Edwin Stanton Porter was an American film pioneer, most famous as a producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer with the Edison Manufacturing Company and the Famous Players Film Company. Influenced by both the "Brighton school" and the story films of Georges Méliès, Porter went on to make important shorts such as Life of an American Fireman (1903) and The Great Train Robbery (1903). In them, he helped to develop the modern concept of continuity editing, paving the way for D.W. Griffith who would expand on Porter's discovery that the unit of film structure was the shot rather than the scene. Porter, in an attempt to resist the new industrial system born out of the popularity of nickelodeons, left Edison in 1909 to form his own production company which he eventually sold in 1912.
Porter remains an enigmatic figure in motion picture history. Though his significance as director of The Great Train Robbery and other innovative early films is undeniable, he rarely repeated an innovation after he had used it successfully, never developed a consistent directorial style, and in later years never protested when others rediscovered his techniques and claimed them as their own. He was a modest, quiet, cautious man who felt uncomfortable working with the famous stars he directed starting in 1912.
He has directed four films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Life of an American Fireman (1903), The Great Train Robbery (1903), Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906) and Tess of the Storm Country (1914).
| 1915 | Bella Donna - Director |
| 1915 | Zaza - Director |
| 1915 | The White Pearl - Director |
| 1915 | Sold - Director |
| 1915 | The Eternal City - Director |
| 1915 | The Morals of Marcus - Director |
| 1914 | Such a Little Queen - Director |
| 1914 | Tess of the Storm Country - Director |
| 1914 | Tess of the Storm Country - Director of Photography |
| 1914 | A Good Little Devil - Director |
| 1914 | A Good Little Devil - Director of Photography |
| 1914 | Hearts Adrift - Director |
| 1914 | Hearts Adrift - Director of Photography |
| 1913 | The Count of Monte Cristo - Director |
| 1913 | The Count of Monte Cristo - Director of Photography |
| 1913 | The Count of Monte Cristo - Editor |
| 1913 | His Neighbor's Wife - Director |
| 1913 | In the Bishop's Carriage - Director |
| 1913 | The Prisoner of Zenda - Director |
| 1911 | The Price - Director |
| 1911 | Lost Illusions - Director |
| 1911 | Lost Illusions - Writer |
| 1911 | The Lighthouse by the Sea - Director |
| 1911 | Sherlock Holmes, Jr. - Director |
| 1911 | On the Brink - Director |
| 1911 | A Heroine of '76 - Director |
| 1910 | His Mother's Thanksgiving - Director |
| 1910 | Sunshine Sue - Producer |
| 1910 | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Director |
| 1910 | The Attack on the Mill - Director |
| 1910 | Russia, the Land of Oppression - Director |
| 1909 | Faust - Director |
| 1909 | Hansel and Gretel - Producer |
| 1909 | On the Western Frontier - Director |
| 1909 | The Cord of Life - Producer |
| 1909 | The Colored Stenographer - Director |
| 1908 | Miss Sherlock Holmes - Director |
| 1908 | The Gentleman Burglar - Director |
| 1908 | The Gentleman Burglar - Scenario Writer |
| 1908 | Tale the Autumn Leaves Told - Director |
| 1908 | Cupid’s Pranks - Director |
| 1908 | Cupid’s Pranks - Director of Photography |
| 1908 | Fireside Reminiscences - Director |
| 1908 | Rescued from an Eagle's Nest - Cinematography |
| 1908 | A Suburbanite's Ingenious Alarm - Director |
| 1908 | The Life of an American Cowboy - Director |
| 1907 | A Little Girl Who Did Not Believe in Santa Claus - Director |
| 1907 | Laughing Gas - Director |
| 1907 | College Chums - Director |
| 1907 | The Trainer’s Daughter, or A Race for Love - Director |
| 1907 | Jack the Kisser - Director |
| 1907 | The Rivals - Director |
| 1907 | Cohen’s Fire Sale - Director |
| 1907 | Poor John - Director |
| 1907 | The 'Teddy' Bears - Director |
| 1906 | Getting Evidence - Director |
