Edwin S. Porter
male
Born on April 21, 1870 (155 years old)
Passed Away on April 30, 1941
From Connellsville, Pennsylvania, USA
Known for Directing
Biography
Edwin Stanton Porter was an American film pioneer, most famous as a producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer with the Edison Manufacturing Company and the Famous Players Film Company. Influenced by both the "Brighton school" and the story films of Georges Méliès, Porter went on to make important shorts such as Life of an American Fireman (1903) and The Great Train Robbery (1903). In them, he helped to develop the modern concept of continuity editing, paving the way for D.W. Griffith who would expand on Porter's discovery that the unit of film structure was the shot rather than the scene. Porter, in an attempt to resist the new industrial system born out of the popularity of nickelodeons, left Edison in 1909 to form his own production company which he eventually sold in 1912. Porter remains an enigmatic figure in motion picture history. Though his significance as director of The Great Train Robbery and other innovative early films is undeniable, he rarely repeated an innovation after he had used it successfully, never developed a consistent directorial style, and in later years never protested when others rediscovered his techniques and claimed them as their own. He was a modest, quiet, cautious man who felt uncomfortable working with the famous stars he directed starting in 1912. He has directed four films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Life of an American Fireman (1903), The Great Train Robbery (1903), Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906) and Tess of the Storm Country (1914).
Cast Credits
Crew Credits
- 1915
- 1914
A Good Little Devil
as
Director
1914
Tess of the Storm Country
as
Director
1914
Hearts Adrift
as
Director
1914
A Good Little Devil
as
Director of Photography
1914
Such a Little Queen
as
Director
1914
Hearts Adrift
as
Director of Photography
1914
Tess of the Storm Country
as
Director of Photography
1914
The Crucible
as
Director
1914
The Crucible
as
Writer
1914
- 1913
- 1911
- 1910
- 1909
- 1908
Rescued from an Eagle's Nest
as
Cinematography
1908
Tale the Autumn Leaves Told
as
Director
1908
Fireside Reminiscences
as
Director
1908
A Suburbanite's Ingenious Alarm
as
Director
1908
- no image
Miss Sherlock Holmes
as
Director
1908
- no image
The Gentleman Burglar
as
Scenario Writer
1908
- no image
The Gentleman Burglar
as
Director
1908
Cupid’s Pranks
as
Director of Photography
1908
- no image
A Country Girl's Seminary Life and Experiences
as
Director
1908
- no image
She
as
Director
1908
- no image
She
as
Writer
1908
- no image
Nero and the Burning of Rome
as
Cinematography
1908
- 1907
The 'Teddy' Bears
as
Director
1907
Cohen’s Fire Sale
as
Director
1907
A Little Girl Who Did Not Believe in Santa Claus
as
Director
1907
The Trainer’s Daughter, or A Race for Love
as
Director
1907
The Rivals
as
Director
1907
College Chums
as
Director
1907
Laughing Gas
as
Director
1907
Jack the Kisser
as
Director
1907
- no image
Poor John
as
Director
1907
Waiting at the Church
as
Director
1907
- 1906
Dream of a Rarebit Fiend
as
Director
1906
Three American Beauties
as
Director
1906
Kathleen Mavourneen
as
Director
1906
A Winter Straw Ride
as
Director
1906
The Terrible Kids
as
Director
1906
Getting Evidence
as
Director
1906
How the Office Boy Saw the Ball Game
as
Director
1906
Getting Evidence
as
Director of Photography
1906
How the Office Boy Saw the Ball Game
as
Director of Photography
1906
- no image
The Life of an American Cowboy
as
Director
1906
The Life of a Cowboy
as
Director
1906
A Winter Straw Ride
as
Director of Photography
1906
Three American Beauties
as
Director of Photography
1906
Dream of a Rarebit Fiend
as
Producer
1906
- 1905
The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog
as
Director
1905
The Little Train Robbery
as
Director
1905
Coney Island at Night
as
Director
1905
The Night Before Christmas
as
Director
1905
Scenes and Incidents, Russo-Japanese Peace Conference, Portsmouth, N. H.
