Film Class 101: Thomas Edison

This week on Film Class 101, I talk about Thomas Edison, a man who gets a lot of credit in the development of the motion picture. In fact, some credit him as the inventor. Is the title justified? That is what we are going to discuss today. I talk about the life of Tom and his work with, William K. L. Dickson. Along with this, Nancy’s Natterings, Nancy Frye’s connection between Edison’s films and her love of traditional oriental dance.

Show Notes

Here are the links to the sources I used for writing this episode:
History - Thomas Edison
Britannica - Edison and the Lumière brothers
loc.gov - The Kinetoscope
American Experience | PBS - The Kinetoscope

Here are the links to the videos Nancy recommended.
Turkish dance, Ella Lola (1898)
Princess Rajah (1904)
Princess Ali (1895)
Spanish dancers at the Pan-American Exposition (1901)

Here is Nancy's Blog post featuring this episode!
Celluloid Days #9 - Thomas Edison: The Variety Stage & Oriental Dance

And you can email me at [e-mail]

What is Celluloid Days?

Hello there, welcome to the first episode of Celluloid Days, my new podcast of film and film history. I’m hoping this show is a bit different as I enjoy research and I plan to use my curiosity to make things interesting. You see, this show isn’t just for the listener, but for me as well, to grow and learn, to explore films, and filmmakers.