Chinese Laundry Scene (1894) User Reviews

Edison Manufacturing Company put-downs not just for Blacks . . .

[cricket30 · 5/10 · 15 August 2013]

. . . and Native Americans and Jewish folks anymore, as "chinamen" get skewered in pieces such as this, as well (even if the actors' names sound as Italian as pizza pie). Reared in that racist hotbed the U.S. Congress lumped in with the Confederate South for Voting Rights Act remediation (due to bombed-out school buses)--that is, Southeast Michigan--Thomas Alva Edison had a little warning light bulb go off in his brain whenever he saw, thought of, or got on an elevator with American minority people. So even if this tawdry CH!NESE LAUNDRY SCENE played in other more fleeting venues, no one held a gun to old Tom E.'s head, forcing his henchmen to film such despicable fare for all posterity. T. Alva could have had them out recording Queen Victoria's tea parties, the invention of automobiles, or major league baseball games BEFORE the steroids era. He could have documented early BASKETball games, when the ball was shot into an actual basket by 5' 4" guys. But no, he had to beat Fatty Arbuckle, Lenny Bruce, Andrew Dice Clay, Adam Sandler, and the Jackass crew to the punch below America's belt, always aiming for the cheap laugh and the quick buck, no matter how low and dirty!

Probably Rather Typical Of Its Genre

[Snow Leopard · 30 August 2005]

This is probably a rather typical example of the many early movies that were based on popular vaudeville acts of the 1890s. It is, honestly, not really all that entertaining, but it is still of some interest, in that the more of these early features you can watch, the better that you can understand the techniques, subject matter, and standards of the very earliest film-makers.

"Robetta and Doretto" were a popular slapstick act on vaudeville at the time that this movie was made, and it films one of their typical routines, an altercation between a Chinese laundry worker and an Irish police officer. The characters are stock vaudeville types, and the setting likewise is a stagy-looking representation of a storefront. Even the actors' names are mere stage names, calculated to make the performers sound more interesting.

The act itself would probably have been a bit more enjoyable if seen live, when color and sound effects could accompany the slapstick action. Later in cinema history, film-makers would learn how to design slapstick routines that made better use of the capabilities of the silent screen. Early features such as this one are not all that interesting in themselves, but they were a first step in the eventual development and refinement of motion picture comedy.

Okay little slapstick comedy

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 11 October 2013]

It only runs for around 15 seconds and is among the shortest works of Dickson and Heise. There's quite a lot action in it though, much more than in their films that show artists, dancers or athletes. One guy chases another. Revolving door hilarity ensues and the hunted, who seems to be quite athletic, climbs up. In order to hide? Nope. He provokes the other further by throwing an unknown object at him and he succeeds as it hits him. There's no further story about the two, if it's serious or all fun and if it's worth watching, then for being so different compared to the directors' other works. Beyond that, it's only a good choice for silent film enthusiasts.

This isn't all that funny . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 4/10 · 5 February 2013]

. . . and the people Edison was filming were supposed to be the vaudeville hotshots of their day. So either these guys got stage fright, or their schtick did not translate to the new medium of the movies. The historical record indicates that they enjoyed about 45 seconds of fame--the running time of three 50-foot kinetographs--which was most likely 40 seconds more than necessary. The actual title of this short in its heyday was ROBETTA AND DORETO, No. 2, which will perhaps help out those of you losing sleep at night over the apparent absence of this flick from IMDb. (This duo's other two shorts ARE listed under their original tiles of "No. 1" and "No. 3," but IMDb is not as hack proof as Wikipedia, meaning that if you want to change their GONE WITH THE WIND listing to BORING WHITE PEOPLE MAKE TROUBLE, you'll probably be able to if you have high school level hacker skills!

Entertaining, for 1894

[mtpattonar · 10/10 · 15 September 2017]

NOT the first film of 1894, despite previous reviewer's claim. The first Edison to be filmed for the purpose of commercial release was probably "Sandow", shot March 6, 1894, and first exhibited publicly on April 14 along with nine others. IMDb gives the release date for "Chinese Laundry" as May, 1894. The film notes that accompany the documentary "Edison, the Invention of the Movies", give the shooting date as November 26, 1894. At any rate, "Chinese Laundry" was definitely not the "first film".

