A man calls up a girl on the telephone and chatters away, oblivious to the fact that her father, who does not approve of him, is on the line.
Is this a true split screen? There appears to be a curtain separating the two halves of the picture, so it is possible that they simply filmed it that way: the man on one side of the curtain, and the girl and her father on the other. That would certainly be an easier way of filming it. However, the fact the man -- Sam Dalton, according to the IMDb -- keeps talking when there's no one of the line. Is he supposed to be oblivious? Talking to the operator? Or was the timing of action beyond the ability of director James Williamson.
You could argue either way; while Melies had been using varieties of split screen for some time, Williamson was no slouch; he seems to have invented editing and the true chase film the same year he made this in STOP, THIEF!
Is this a true split screen? There appears to be a curtain separating the two halves of the picture, so it is possible that they simply filmed it that way: the man on one side of the curtain, and the girl and her father on the other. That would certainly be an easier way of filming it. However, the fact the man -- Sam Dalton, according to the IMDb -- keeps talking when there's no one of the line. Is he supposed to be oblivious? Talking to the operator? Or was the timing of action beyond the ability of director James Williamson.
You could argue either way; while Melies had been using varieties of split screen for some time, Williamson was no slouch; he seems to have invented editing and the true chase film the same year he made this in STOP, THIEF!