Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

He_who_lurks While the content of this film is nothing really exciting, the history behind it makes it a must-see. First of all, it's the first film of the 25th President: William McKinley himself. It's actually a staged reenactment of when McKinley received the news of his nomination, so it's not true history we're witnessing, but the figures used to portray the history are the real President and the real Secretary.The film is a simple set-up. McKinley's on the lawn with his secretary, who hands him a letter. McKinley puts on his top hat and opens it, reads it, then he and his secretary slowly walk off. While the print is rather blurry we can tell Mr. McKinley is looking at the camera, while the secretary does a better job looking away. This film continued to be shown after the election of McKinley and probably was one of the most popular films of this president. Today it remains a big historical landmark of film and history.Oh, and another thing. McKinley was the first assassinated President to appear on film as well. That makes this the first film of an assassinated President!

Brandt Sponseller This is an approximately 35-second long Lumière Brothers actuality that shows the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley, at home in Ohio. As you might expect in a Lumière Brothers short, McKinley walks at an oblique angle from the front of his house to a planter in the front yard, then out of frame. An unidentified man walks with McKinley on his right hand side. At about mid-frame, just to the side of the planter, they stop, the man hands McKinley a paper, he puts on a top hat, he writes something on the paper, hands the paper back to the man, removes his hat, and they walk out of the frame.Depending on how you look at it, McKinley was either the first or second President to appear on film. The ambiguity rests on a couple technicalities. President McKinley at Home was actually filmed in 1896, when McKinley was campaigning for his first term--the actuality was probably taken during one of McKinley's famed "Front Porch" publicity events. Afterwards, another actuality was shot at McKinley's first inauguration in March 4, 1897, but Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th U.S. President (he served two non-consecutive terms) was filmed first--he attended McKinley's inauguration. So Cleveland was captured on film as President moments before McKinley was captured on film as President.This short is not the most fascinating Lumière Brothers work from an artistic standpoint, but of course it is of historical value. It's interesting to note how conscious of the camera McKinley and his companion are--they hardly take their eyes off of it while they're walking. Like many other Lumière "documentaries", it's intriguing just how clearly this scene was staged. McKinley and his companion stop just to the side of the planter as if they're hitting a mark. Their gait is very deliberate, as if timed to last the length of the film before they exit the frame. McKinley carefully places his hat on his head and takes it back off, as if to offer different "looks" for photographs.Although McKinley may not have been the first President captured on film, he's certainly the first President for whom film captured many important moments, including scenes from the Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo, New York, where McKinley was assassinated in 1901 at the beginning of his second term (although film of the assassination itself does not exist). Most of the McKinley films were produced by the Edison Manufacturing Company.

Snow Leopard This would be interesting to watch for the subject matter alone, even if for no other reason. Today we are used to seeing all kinds of footage of significant world leaders in various situations, but this is one of the very earliest motion pictures of an important world leader. It's no surprise to hear what a sensation this little feature was in its own time.The footage itself might seem somewhat plain, if compared with what we are used to seeing now. But it allows the opportunity to see a long-past President as more than just a name or a still photograph. It can be hard to make long-ago historical figures seem human, especially those who are only known for a couple of actions or distinctions. Even a simple film like this can work well in making McKinley more of a flesh-and-blood person.The outdoor scene is nice, also, since it makes the film seem more natural. Just seeing the way that McKinley is dressed, and the small mannerisms that you can glimpse here, makes it interesting.

F Gwynplaine MacIntyre William McKinley was an extremely popular President. (The man who assassinated him was a crackpot nihilist, who shot McKinley merely because he was the President ... not for any motive relevant to McKinley's policies.) Among McKinley's other achievements was his very dignified method of campaigning. McKinley refused to 'run' for office: instead, he made public appearances on the porch of his home near Canton, Ohio, politely answering the questions of reporters who came to interview him.This brief film purports to show William McKinley at the moment when he receives the Republican nomination in the summer of 1896, but it's actually a re-enactment staged several weeks later. At this early point in the history of movies, most 'newsreels' were doubly phony because the kings and generals depicted onscreen were actually anonymous actors in disguise, re-staging recent events. *This* film is also a re-enactment, but at least it features the actual people it claims to depict. William McKinley's brother Abner and his mentor Benjamin Harrison (the former President) were stockholders in the Biograph Film Company, and they persuaded McKinley to appear onscreen. A two-man camera crew arrived at McKinley's home in September 1896, setting up their equipment outside McKinley's L-shaped house. McKinley comes out of the house with his secretary, George Cortelyou, who formally hands McKinley the nomination documents (actually, a prop). McKinley glances at the papers, takes off his hat to reveal his receding hairline, and mops his large forehead with an even larger handkerchief.That's it. If you look closely at the porch in the background, you can see McKinley's wife: the former Ida Saxton sits on a rocking chair on the porch and fans herself during this gripping action. Mrs McKinley was a frail invalid: in private, she was pushed about in a wheelchair; in public, McKinley and his advisors went to great lengths to conceal her condition. When McKinley was fatally shot (in 1901, with George Cortelyou nearby), it's noteworthy that he ignored his own condition and spent his last conscious moments imploring Cortelyou to look after Mrs McKinley. By all accounts, the McKinleys were deeply in love. If he had lived, he might have been one of America's greatest Chief Executives ... he was certainly one of the most beloved.This movie is a vitally important historic document, but because it's a staged re-enactment I'll rate it only 9 out of 10 instead of a full 10 points.