Directing

William Heise

Born October 1, 1847 · Germany

Died February 14, 1910 · aged 62

William Heise was an American film cinematographer and director, active in the 1890s. Along with William K.L. Dickson, Heise was one of the most prolific filmmakers of the nascent days of cinema. Together, both men worked on many of the early shorts produced by the Edison Manufacturing Company and were credited for more than 175 short silent films, capturing numerous scenes of everyday life as wel…

Known For

Interrupted Lovers

Interrupted Lovers · 1896

Interrupted Lovers

MovieRomanceComedy

“The watchful father disturbs a dream of bliss, and the bucolic lover is taught a lesson. He made a great hit.” (Edison film catalog)

Annie Oakley

Annie Oakley · 1894

MovieDocumentaryWestern

A short Edison Black Maria studio film featuring famed sharpshooter Annie Oakley, known as “Little Sure Shot.” Born Phoebe Ann Oakley Mozee in Ohio in 1860, she rose to global fame performing with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. Accompanied (likely) by her husband and fellow marksman Frank Butler, Oakley’s diminutive stature belied her legendary marksmanship.

Blacksmithing Scene

Blacksmithing Scene · 1893

Blacksmithing Scene

Three men hammer on an anvil and pass a bottle of beer around. Notable for being the first film in which a scene is being acted out.

The Kiss

The Kiss · 1896

MovieDramaRomance

They get ready to kiss, begin to kiss, and kiss in a way that brings down the house every time.

Charity Ball

Charity Ball · 1897

MovieDocumentary

A Victorian couple dancing.

Caicedo (with Pole)

Caicedo (with Pole) · 1894

Caicedo (with Pole)

MovieDocumentary

King of the slack wire. His daring feats of balancing as he performs his thrilling feats in midair show that he is perfectly at home.

The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots · 1895

The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

A short film depicting the execution of Mary, Queen of the Scots. Mary is brought to the execution block and made to kneel down with her neck over it. The executioner lifts his axe ready to bring it down. After that frame Mary has been replaced by a dummy. The axe comes down and severs the head of the dummy from the body. The executioner picks up the head and shows it around for everyone else to see. One of the first camera tricks to be used in a movie.

Lone Fisherman

Lone Fisherman · 1896

A fellow in a wide-brimmed hat, with a willowy stick for a rod and a baited hook, sits down on a plank hanging over a bridge above a stream. He sticks the rod under his seat and picks up his bottle to take a swig. Behind him creeps a joker who removes the large flagstone that's holding the fisherman's plank in place.

Filmography

Sort

Interrupted Lovers

Interrupted Lovers · 1896

Interrupted Lovers

MovieRomanceComedy

“The watchful father disturbs a dream of bliss, and the bucolic lover is taught a lesson. He made a great hit.” (Edison film catalog)

Director of Photography

Annie Oakley

Annie Oakley · 1894

MovieDocumentaryWestern

A short Edison Black Maria studio film featuring famed sharpshooter Annie Oakley, known as “Little Sure Shot.” Born Phoebe Ann Oakley Mozee in Ohio in 1860, she rose to global fame performing with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. Accompanied (likely) by her husband and fellow marksman Frank Butler, Oakley’s diminutive stature belied her legendary marksmanship.

Director

Blacksmithing Scene

Blacksmithing Scene · 1893

Blacksmithing Scene

Three men hammer on an anvil and pass a bottle of beer around. Notable for being the first film in which a scene is being acted out.

Director

The Kiss

The Kiss · 1896

MovieDramaRomance

They get ready to kiss, begin to kiss, and kiss in a way that brings down the house every time.

Director

Charity Ball

Charity Ball · 1897

MovieDocumentary

A Victorian couple dancing.

Director

Caicedo (with Pole)

Caicedo (with Pole) · 1894

Caicedo (with Pole)

MovieDocumentary

King of the slack wire. His daring feats of balancing as he performs his thrilling feats in midair show that he is perfectly at home.

Director of Photography

The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots · 1895

The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

A short film depicting the execution of Mary, Queen of the Scots. Mary is brought to the execution block and made to kneel down with her neck over it. The executioner lifts his axe ready to bring it down. After that frame Mary has been replaced by a dummy. The axe comes down and severs the head of the dummy from the body. The executioner picks up the head and shows it around for everyone else to see. One of the first camera tricks to be used in a movie.

Director of Photography

Lone Fisherman

Lone Fisherman · 1896

A fellow in a wide-brimmed hat, with a willowy stick for a rod and a baited hook, sits down on a plank hanging over a bridge above a stream. He sticks the rod under his seat and picks up his bottle to take a swig. Behind him creeps a joker who removes the large flagstone that's holding the fisherman's plank in place.

