Street Car Chivalry (1903) Online

I've watched quite a few films from 1903 lately and one thing that has become fairly obvious is that the films of the Edison company were fairly dull affairs in comparison to other films of the era. Look, for example, at the work Melies in France was churning out: funny, imaginative and exciting, his films make most of Edison's output look distinctly amateurish. This little vignette, however, is quite amusing. It's still a one-shot film shot on a static camera, but it at least tells a little tale that is as relevant today as it was back in 1903. A group of men willingly offer their seats to a pretty young woman, but all hide behind their newspapers when a more matronly lady appears in front of them. No great shakes, but quite amusing for its day.

I take a Film History in which at times we watch classic films or just old movies. As much as a movie buff I am, I was excited to here I would this film. The movie is no more than 5 minutes long and is one of the first films to show a woman being treated differently because she isn't as pretty as another woman on the streetcar. Back in the days films like this were considered taboo or just plain wrong, now a days films like that are not what people call a film. I like it! The only way to really see this is through a film course or on the history channel. If you are a huge movie buff and find some way to see this I say see it.