Who developed 3-D films?
The first THREE-DIMENSIONAL FILM were three short subjects made in an anaglyphic process developed by Edwin S. Porter and W.E. Waddell and presented at the Astor Theater, New York, on 10 June 1915. One was on rural scenes, another of Niagara Falls and the third a selection of scenes from Famous Players’ Jim, the Penman with John Mason and Maria Doro.
The first 3-D feature film was Perfect Pictures’ 5-reel melodrama The Power of Love, an adventure story about a young sea captain in 1840’s California, which was premiered at the Ambassador Hotel Theater, Los Angeles on 27 September 1922.
The first FEATURE-LENGTH TALKIE in 3-D was Sante Bonaldo’s Nozze vagabonde, starring Leda Gloria and Ermes Zacconi, which was produced by the Society Italiana Stereocinematografica at the Cines-Caesar studios in 1936. The first talking picture in colour and three dimensions was a Russian production of Robinson Crusoe, filmed on the Black Sea Coast in 1945-6 under the direction of A.N. Andreyevsky. It had its premiere in Moscow in February 1947. The most difficult technical problem encountered was persuading a wild cat to walk along a thin branch towards the camera. After five nights occupied with this one scene, the cameraman succeeded in getting a satisfactory shot. The effect, according to accounts, was riveting, the animal seeming to walk over the heads of the audience and disappear at the far end of the cinema.
