One way to look at the early development
of films is to look at the progression of the length of films presented.
However, there are many oddities and problems such as film speed. There
was no set rate of frames per second so time would vary greatly depending
upon the exhibitor. This is why early silent film was measured in linear
measurements instead of time. To help calculate, 1000 ft would be about
15-17 minutes. Here's a chart of progression with each a commercial film
that took the record for length at that time:
Length |
Film |
Date |
| 80 ft |
Soldier's Courtship |
May 1896 |
| 150 ft |
Death of Nelson |
Oct. 1897 |
| 210 ft |
Sloper's Visit to Brighton |
July 1898 |
| 320 ft |
Our New General Servant |
Aug 1898 |
| 620 ft |
Marley's Ghost |
Nov 1901 |
| 800 ft |
Alice in Wonderland |
May 1903 |
| 820 ft |
Incidents in Life of Lord Nelson |
Oct. 1905 |
| 870 ft |
Life of Charles Peace |
Nov 1905 |
| 1000 ft |
Dick Turpin's Ride to York |
May 1906 |
| 1200 ft |
Cinderella |
Dec 1907 |
| 1240 ft |
Romeo and Juliet |
June 1908 |
| 1280 ft |
Sexton Blake |
Oct. 1909 |
| 1630 ft |
Martyrdom of Adolf Beck |
Dec 1909 |
| 2000 ft |
Henry VIII |
Feb 1911 |
| 2500 ft |
Rob Roy |
Sept 1911 |
| 3700 ft |
Oliver Twist* |
Sept 1912 |
| 4300 ft |
Lorna Doone |
Dec 1912 |
| 6200 ft |
East Lynne |
May 1913 |
| 7500 ft |
David Copperfield |
Aug 1913 |
| 9170 ft |
the Christian |
Nov 1915 |
*Oliver Twist was the first feature film in the UK
to go over an hour. This was a Hepworth Production of 4 reels starring ex-beauty
queen Ivy Millais as Oliver Twist and John McMahon as Fagin. It was released
2 months after Vitagraphs version in the US.
The Christian in 1915 held the record in film length
until 1923 when The Prodigal Son was released at 18454 ft which was the
longest silent film released in the UK.
