Monkeyshines 1 and 2 (1889) FULL VIDEO

 

 

Release Dates: 1889 and 1890

Country of Origin: USA

Monkeyshines is a series of experimental short silent films made to test the original cylinder format of the Kinetoscope; those films are believed to be the first to be shot in the United States.

Monkeyshines, No. 1 was shot by William K. L. Dickson and William Heise for the Edison labs. Scholars have differing opinions on whether the first was shot in June 1889 starring Fred Ott or at some time between November 21–27, 1890, starring Giuseppe Sacco Albanese. Both men were fellow lab workers at the company; contradictory evidence exists for each claim. Monkeyshines, No. 2 and Monkeyshines, No. 3 quickly followed to test further conditions.

These films were intended to be internal tests of the new camera system and were not created for commercial use; their rise to prominence resulted much later due to work by film historians. All three films show a blurry figure in white standing in one place making large gestures and are only a few seconds long. Monkeyshines No. 3 has disappeared and may be lost.

The pioneering achievement of the film series Monkeyshines (specifically Monkeyshines, No. 1, produced circa 1889–1890) is that it is widely recognized as the first motion picture ever shot in the United States. 

First American Film Production: Produced at Thomas Edison's laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, by William Kennedy Dickson and William Heise, it stands as the earliest surviving motion picture made in the U.S.

Experimental Test Format: It was created primarily as an experiment to test the original cylinder format for the Kinetograph (the camera) and the Kinetoscope (the viewing device). Unlike later films that used flat strips of film, these images were recorded on photosensitive paper sheets wrapped around a rotating cylinder, mirroring the technology of Edison’s phonograph cylinders.

Foundation for Cinema Industry: While the surviving footage is brief (lasting only seconds) and depicts a blurred figure making large gestures, it demonstrated the feasibility of recording and replaying moving images, laying the groundwork for the modern film industry.

Evolution of Media: The failure of these cylinder-based experiments eventually convinced Dickson and Edison to transition to celluloid film strips, which became the global standard for motion pictures. 

Scholars debate the exact date of the film's creation, with some attributing it to June 1889 starring lab worker Fred Ott, and others to November 1890 starring Giuseppe Sacco Albanese.