rec.arts.movies.past-films

Here are excerpts from some very brief "movie reviews" that appeared
in January 1905 issues of the Hartford (CT) Courant, preceded by the
publication date and the exhibitor's name (all shows were at the
Hartford Opera House except where noted):

02 Harstn - The usual large crowd of admirers was on hand ... This
company always has an entertaining program and last night's views were
no exception. Request numbers including "The Yegg Bank Robbery" and
the latest feature, "The Strike," were given.

09 Harstn - Features last evening were "An Airship Tragedy" and "The
Strike," with others of a comical character, together with an old
favorite, "The Deserter."

09 Sherman - Sherman's moving pictures were shown at the Parsons
Theater Saturday afternoon and evening and last night. There were fair
sized audiences at the performances Saturday and last night the house
was filled with a fine audience. The picture machine is operated by
Manager Sherman and the views were very clear. The last picture,
called "An Impossible Voyage," is regarded as the best series ever
taken and the film is 900 feet long. Another good picture is "The
Tricky Thief."

13 Sherwood Aggregation - The pictures shown were of a humorous,
instructive and pathetic nature and most of them had been shown here
before. The pictures which pleased the most were those depicting the
mishaps of an automobilist, a man hunt and a lynching of a typical
southern nature, the man being burned alive, and a set of pictures
about a poor woman, with two children, who was evicted from her
miserable tenement room by her landlord, and her final rescue through
the intervention of a kind-hearted young woman of the more fortunate
class. =B6 The illustrated songs were well sung and pleased as well as
the pictures. The engagement was for yesterday only.

16 Harstn - The entertainment was longer than usual, but every view
shown met with applause. There were many features, prominent among
them being incidents in the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, following his
career from his school days, through his many campaigns and his
coronation and to his death. "Boxing Horses," views of Switzerland and
the new and popular picture, "The Chicken Thief," were included.

16 Sherman - Sherman Moving Pictures, which are shown every Sunday
evening at Parsons's Theater, pleased a large audience last evening.
This form of entertainment seems popular in this city. To break the
monotony of two hours of the pictures several illustrated ballads were
sung by Alfredo Mayo of Boston, baritone, and Miss Malvina Murphy of
this city, soprano. The songs were illustrated with colored
stereopticon pictures from photographs which carried the onlooker
through various parts of the country and situations according to the
story of the songs. The singers were in good voice, too, and judging
from the applause were successful in attaining the aimed-at effects.
But why is it that the popular-ballad singers find it necessary to
hold each note through one or more entire breaths? Perhaps it's to
give time to change the pictures. =B6 Pictures of all kinds of things,
mysterious, humorous and wonderful, were shown last night. The
cineomatograph [sic] makes all sorts of wonderful effects possible
because the films may be cut and pasted together again anywhere. So we
see Lorentzian surgeons cut off the arms and legs and head of a man,
take out his heart and a string of frankfurters and put them all back
again as good as ever. When the laughing passenger finds that he has
nudged a woman in the ribs instead of a man who he thought was next to
him he appropriately falls through the floor of the street car. Among
the best pictures were those of bucking bronchos and races by Indians
and cowboys, the adventures of a tramp on a farm and "The Interrupted
Flirtation."

23 Harstn - The entertainment lasted until 10:30 but every picture
shown met with approval. Two special features were "Jack and the
Beanstalk," and "The Making of a Newspaper." The latter gave many a
good insight into the mysteries of a large daily, commencing with the
editorial rooms, views were given of every department, including the
street distribution.

23 Sherman (at Parsons) - Some good views were shown, especially of
the humorous sort. One of the best [apparently "The Widow and the Only
Man"] was the story of a love affair between a young man and a young
widow. The affair started at "the shore" where the young man was the
only thing in trousers on the beach. Against stiff competition the
widow won him. He took her out in a canoe in the surf one day and they
tipped over. The brave young man brought her safe to shore. While she
was recovering from her load of sea water and fright he sent her
flowers. He had to leave suddenly, however, and when next the widow
saw him the young man was yelling "Cash" from behind a ribbon counter.
She swooned at the sight. A series of pictures of strong moral effect
depicted the ravages of strong drink. The happy home of a workman
surrounded by his family is broken up and all are forced to live in
rags in a garret when the head of the family falls to spending his
wages in the public house. Finally he falls drunk on the floor one
night, after smashing the furniture, gets the D. T.'s and dies raving
in the padded cell.

30 Harstn - The Harstn company made its twentieth consecutive
appearance at the Hartford Opera House last evening with moving
pictures. Three new series were shown, namely, "The Train Murder,"
"Japanese Wrestling" and "The Lover's Crime." Other views given were
those featured on previous dates. ... While some of the views had been
seen before, all were interesting.

30 Sherman - The Parsons Theater was comfortably filled ... An
entirely new set of views was shown. One of the most realistic and
thrilling in its lifelikeness was the series showing a murder, pursuit
and lynching. Judging from the appearance of the country and of the
people it is supposed to have happened in the South. Striking a woman
down and robbing her, the murderer runs across fields, through
buildings, and over half a county until his pursuers finally catch him
in a barn and overpower him. He is next shown being dragged to a tree
at the scene of the crime, tied, shot and burned. The applause seemed
to indicate the audience's approval of the method of summary
punishment. Another opinion held by the onlookers broke out in hisses
when the Russian flag appeared in a magicians' [sic] manipulations.
Considerable insight into the state of public opinion may be secured
at a moving picture show.