A True Tale of Obsession, Murder, and the Movies
September 1, 2022
Americans typically credit Thomas Edison with inventing motion pictures in 1894, while the French believe it was their Lumi�re Brothers in 1895. However, in a new book he calls a "ghost story, family saga, and unsolved mystery," film producer and writer Fischer (A Kim Jong-Il Production) reports that Louis Le Prince's 1888 film of his family walking in their Leeds, England, garden is actually the world's first. Because he mysteriously disappeared in 1890 before making his patented invention public, polymath Le Prince is relatively unknown. Fischer's well-researched cultural and film history is enriched by details about his family, especially his long-suffering wife Lizzie, a sculptor and innovative art teacher for the deaf who supported the family financially while raising their children almost single-handedly, as Le Prince labored for years on his camera. Emily Ellet's narration highlights her warm voice and perfect pacing--slower when describing technical details, and faster as suspense builds toward Le Prince's disappearance. Oddly, even though Ellet clearly possesses the vocal versatility to create distinct character voices, she says "quote" and "unquote" at every quotation, even when the quotation marks surround a single word. VERDICT Despite those few strange moments, film and history buffs will find this compelling.--Beth Farrell
Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from February 21, 2022
Was the man who invented cinematography kidnapped and murdered on the orders of Thomas Edison? Film producer Fischer (A Kim Jong-Il Production) raises that possibility in this fascinating portrait of 19th-century polymath Louis Le Prince. Though Edison and the Lumière brothers are widely credited with inventing movies, Le Prince beat them to the punch. In October 1888, after “four years of furious, costly work,” he filmed members of his family on their lawn in Leeds, England, using a 40-pound camera with a hand crank, then projected the “animated photographs” on his workshop wall. Two years after his breakthrough, however, Le Prince boarded a train to Paris after visiting his brother in Dijon and was never seen again. In the seven years it took before he could be legally declared dead and his family gained control of his intellectual property, Edison, a relentless self-promoter, made a fortune showing moving pictures on his Kinetoscope device. After a series of court rulings upheld Edison’s patent claims, Le Prince’s widow accused the Wizard of Menlo Park of having her husband killed; more recently, film scholars have contended that Le Prince died by suicide. Fischer points the finger at another culprit while admitting that the case may never be solved. Vivid character sketches, lyrical descriptions of the art and science of moviemaking, and a dramatic plot twist make this a must-read.