Part 438: Thomas G. Moses and “Rip Van Winkle”
In 1902, Thomas G. Moses created all of the scenery for Joseph Jefferson’s brand-new production of “Rip Van Winkle.” Moses had previously painted scenery for Jefferson in 1895 “to pad out his Rip Van Winkle play.”
The story was about a lazy man who drinks himself into a magical 20-year sleep. He wakes up after two decades to realize that he not only slept through the Revolutionary War, but his family no longer recognizes him. The play concludes with Rip promising to stay sober and his wife promising to be a better spouse.
The Jefferson name had been associated with Rip Van Winkle since 1859 when he starred in the role of Rip at Carusi’s Hall in Washington, D.C. This version of the show was a combination of the Washington Irving story, material from previous interpretations, and Jefferson’s own writing.
Jefferson prevailed on Dion Boucicault while in London to create a new four-act adaptation of the play. This 1865 version of “Rip Van Winkle” premiered at the Adelphi Theatre and was a great success with London audiences. The production then toured to New York, opening at the Olympic Theatre in 1866. By 1870, Jefferson was still playing the role of Rip at Booth’s Theatre where the show celebrated one hundred performances that year. “Rip Van Winkle” became Jefferson’s vehicle to fame and fortune.
In 1896, Joseph Jefferson also created a film version of the production; eight scenes from the show that were sold independently of each other. These shorts, running approximately 20-25 seconds each were later edited together and released as “Rip Van Winkle” in 1903.
The 1902 date on the title frame of each scene was when the copyright was secured by making a bromide print of every single frame. The scenes were filmed at Joseph Jefferson’s “Buzzard’s Bay” estate in 1896 by the American Mutograph Company.
Dickson left working with Thomas Edison after an incident when securing the rights to Thomas Arnat’s projections device. Edison renamed this machine, the Vitascope. Dickson created his own version of the machine and called it the Biograph, calling his company the American Mutograph and Biograph Company in 1899, and later the American Biograph Company.
Jefferson was one of the investors in this early film studio that produced hundreds of movies. The 1899 35mm mutograph camera used non-perforated film. It perforated the film inside the camera – this is how they got around the Edison patent of the time.
The films produced in 1896 consisted of eight short scenes: Rip’s Toast, Rip Meets the Dwarf, Rip and the Dwarf, Rip Leaving Sleepy Hollow, Rip’s Toast to Hudson and Crew, Rip’s Twenty Years’ Sleep, Awakening of Rip, and Rip Passing Over Hill. Here is a link to the film starring Jefferson and directed by W. K. L. Dickson: https://archive.org/details/rip_van_winkle_1896
By 1905, Jefferson’s son Thomas began his Broadway interpretation of the Rip role. Although it initially met with a lukewarm reception, Thomas continued to play the role of Rip, starring in the 1914 film. Jefferson signed with B. A. Rolfe Photo Plays, Inc., to portray Rip. The movie was filmed at the locations mentioned by Washington Irving in his novel. Jefferson was filmed wandering thru the brambles, thickets and streams of the Catskills near Palenville, New York. The film was released only a month after Jefferson signed the contract.
Here is a link to Thomas Jefferson’s film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMM_q_W7hB4
To be continued…
