Blue Movies

August 21, 1901. Thomas A. Edison Inc. Alfred C. Abadie (the swell), Florence Georgie (the girl) Filmmakers: Edwin S. Porter and George S. Fleming [?] This film is a very early effort at presenting a ''story'' on film, in this case a punch line of sorts when a young lady has a Marilyn Monroe moment over a sidewalk steam vent. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it did not take much to make a man smile. A glimpse of stocking covered ankle or calf was enough. The early films 'Tenderloin at Night' (1899), and 'Two A.M. in the Subway' (1905) are other examples of 'leg show' Kinetoscopes from the period. This was shot on 23rd Street facing 6th Avenue. The Sixth Avenue 'El' can be seen beyond the lamppost in the background. The following year (1902) on 23rd Street between Fifth and Broadway, D. H. Burnham's Fuller or ''Flatiron'' Building was complete. It was quickly discovered that the wind in the area whipped up a mean gust which gave interested males a new hobby. If one stood around long enough during windy seasons, it might be possible to catch a glimpse of some frail's ankle. If it was really windy and a feller was really lucky and the gal was really unaware then maybe, just maybe, a guy could see some calf in a sudden gust.* The cops walking the beat along Twenty-third Street would make the leering young (and old) men move along with a wave of the nightstick and a pithy ''No loitering...skidoo!,'' giving rise to the term ''23 skidoo.'' Given that absolutely everyone wore hats, I'm sure it was also a common sight to see some boaters, bowlers, and feminine flowered chapeaus escape the head of their owners and roll away.* As if that isn't enough, they had to hope their hat wouldn't score a hit with one of those 'gifts' left behind by the numerous city work horses!