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The Burglar’s Slide for Life
(1905) United States of America
B&W : [?] 265 or 335? feet
Directed by [?] Edwin S. Porter?
Cast: Mannie the dog
Edison Manufacturing Company production; distributed by Edison Manufacturing Company. / Cinematography by Edwin S. Porter. / © 28 April 1905 by Thomas A. Edison [H60117]. Released July 1905. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Comedy.
Synopsis: [From Edison promotional materials] The first scene shows the interior of a room in an apartment house. A burglar enters and seeing a portable vapor bath in the corner gets into it to hide. Presently two ladies enter. One is the lady of the house and she is evidently showing her friend through the rooms. The new vapor bath interests her friend, so she lights the lamp and explains how it is operated. Soon, the steam begins to come out of the top of the bath. Out jumps the burglar, carrying the cloth sides with him, and makes his escape by jumping through the window. The ladies now call the dog, who rushes into the room and follows the burglar. In jumping out of the window the burglar seizes a clothes line stretched from the house to a pole in the back yard and endeavors to reach the ground by a succession of slides from floor to floor. In the meantime the dog follows suit and finally overtakes the burglar in mid-air and securely fastens his teeth in the burglar's trousers. They both finally drop to the ground together and after a struggle the burglar manages to free himself and climbs to the top of a ten-foot fence. The excitement has aroused the whole neighborhood and in every back yard window a man or woman is leaning out cheering and yelling encouragement to the dog. Reaching the top of the fence the burglar stops to get his breath and imagining himself perfectly safe he turns round and puts his fingers to his nose. In an instant the dog is after him again and before he can move the dog leaps to the top of the fence and pulls him back into the yard. While the dog keeps his hold the women beat the burglar with brooms, to the intense delight of all. Fully described in Circular No. 254.
Survival status: Prints exist in the Library of Congress film archive; and in the UCLA Film and Television Archive film archive.
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 15 April 2024.
References: Musser-Emerge pp. 393, 599; Robinson-Palace p. 125 : Website-AFI; Website-IMDb.
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