Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

cricket crockett . . . and they do it with some attitude. Unlike the feline title characters who sell out for second billing in a later short from the Edison Manufacturing Company--PROF. WELTON'S BOXING CATS--the dog who graces ATHLETE WITH WAND (pay close attention to the lower right of the screen) proves why his kind are considered "man's best friend" decades before LASSIE ever filled the nickelodeon. At first this principled canine (who would not allow his name to appear in the final credits) looks at his alleged "athlete" co-star thinking "this guy is CRAZY!" as the Newark "gymnast" mugs for the camera. This dog obviously has the breeding to know the rough outlines of what male gymnasts would be doing in the Olympics (rings, pommel horse, parallel bars, floor exercise and such), which is why he virtually ignores the poser taking center stage here. "You won't win a gold medal for dancing with a yardstick, Mac!" the dog certainly is thinking, as he turns his head away in disgust. All I can add is, Good call, Fido! Too bad the clown with a "wand" did not pick up on your training cues.

Michael_Elliott Athlete With Wand (1894) The title is pretty much what you get in this Edison film. This is a rather interesting film on many levels because of the history behind it. I'm not sure if the athlete has ever been identified but he certainly doesn't get to show off his talents, if he even had any. Pretty much the man just stands in the center of the frame and moves his arms and legs into various positions while holding a wand in both hands. The point of this? I'm really not sure but it's interesting to note that Dickson keeps the actor in the center of the frame apparently thinking this is where people are going to be looking. If you're eyes are centered on the center of the frame then you're going to miss the best moments and that's the dog sitting on the floor, looking at the athlete with a face, like the viewer, wondering what the hell the guy is doing. The dog itself makes this worth viewing not only for history but for pure entertainment.

Boba_Fett1138 The athlete shows some great flexibility here! ...Seriously what is this guy doing? It looks ridicules. He is simply flexing his arms and legs in different positions while constantly holding a wand in his both hands. Of course they simply wanted to test as many movements as possible to see what the possibilities were, the do's and don't's and how it all looked on film.Interestinly there is also a dog lying in the corner, presumably also as part of the experiment to see how secondary objects, persons, other things or in this case a dog would look on the corner of the camera field. The dog also looked as if he/she was trying to figure out what this athlete was exactly doing, but he/she mostly didn't bothered with him and simply choose to relax a bit. I sympathize for him/her.For an early Edison Manufacturing Company film it's quite long. It's over 30 seconds long. And all shows that Edison and Co. were all making progress at the point.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Snow Leopard This brief footage provides a glimpse into a developmental stage of early cinema, in that it preserves what was understood to be a practice feature made by the Edison Company, in preparation for filming some popular acts in their 'Black Maria' studio. The material itself is largely bland, but it contains a dash of ironic humor, whether it was intentional or not.The focus here is on a gymnast who does a brief, very simple routine using a wand or short staff, which he holds as he takes up various positions using his arms and legs. The point of the movie was not the gymnastic routine, which in itself is neither difficult or interesting. Rather, this footage allowed W.K.L Dickson and the other Edison film-makers to gain experience in the studio before filming the strongman Sandow (which they did shortly after making this) and other popular acts. Filming a moving performer helped them in judging how much movement the subject could make without leaving the camera field, and also with other such considerations that did not apply to still photography.Besides its main purpose, it has one humorous detail, in the dog lounging in the corner of the foreground. It's quite possible that the dog was placed there solely as a practical measure, to see how well the camera captured movements at the edges of the camera field. But it's also rather amusing to watch the dog and to see its reaction to the activities of the gymnast and the camera crew. Whether intentional or not, it adds a touch of humor to a movie that already holds some historical interest.