The Boxing Cats (Prof. Welton's) (1894) Online

A great many of the earliest Edison Kinetoscope movies featured popular performers who presented samples of their vaudeville acts or other similar specialties. There were also a fair number of early Edison features that showed boxing. This short movie combines the two genres, and it also demonstrates rather efficient composition in its use of the camera.

Professor Henry Welton apparently had an entire vaudeville act that featured cats trained to perform all kinds of tricks, so that the "Boxing Cats" routine was really only one of many such routines in the full show. The high popularity of boxing at the time probably made this a fairly obvious choice for the Edison crew to film.

The footage shows a tiny boxing ring, with the cats batting away at each other with their paws. The camera field catches the entire ring plus Welton behind it, looking on, so that even in a limited field it includes the entire scene. The miniature boxing gloves on their forepaws makes it look much like human boxing of a kind. It seems to have been largely harmless for the cats involved, since the gloves would probably have prevented them from inflicting any injuries on each other.

The footage itself is mildly entertaining, and the movie is also worthy of note as an example of the content and technique in the early Kinetoscope films.

Shortly after the early Kinetoscope experiment "Leonard-Cushing Fight", featuring the two boxers Jack Cushing and Mike Leonard in a boxing match, this movie got made at the Thomas Edison's Black Maria Studios, featuring two cats, fully equipped with boxing gloves, having a go at each other. So perhaps with some imagination you can call this movie the first ever made spoof and it certainly is the first ever done comical subject at the Thomas Edison's Black Maria Studios.

The subject of Professor Welton (exactly what was he a professor in I wonder?) Vaudeville's act of two boxing cats is sort of amusing and cute. No doubt that animal right organizations now days would do anything to ban this movie from being shown was it made today but truth is that this is a pretty harmless act. The gloves take away a lot of the blow, so no cats got harmed during the making of this motion picture and actually seeing cats fight on the streets with their claws is of course something far more violent and violent looking, even though it's just nature, unlike obviously putting gloves on a couple of cats and let them fight in a small boxing ring.

Henry Welton himself (the professor from this movie its title) sets the cats up against each other and he can be seen picking them up toward each other. These two cats obviously had no grudge toward each other but were put up to it to fight. Perhaps not the most kind thing to do but you also have to remember that this was 1894 when these sort of animal vaudeville acts were very common and part of everyday's life.

The camera is pretty close up to the fight but it covers the entire fighting area. It's not entirely symmetric, since it only shows one side of the ring. Nevertheless it's an effective composition, since it shows everything that needs to be seen and apart from its shaking images, it's perfect. The same can be said about the quality of the movie. Hardly any grain here in this one.

A nice little comical turn from the boys at the Edison Manufacturing Company.

8/10

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Damn you Welton – you've doomed us all! Skip forward over 100 hundred years and, aside from pornography, the internet's second biggest use is surely the sharing of videos of cats doing stuff that is amusing, cute or amusing and cute. I'm not saying that Professor Welton (professor of what I am not sure) is to blame for this but certainly this must be one of the earliest examples of an amusing cat video and/or spoof video using cats in place of humans. AT barely 30 seconds long this very early short film is essentially a shot of part of Welton's vaudeville act which involves, well, two cats boxing one another in a tiny "ring" while Welton is visible just behind the foreground (he is too close for it to be called background) to keep an eye and lend a hand when necessary.

In terms of modern value it must be said that there is almost none as the shot is fairly static, the action pretty simple and the attitudes of the cats perhaps too aggressive to really be classed as cute. OK neither of them hurt one another but it comes over as more than harmless toying. In terms of history then yes the film has historical value given its early place in the development of cinema – but there are better short films that display more creativity and exploration that come from the same period. Personally, I prefer to just think of it as a fore-runner of the many, many cat videos clogging the internet.

