Dickson Greeting

Dickson Greeting
Frame from the 1891 Dickson Greeting, featuring William Kennedy Dickson, in the first American film shown to a public audience.
Directed by	William Dickson
Produced by	William Dickson William Heise
Starring	William Dickson
Cinematography	William Heise
Release date	1891 (1891)
Running time	3 seconds
Country	United States
Language	Silent

Dickson Greeting is credited as one of the world's first films. Directed, produced by and starring motion-picture pioneer William Dickson, it displays a 3-second clip of him passing a hat in front of himself, and reaching for it with his other hand. It was filmed on May 20, 1891 in the Photographic Building at Edison's Black Maria studio, West Orange, New Jersey, in collaboration with Thomas Edison using his kinetograph. The film was played for viewers at the National Federation of Women's Clubs, one of the first public presentations of a motion picture.