F.S. Armitage
Encyclopedia
Frederick S. Armitage (June 29, 1874 - death date unknown) was an early American motion picture cinematographer and director, working primarily for the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
. Often identified as "F.S. Armitage" in AM&B paperwork, Armitage had a hand in creating more than 400 often very short subjects for AM&B in the days where its films were made as much for the hand-crank operated Mutoscope
device as for projection. Several of Armitage's subjects stand out from the company's regular routine of actualities and comic skits in their innovative use of camerawork, superimpositions, time-lapse photography and other effects then new to the art of film-making.
, including views of the battleships which fought in it and the welcome home parade thrown for Admiral Dewey in New York City. On June 9, 1899, Armitage was one of three Biograph cameramen to photograph the heavyweight championship bout between Jim Jeffries and Tom Sharkey
, the finished film running a then-record time of 135 minutes.
From 1900, Armitage began making a small number of films which utilized what would have then been considered trick effects; in two very similar subjects, The Prince of Darkness and A Terrible Night, Armitage reversed the negative so that the clothes a man removed seemed to be leaping back at him. In A Nymph of the Waves, Armitage combined two previously existing subjects in a printer in order to create a subject in which a dancer appeared to be floating on top of waves from Niagara Falls; Armitage used a similar technique in Davey Jones' Locker (1900). Armitage deliberately projected part of the negative in The Ghost Train (1901) and used time lapse photography—taken over a period of a month—in Demolishing and Building Up The Star Theater (1901). His most astonishing achievement, however, is the time-lapse subject Down the Hudson (1903), in which Armitage and fellow AM&B cinematographer A. E. Weed filmed a voyage down the Hudson River from Haverstraw Bay to Newburgh in single frames, producing a film lasting three minutes.
Among other interesting films that Armitage shot or directed during his AM&B period were some early martial arts films, films of Buffalo Bill
's Wild West Show, actress Anna Held
and a silent film of Sousa'a Band, short chapters of attempted "story films" on the popular plays Ten Nights in a Barroom (1901) and The Wages of Sin (1901), a number of subjects of American landmarks for the U.S. Department of the Interior and films of Native American life for the agency then called the U.S. Indian Department.
Armitage's last known work for AM&B was as cinematographer on Wallace McCutcheon, Sr.
's The Nihilists (1905) and Wanted: A Dog (1905). Shortly afterward, he and McCutcheon both defected to the Edison Manufacturing Company. Though McCutcheon would return to AM&B in 1907, Armitage remained at Edison through at least 1910, working as a cinematographer with directors Edwin S. Porter
and J. Searle Dawley
. His whereabouts afterward are unclear; Armitage is credited with the cinematography on two obscure states rights features in 1916-1917, and then he vanishes from the historical record completely.
, and a lot remains to be known about what he did and who he was. Nevertheless, interest has steadily grown since then; in 2002 Demolishing and Building Up The Star Theater was named to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry, and several of Armitage's films were included on a collection of pre-1943 American experimental films, Unseen Cinema, curated by Bruce Posner of the Anthology Film Archives
.
American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1928. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition, and for two decades was one of the most prolific, releasing over three thousand short...
. Often identified as "F.S. Armitage" in AM&B paperwork, Armitage had a hand in creating more than 400 often very short subjects for AM&B in the days where its films were made as much for the hand-crank operated Mutoscope
Mutoscope
frame|right|An 1899 trade advertisementThe Mutoscope was an early motion picture device, patented by Herman Casler on November 21, 1894. Like Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope it did not project on a screen, and provided viewing to only one person at a time...
device as for projection. Several of Armitage's subjects stand out from the company's regular routine of actualities and comic skits in their innovative use of camerawork, superimpositions, time-lapse photography and other effects then new to the art of film-making.
Biography
Very little is known of Armitage's life, other than he was born in New York; his earliest known credits date from 1897. It isn't until 1899 when Armitage begins to collect a substantial number of film credits; he is credited with photographing 188 AM&B subjects in 1899 alone. Several of the actualities Armitage filmed that year had to do with the end of the Spanish-American WarSpanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, including views of the battleships which fought in it and the welcome home parade thrown for Admiral Dewey in New York City. On June 9, 1899, Armitage was one of three Biograph cameramen to photograph the heavyweight championship bout between Jim Jeffries and Tom Sharkey
Tom Sharkey
Tom 'Sailor Tom' Sharkey was a boxer who fought two fights with heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries. Sharkey's recorded ring career spanned from 1893 to 1904. He is credited with having won 40 fights , 7 losses, and 5 draws...
, the finished film running a then-record time of 135 minutes.
