J. Stuart Blackton, media mogul, director and an early toiler in the field of movie animation, made his first animated movie in 1896, SKETCHES and this one, more than a decade later, a year before Emile Cohl was getting started in France. Although films were getting sophisticated, animated films were just starting out, because of the costs: each frame had to be drawn by hand. It would be another half dozen years before Bray and Hurd would begin to patent their labor-saving devices and bring down the costs. In the meantime, pieces like this one, which built upon stage caricaturists, were brief novelties. This one was only a minute and a half in length.
Modern viewers may well be offended by offensive words and images. Even worse, some one smokes a cigar.
Modern viewers may well be offended by offensive words and images. Even worse, some one smokes a cigar.