A family of moonshiners loads several jugs of illicit whiskey onto a horse-drawn wagon. They leave to make a transaction. A government agent ("The Revenue Spy") observes their departure and heads after them on horseback. The agent observes the family trading the moonshine for corn, thus securing the evidence. The agent heads back to notify his colleagues, and they all leave to make the arrest. Meanwhile, the moonshiners go to work on their still. Significant footage is devoted to showing the methods and procedures of operating the still, which adds a documentary dimension to the film.[1] The lookout is ambushed and apprehended by the government agents, who proceed to have a gunfight with the two outlaws operating the still. One of the outlaws is killed and the other flees, only to be shot by another agent. In retribution, the outlaw's wife kills the agent. The final scene shows the outlaw dying in his wife's arms. The final intertitle reads "The Law Vindicated" but the film appears to portray the outlaws in a sympathetic light, undermining the moral message.[1]
The film has been mentioned as an example of the "story films" produced by Biograph in the early 1900s, which allowed this company to overtake the Edison Company as "America's foremost motion picture producer". These types of films helped usher in the "Nickelodeon Era" (c. 1905-1915), a period of rapid expansion of small storefront movie theaters.[2]
Referencesedit
^ abcdMusser, Charles (1990). The Emergence of Cinema: the American Screen to 1907. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press.
^ ab"The Moonshiner". Filmsite.org. Filmsite.org. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
moonshiner, film, moonshiner, 1904, american, short, silent, action, film, produced, american, mutoscope, biograph, company, directed, wallace, mccutcheon, moonshiner, 1904, moonshiners, working, stilldirected, bywallace, mccutcheon, cinematographyg, bitzerdis. The Moonshiner is a 1904 American short silent action film produced by the American Mutoscope amp Biograph Company and directed by Wallace McCutcheon Sr The Moonshiner 1904 Moonshiners working at the stillDirected byWallace McCutcheon Sr CinematographyG W BitzerDistributed byBiograph CompanyRelease date1904 1904 Running time13 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguagesSilent film withEnglish intertitles Contents 1 Plot 2 Production and distribution 3 Analysis 4 References 5 External linksPlot editA family of moonshiners loads several jugs of illicit whiskey onto a horse drawn wagon They leave to make a transaction A government agent The Revenue Spy observes their departure and heads after them on horseback The agent observes the family trading the moonshine for corn thus securing the evidence The agent heads back to notify his colleagues and they all leave to make the arrest Meanwhile the moonshiners go to work on their still Significant footage is devoted to showing the methods and procedures of operating the still which adds a documentary dimension to the film 1 The lookout is ambushed and apprehended by the government agents who proceed to have a gunfight with the two outlaws operating the still One of the outlaws is killed and the other flees only to be shot by another agent In retribution the outlaw s wife kills the agent The final scene shows the outlaw dying in his wife s arms The final intertitle reads The Law Vindicated but the film appears to portray the outlaws in a sympathetic light undermining the moral message 1 Production and distribution editThe film was filmed on location in Scarsdale New York in June and July 1904 1 2 It was produced and distributed by the American Mutoscope amp Biograph Company The film was produced with intertitles which became standard on subsequent Biograph films 1 Analysis editThe film has been mentioned as an example of the story films produced by Biograph in the early 1900s which allowed this company to overtake the Edison Company as America s foremost motion picture producer These types of films helped usher in the Nickelodeon Era c 1905 1915 a period of rapid expansion of small storefront movie theaters 2 References edit a b c d Musser Charles 1990 The Emergence of Cinema the American Screen to 1907 Berkeley and Los Angeles California University of California Press a b The Moonshiner Filmsite org Filmsite org Retrieved 11 April 2022 External links edithttps www youtube com watch v bZyttk48N2I https www imdb com title tt0283495 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Moonshiner film amp oldid 1214301681, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
