About

Known credits:
224
Birthday:
1870-04-21
Place of birth:
Connellsville, Pennsylvania, USA
Website:
N/A

Edwin S. Porter

Overview

Edwin Stanton Porter was an American film pioneer, most famous as a producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer with the Edison Manufacturing Company and the Famous Players Film Company. Influenced by both the "Brighton school" and the story films of Georges Méliès, Porter went on to make important shorts such as Life of an American Fireman (1903) and The Great Train Robbery (1903). In them, he helped to develop the modern concept of continuity editing, paving the way for D.W. Griffith who would expand on Porter's discovery that the unit of film structure was the shot rather than the scene. Porter, in an attempt to resist the new industrial system born out of the popularity of nickelodeons, left Edison in 1909 to form his own production company which he eventually sold in 1912.

Porter remains an enigmatic figure in motion picture history. Though his significance as director of The Great Train Robbery and other innovative early films is undeniable, he rarely repeated an innovation after he had used it successfully, never developed a consistent directorial style, and in later years never protested when others rediscovered his techniques and claimed them as their own. He was a modest, quiet, cautious man who felt uncomfortable working with the famous stars he directed starting in 1912.

He has directed four films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Life of an American Fireman (1903), The Great Train Robbery (1903), Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906) and Tess of the Storm Country (1914).

Known for

Acting
1982 Before the Nickelodeon: The Cinema of Edwin S. Porter Actor Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) 59
Average
1903 Life of an American Fireman Actor Policeman 59
Average

