Overrated and overhyped

Better Late Then Never

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Another very early short by William Dickson, in his mid-30s at this point, shows an athlete wearing a white skirt and long pants showing us a couple tricks with his wand. If this was a Méliès film, the wand would have spat out a couple rabbits or stars or something else magical. But this is really just a sports presentation, one of the earliest sports documentaries ever. It's not particularly engaging and I wouldn't recommend it. Even at 45 seconds, it almost feels a bit repetitive. Worst thing about it is the poor fella didn't even get his name in the title like many other athletes or dancers from these Dickson showcase films from the late 19th century.

. . . and they do it with some attitude. Unlike the feline title characters who sell out for second billing in a later short from the Edison Manufacturing Company--PROF. WELTON'S BOXING CATS--the dog who graces ATHLETE WITH WAND (pay close attention to the lower right of the screen) proves why his kind are considered "man's best friend" decades before LASSIE ever filled the nickelodeon. At first this principled canine (who would not allow his name to appear in the final credits) looks at his alleged "athlete" co-star thinking "this guy is CRAZY!" as the Newark "gymnast" mugs for the camera. This dog obviously has the breeding to know the rough outlines of what male gymnasts would be doing in the Olympics (rings, pommel horse, parallel bars, floor exercise and such), which is why he virtually ignores the poser taking center stage here. "You won't win a gold medal for dancing with a yardstick, Mac!" the dog certainly is thinking, as he turns his head away in disgust. All I can add is, Good call, Fido! Too bad the clown with a "wand" did not pick up on your training cues.

Athlete With Wand (1894) The title is pretty much what you get in this Edison film. This is a rather interesting film on many levels because of the history behind it. I'm not sure if the athlete has ever been identified but he certainly doesn't get to show off his talents, if he even had any. Pretty much the man just stands in the center of the frame and moves his arms and legs into various positions while holding a wand in both hands. The point of this? I'm really not sure but it's interesting to note that Dickson keeps the actor in the center of the frame apparently thinking this is where people are going to be looking. If you're eyes are centered on the center of the frame then you're going to miss the best moments and that's the dog sitting on the floor, looking at the athlete with a face, like the viewer, wondering what the hell the guy is doing. The dog itself makes this worth viewing not only for history but for pure entertainment.

The athlete shows some great flexibility here! ...Seriously what is this guy doing? It looks ridicules. He is simply flexing his arms and legs in different positions while constantly holding a wand in his both hands. Of course they simply wanted to test as many movements as possible to see what the possibilities were, the do's and don't's and how it all looked on film.Interestinly there is also a dog lying in the corner, presumably also as part of the experiment to see how secondary objects, persons, other things or in this case a dog would look on the corner of the camera field. The dog also looked as if he/she was trying to figure out what this athlete was exactly doing, but he/she mostly didn't bothered with him and simply choose to relax a bit. I sympathize for him/her.For an early Edison Manufacturing Company film it's quite long. It's over 30 seconds long. And all shows that Edison and Co. were all making progress at the point.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/