Sandow (1894)

Carmencita (1894)

Boxing Cats (1894)

Caicedo With Pole (1894)

Annabelle Butterfly Dance (1894)

Cockfight, no. 2 (1894)

These six shorts from Edison, still early in the movie game, are rather interesting because of the self promoting factor in them. It's clear a few famous folks thought appearing in movies might bring more people to their actual show and on that level these shorts remain very interesting today. That's especially true when you consider the lack of footage of such acts. Sandow is Eugene Sandow, the man who claimed to be the strongest in the world. Shot on March 6, 1894, we see Sandow flexing in various ways in front of the camera. I'm not sure what he was thinking at the time of shooting but seeing this today is quite a laugh. Carmencita is the famous dancer doing her belly dance on screen making her the first woman to appear in an American movie. The film has become somewhat famous over the past several years because of various documentaries doing studies about early sexuality and how it caused so much controversy. This film, as innocent as they come, did strike a bit of outrage when originally released so it's fun to look at with that in mind. It's also worth noting that this was the first movie listed on the IMDb. Boxing Cats would have PETA members throwing a fit today but in 1894 seeing two animals fight, in a funny manor, was quite entertaining. Prof. Welton can be seen in the center of the frame directing his two cats, with boxing gloves on, to fight. This is actually pretty funny and it's worth noting that the cats throw more punches than a lot of the real fights that were filmed around this time with humans. Caicedo With Pole has hire-wire specialist Juan Caicedo jumping, bouncing and flipping on his wire, which must have been an amazing site when originally released. Annabelle Butterfly Dance features the famous Annabelle Moore dancing around a stage in a white outfit with wings attached. This here probably remains one of the most viewed shorts from this era with its images being shown throughout the world when it comes to exploring early cinema. Cockfight, no. 2 would be controversial today as it features two birds going after one another while two men in the background make bets. This was actually a remake so to speak as the original film was released earlier in the year and was apparently so popular that the prints wore out, which caused the studio to make this version. Apparently the original version didn't feature the men in the background.

This is one of the coolest shorts I have seen in my goddamn, freaking life! One of the best things that I REALLY like about this short are obviously the boxing cats and I am just wondering: In real life, the cats are not intelligent, like us, humans. But, the question is: in the film, how did the cats wrestle each other and became trained? Was it, like, a special effect or, nah, I am just freaking curious. Later on, I hope I have a complete answer of how the cats were intelligent by boxing each other in the film.

Besides that, I actually enjoy this short: I give this short: Duhhh! ~ Obvious!!! - a 10 out of 10 because the real life cats were boxing and it was really awesome!!!

Although the film is very short, just like other films being produced during that time, it made me laugh. Being one of the first sports films and comedic films in the world, you have to give this film a 10/10

What was one of the biggest ways to cash in when it came to the motion picture industry? Simple answer: steal the popularity of other attractions, one of the best things the Edison Co. was good at. This is not at all to say that the great inventor was a crook who would do anything to get money (although some people who believe he actually did electrocute that elephant would say that) but it is true that during the company's earliest years in the filmmaking business, he would often hire athletes and performers who were huge hits at the time to come down to the Black Maria studio in New Jersey and do their routine for film. For the sake of protecting the man, I'd vouch it was not a way to steal away the glory of the performer but probably more for the sake of those who never had a chance to view the act for themselves. In this way, Edison would not really be taking all the fame for himself but instead advertising the sensation through the new motion picture system.

"Boxing Cats" is a good example of such a film. In this case, Edison hired Henry Welton (a professor of sorts, though I don't know of what) to come down to his studio in order to have his boxing cats act be filmed. Shown in medium closeup, the comical match (that is, comical to everyone except PETA members) is a twenty-second clip showing the cats going at it, while Welton stands in the background acting as the referee. Furthermore, because of the utter hilarity of the little gloves on the cats and the way they swipe at each-other, some consider this to be the first LOLcat video ever made and thus the oldest 'cat video' on the internet. From my own research this is certainly debatable, however; after all, Etienne-Jules Marey had created "Falling Cat" the same year with his chronophotographic gun, which could also be given the title despite the fact I know no dates to prove which came first. Clearly whoever started such a rumor has been little educated about this point in history or merely doesn't consider Marey's film a LOLcat video.

