The Great Train Robbery

"It electrified dad! It terrified mother! It will amuse you!"

1903 0h 12m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

🔥

100%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 726🍅100%Rotten Tomatoes★7.3IMDB · 21,493

WesternCrimeActionAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After the train station clerk is assaulted and left bound and gagged, then the departing train and its passengers robbed, a posse goes in hot pursuit of the fleeing bandits.

“It electrified dad! It terrified mother! It will amuse you!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Gilbert M. Anderson
Bandit / Shot Passenger / Tenderfoot Dancer (uncredited)
John Manus Dougherty Sr.
Bandit (uncredited)
Frank Hanaway
Bandit (uncredited)
Adam Charles Hayman
Bandit (uncredited)
Robert Milasch
Trainman / Bandit (uncredited)
Marie Murray
Dance-Hall Dancer (uncredited)
Mary Snow
Little Girl (uncredited)
A.C. Abadie
Sheriff (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Edwin S. Porter
Writers: Scott Marble, Edwin S. Porter
Languages: No Language
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 12-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

123 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Edwin S. Porter, shot by Edwin S. Porter. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Gilbert M. Anderson and John Manus Dougherty Sr. and Frank Hanaway carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It electrified dad! It terrified mother! It will amuse you!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0000439 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Edwin S. Porter directs. Edwin S. Porter behind the camera. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in No Language.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 12-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3123 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Edwin S. Porter, shot by Edwin S. Porter. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Gilbert M. Anderson and John Manus Dougherty Sr. and Frank Hanaway carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "It electrified dad! It terrified mother! It will amuse you!".
8IMDB entry: tt0000439 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 11 themes, including "robbery", "robber", "dynamite", "hold-up robbery".
10Released under 20 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Edwin S. Porter
Runtime: 12 min · 0h 12m
Status: Released
Budget: $150
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Great Train Robbery (1903)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.3/10 · 21,493 votes
MPAA: TV-G

Awards

1 win

Also by

Edwin S. Porter

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

James2023-10-28
★ 6/10
Firstly, I feel honoured to be the first to write a review for this prestigious short; secondly, I found it to be… good. I can’t claim any more than that, though it is heavily influential. The narrative is unlike many other short, silent films as it actually sucks you in until that fantastic final shot. But was it perfection? No. Is it worth watching? Of course, I’m sure any of my fellow cinephiles can waste ten minutes for this cinematic curio.
CinemaSerf2024-06-30
★ 7/10
This opens with quite a menacing scene from Justus D. Barnes who points his pistol right between our eyes.... Then you have to feel a bit sorry for "Broncho Billy" Anderson who proceeds to get himself tied up, shot and generally manhandled as a ruthless gang raid his railway office then hold up the train robbing both the strong box and the passengers. Luckily he is eventually able to raise the alarm and a posse is soon on the trail of the thieves - but will they escape? It's barely eleven minutes long, this, but packs loads of action into that time and the photography uses indoor and outdoor space to good effect, offering us a degree of continuity of story and imagery that builds nicely to quite an exciting shoot-out in conclusion. It's not so hard to tell the real from the fake, but that doesn't really matter - the whole thing is groundbreaking and well worth a gander.