From 1900, Armitage began making a small number of films which utilized what would have then been considered trick effects; in two very similar subjects, The Prince of Darkness and A Terrible Night, Armitage reversed the negative so that the clothes a man removed seemed to be leaping back at him. In A Nymph of the Waves, Armitage combined two previously existing subjects in a printer in order to create a subject in which a dancer appeared to be floating on top of waves from Niagara Falls; Armitage used a similar technique in Davey Jones' Locker (1900). Armitage deliberately projected part of the negative in The Ghost Train (1901) and used time lapse photography—taken over a period of a month—in Demolishing and Building Up The Star Theater (1901). His most astonishing achievement, however, is the time-lapse subject Down the Hudson (1903), in which Armitage and fellow AM&B cinematographer A. E. Weed filmed a voyage down the Hudson River from Haverstraw Bay to Newburgh in single frames, producing a film lasting three minutes.
Among other interesting films that Armitage shot or directed during his AM&B period were some early martial arts films, films of Buffalo Bill
Buffalo Bill
William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a United States soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory , in LeClaire but lived several years in Canada before his family moved to the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for service to the US...
's Wild West Show, actress Anna Held
Anna Held
Helene Anna Held was a Polish-born stage performer, most often associated with impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, her common-law husband. -Early life:...
and a silent film of Sousa'a Band, short chapters of attempted "story films" on the popular plays Ten Nights in a Barroom (1901) and The Wages of Sin (1901), a number of subjects of American landmarks for the U.S. Department of the Interior and films of Native American life for the agency then called the U.S. Indian Department.
Armitage's last known work for AM&B was as cinematographer on Wallace McCutcheon, Sr.
Wallace McCutcheon, Sr.
Wallace McCutcheon, Sr. was a pioneer cinematographer and director in the early American motion picture industry, working with the American Mutoscope & Biograph, Edison and American Star Film companies. McCutcheon's wealth of credits are often mixed up with the small handful of films directed by...
's The Nihilists (1905) and Wanted: A Dog (1905). Shortly afterward, he and McCutcheon both defected to the Edison Manufacturing Company. Though McCutcheon would return to AM&B in 1907, Armitage remained at Edison through at least 1910, working as a cinematographer with directors Edwin S. Porter
Edwin S. Porter
Edwin Stanton Porter was an American early film pioneer, most famous as a director with Thomas Edison's company...
and J. Searle Dawley
J. Searle Dawley
J. Searle Dawley was an American director and screenwriter. He directed 149 films between 1907 and 1926. He was born in Del Norte, Colorado and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:...
. His whereabouts afterward are unclear; Armitage is credited with the cinematography on two obscure states rights features in 1916-1917, and then he vanishes from the historical record completely.
Legacy
Even a basic understanding of Frederick S. Armitage's contribution to film didn't get underway until the 1980s, with the work of Charles MusserCharles Musser
Charles Musser is Professor of Film and American Studies at Yale University. He is a prominent film historian and documentary film maker who has "added a great deal to our knowledge of early cinema with his writings and his filmmaking."...
, and a lot remains to be known about what he did and who he was. Nevertheless, interest has steadily grown since then; in 2002 Demolishing and Building Up The Star Theater was named to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry, and several of Armitage's films were included on a collection of pre-1943 American experimental films, Unseen Cinema, curated by Bruce Posner of the Anthology Film Archives
Anthology Film Archives
__notoc__Anthology Film Archives is a film archive and theater located at 32 Second Avenue on the corner of East Second Street in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City devoted to the preservation and exhibition of experimental film. It is the only non-profit organization of its...
.
Selective Online Filmography
- Fougere (1899)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjTnX9H3pTk
- A Nymph of the Waves (1900)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQcT2AhRzTo
- Skating on Lake, Central Park (1900) http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/lcmp002.m2a37849
- Chimmie Hicks at the Races (1900) http://www.youtube.com/user/LibraryOfCongress#p/c/95A2316156D6ED2F/29/TJANfEaSeiE
- Demolishing and Building Up The Star Theater (1901)http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/lcmp002.m2b01464
- Buffalo Bill's Wild West Parade (1901)http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/lcmp002.m2b31268
- The Birth of a Pearl (1903) http://www.youtube.com/user/LibraryOfCongress#p/c/95A2316156D6ED2F/0/5TqBvXidBcE
- Parade of "Exempt" Firemen (1903) http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/lcmp002.m2b43291
- Ameta (1903)http://www.youtube.com/user/LibraryOfCongress#p/c/95A2316156D6ED2F/14/K3bPgc4bGm8
- As In A Looking Glass (1903) http://www.youtube.com/user/LibraryOfCongress#p/c/95A2316156D6ED2F/31/z_ft5Rv1_zI
- Noon Hour, Hope Webbing Co. (1903) http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/awal.1250
- Pawtucket Fire Department (1903) http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/awal.1800
- Bargain Day, 14th Street, New York (1905) http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/lcmp002.m2a25469
External links
- Bio at Who's Who in Victorian Cinema
- imdb entry on A Nymph of the Waves (1900)
- Wiki entry on Above the Limit (1900)Above the LimitAbove the Limit is a short film made in November 1900 by F.S. Armitage, and marks the film debut of vaudevillian actor Charley Grapewin, 39 years before his more memorable role as Dorothy's Uncle Henry in the original The Wizard of Oz...
- Bioscope "Festival of Lost Films" on the Jeffries-Sharkey Contest (1899)
- Unseen Cinema