William Heise Movies

King of the slack wire. His daring feats of balancing as he performs his thrilling feats in midair show that he is perfectly at home.

The pursuit of Hop Lee by an irate policeman.

Experimental film fragment made with the Edison-Dickson-Heise experimental horizontal-feed kinetograph camera and viewer, using 3/4-inch wide film.

Hadji Cheriff, a performer known for a variety of unusual abilities, demonstrates part of his act in the Thomas Edison studio. He has a large knife...

Former lightweight boxer Billy Edwards, now a trainer and writer of the sport, takes on a challenger named Warwick in an exhibition match. The match...

Several men in a basement barbershop become excited by women walking past the window. The ankles and knees of the passersby are visible to the men...

“A file of Spanish soldiers line up the Cubans against a blank wall and fire a volley. The flash of rifles and drifting smoke make a very...

William K.L. Dickson and William Heise shake hands in this early experimental film.

James J. Corbett and Peter Courtney meet in a boxing exhibition.

The Glenroy Brothers perform a portion of their vaudeville act, "The Comic View of Boxing: The Tramp & the Athlete", which depicts a boxer with a...

Early Edison short showing two men fencing.

"Firemen in working uniform, rubber coats, helmets, and boots. Thrilling rescue from burning building. Smoke effects are fine." - from the Edison...

A referee and five fans (including a waiter in his apron) look on as two young men box. The dark-haired, slightly taller boxer throws a right and the...

From Edison films catalog: One of the most peculiar customs of the Sioux Tribe is here shown, the dancers being genuine Sioux Indians, in full war...

“A scene representing Southern plantation life before the war. A jig and a breakdown by three colored boys.”

Luis Martinetti, a contortionist suspended from acrobatic flying rings, contorts himself for about thirty seconds. This is one of the first films...

An athlete demonstrating various poses.

A preadolescent boy, dressed like a street urchin, performs acrobatic stunts for the camera.

From Edison films catalog: A long line of horses, mules and ponies are led, driven and ridden into the yards, where they are sold and distributed.

Lee Martin, one of the cowboy stars in 'Buffalo Bill's Wild West', rides a bronco as a crowd looks on. While the horse is trying to throw Martin off...