Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel | 1900 | Comedy, Short

Title: Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel | 1900 | Comedy, Short Director: Edwin S. Porter Studio: Edison Manufacturing Company Starring: Charles Manley Release Date: March 1900 Runtime: 1 Format: Silent, black-and-white, 35mm, 1.33:1 Country: United States Language: Silent Genres: Comedy, Short, Trick film --- Chapters: 00:00:00 Arrival at the haunted room 00:00:20 Inspecting the bed and furnishings 00:00:45 Ghostly mischief and confusion 00:01:05 Final fright and aftermath --- Summary: A country gentleman, Uncle Josh, is shown to his hotel room by the manager, who warns him of a rumored midnight apparition. Moments later, a ghost materializes and vanishes through trick effects, landing slaps that each man blames on the other, escalating into comic scuffles. The film uses stop-action and substitution effects to stage the ghost’s pranks, building a light slapstick routine around misunderstanding and surprise rather than sustained narrative. Its playful treatment of the supernatural aligns with early “trick” comedies that showcased cinematic illusion. --- Background: Produced and released by the Edison Manufacturing Company, Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel is one of the earliest entries featuring the recurring character Uncle Josh, portrayed by Charles Manley. Photographed in black-and-white on 35mm and attributed to Edwin S. Porter, the short exemplifies early studio “trick” filmmaking and the emergence of recurring screen characters in the nickelodeon era. --- Trivia: A paper print of the film survives in the Library of Congress collection. The film’s original length was approximately 80 feet, typical for Edison one-shot comedies of the period. Copyright was registered to Thomas A. Edison on March 21, 1900 under number D6367. Uncle Josh also appears in Uncle Josh’s Nightmare and Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show , forming an early recurring-character series. --- Public Domain / Rights: Original Release: March 1900 Original Studio / Distributor: Edison Manufacturing Company Copyright Status: Public Domain Renewal: No --- Hashtags: UncleJosh SilentFilm EdwinSPorter Edison PublicDomain 1900 Comedy TrickFilm ClassicCinema This video was sourced from Internet Archive. Originally uploaded by jake@archive.org. https://archive.org/details/silent-uncle-josh-in-a-spooky-hotel