However, the most interesting point of "Boxing Cats" comes not from the historical interest surrounding it or the fact it shows a once-popular act of the day, but from the way it combines two different genres used previously in Edison company shorts to create a different variation. As I mentioned before, filming dancers, athletes or any sort of performers would help bring publicity to the sensation's act. This genre, the performance-for-camera genre, is the first one combined. On top of that, another big genre, which I treat differently from the performances, was boxing. Edison loved filming boxing and must have made a whole series of boxing shorts featuring known boxers performing a championship match within the Black Maria. Films such as "Corbett and Courtney Before the Kinetograph", "The Leonard-Cushing Fight", "The Hornbacker-Murphy Fight", even the camera tests "Men Boxing" (1891) and "Boxing" (1892) all fall within the genre. Thus, by putting both together, you have a unique little performance which was no doubt a real hit when shown in the Kinetoscope parlors. On a side note, this wasn't the first time the company had done a variation on the boxing genre; the idea of having a comedic boxing contest between animals had occurred as early as "Monkey and Another, Boxing" (camera test, 1891).

Okay, there's not really much substance to it, but these kittens with gloves did not only put a smile on my lips, but made me laugh out loud and that's all that I want from a comedy. Two cats are fighting in the foreground and Henry Welton (whoever that is.. the owner?) is watching the action and having as almost much fun as I did. It's one of Dickson's and Heise's best works in my opinion. Real cinematic quality was difficult to create with the means they had back then, so it's all about conveying fun and/or emotion and this was done excellently here. It's a nice change compared to all the real boxing fights put on tape in the 1890s and I recommend it. Oh I wish they had sound back then, so I could hear the kittens purring to their mouth movements.

Boxing Cats (Prof. Welton's), The (1894)

**** (out of 4)

When "movies" first came to be, studios would often just grab their cameras and film something popular and then release it to the thousands who wanted to see it. Professor Welton was a popular vaudeville act and his main highlight was two cats, wearing boxing gloves, who would do battle in the ring. PETA members will certainly want to stay away as the Professor holds the cats by their backs and makes this box. While some might object to this I find the overall film rather innocent, charming and fun. Seeing the cats go at it for around thirty-seconds might not be entertainment like we expect today but I'm sure it was a riot back in the day.

You thought Charlie Chaplin invented slapstick? Pfah! How typical. I bet your favorite show is MTV as well, isn't it? And you listen to 50 Cent? Kids these days.

This Edison short is hilarious, although you have to be very tired when watching it. Exhausted, in fact. But it will get a laugh out of anyone who enjoys silly comedy in the vein of Dumb and Dumber, Monthy Python, etc.

10/10. The first, and one of the funniest, comedies I've ever seen. Great sight gags and the film doesn't go on so long it wears out its welcome.(r#11)

OK I am not the sort of person who says "this is a silent oh well lets just bash it" I was expecting it to be more, The Boxing Cats is very weak we have Professor Welton (which I have no idea what he's a professor for) in the foreground helping cats box each other and giving them a hand (literally) in a Ring now I have seen this it's not the first comedy ever made if you ask me the only ones of the classics that made me laugh were Charlie Chaplin and I've seen a few good Buster Keatons. The Boxing Cats have got no potential in what they were trying but all early films were like that just experiments from all over the world at this point and it's not until a few years later they actually decided to do a plotted movie with an actual story. my vote is 4

William Heise and W.K.L. Dickson present their first foray into comedy. A short sample of Professor Welton's vaudeville act, this film shows the Professor's two cats "box" each other. He is seen in the background smiling as the felines go at it.

This was the Edison Manufacturing Company's first stab at a comedic short. Though, of course, very short, I reckon it must have provided a quick laugh for its viewers. The Professor also filmed another short, titled "Wrestling Dog", for the Edison team. However it would be hard to classify the Professor's efforts as funny.

I give it a 2 out of 10.

. . . or at least in leather shoulder harnesses, with their forepaws imprisoned in tiny balls of leather, yanked around by the scruffs of their necks and forced to pummel each other by a guy leering sadistically in the background styling himself as "Professor Welton" (no doubt an admirer of his contemporary crime czar, Professor Moriarty). While old Tom Edison was content to select man's best friend as the debut animal actor in American movies (see the earlier ATHLETE WITH WAND), going so far as to let this star canine ignore the human cast by way social commentary, before Edison Manufacturing Company turned to cock fighting, bear baiting, and rat MMA competitions in 1894, it chose the common house cat as the animal the New York City paying public was most anxious to see violently abused in one of their new-fangled "moving pictures." If "Professor Welton" had tried this same trick with a couple dogs such as the one featured in ATHLETE WITH WAND, he would have lost AT LEAST one of his hands!