The Kiss

At the time it was produced in 1896, the 20-second film  was denounced in some parts of the country as illicit pornography. Produced under the auspices of Thomas Edison's company, and directed and photographed by William Heise, The Kiss between the actors May Irwin and John C. Rice was a reenactment of the final scene of a stage success of theirs titled The Widow Jones. And, at the time, despite the controversy, audiences of the emerging art form were drawn to the film's provocative subject matter, and reportedly demanded that the stars be reteamed.

The Kiss represents not only film's first romance but also the first time films were regularly projected on screens rather than shown to individual viewers on machines that became known as nickelodeons.

 was added to the National Film Registry in 1999.

Watch it at the Library of Congress.


 * Values Dissonance: A kiss was seen to be "illicit pornography".