The First Presidential Film
1896
The first newsreel, or documentary, we made was of William McKinley receiving of his nomination to the Presidency. To get this picture, Mr. Dickson and I went to the McKinley home in Canton, Ohio. The Republican convention had already taken place that summer, and these scenes, taken in September 1896, were a re-enactment of the notification for the benefit of the people who wished to see the new Republican nominee. I was too young then to realize it was also good campaign publicity. The nominee's brother, Abner McKinley, was a stockholder in the Biograph company, as were former President Benjamin Harrison, Oscar Hammerstein, and Colonel Soper of the Pintsh Gas Company. They greatly feared the radical free-silver ideas of the Democratic nominee, William Jennings Bryan.
Mr. Dickson and I stationed ourselves upon the right side of the McKinley house, the side where it shaped out in an ell. There the sun shone brightly, making it ideal for photographic purposes.
Mrs. McKinley was seated on the porch, in a corner, as the President came out with his secretary, George B. Cortelyou, who handed him the notification papers. The President looked them over, then took off his hat and wiped his brow with a large white handkerchief. That was all-not much, but it was what the public wanted: a picture that would go down to posterity as the first action picture of a President.
Mrs. McKinley had been on the porch, but after it was over,I noticed she had disappeared. She could not have left by herself since she was an invalid. President McKinley was most considerate of her affliction, and few people knew she was imprisoned in a wheelchair due to a nervous ailment.
We were invited inside the house for luncheon, where once more Mrs. McKinley presided. She chatted a bit, but not much. I myself had little or nothing to say, as I was merely the man who assisted Mr. Dickson, to whom I looked for instructions. Many took him for my father, especially since I had grown the mustache, emphasizing (I hoped) a resemblance. He was a magnificent dashing figure of a man, with an eye for the ladies and a manner I admired and hoped someday to achieve.
These motion pictures came out so splendidly, and the President and his party were so pleased, that we were invited to return with our camera to photograph the Inauguration parade going down F Street from the Capitol to the White House.

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Billy Bitzer, His Story. Autobiography of D. W. Griffith's Master Cameraman, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1973, p. 11-12.

McKinley stepped out of his house in Canton, and, strolling down his lawn, seemed to smile in appreciation of the roar that greeted his appearance.

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The New York Times, New York, mardi 13 octobre 1896, p. 5.

McKinley and Hobart Parade at Canton, Ohio—note antics of the now famous Racoon which is carried upon a pole alongside of Hobart's Portrait, and Major McKinley at Home. After having entertained representatives of the New York Sound Money Delegation, he walks across his lawn, receives, opens, and with a look of joy, reads a telegram from the Republican National committee informing him that he has carried "The Golden East" and several doubtful States, after which he bows to a lot of enthusiastic admirers as they doff their hats, cheer, and wave their hands and handkerchiefs, etc. In the different political parades, at Canton, to be seen, are those from every section of the United States, and the faces of many Prominent Men from this vicinity will be recognized.

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Dunkirk Evening Observer, Dunkirk, mercredi 2 décembre 1896, p. 8.