as
Director
1905
The Miller’s Daughter
as
Director
1905
The White Caps
as
Director
1905
The Seven Ages
as
Director
1905
The Kleptomaniac
as
Director
1905
The Watermelon Patch
as
Director
1905
The Life of an American Policeman
as
Director
1905
Police Chasing Scorching Auto
as
Director
1905
- no image
How Jones Lost His Roll
as
Director
1905
- no image
The Burglar's Slide for Life
as
Director
1905
The Train Wreckers
as
Director
1905
The Night Before Christmas
as
Director of Photography
1905
- no image
How Jones Lost His Roll
as
Director of Photography
1905
- no image
Empire State Express, the Second, Taking Water on the Fly
as
Camera Operator
1905
On a Good Old 5¢ Trolley Ride
as
Camera Operator
1905
- no image
Desperate Encounter Between Burglar and Police
as
Director
1905
- no image
The Boarding School Girls
as
Director
1905
- 1904
The Ex-Convict
as
Director
1904
European Rest Cure
as
Director
1904
- no image
Maniac Chase
as
Director
1904
How a French Nobleman Got a Wife Through the 'New York Herald' Personal Columns
as
Director
1904
Rector's to Claremont
as
Director
1904
Nervy Nat Kisses the Bride
as
Director
1904
- no image
A Rube Couple at a County Fair
as
Director
1904
The Strenuous Life; or, Anti-Race Suicide
as
Director
1904
- no image
Buster Makes Room for His Mama at the Bargain Counter
as
Director
1904
- no image
Buster and Tige Put a Balloon Vendor Out of Business
as
Director
1904
Buster's Dog to the Rescue
as
Director
1904
Scarecrow Pump
as
Director
1904
- no image
Pranks of Buster Brown and His Dog Tige
as
Director
1904
- no image
Buster Brown and the Dude
as
Director
1904
- no image
Scenes in an Infant Orphan Asylum
as
Director
1904
- no image
Parsifal
as
Director
1904
Dog Factory
as
Director
1904
Photographing a Female Crook
as
Director
1904
- no image
Western Stage Coach Hold Up
as
Director
1904
- no image
A Brush Between Cowboys and Indians
as
Director
1904
- no image
Parsifal
as
Director of Photography
1904
- no image
R. F. Outcault Making a Sketch of Buster and Tige
as
Director
1904
- no image
Fire and Flames at Luna Park, Coney Island (An Attraction at Coney Island)
as
Director of Photography
1904
City Hall to Harlem in 15 Seconds, Via the Subway Route
as
Director
1904
- no image
Rounding Up of the “Yeggmen”
as
Director
1904
Skirmish Between Russian and Japanese Advance Guards
as
Director
1904
Skirmish Between Russian and Japanese Advance Guards
as
Camera Operator
1904
Crossing Ice Bridge at Niagara Falls
as
Camera Operator
1904
- no image
Canoeing on the Charles River, Boston, Mass.
as
Director of Photography
1904
- no image
Animated Painting
as
Director
1904
Japanese Acrobats
as
Director
1904
- no image
Fighting the Flames, Dreamland
as
Director
1904
Crossing Ice Bridge at Niagara Falls
as
Director
1904
Railroad Smashup
as
Director
1904
Battle of Chemulpo Bay
as
Director
1904
- no image
Treloar and Miss Marshall, Prize Winners at the Physical Culture Show in Madison Square Garden
as
Director
1904
- 1903
The Great Train Robbery
as
Director of Photography
1903
The Great Train Robbery
as
Director
1903
Life of an American Fireman
as
Director
1903
A Romance of the Rail
as
Director
1903
The Gay Shoe Clerk
as
Director
1903
Uncle Tom's Cabin
as
Director
1903
Subub Surprises the Burglar
as
Director
1903
Rube and Mandy at Coney Island
as
Director
1903
New York City 'Ghetto' Fish Market
as
Director
1903
What Happened in the Tunnel
as
Director
1903
The Unappreciated Joke
as
Director
1903
The Messenger Boy's Mistake
as
Director
1903
- no image
Panorama of Riker's Island, N.Y.
