Scarecrow Pump

In itself, this is a reasonable attempt for its time to film a joke idea that was not all that easy to film with the techniques and resources then available. The movie is mildly amusing, and the climax works well, but it could have been funnier with a little more explanation or exposition. For that reason, this feature holds some interest as an example of the techniques of the early 1900s and their limitations.

The story starts with a boy dressing up a pump handle and its post as a scarecrow, as part of a practical joke, and it then follows what happens when his intended target comes along. Although some of the details in the setup are unclear, the payoff is amusing enough that you can enjoy it anyway, since that part of it at least is easy to understand.

The painted background is quite detailed for such a short, simple movie, and the props themselves also seem carefully chosen, as is often the case in Edwin S. Porter's movies. The main limitation comes not from anything visual, but from those aspects that need a little explanation.

Like many film-makers of the era, Porter had not yet begun to make regular use of title cards to assist the audience with the odd details of a story, instead hoping somehow to communicate everything through visuals and the actors' gestures. Not long after this, a simple inter-title would have been used to increase the audience's enjoyment of the joke. It still probably worked all right in its time, and from today's perspective it is one of many examples that help to show the gradual development of story-telling techniques.