Giant Coal Dumper (1897)Edison film with a title that pretty much tells you everything you need to know. In 39-seconds we see a vessel being loaded up with coal. Yes, that's pretty much it but this is still a very entertaining little film simply because it's a part of history and shows us how this was done back in 1897 when technology certainly wasn't where it is today. The film was shot on the Eric Railroad Docks in Cleveland, Ohio and might not feature a "story" or "acting" but it's still some nice entertainment for those early film buffs or those who just want to see how this type of thing was done.

Like all titles from those early one shot "documentaries" the title pretty much explains what we can see in the film. Here it is a giant coal dumper, showing how a full carload of coal is loaded onto a vessel at the Erie Railroad Docks, Cleveland, Ohio. The image is pretty impressive.From its first film the Edison Manufacturing Company has produced over a thousand of short films. The most famous is probably 'The Great Train Robbery', considered to be the first western, even though it was shot in New Jersey. The Brothers Lumière and Georges Méliès did their part in developing the cinema in France, Edison and later D.W. Griffith were their American counterparts.As for the single shot films from the Edison Manufacturing Company, they are all historically interesting. For some reason those from Lumière have a higher entertainment value, if that's what you should call it, but that does not mean they are more important. The Edison Manufacturing Company's short films existing out of multiple scenes belong to the highpoint of American cinema.