Made in 1903, Edwin S. Porter's eleven minute The Great Train Robbery is a landmark in the evolution of film editing. Porter's film, in its cutting back and forth between multiple simultaneous story lines, showed that movies need not be restricted to linear story-telling. The Great Train Robbery is also interesting as a transitional film; in some scenes the backgrounds are clearly painted, while in others, such as the famous train-top fistfight scene, the action is thrillingly "real."

Further Reading:

Kauffmann, Stanley. "The Great Train Robbery." New Republic. Vol. 213, No. 10, 27-28.

Kirby, Lynne. Parallel Tracks: The Railroad and Silent Cinema. Durham, North Carolina, Duke University Press, 1997.