Director of Photography

Dickson Experimental Sound Film

Dickson Experimental Sound Film · 1894

Dickson Experimental Sound Film

William K.L. Dickson plays the violin while two men dance. This is the oldest surviving sound film where sound is recorded on the phonograph.

Director

Carmencita

Carmencita · 1894

MovieDocumentary

The first woman to appear in front of an Edison motion picture camera and possibly the first woman to appear in a motion picture within the United States. In the film, Carmencita is recorded going through a routine she had been performing at Koster & Bial's in New York since February 1890.

Director

Danse serpentine (Annabelle)

Danse serpentine (Annabelle) · 1895

Danse serpentine (Annabelle)

MovieDocumentary

In a long, diaphanous skirt, held out by her hands with arms extended, Broadway dancer Annabelle Moore performs. Her dance emphasizes the movement of the flowing cloth. She moves to her right and left across an unadorned stage. Many of the prints were distributed in hand-tinted color.

Director

Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze

Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze · 1894

Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze

MovieDocumentary

A man (Thomas Edison's assistant) takes a pinch of snuff and sneezes. This is one of the earliest Thomas Edison films and was the second motion picture to be copyrighted in the United States.

Director

Buffalo Bill

Buffalo Bill · 1894

MovieWesternDocumentary

The famous army scout in an exhibition of rifle shooting. A fine picture of the principal, and beautiful smoke effects.

Director of Photography

Duncan Smoking

Duncan Smoking · 1891

Unfound film from 1891, directed by William K.L. Dickson and William Heise. The film stars James C. Duncan.

Director

Glenroy Brothers (Comic Boxing)

Glenroy Brothers (Comic Boxing) · 1894

Glenroy Brothers (Comic Boxing)

MovieDocumentaryComedy

The Glenroy Brothers perform a portion of their vaudeville act, "The Comic View of Boxing: The Tramp & the Athlete", which depicts a boxer with a classic style trying to contend with an opponent who uses a very unorthodox approach.

Director

Corbett and Courtney Before the Kinetograph

Corbett and Courtney Before the Kinetograph · 1894

Corbett and Courtney Before the Kinetograph

MovieDocumentary

James J. Corbett and Peter Courtney meet in a boxing exhibition.

Director

Shooting Captured Insurgents

Shooting Captured Insurgents · 1898

Shooting Captured Insurgents

“A file of Spanish soldiers line up the Cubans against a blank wall and fire a volley. The flash of rifles and drifting smoke make a very striking picture.” (Edison film catalog)

Director of Photography

Buffalo Stockyards

Buffalo Stockyards · 1897

Buffalo Stockyards

MovieDocumentary

From Edison films catalog: A long line of horses, mules and ponies are led, driven and ridden into the yards, where they are sold and distributed.

Camera Operator

Horse Shoeing

Horse Shoeing · 1893

MovieDocumentaryDrama

One of the pictures to be seen in the machine, for example, was that of a blacksmith shop in which two men were working, one shoeing a horse, the other heating iron at the forge. One would be seen to drive the nail into the shoe of the horse's hoof, to change his position and every movement needed in the work was clearly shown as if the object was in real (life). In fact, the whole routine of the two men's labor and their movements for the day was presented to the view of the observer.

Director

Monkeyshines, No. 1

Monkeyshines, No. 1 · 1890

Monkeyshines, No. 1

MovieDocumentary

Experimental film made to test the original cylinder format of the Kinetoscope and believed to be the first film shot in the United States. It shows a blurry figure in white standing in one place making large gestures and is only a few seconds long.

Director

Band Drill

Band Drill · 1894

MovieDocumentary

A scene from Charles Hoyt's 'A Milk White Flag': A brass band marches out, led by bandmaster Steele Ayers. When Ayers reaches his position, he turns around and directs the musicians as they take up their own positions.

Director

Monkeyshines, No. 2

Monkeyshines, No. 2 · 1890

Monkeyshines, No. 2

MovieDocumentary

Experimental film that follows up on the results of "Monkeyshines, No. 1". Once again, an Edison company worker moves around in front of the motion picture camera.

Director of Photography

Men Boxing

Men Boxing · 1891

MovieDocumentary

Experimental film fragment made with the Edison-Dickson-Heise experimental horizontal-feed kinetograph camera and viewer, using 3/4-inch wide film.

Director of Photography

Fatima's Coochee-Coochee Dance

Fatima's Coochee-Coochee Dance · 1896

Fatima's Coochee-Coochee Dance

MovieDocumentary

The dancer Fatima, well-known for her dancing shows at the World's Exhibition in 1893, performs for the camera. She opens her act by twirling around a few times, and then she does the 'muscle dance' for which she had attracted considerable notoriety.

Director