ENTERTAINMENT
Furry Friends
in Film
Michelle L . Curtis ilm actor W . C . Fields is quoted as saying , “ Never work with animals or children .” Their knack for scene stealing and unpredictability can challenge even the most seasoned onscreen performer . Our furry friends have been feature players on the big screen since the dawn of motion pictures . Before photos and videos of crazy kitties took over the internet , Thomas Edison filmed Professor Welton ’ s Boxing Cats in 1894 while testing his most recent invention , the motion picture camera . Thomas Edison and his staff worked tirelessly at his Black Maria Studio in West Orange , New Jersey churning out countless displays to showcase their new invention . The frisky kitties duked it out for just under 30 seconds , but it was one the most popular of Edison ’ s early films to play in Nickelodeons . Cats were just the start of the movie going public ’ s obsession with animals in film .
During the silent film era , nearly every movie studio had a heroic dog on their payroll . Before there was there was the faithful and brave Collie named Lassie , there was Jean . A multi-colored Scotch Collie , Jean has been credited as being the very first canine star of the silver screen . She was owned by Vitagraph Studios director Laurence Trimble . He needed the right dog that was able to “ act naturally ” and perform stunts for a crucial scene in a particular production , and he hit the jackpot with Jean . She was fearless and would jump , swim , bark , attack and cuddle on command … as long as her trainer had a smal piece of dried rabbit meat as a reward . Jean became so popular after only a few apperances in short films , staff writers
began creating stories just for her . Jean the Matchmaker was released in 1910 , catapulting her popularity to rival that of Vitagraph ’ s human stars . Jean and the Calico Doll and Jean Goes Fishing ( both also 1910 films ) were such hits for the studio , Timble decided to retire Jean and breed her for the next generation of canine stars . The birth of her first litter was made into a special feature called Jean and Her Family ( 1913 ), but her pups didn ’ t have the acting bug and were given to studio employees . Jean and Timble worked so weel together that he decieded to stop directing films altogether and train dogs specialzing in guides for the blind .
Jean not only inspired audiences with her feats of bravery and unconditonal love , she gave rise to a string of canine stars that burst into the spotlight . Nearly every budding silent motion
36 | WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2017