# Monkeyshines

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkeyshines
> Source revision: 1354095138
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|1889 short silent film}}
{{about|the 1889 short film series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Monkeyshines
| image          = Monkeyshines - yt.webm
| caption        = ''Monkeyshines No. 1'' and ''2''
| director       = [William K. L. Dickson](/source/William_Kennedy_Dickson) <br> [William Heise](/source/William_Heise)
| starring       = [Fred Ott](/source/Fred_Ott) <br> [Giuseppe Sacco Albanese](/source/Giuseppe_Sacco_Albanese)
| released       = {{Film date|1889}}
| country        = United States
| language       = [Silent](/source/Silent_film)
| runtime = 56 seconds (No. 1 and 2)
}}
'''''Monkeyshines''''' is a series of experimental [short](/source/short_film) [silent film](/source/silent_film)s made to test the original cylinder format of the [Kinetoscope](/source/Kinetoscope); those films are believed to be the first to be shot in the United States.

''Monkeyshines, No. 1'' was shot by [William K. L. Dickson](/source/William_Kennedy_Dickson) and [William Heise](/source/William_Heise) for the [Edison](/source/Thomas_Edison) labs. Scholars have differing opinions on whether the first was shot in June 1889 starring [Fred Ott](/source/Fred_Ott) or at some time between November 21–27, 1890, starring Giuseppe Sacco Albanese.<ref name="kino">Kino Video. [http://www.kino.com/edison/d1.html "Edison: The Invention of the Movies"]. Retrieved August 13, 2006.  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514180127/http://www.kino.com/edison/d1.html |date=May 14, 2011 }}</ref> Both men were fellow lab workers at the company; contradictory evidence exists for each claim. ''Monkeyshines, No. 2'' and ''Monkeyshines, No. 3'' quickly followed to test further conditions.

These films were intended to be internal tests of the new camera system, and were not created for commercial use; their rise to prominence resulted much later due to work by film historians. All three films show a blurry figure<ref>{{Cite book |last=Morris |first=Edmund |url=https://www.google.pt/books/edition/Edison/4DyGDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Monkeyshines+edison&pg=PA289&printsec=frontcover |title=Edison |date=2019-10-22 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-679-64465-1 |language=en}}</ref> in white standing in one place making large gestures and are only a few seconds long. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Reynolds |first=Daniel |url=https://www.google.pt/books/edition/Media_in_Mind/Fdt1DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Monkeyshines+edison&pg=PA93&printsec=frontcover |title=Media in Mind |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-087251-9 |language=en}}</ref>''Monkeyshines No. 3'' has disappeared and may be [lost](/source/lost_film).

==References==
<references />

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb title | 0361921 | Monkeyshines, No. 1}}
* {{IMDb title | 0416046 | Monkeyshines, No. 2}}
* {{YouTube |id=jrznaNBc5mI|Monkeyshines (1889/1890)}}{{Dead link|date=January 2025}}
* {{YouTube |id=ku7Sq_WR--M|title=''Monkeyshines, No. 1''}}
* {{YouTube |id=ij0jEWvThwA|title=''Monkeyshines, No. 2''}}
{{William Kennedy Dickson}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:1889 films<!--leave both year categories; see article text-->
Category:1890 films
Category:1889 short films
Category:1890 short films
Category:1880s American films
Category:1890s American films
Category:Films shot in New Jersey
Category:Films directed by William Kennedy Dickson
Category:Films directed by William Heise
Category:Film series introduced in 1889
Category:Articles containing video clips
Category:American silent short films
Category:American black-and-white films

{{short-silent-film-stub}}
{{1880s-film-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Monkeyshines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkeyshines) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkeyshines?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.