| 1906 | Getting Evidence - Director of Photography |
| 1906 | Kathleen Mavourneen - Director |
| 1906 | Waiting at the Church - Director |
| 1906 | How the Office Boy Saw the Ball Game - Director |
| 1906 | How the Office Boy Saw the Ball Game - Director of Photography |
| 1906 | The Life of a Cowboy - Director |
| 1906 | Three American Beauties - Director |
| 1906 | Three American Beauties - Director of Photography |
| 1906 | The Terrible Kids - Director |
| 1906 | A Winter Straw Ride - Director |
| 1906 | A Winter Straw Ride - Director of Photography |
| 1906 | Dream of a Rarebit Fiend - Director |
| 1906 | Dream of a Rarebit Fiend - Producer |
| 1905 | Police Chasing Scorching Auto - Director |
| 1905 | The Night Before Christmas - Director |
| 1905 | The Night Before Christmas - Director of Photography |
| 1905 | The Life of an American Policeman - Director |
| 1905 | Desperate Encounter Between Burglar and Police - Director |
| 1905 | The Train Wreckers - Director |
| 1905 | The Miller’s Daughter - Director |
| 1905 | The Watermelon Patch - Director |
| 1905 | The White Caps - Director |
| 1905 | The Little Train Robbery - Director |
| 1905 | Scenes and Incidents, Russo-Japanese Peace Conference, Portsmouth, N. H. - Director |
| 1905 | Empire State Express, the Second, Taking Water on the Fly - Camera Operator |
| 1905 | The Burglar's Slide for Life - Director |
| 1905 | I.B. Dam and the Whole Dam Family - Director |
| 1905 | On a Good Old 5¢ Trolley Ride - Camera Operator |
| 1905 | Coney Island at Night - Director |
| 1905 | The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog - Director |
| 1905 | How Jones Lost His Roll - Director |
| 1905 | How Jones Lost His Roll - Director of Photography |
| 1905 | The Kleptomaniac - Director |
| 1905 | The Seven Ages - Director |
| 1904 | The Strenuous Life; or, Anti-Race Suicide - Director |
| 1904 | Scarecrow Pump - Director |
| 1904 | A Rube Couple at a County Fair - Director |
| 1904 | The Ex-Convict - Director |
| 1904 | City Hall to Harlem in 15 Seconds, Via the Subway Route - Director |
| 1904 | Parsifal - Director |
| 1904 | Parsifal - Director of Photography |
| 1904 | Nervy Nat Kisses the Bride - Director |
| 1904 | European Rest Cure - Director |
| 1904 | Rounding Up of the “Yeggmen” - Director |
| 1904 | How a French Nobleman Got a Wife Through the 'New York Herald' Personal Columns - Director |
| 1904 | Fire and Flames at Luna Park, Coney Island (An Attraction at Coney Island) - Director of Photography |
| 1904 | Scenes in an Infant Orphan Asylum - Director |
| 1904 | Canoeing on the Charles River, Boston, Mass. - Director of Photography |
| 1904 | Maniac Chase - Director |
| 1904 | Rector's to Claremont - Director |
| 1904 | Dog Factory - Director |
| 1904 | A Brush Between Cowboys and Indians - Director |
| 1904 | Western Stage Coach Hold Up - Director |
| 1904 | Skirmish Between Russian and Japanese Advance Guards - Camera Operator |
| 1904 | Skirmish Between Russian and Japanese Advance Guards - Director |
| 1904 | Buster Brown and the Dude - Director |
| 1904 | Buster Makes Room for His Mama at the Bargain Counter - Director |
| 1904 | Buster and Tige Put a Balloon Vendor Out of Business - Director |
| 1904 | Buster's Dog to the Rescue - Director |
| 1904 | Pranks of Buster Brown and His Dog Tige - Director |
| 1904 | Buster's Revenge on the Tramp - Director |
| 1904 | R. F. Outcault Making a Sketch of Buster and Tige - Director |
| 1904 | Photographing a Female Crook - Director |
| 1904 | Crossing Ice Bridge at Niagara Falls - Camera Operator |
| 1903 | Buster's Joke on Papa (II) - Director |
| 1903 | Büyük Tren Soygunu - Director |
| 1903 | Büyük Tren Soygunu - Director of Photography |
| 1903 | Büyük Tren Soygunu - Producer |
| 1903 | Büyük Tren Soygunu - Writer |
| 1903 | Buster's Joke on Papa (I) - Director |
| 1903 | What Happened in the Tunnel - Director |
| 1903 | What Happened in the Tunnel - Director of Photography |
| 1903 | A Romance of the Rail - Director |
| 1903 | The Extra Turn - Director |
