The Great Train Robbery is a 1903 western directed by Edwin s. Porter and starring Justus D. Barnes, Broncho Billy Anderson, and Walter Cameron. It’s widely regarded as the first American Western blockbuster and one of the earliest true action films.
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[00:00:03] Step right up ladies and gents, a show for the ages, a spectacle of silent silver. Gather round folks, don't be shy. A real humdinger of a picture of eight, thrills, chills and plenty of laughs. From the golden days of flickering reels and grand Nickelodeons comes a program most extraordinary. A real corker of a show, a top-notch talkie about a world with no talk at all. It's Casabloga Silent Treatment.
[00:00:42] Where A Trip to the Moon was the first full narrative arc in film. The Great Train Robbery was the first film with full action scenes, as well as cross-cutting between multiple locations, such as the outlaws and the posse chasing them down. From the second this film begins, it moves and doesn't stop until the final showdown at the end.
[00:01:04] Then ends with Justice D. Barnes unloading a six-shooter at the audience, one of the most famous clips from the era. Some exhibitors place that shot at the beginning instead of at the end. By modern standards, the film is very straightforward. Not a second was wasted on character development or comedic detours.
[00:01:28] It begins with the outlaws tying up the telegraph operator, then immediately sneak onto the train. Audience at the time were not used to so much motion in films. It was essentially that era's Fast and Furious. Plus, shooting directly at the camera was the equivalent of a jump scare.
[00:01:51] So, this movie is more straightforward than most of the movies in this season will be. In fact, I honestly don't have much to say that hasn't already been said, which I guess I could say for most of these movies. I mean, these movies are over 100 years old. What hasn't been said about them?
[00:02:13] But this movie in particular, it's about as straightforward as a movie can possibly be. So, instead, I'm going to mostly talk about what this film led to. It was essentially the beginning of the Western films. And also, action films.
[00:02:37] But more specifically, Western films. If it wasn't for the Great Train Robbery, we potentially may never have gotten John Wayne or Bonanza.
[00:02:56] And instead of the fantasy surrealism of A Trip to the Moon, audiences were treated to realistic scenarios that some of them may have even lived through at that time. Because train robberies were pretty common. Because trains were pretty common. Well, that kind of train. Nowadays, it's subways.
[00:03:18] And I don't think those get robbed in much the same way as those old trains were back in the steam locomotive days. So, in a way, this film was more shocking than A Trip to the Moon would have been in that time. And before I end the episode, I will say something that I think is a little funny. I don't know.
[00:03:45] I guess I somehow misspoke in the previous episode when I was talking about the length of A Trip to the Moon. I said it was 16 minutes long. I'm guessing the version on Max is 16 minutes long. But that one has additional titles at the beginning. Kind of explaining the context. And there's credit at the end.
[00:04:06] And the actual movie itself that's presented on YouTube, which is just the movie itself, is 12 minutes and 51 seconds long. And the episode I did is 13 minutes and 49 seconds long. Which means that for the first and potentially only time in this show's history, the episode was longer than the movie it was covering. Which, I don't know.
[00:04:35] I think that's kind of funny. And cut. Step right up, folks. Don't let the show end here. If you enjoyed tonight's picture, there's plenty more waiting just beyond the curtain. Follow the show on Instagram at ramblernetwork. And for even more stories that spot curiosity, step right this way to ramblernetwork.com. Your one-stop destination for all things Rambler Network. So don't be a stranger and miss the next attraction.
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