I am very knowledgeable about old films, but after seeing this short Georges Méliès film and reading Tornado_Sam's review, I feel as if I should just tell everyone to read his review! Yes, they are very good at explaining some things I wasn't aware of...such as this being one of three films about the salvaging of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor. Again, read their review...and you can stop reading mine...I won't be offended!
As for the film, it's a short thing...only about a minute long. But that was the norm for 1898 (the same year the ship mysteriously blew up)...few films were longer than a minute or two. And, because it's so short, you don't see much. But to achieve the effect of them working under water when they were actually in a studio, the director placed an aquarium in front of the camera...and you can see tropical fish swimming about as the men supposedly are searching for bodies among the wreckage. And, to satisfy audiences, they men DO find a body and send it up...though it appeared to be a mannequin instead of a real person.
Well made for 1898 and if you care, most historians today do NOT think the Maine was destroyed with a mine or bomb but it most likely exploded due to it's steam engines not being maintained properly...which is amazing since it was used as the pretext for the US declaring war on Spain that same year.
As for the film, it's a short thing...only about a minute long. But that was the norm for 1898 (the same year the ship mysteriously blew up)...few films were longer than a minute or two. And, because it's so short, you don't see much. But to achieve the effect of them working under water when they were actually in a studio, the director placed an aquarium in front of the camera...and you can see tropical fish swimming about as the men supposedly are searching for bodies among the wreckage. And, to satisfy audiences, they men DO find a body and send it up...though it appeared to be a mannequin instead of a real person.
Well made for 1898 and if you care, most historians today do NOT think the Maine was destroyed with a mine or bomb but it most likely exploded due to it's steam engines not being maintained properly...which is amazing since it was used as the pretext for the US declaring war on Spain that same year.