First Kiss in Cinematic History

The year is 1896, and the world of the Victorians was one of all things genteel and moral. Well, at least, on the surface, for some. Around this time, Thomas Edison purchased the rights to a motion picture projector which C. Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armat had invented. The projector was later renamed the “Vitascope,” and on April 23, 1896 , it made its debut. The “Edison” Vitascope’s most popular film that year was the “May Irwin Kiss,” or “The Kiss.”

May Irwin was a 34-year-old Canadian actress, comedienne and singer. In 1895, May Irwin landed a starring role on Broadway in a musical comedy created for her by J.J. McNally, called “The Widow Jones.” The play had a “juicy” kissing scene, ok don’t laugh, remember it’s 1895. At the end of the play, May Irwin and her co-star, John C. Rice give each other a lingering kiss. The Victorians were scandalized when this scene was recreated for Edison’s camera the following year. They didn’t like it in the play, and they found it repulsive when this kiss was magnified on screen. One critic, Herbert Stone complained, “…..neither participant is physically attractive and the spectacle of their prolonged pasturing on each other’s lips was hard to beat when only life size. Magnified to gargantuan proportions and repeated three times over is absolutely disgusting!” Just like today, as it was then, give a movie a  little controversy, and the masses will flock to the theater to see it. “The May Irwin Kiss,” was the most popular film produced that year by Thomas Edison’s film company. This is how Edison’s catalog pushed the film, “They get ready to kiss, begin to kiss, and kiss and kiss and kiss in a way that brings down the house every time.”  Do you think Edison was playing devil’s advocate? (laugh riot).

The short film directed by William Heise for Thomas Edison was deemed “culturally significant” in 1999 by the US Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. The film was long thought of as the first film to be shown publicly, however, a competing company Lumiere Brothers Cinematograph had featured another film publicly a month before. We can however say, it is the first screen kiss in cinematic history.

So what ever happened to America’s first film actress? Not only was she an actress, & singer, but she was a shrewd investor. Her shrewd ways made her a very wealthy woman. And in addition to her singing and acting, she also wrote lyrics for her songs. She recorded some songs;many of these recordings exist today. In 1914 she appeared in a silent movie called, “Mrs. Black is Back.” Still photos of May Irwin in this movie still exist today. Irwin’s buxom figure was “in” at the time, and her charming ways didn’t hurt her climb to fame. She was one of America’s most beloved performers for 30 years. She died in 1938 at age 76. Not much is known about what became of her co-star John C. Rice.

Of course we all know, times have most certainly changed. There are some scenes on screen today that would make the Victorians turn in their graves. I thought the woman to look older than her years. The flirting & lingering kiss was “steamy” for the day. Although, by today’s standards, not sexy at all. The scene shocked the Victorian society to its core, but little did they know, it was only the beginning of all things anti-Victorian.