as
Director
1903
- no image
The Extra Turn
as
Director
1903
White Wings on Review
as
Director
1903
- no image
New York Harbor Police Boat Patrol Capturing Pirates
as
Director
1903
- no image
New York City Dumping Wharf
as
Director
1903
- no image
Fireboat 'New Yorker' in Action
as
Director
1903
Sorting Refuse at Incinerating Plant, New York City
as
Director
1903
The Gay Shoe Clerk
as
Director of Photography
1903
What Happened in the Tunnel
as
Director of Photography
1903
The Great Train Robbery
as
Writer
1903
The Great Train Robbery
as
Producer
1903
Electrocuting an Elephant
as
Director of Photography
1903
Buster's Joke on Papa (II)
as
Director
1903
Buster's Joke on Papa (I)
as
Director
1903
Electrocuting an Elephant
as
Director
1903
- no image
Street Car Chivalry
as
Director
1903
- no image
Panorama of Blackwell's Island
as
Director
1903
- no image
Panorama Water Front and Brooklyn Bridge from East River
as
Director
1903
- no image
The Physical Culture Girl
as
Director
1903
- 1902
Jack and the Beanstalk
as
Director of Photography
1902
Jack and the Beanstalk
as
Director
1902
Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show
as
Director
1902
- no image
The Burlesque Suicide, No. 2
as
Director
1902
Fun in a Bakery Shop
as
Director
1902
Interrupted Bathers
as
Director
1902
Burning of Durland's Riding Academy
as
Director
1902
- no image
Babies Rolling Eggs
as
Director
1902
Charleston Chain-Gang
as
Director
1902
How They Do Things on the Bowery
as
Director
1902
- no image
Rock of Ages
as
Director
1902
Appointment by Telephone
as
Director
1902
The Twentieth Century Tramp; or, Happy Hooligan and His Airship
as
Director
1902
- no image
The Burlesque Suicide
as
Director
1902
- no image
Burning of St. Pierre (Martinique)
as
Director
1902
- no image
Capture of the Biddle Brothers
as
Director
1902
- 1901
What Happened on Twenty-Third Street, New York City
as
Director
1901
Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King
as
Director
1901
- no image
Circular Panorama of Electric Tower
as
Director
1901
Pan-American Exposition by Night
as
Director
1901
Execution of Czolgosz with Panorama of Auburn Prison
as
Director
1901
Trapeze Disrobing Act
as
Director
1901
- no image
The Martyred Presidents
as
Director
1901
Panorama of Esplanade by Night
as
Director
1901
- no image
The Old Maid Having Her Picture Taken
as
Director
1901
- no image
Laura Comstock's Bag-Punching Dog
as
Director
1901
Another Job for the Undertaker
as
Director
1901
The Tramp's Unexpected Skate
as
Director
1901
- no image
Why Mr. Nation Wants a Divorce
as
Director
1901
- no image
Kansas Saloon Smashers
as
Director
1901
- no image
Sampson-Schley Controversy
as
Director
1901
- no image
The Old Maid in the Horsecar
as
Director
1901
Love by the Light of the Moon
as
Director
1901
The Artist's Dilemma
as
Director
1901
The Finish of Bridget McKeen
as
Director
1901
Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King
as
Director of Photography
1901
- no image
Circular Panorama of Electric Tower
as
Director of Photography
1901
- no image
Esquimaux Game of Snap-the-Whip
as
Director of Photography
1901
Catching an Early Train
as
Director
1901
- no image
The Reversible Divers
as
Director
1901
- no image
Aunt Sallie's Wonderful Bustle
as
Cinematography
1901
- no image
Life Rescue at Long Branch
as
Director
1901
Photographing a Country Couple
as
Director
1901
Day at the Circus
as
Director
1901
- no image
Panoramic View of Electric Tower from a Balloon
as
Director of Photography
1901
Execution of Czolgosz with Panorama of Auburn Prison
as
Director of Photography
1901
- no image
The Esquimaux Village
as
Director
1901
A Trip Around the Pan-American Exposition
as
Director
1901
- 1900
Uncle Josh's Nightmare
as
Director
1900
Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel
as
Director
1900
A Dull Razor
as
Director
1900
- no image
An Animated Luncheon
as
Director
1900
- no image
The Magician
as
Director
1900
- no image
Ching Ling Foo Outdone
as
Director
1900
- no image
Faust and Marguerite
as
Director
1900
An Artist's Dream
as
Director
1900
- no image
The Mystic Swing
as
Director
1900
- no image
Dewar's Scotch Whisky
as
Director
1900
- no image
The Kiss
as
Director
1900
- 1899
