Stephen Johnson noted that the film represents "an early effort to translate live performance in something cinematic, (...) a rare example of the filming of what was an improvisatory, oral-performative culture, (...) a rare instance of white performers, white performers in blackface, and performers of colour (...) sharing the screen." Despite its short duration, the film is very comprehensive, and "when the film is slowed down to play at half or a quarter of its intended speed, it is possible to follow a full length stage script with a reasonable correspondence."Stephen Johnson, Time and Uncle Tom: Slowing Down Edwin S. Porter's Film of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in Michelle MacArthur, Lydia Wilkinson, Keren Zaiontz, (ed.) Performing Adaptations: Essays and Conversations on the Theory and Practice of Adaptation, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009, p. 88