Directing
1925 A Christmas Past Directing Director N/A
N/A
1915 The Prince and the Pauper Directing Director 58
Average
1915 Bella Donna Directing Director N/A
N/A
1915 Zaza Directing Director N/A
N/A
1915 The White Pearl Directing Director N/A
N/A
1915 Sold Directing Director N/A
N/A
1915 The Eternal City Directing Director N/A
N/A
1915 When We Were Twenty-One Directing Director N/A
N/A
1915 Niobe Directing Director N/A
N/A
1915 The Morals of Marcus Directing Director N/A
N/A
1914 The Crucible Directing Director N/A
N/A
1914 Such a Little Queen Directing Director N/A
N/A
1914 Tess of the Storm Country Directing Director 58
Average
1914 A Good Little Devil Directing Director N/A
N/A
1914 Hearts Adrift Directing Director N/A
N/A
1913 The Count of Monte Cristo Directing Director 58
Average
1913 His Neighbor's Wife Directing Director N/A
N/A
1913 In the Bishop's Carriage Directing Director 58
Average
1913 The Prisoner of Zenda Directing Director 58
Average
1911 The Price Directing Director 59
Average
1911 Lost Illusions Directing Director N/A
N/A
1911 The Lighthouse by the Sea Directing Director 58
Average
1911 Sherlock Holmes, Jr. Directing Director N/A
N/A
1911 On the Brink Directing Director N/A
N/A
1911 A Heroine of '76 Directing Director N/A
N/A
1910 His Mother's Thanksgiving Directing Director 58
Average
1910 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Directing Director 58
Average
1910 The Attack on the Mill Directing Director 58
Average
1910 Russia, the Land of Oppression Directing Director N/A
N/A
1909 Faust Directing Director N/A
N/A
1909 On the Western Frontier Directing Director N/A
N/A
1909 The Colored Stenographer Directing Director N/A
N/A
1908 Miss Sherlock Holmes Directing Director N/A
N/A
1908 She Directing Director N/A
N/A
1908 The Gentleman Burglar Directing Director N/A
N/A
1908 Tale the Autumn Leaves Told Directing Director 58
Average
1908 A Country Girl's Seminary Life and Experiences Directing Director N/A
N/A
1908 Cupid’s Pranks Directing Director 58
Average
1908 Fireside Reminiscences Directing Director 58
Average
1908 A Suburbanite's Ingenious Alarm Directing Director 58
Average
1908 The Life of an American Cowboy Directing Director N/A
N/A
1907 A Little Girl Who Did Not Believe in Santa Claus Directing Director 58
Average
1907 Laughing Gas Directing Director 58
Average
1907 College Chums Directing Director 58
Average
1907 The Trainer’s Daughter, or A Race for Love Directing Director 58
Average
1907 Jack the Kisser Directing Director N/A
N/A
1907 The Rivals Directing Director 58
Average
1907 Cohen’s Fire Sale Directing Director 58
Average
1907 Poor John Directing Director 58
Average
1907 The 'Teddy' Bears Directing Director 58
Average
1907 Waiting at the Church Directing Director 58
Average
1906 Getting Evidence Directing Director 58
Average
1906 Kathleen Mavourneen Directing Director 58
Average
1906 How the Office Boy Saw the Ball Game Directing Director 58
Average
1906 The Life of a Cowboy Directing Director 58
Average
1906 Three American Beauties Directing Director 59
Average
1906 The Terrible Kids Directing Director 58
Average
1906 A Winter Straw Ride Directing Director 58
Average
1906 Dream of a Rarebit Fiend Directing Director 59
Average
1905 Police Chasing Scorching Auto Directing Director 58
Average
1905 The Night Before Christmas Directing Director 59
Average
1905 The Life of an American Policeman Directing Director 59
Average
1905 Desperate Encounter Between Burglar and Police Directing Director N/A
N/A
1905 The Train Wreckers Directing Director 58
Average
1905 The Miller’s Daughter Directing Director 58
Average
1905 The Watermelon Patch Directing Director 58
Average
1905 The White Caps Directing Director 58
Average
1905 The Little Train Robbery Directing Director 58
Average
1905 The Boarding School Girls Directing Director 58
Average
1905 Scenes and Incidents, Russo-Japanese Peace Conference, Portsmouth, N. H. Directing Director 58
Average
1905 The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog Directing Director 58
Average
1905 The Burglar's Slide for Life Directing Director 58
Average
1905 Coney Island at Night Directing Director 59
Average
1905 How Jones Lost His Roll Directing Director 58
Average
1905 The Seven Ages Directing Director 58
Average
1905 The Kleptomaniac Directing Director 58
Average
1904 The Strenuous Life; or, Anti-Race Suicide Directing Director 59
Average
1904 Scarecrow Pump Directing Director 58
Average
1904 A Rube Couple at a County Fair Directing Director 58
Average
1904 The Ex-Convict Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Railroad Smashup Directing Director 58
Average
1904 City Hall to Harlem in 15 Seconds, Via the Subway Route Directing Director N/A
N/A
1904 Parsifal Directing Director N/A
N/A
1904 Maniac Chase Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Nervy Nat Kisses the Bride Directing Director 58
Average
1904 European Rest Cure Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Rounding Up of the “Yeggmen” Directing Director 58
Average
1904 How a French Nobleman Got a Wife Through the 'New York Herald' Personal Columns Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Fighting the Flames, Dreamland Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Scenes in an Infant Orphan Asylum Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Rector's to Claremont Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Dog Factory Directing Director 58
Average
1904 A Brush Between Cowboys and Indians Directing Director N/A
N/A
1904 Western Stage Coach Hold Up Directing Director N/A
N/A
1904 Battle of Chemulpo Bay Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Skirmish Between Russian and Japanese Advance Guards Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Japanese Acrobats Directing Director 58
