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Arrest in Chinatown, San Francisco, Cal.
(1897) United States of America
B&W : 68 feet
Directed by James H. White
Cast: (unknown)
Edison Manufacturing Company production; distributed by [?] Edison Manufacturing Company? / Cinematography by Frederick Blechynden. / © 25 October 1897 by Thomas A. Edison [60596]. / [?] Kinetoscope 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format or Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format? / The production was shot in August 1897 at the intersections of Washington Street and Stout’s Alley (now Ross Alley) between Grant Avenue and Stockton Street in San Francisco, California. Musser control number 397.
Documentary: Actuality.
Synopsis: [Catalogue, F.Z. Maguire & Company, (March 1898), page 97] Taken in San Francisco, Cal., in the famous Chinatown district, where more Chinamen are quartered than any other place of equal size in the United States. the scene is an actual one and shows the arrest of two Chinamen, one a high-binder and the other a hatchet-man, terms applied to two of the worst classes of Chinese criminals. The scene opens showing one of the criminals being forced by a policemen up the street toward the audience. The prisoner’s look of anger and hatred is very clearly portrayed. The street is full of pedestrians, all more or less excited, among them being onw woman, who clearly shows her fright and hastens across the street to get away from the crowd. In order to get a picture of the patrol wagon it was necessary to move the camera, which caused a change in background. The last portion shows the arrival and leaving of the patrol wagon, with prisoners, officers, detectives, etc. The whole film is full of action and is a clear and sharp subject.
Survival status: Print exists in the Library of Congress film archive (paper print collection) [35mm paper positive (LC 992)].
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Keywords: Chinese - Criminals - Law: Enforcement: Police: Detectives, Policemen - Street scenes - USA: California: San Francisco
Listing updated: 25 April 2015.
References: Film viewing : Musser-Edison p. 335; Niver-Early p. 12 : Website-LoC.
Home video: DVD.
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