Drowning Scene at Rockaway (lost film of alleged legitimate drowning accident; 1897)

This article has been tagged as NSFL due to its disturbing subject matter.

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Synopsis provided in International Photographic Films, 1897-1898.

Status: Lost

Drowning Scene at Rockaway is an 1897 supposed actuality film. Produced by the International Film Company and released in July 1897, it allegedly depicts a boating accident involving four occupants, who ultimately drowned beneath the waves of Rockaway Beach in New York. The film's lost status and the International Film Company's hyperbole-filled synopsis make it difficult to determine whether the film depicted a real tragedy or was a fake designed to lure in unsuspecting viewers.

Background

The International Film Company was formed in October 1896 by Charles H. Webster and Edmund Kuhn. Both had worked for the Vitascope Company and Edison Manufacturing Company respectively, with their initial business plan being to sell reproductions of Edison's early works. Such a practice was surprisingly lawful in an era shortly before Edison copyrighted his productions. However, the company soon produced its own unique 35 mm films ranging from 50 to 150 feet in length. Among the films it worked on included The Horitz Passion Play, which is considered the first production to be filmed in the Czech Republic. It also released the projectograph in December 1896, becoming the most affordable projector at only $200. Alas, the International Film Company's lifespan was rather short and its fate was sealed when Edison began copyrighting his productions and took extensive legal action against his competitors. The first target on Edison's list, the International Film Company opted to cease operations in 1898 rather than risk a lengthy legal fight and possible bankruptcy.

Before its closure, the International Film Company released International Photographic Films to showcase its works. Instead of establishing its own viewing parlours, the organisation sold its films for $10-$30 to interested exhibitors. It also promised to provide the occasional colourised film as an optional extra. A summary of its productions indicates the company focused on actuality films, priding itself on releasing "realistic" and "sharp and clear" quality works. Among its known surviving works include School Is Out, which showed a set of schoolboys playfighting at a beach; and Dewar's Scotch Whiskey/Scotch Dance, an advertisement showing four Scotsmen drunkenly dancing after presumably having had multiple Dewar's. But whereas those two films were innocent in nature, other works focused on more taboo subjects. For instance, Scalping Scene by Thundercloud depicted a tenderfoot being scalped by "Thundercloud", who is slated to have been a "genuine" Native American.

Drowning Scene at Rockaway

At least two other films were promoted as featuring legitimate scenes of death. Drowning Scene at Rockaway was a 50-foot recording that was first released to exhibitors in July 1897. According to the official synopsis, a cameraman situated at Rockaway Beach in New York stumbled upon and opted to capture a scene of tragedy unfolding in front of him. Two boats containing four individuals had capsized within the strong tide. In an attempt to right their boat, a man helps a woman up to its keel. However, they are then subsequently hit by a wave and fall back into the sea, resulting in them and the other pair drowning in the raging waters. Exactly whether the film depicts a legitimate drowning incident is unclear. In his essay titled Cataloging Contingency, Jonathan Auerbach noted several examples of hyperbole statements made in the official synopsis, including how it was "By a fortunate coincidence" that the cameraman happened to be "on the spot" when the incident occurred. However, he also notes that the chance recording, plus the lack of information concerning the four victims and their fates, means there is an unlikely, but not necessarily impossible chance the film's content was real.

A similar example is noted by Mario Slugan concerning the International Film Company work Lynching Scene, A Genuine Lynching Scene. The film, which allegedly saw a riotous crowd execute a prisoner somewhere in Texas, was subsequently released by the organisation after agreeing to authorities not to disclose the victim's identity nor where it transpired. Slugan notes that the synopsis' vague nature, as well as the fact some photographers were invited to lynchings before they took place, means it is impossible to determine whether the film was indeed legitimate or a fake. However, Drowning Scene most likely was a forgery. For example, a search of The New York Times indicated only two drownings at Rockaway were reported in 1897. These included a man's body found at Rockaway after having reportedly drowned; and a girl who saved her brother from drowning at the beach. Both incidents transpired after July 1897 and share no similarities to the accident detailed in Drowning Scene at Rockaway's synopsis.

Another suspicious aspect concerns another produced film titled Fishing and Capsizing. This work depicts two couples enjoying a fishing trip when one loving pair ends up capsizing and falling into the sea. The other couple then try to rescue them, in a production promoted as "A most laughable subject". The apparent narrative similarities between Fishing and Capsizing and Drowning Scene at Rockaway are clear, making it possible the former served as a prequel to the latter. If this is true, then Drowning Scene at Rockaway might have instead been designed to trick none-the-wiser viewers into seeing a forgery. The most damning evidence supporting this was that the organisation once claimed to have captured footage of the USS Maine while she was situated at Havana Harbour. Promoted as a genuine article taken before Maine sank on 15th February 1898, the reality was that it actually captured Maine's sister ship. This practice frequently happened in early filmmaking; for example, Lubin was infamous for ripping off customers by promoting his "reproductions" of boxing matches like James J. Corbett vs Bob Fitzsimmons as being the real bouts. Still, despite depicting a tragic event regardless of whether it was real or fake, the International Film Company marketed it as "one of the most thrilling and realistic scenes ever offered to the public."

Availability

Ultimately, Drowning Scene at Rockaway has been declared as a lost film, with the majority of the International Film Company's works having also not survived the test of time. The reasons behind the film's disappearance are not known, though it is presumably among over 90% of pre-1929 American works that will never be recovered due to poor preservation efforts.