1869-1941. US director of silent films, a
pioneer of his time. His 1903 film The Great
Train Robbery lasted 12 minutes which, for
the period, was unusually long, and contained
an early use of the close-up. More concerned
with the technical than the artistic side of
his films, which include The Teddy Bears 1907
and The Final Pardon 1912, Porter abandoned
film-making 1916.