Average
1904 R. F. Outcault Making a Sketch of Buster and Tige Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Buster Brown and the Dude Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Buster and Tige Put a Balloon Vendor Out of Business Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Buster's Dog to the Rescue Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Buster Makes Room for His Mama at the Bargain Counter Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Pranks of Buster Brown and His Dog Tige Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Animated Painting Directing Director N/A
N/A
1904 Photographing a Female Crook Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Treloar and Miss Marshall, Prize Winners at the Physical Culture Show in Madison Square Garden Directing Director 58
Average
1904 Crossing Ice Bridge at Niagara Falls Directing Director N/A
N/A
1903 Buster's Joke on Papa (II) Directing Director 58
Average
1903 The Great Train Robbery Directing Director 65
Fair
1903 Buster's Joke on Papa (I) Directing Director 58
Average
1903 What Happened in the Tunnel Directing Director 58
Average
1903 The Extra Turn Directing Director 59
Average
1903 The Messenger Boy's Mistake Directing Director 58
Average
1903 A Romance of the Rail Directing Director 58
Average
1903 Rube and Mandy at Coney Island Directing Director 58
Average
1903 The Gay Shoe Clerk Directing Director 58
Average
1903 Subub Surprises the Burglar Directing Director 58
Average
1903 The Unappreciated Joke Directing Director 58
Average
1903 Street Car Chivalry Directing Director 58
Average
1903 Uncle Tom's Cabin Directing Director 58
Average
1903 Sorting Refuse at Incinerating Plant, New York City Directing Director 58
Average
1903 Panorama of Riker's Island, N.Y. Directing Director 59
Average
1903 New York City Dumping Wharf Directing Director 59
Average
1903 White Wings on Review Directing Director 58
Average
1903 Fireboat 'New Yorker' in Action Directing Director 59
Average
1903 New York Harbor Police Boat Patrol Capturing Pirates Directing Director 59
Average
1903 Panorama of Blackwell's Island Directing Director 58
Average
1903 New York City 'Ghetto' Fish Market Directing Director 58
Average
1903 Panorama Water Front and Brooklyn Bridge from East River Directing Director 58
Average
1903 Life of an American Fireman Directing Director 59
Average
1903 Electrocuting an Elephant Directing Director 54
Average
1902 Interrupted Bathers Directing Director 58
Average
1902 How They Do Things on the Bowery Directing Director 58
Average
1902 Jack and the Beanstalk Directing Director 59
Average
1902 Burning of St. Pierre (Martinique) Directing Director N/A
N/A
1902 Appointment by Telephone Directing Director 58
Average
1902 Charleston Chain-Gang Directing Director 58
Average
1902 The Burlesque Suicide, No. 2 Directing Director 58
Average
1902 Babies Rolling Eggs Directing Director 58
Average
1902 The Burlesque Suicide Directing Director 58
Average
1902 Fun in a Bakery Shop Directing Director 58
Average
1902 Capture of the Biddle Brothers Directing Director 58
Average
1902 Burning of Durland's Riding Academy Directing Director 59
Average
1902 The Twentieth Century Tramp; or, Happy Hooligan and His Airship Directing Director 58
Average
1902 Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show Directing Director 58
Average
1902 Rock of Ages Directing Director N/A
N/A
1901 The Artist's Dilemma Directing Director 58
Average
1901 Catching an Early Train Directing Director 58
Average
1901 Execution of Czolgosz with Panorama of Auburn Prison Directing Director 58
Average
1901 Panorama of Esplanade by Night Directing Director 59
Average
1901 Trapeze Disrobing Act Directing Director 58
Average
1901 The Martyred Presidents Directing Director 58
Average
1901 Pan-American Exposition by Night Directing Director 58
Average
1901 Day at the Circus Directing Director 58
Average
1901 Life Rescue at Long Branch Directing Director N/A
N/A
1901 Circular Panorama of Electric Tower Directing Director 58
Average
1901 The Reversible Divers Directing Director 58
Average
1901 What Happened on Twenty-Third Street, New York City Directing Director 58
Average
1901 Sampson-Schley Controversy Directing Director 58
Average
1901 Photographing a Country Couple Directing Director 58
Average
1901 The Tramp's Unexpected Skate Directing Director 58
Average
1901 Another Job for the Undertaker Directing Director 58
Average
1901 Laura Comstock's Bag-Punching Dog Directing Director 58
Average
1901 Love by the Light of the Moon Directing Director 58
Average
1901 Kansas Saloon Smashers Directing Director 58
Average
1901 Why Mr. Nation Wants a Divorce Directing Director 59
Average
1901 The Old Maid Having Her Picture Taken Directing Director 58
Average
1901 The Finish of Bridget McKeen Directing Director 58
Average
1901 Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King Directing Director 58
Average
1901 The Old Maid in the Horsecar Directing Director 59
Average
1900 An Artist's Dream Directing Director 58
Average
1900 Faust and Marguerite Directing Director 58
Average
1900 A Dull Razor Directing Director 58
Average
1900 The Kiss Directing Director 58
Average
1900 Uncle Josh's Nightmare Directing Director 58
Average
1900 Ching Ling Foo Outdone Directing Director 58
Average
1900 The Magician Directing Director 58
Average
1900 An Animated Luncheon Directing Director 59
Average
1900 Dewar's Scotch Whisky Directing Director N/A
N/A
1900 Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel Directing Director 58
Average
1900 The Mystic Swing Directing Director 58
Average
1899 Strange Adventure of New York Drummer Directing Director 58
Average

