Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
Divers go to work on a wrecked ship (the battleship Maine that was blown up in Havana harbour during the Spanish-American War), surrounded by curiously disproportionate fish.
An 1898 actuality film documenting divers working on the wreck of the USS Maine — a historically singular artifact of early cinema capturing a real moment of geopolitical consequence. Novelty is genuinely high given its status as one of the earliest documentary records of underwater salvage work tied to a major historical event. Cinematography earns above average for its era, capturing underwater-adjacent work with remarkable clarity for 1898 technology. Acting is essentially non-applicable (actuality film), rated 1 by default. Plot is minimal as expected for an actuality short, and the ending is abrupt with no narrative resolution — standard for the form but still functionally weak.