Before Charlie Chaplin, before Tinseltown, before even the advent of “talkies,” American cinematic history began with “Monkeyshines.” This 56-second clip of a lab assistant horsing around in the Edison Labs was captured around 1890 by pioneering filmmaking duo and Kinetoscope developers, William Heise and William K. L. Dickson. It is believed to be the first-ever shot on American soil and it heralded the start of our infatuation with the Silver Screen. [GE Reports]