Possibly the World's First Comedy Film . . . Albeit a Stage Routine

[Tornado_Sam · 21 February 2019]

"Robetta and Doretto, No. 2", made later in the year 1894 by the Edison Company, is an interesting example of a more advanced story film by W. K. L. Dickson. This is not at all to say that the twenty-second short is in any way different from the other single shot works of the company; the action still takes place within a fixed camera field, is once more against the boring black background of the company's previous output, and like the company's other work is a documentation of an act. The story itself is not at all sophisticated in any way, shape or form, and has no moral or allegorical value; it is a mere stage routine, a simple comedy, a primitive slapstick piece. Yet, while the short remains as such and is nothing new compared to the other performance routines Dickson and Heise shot, the fact that the act itself so happens to be a stage skit with a small narrative already begins to illustrate how the new medium could be used for telling stories--which is what eventually gave Méliès and the other companies the scent when they went on to begin narrative filmmaking.

In truth, "Chinese Laundry Scene" (the title the film is known as on here) was actually the second of three shootings documenting Phil Doretto and Robetta's (first name unknown) stage performance(s). The other two, Nos. 1 and 3, have either long since been destroyed or are simply not available to the internet; so if this is the case, they may unfortunately never resurface. It is also debatable whether they were films of the same act or documentations of different performances; opinions will differ. Likely as not, this film and No. 3 are/were undoubtedly both remakes of the original recording, quite obviously because of the wear and tear the original negative gained from having so many prints made. Already, this states just how popular the duo's act was, that three film versions had to be made to meet the demand for prints. Thus, no one should be surprised that the original was lost because probably of this issue. Furthermore, evidence states the exact same problem had occurred many times previous, with the Edison Company's "Sandow, No. 1" as a prime example, and would continue to occur for some years onward. Thus, the most likely answer is that indeed "No. 2" is a remake.

The brief film consists of a primitive cardboard laundromat building set up, quite stagy-looking and which would later be surpassed by Méliès's gorgeous sets in his fantasy features. A Chinese man (Robetta or Doretto, not sure) hits a policeman over the head with a bottle, runs into the laundry, and a wild chase ensues involving a trick door and a few minor stunts. Mere slapstick, all of it but fairly entertaining for the day.

While I indeed stated earlier on that the entire set-up is only a stage routine (and furthermore no different from the company's other shorts in that respect), I believe there should still be some recognition to this movie as being the first comedy film, made a year prior to the Lumière Brothers' "L'Arroseur Arrose" of 1895. Don't forget, even if the 'comedy' in this movie is only staged nonsense, the fact remains it is still comedy and undeniably the earliest forerunner to Charlie Chaplin. It is a staged slapstick routine put on film. Does this make the film a true comedy, or is it just a documentation? Answers will vary, but it is quite clear to me at least that the slapstick in the act likewise transfers to film, in the manner of water traveling through a paper towel. The "Robetta and Doretto" trilogy, though never recognized as such, is quite clearly (though arguably) an almost certain contender to the beginning of film comedy.

Chinese Laundry Scene

[Michael_Elliott · 21 September 2018]

Chinese Laundry Scene (1894)

A Chinese laundry man (I'm assuming this due to the film's title) is chased by a police officer. This "chase" happens within the frame as we've got an obvious set with a couple doors that the two men chase through. For the most part there's certainly nothing ground-breaking with this film but it does have some mild interest including the set, which looks quite silly but quite often these early movies used real locations. The laundry shop set looks poor but at the same time it's mildly entertaining for what it is. Fans of these early movies will want to check this out.

The film offers the pursuit of a Chinese man who hits a police officer over the head with a basket outside a laundry, and then runs inside the laundry.

[wajiharaza · 8 April 2017]

1894 FIRST FILM

Chinese Laundry (or the Pursuit of Hop Lee by an irate policeman). (1894). Edison Kinetoscope Film. Directors: William K.L. Dickson, William Heise. Cast: Robetta, Doretto.

The title appears in the Maguire and Baucus catalog of 1897, where it is described as the "Pursuit of Hop Lee by an irate policeman", an old vaudeville act. Maguire and Baucus were the London agents for the Kinetoscope.

While "Chinese Laundry" is their first silent film, William Heise first filmed/Takes/Shots include "Monkey Shines, No. 1 in 1890 and William K.L. Dickson's "Newark Athlete" in 1891.

Reference: Iris Barry, Eileen Bowser, Gary Carey, Alistair Cooke, Richard Griffith, Arthur Knight, & Donald Richie. (n. d.). Silent Films. NY: Museum of Modern Art and the United States Information Agency.