Writing
1914 The Crucible Writing Writer N/A
N/A
1911 Lost Illusions Writing Writer N/A
N/A
1908 She Writing Writer N/A
N/A
1908 The Gentleman Burglar Writing Scenario Writer N/A
N/A
1903 The Great Train Robbery Writing Writer 65
Fair

Production
1910 Sunshine Sue Production Producer N/A
N/A
1909 Hansel and Gretel Production Producer 58
Average
1909 The Cord of Life Production Producer 58
Average
1906 Dream of a Rarebit Fiend Production Producer 59
Average
1903 The Great Train Robbery Production Producer 65
Fair

Camera
1914 Tess of the Storm Country Camera Director of Photography 58
Average
1914 A Good Little Devil Camera Director of Photography N/A
N/A
1914 Hearts Adrift Camera Director of Photography N/A
N/A
1913 The Count of Monte Cristo Camera Director of Photography 58
Average
1908 Cupid’s Pranks Camera Director of Photography 58
Average
1906 Getting Evidence Camera Director of Photography 58
Average
1906 How the Office Boy Saw the Ball Game Camera Director of Photography 58
Average
1906 Three American Beauties Camera Director of Photography 59
Average
1906 A Winter Straw Ride Camera Director of Photography 58
Average
1905 The Night Before Christmas Camera Director of Photography 59
Average
1905 Empire State Express, the Second, Taking Water on the Fly Camera Camera Operator N/A
N/A
1905 On a Good Old 5¢ Trolley Ride Camera Camera Operator 59
Average
1905 How Jones Lost His Roll Camera Director of Photography 58
Average
1904 Parsifal Camera Director of Photography N/A
N/A
1904 Fire and Flames at Luna Park, Coney Island (An Attraction at Coney Island) Camera Director of Photography N/A
N/A
1904 Canoeing on the Charles River, Boston, Mass. Camera Director of Photography 58
Average
1904 Skirmish Between Russian and Japanese Advance Guards Camera Camera Operator 58
Average
1904 Crossing Ice Bridge at Niagara Falls Camera Camera Operator N/A
N/A
1903 The Great Train Robbery Camera Director of Photography 65
Fair
1903 What Happened in the Tunnel Camera Director of Photography 58
Average
1903 The Gay Shoe Clerk Camera Director of Photography 58
Average
1903 Electrocuting an Elephant Camera Director of Photography 54
Average
1902 Jack and the Beanstalk Camera Director of Photography 59
Average
1901 Execution of Czolgosz with Panorama of Auburn Prison Camera Director of Photography 58
Average
1901 Circular Panorama of Electric Tower Camera Director of Photography 58
Average
1901 Panoramic View of Electric Tower from a Balloon Camera Director of Photography 59
Average
1901 Esquimaux Game of Snap-the-Whip Camera Director of Photography 59
Average
1901 Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King Camera Director of Photography 58
Average

Crew
1908 Rescued from an Eagle's Nest Crew Cinematography 58
Average

Editing
1913 The Count of Monte Cristo Editing Editor 58
Average