| 1903 | The Messenger Boy's Mistake - Director |
| 1903 | Subub Surprises the Burglar - Director |
| 1903 | Rube and Mandy at Coney Island - Director |
| 1903 | The Gay Shoe Clerk - Director |
| 1903 | The Gay Shoe Clerk - Director of Photography |
| 1903 | Uncle Tom's Cabin - Director |
| 1903 | Fireboat 'New Yorker' in Action - Director |
| 1903 | New York City Dumping Wharf - Director |
| 1903 | Panorama of Riker's Island, N.Y. - Director |
| 1903 | Sorting Refuse at Incinerating Plant, New York City - Director |
| 1903 | The Unappreciated Joke - Director |
| 1903 | White Wings on Review - Director |
| 1903 | New York City 'Ghetto' Fish Market - Director |
| 1903 | New York Harbor Police Boat Patrol Capturing Pirates - Director |
| 1903 | Life of an American Fireman - Director |
| 1903 | Electrocuting an Elephant - Director |
| 1903 | Electrocuting an Elephant - Director of Photography |
| 1902 | Rock of Ages - Director |
| 1902 | Interrupted Bathers - Director |
| 1902 | How They Do Things on the Bowery - Director |
| 1902 | Jack and the Beanstalk - Director |
| 1902 | Jack and the Beanstalk - Director of Photography |
| 1902 | Burning of St. Pierre (Martinique) - Director |
| 1902 | Appointment by Telephone - Director |
| 1902 | Charleston Chain-Gang - Director |
| 1902 | The Burlesque Suicide, No. 2 - Director |
| 1902 | Babies Rolling Eggs - Director |
| 1902 | The Burlesque Suicide - Director |
| 1902 | Fun in a Bakery Shop - Director |
| 1902 | Burning of Durland's Riding Academy - Director |
| 1902 | Capture of the Biddle Brothers - Director |
| 1902 | The Twentieth Century Tramp; or, Happy Hooligan and His Airship - Director |
| 1902 | Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show - Director |
| 1901 | The Artist's Dilemma - Director |
| 1901 | Catching an Early Train - Director |
| 1901 | Execution of Czolgosz with Panorama of Auburn Prison - Director |
| 1901 | Execution of Czolgosz with Panorama of Auburn Prison - Director of Photography |
| 1901 | Panorama of Esplanade by Night - Director |
| 1901 | Trapeze Disrobing Act - Director |
| 1901 | The Martyred Presidents - Director |
| 1901 | Pan-American Exposition by Night - Director |
| 1901 | Day at the Circus - Director |
| 1901 | Life Rescue at Long Branch - Director |
| 1901 | Circular Panorama of Electric Tower - Director |
| 1901 | Circular Panorama of Electric Tower - Director of Photography |
| 1901 | The Reversible Divers - Director |
| 1901 | What Happened on Twenty-Third Street, New York City - Director |
| 1901 | Panoramic View of Electric Tower from a Balloon - Director of Photography |
| 1901 | Sampson-Schley Controversy - Director |
| 1901 | Aunt Sallie's Wonderful Bustle - Cinematography |
| 1901 | Photographing a Country Couple - Director |
| 1901 | Esquimaux Game of Snap-the-Whip - Director of Photography |
| 1901 | The Tramp's Unexpected Skate - Director |
| 1901 | Another Job for the Undertaker - Director |
| 1901 | Laura Comstock's Bag-Punching Dog - Director |
| 1901 | Love by the Light of the Moon - Director |
| 1901 | Kansas Saloon Smashers - Director |
| 1901 | The Old Maid Having Her Picture Taken - Director |
| 1901 | Why Mr. Nation Wants a Divorce - Director |
| 1901 | The Finish of Bridget McKeen - Director |
| 1901 | The Old Maid in the Horsecar - Director |
| 1901 | Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King - Director |
| 1901 | Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King - Director of Photography |
| 1900 | A Dull Razor - Director |
| 1900 | An Artist's Dream - Director |
| 1900 | Faust and Marguerite - Director |
| 1900 | The Kiss - Director |
| 1900 | Uncle Josh's Nightmare - Director |
| 1900 | Ching Ling Foo Outdone - Director |
| 1900 | The Magician - Director |
| 1900 | An Animated Luncheon - Director |
| 1900 | The Mystic Swing - Director |
| 1900 | Uncle Josh in a Spooky Hotel - Director |
| 1899 | Strange Adventure of New York Drummer - Director |
| Dewar's Scotch Whisky - Director |
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