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Nickelodeon shows ran constantly from mid-morning to late evening. "Performances," as they were called, lasted about 15-30 minutes with breaks to change film reels. Each performance consisted of one or two short "story films." Comedies, dramas, Westerns, crime stories, chases and romances were the most popular nickelodeon films.

The first modern "story film" was Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery. Made in 1903, this action-packed Western thrilled nickelodeon audiences for many years. Follow the links below to watch this silent classic:

Complete movie in Quicktime or Mpeg (large download)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/gtr.html

Excerpts in RealVideo
http://www.wildwestweb.net/great.html

Images from the film http://www.geocities.com/~teddyblue/great.html

Since early film projectors were difficult to load and operate, theater owners needed to fill time between movies and during frequent breakdowns. An illustrated song consisted of brightly colored, hand-painted picture slides projected on the screen while music was performed. The slides told the story of the song. Audience members were encouraged to sing along. Follow the links below to view illustrated songs:

"A Bird in a Gilded Cage"
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/amex/kids/
tech1900/music/birdqt.html

"Let's Get the Umpire's Goat" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/amex/kids/
tech1900/music/umpireqt.html

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