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A Romance of the Rail
Also known as {A Romance of the Rails}
(1903) United States of America
B&W : 275 feet
Directed by Edwin S. Porter
Cast: Marie Murray [Phoebe Snow]
Edison Manufacturing Company production for the Lackawanna Railroad; distributed by Edison Manufacturing Company. / Scenario by Wendell P. Colton. Cinematography by Edwin S. Porter. / © 3 October 1903 by Thomas A. Edison [H36500]. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format. / Colton was an employee of the Lackawanna. The production was shot in August 1903. Some footage was shot from a moving flatcar following the characters’ train.
Drama: Romance.
Synopsis: A young couple take a romantic trip on the train, then are married. // [From Edison promotional materials] A series of railroad scenes of novel and amusing interest. It opens with a view of an imposing station showing a pretty girl, dressed in white, seated on a trunk awaiting the arrival of her train. A young man approaches, also dressed in white, and the two immediately fall in love. The Lackawanna Limited then rolls into the station and the Pullman porter helps the couple aboard. As the Limited pulls out the pair are seen on the observation platform waving adieu to their friends. The picture later shows the train rushing sixty miles an hour through the famous Delaware Water Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, with the young couple enjoying the passing scenery. As Delaware Water Gap station is reached a porter appears with his brush, but the young people protest that the journey has been so free from dust that there is no need for his services. The climax comes when the young man, who has become more and more infatuated, secures a minister and the marriage ceremony takes place on the rear platform. The picture shows them leaving the train on arrival at the Gap, and a little humor is added at the end by the appearance of two tramps from beneath the trucks of the observation car dressed in full evening clothes, who become indignant at the offer of the porter to brush them off, as their trip has been entirely free from soot and dust. The series is full of snappy train scenes and is certain to provoke a laugh. (This subject was taken on the lines of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, and we are indebted to the officials of the road for facilities courteously furnished while making the picture.) Length 275 feet. Class B. Price 33.00.
Survival status: Print exists in the Library of Congress film archive (paper print collection) [35mm paper positive (LC 2174), 35mm reference positive (FEB 9429)].
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: Courtship - Handkerchiefs - Hats: Top hats - Kissing - Marriages - Outdoor scenes - Railroads: Railroad tracks - Religion: Priests - Signage - Spats - Suitcases - Trains: Train stations, Train tracks - Trunks
Listing updated: 12 April 2024.
References: Film viewing : Bohn-Light p. 18; Fell-History pp. 47, 48; Niver-First pp. 41-42 : Website-AFI; Website-IMDb; Website-LoC.
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