Animals of all types appeared on the vaudeville stage, including sheep, pigs, cats, dogs, horses, bears, elephants, donkeys, monkeys, and birds. The use of these acts stemmed from a fascination at the turn of the century with man's control of nature and the homification of animals. Three typical vaudeville acts depicted in these films are "Laura Comstock's Bag-Punching Dog" named Mannie, Professor Leonidas's troop of cats and dogs featured in "Stealing a Dinner," and "Jumbo--the Trained Elephant."

The word "burlesque" refers to two kinds of entertainment. In its original meaning, burlesque signified a comedy that parodied its original source. Burlesque eventually also came to denote "leg shows" or acts that focused on a woman's body and featured scantily-clad women, often in the act of undressing. The films in this collection do not represent the full range of burlesque on the variety stage, especially because burlesque often relied on dialogue and song, and was longer in length than films of the time. Still, filmmakers took burlesque subjects as their inspiration and often captured burlesque performers.

Vaudeville acts such as Ella Lola ("Turkish Dance"); the "French chanteuse eccentrique," Karina; and Princess Rajah recreated their stage shows for the screen, thus providing a glimpse into the type of exotic dance entertainment shown on stage during this period. (Princess Rajah's act was filmed at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition and, like Ella Lola's act, is reminiscent of the hootchy-cootchy dances of exotic performers such as Fatima and Little Egypt.)

Films such as "Pity the Blind, no. 2," and "Trapeze Disrobing Act" offer the type of humorous burlesque seen on the vaudeville stage. The latter makes fun of the stereotypical unsophisticated "rube" who came to view burlesque. "Kiss Me" pokes fun at burlesque entertainment by featuring real burlesque posters on a wall with a poster of a woman that comes alive before a fascinated male spectator. ...Library of Congress

While these examples are certainly typical of vaudeville humor, there is unfortunately no way of knowing whether these particular skits were actually performed on the stage. It is possible that some skits were adapted for use in these motion pictures or that only the less verbal parts of the acts were used. These motion pictures did, however, use typical vaudeville sets, humor, and stereotypical characters from the vaudeville stage.

Some of the acts featured in this collection were based on characters from comic strips, including Alphonse and Gaston, the Happy Hooligan, and Foxy Grandpa. These characters were also used in stage shows. The two Foxy Grandpa selections ("The Boys Think They Have One on Foxy Grandpa..." and "Foxy Grandpa and Polly in a Little Hilarity") were based on a stage musical, starring Joseph Hart and his wife, Carrie DeMar, who reprised their roles on film. Series of films were made with all three of the comic strip characters mentioned above, as well as the character of the Tramp ("The Tramp's Unexpected Skate").

Some of the films feature burlesque comedy that makes fun of the vaudeville theater itself, as in "The Extra Turn" and "Levi & Cohen, the Irish Comedians," both of which feature bad acts getting panned by the audience.

Popular comedians recreated parts of their sketches: for example, Charles E. Grapewin in "Chimmie Hicks at the Races" and the team of Montgomery and Stone in "Dancing Boxing Match." Montgomery and Stone became famous as the scarecrow and tin-man in the 1903 stage production of "The Wizard of Oz."

Ethnic humor can be seen in abundance in the broad stereotypes of Jews in "A Gesture Fight in Hester Street," and the Irish in "A Wake in Hell's Kitchen" and "Levi & Cohen, the Irish Comedians." ...Library of Congress

The selections in the dance category reflect the wide variety of dance styles that were performed on the variety stage during this period. It appears that many of the performers used in these films actually performed on the vaudeville stage. The Franchonetti Sisters, advertised by the American Mutoscope & Biograph Company as a "popular team of vaudeville artists," perform the French quadrille dance. Fougere, "the famous Parisian chanteuse," performs her ragtime cakewalk, "Hello, Ma Baby." The cakewalk dance, popular in minstrel shows, is performed in these motion pictures by a professional troupe from New York ("Cake Walk" and "Comedy Cake Walk"). Crissie Sheridan performs a skirt dance similar to those done by the popular Annabelle. Versatile dancer Ella Lola performs two dances, a period-style belly dance (Turkish Dance, Ella Lola) and one based on the "Trilby" craze. (In the play "Trilby" by George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier, an artist's model named Trilby falls under the influence of the hypnotist Svengali.) Kid Foley and Sailor Lil provide a vivid example of a Bowery dance reminiscent of the Parisian "Apache dance." Cathrina Bartho performs her Speedway dance in "A Nymph of the Waves" that takes advantage of film tricks to make it appear as if she is dancing on waves. Ameta , a specialist in "novel" and "elaborate" dances, according to The New York Clipper, creates a swirling funnel from huge pieces of cloth in a variation on the skirt dance. (The comedy and burlesque sections also contain dance performances including "The Boys Think They Have One on Foxy Grandpa, but He Fools Them," "Karina," "Princess Rajah Dance," and "Turkish Dance," Ella Lola.) ...Library of Congress

Some of the acts in the motion pictures selected are advertised by the film production companies as being vaudeville or circus performers, implying that they were indeed professional performers who appeared on the variety stage. These include the "Japanese Acrobats," the Three Buffons in the comedic "Three Acrobats," Neidert of "Bicycle Trick Riding, no. 2," and Hadji Cheriff from the Midway Plaisance at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition ("Arabian Gun Twirler").

Other film selections feature acts that were described in advertisements or short articles in The New York Clipper. These include the "Gordon Sisters" with their "bag punching and scientific act;" Treloar, a Harvard graduate and ex-varsity oarsman who later won a prize for being the most perfectly developed man in the world; and Latina, who strongman Eugene Sandow describes as a type of "the perfect woman." Sandow, billed as "The Most Powerful Man on Earth," was an immensely popular attraction on the variety stage and is shown in these selections flexing his muscles and doing a back-flip.

The later Spanuth films feature performers of even greater skill. For example, the "Kawana Trio" perform difficult acrobatic stunts with their feet, and " Three Jumping Tommies" execute a series of impressive acrobatic stunts on the floor. ...Library of Congress

"Tableaus," or living pictures, were also popular on the vaudeville stage. While "Spirit of '76'" is not technically considered a tableau because it incorporates movement, it still serves as a representative sample of famous scenes being brought to life on stage--in this case, the well-known painting by Archibald M. Willard. ...Library of Congress

--Thomas A. Edison, 1888