ABSTRACT
Elementary factual films before 1914, whether of topical, travel or general interest, had almost all been short. During the war period the actuality film developed in structure and content but in a much expanded form, and as the open market disappeared both the number of the simplest type, and the importance accorded to individual examples, diminished. Some companies continued the old form of production longer than others. Loving care for photographic quality and camera angle enabled Hepworth, for example, to dispose not merely of travelogues but even of a number of simple scenics at least until the middle of the war, and he developed with considerable success his “stereo-scenics,” films using ordinary photography to present as nearly as possible a stereoscopic effect. Burlingham's Winter in Marseilles shows the elementary travel film at the beginning of the war:
Burlingham. Winter in Marseilles. (Released November 5, 1914, 435 ft.) Probably the most cosmopolitan port in the Mediterranean, this city, with its famous cathedral, is seen to furnish a capital ‘‘scenic.’’ Views of the great transporter bridge are well shown, there is some remarkable tinting, and a very beautiful sunset makes a most artistic finale. 1
