Tenderloin at night / motion picture

A man walks into a bar in the Tenderloin, where he is greeted enthusiastically by the patrons. The bartender brings a round of drinks for everyone. While one of the women distracts the newcomer, one of the men spikes his drink and he soon passes out. While he is unconscious, one of the women takes his watch. Another takes his wallet and slips it into her garter. The poor man wakes up, and feels for his wallet. When he can't find it, he becomes agitated and begins to struggle with the two male patrons. The bartender and a policeman enter, and the angry victim is arrested! The bartender and all the patrons are so pleased with themselves that three of the women stand up and do little dance. Later the man comes back with the policeman, who seems to have finally figured out who is the victim, and who are the criminals.
77521 U.S. Copyright Office
Copyright: Thomas A. Edison; 27Nov1899; 77521.
Duration: 2:02 at 16 fps.
Paper print shelf number (LC 1884) was changed when the paper prints were re-housed.
Additional holdings for this title may be available. Contact reference librarian.
Probably filmed in June through September, 1899, in West Orange, New Jersey.
Tenderloin was the name given to an entertainment and red-light district in Manhattan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which gave its name to a similar district in San Francisco. It is unclear which Tenderloin district is the setting for this film.
Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as digital files.
Sources used: Copyright catalog, motion pictures, 1894-1912; Musser, C. Edison motion pictures 1890-1900, p. 533; Niver, K. Early motion pictures, p. 533.
Early motion pictures : the Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress / by Kemp R. Niver. Library of Congress. 1985.
35 mm dupe neg pic renumbered: FPE 7667 to FZA 2346.