremely brief and staged as a single-shot street tableau, it reflects Biograph’s early emphasis on concise burlesque situations and was part of the company’s output during the mutoscope era, when films were often exhibited via peep-show viewers as well as on projected programs. --- Trivia: The scenario was summarized in the Biograph catalog as a burlesque of Chicago highwaymen, culminating with a policeman who takes the victim’s property and walks on. Camera work is credited to Arthur Marvin, a frequent Biograph cinematographer of the period. Surviving descriptions indicate a running length of roughly 25–30 seconds, consistent with very short subjects made for mutoscope exhibition. Alternate title records list “How They Entertain Strangers in Chicago.” A U.S. copyright entry for the picture was filed by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. on April 10, 1902 . --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Release: April 1900 Original Studio / Distributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. Copyright Status: Public Domain Renewal: Unknown --- Hashtags: HowTheyRobMenInChicago 1900 SilentFilm Biograph AmericanMutoscope WallaceMcCutcheon EarlyCinema PublicDomain FilmHistory ShortFilm This video was sourced from Internet Archive. Originally uploaded by jake@archive.org. https://archive.org/details/silent-how-they-rob-men-in-chicago