The One-Man Band

The One-Man Band 1900

6.80

A band-leader has arranged seven chairs for the members of his band. When he sits down in the first chair, a cymbal player appears in the same chair, then rises and sits in the next chair. As the cymbal player sits down, a drummer appears in the second chair, and then likewise moves on to the third chair. In this way, an entire band is soon formed, and is then ready to perform.

1900

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc 1900

6.90

A divinely inspired peasant woman becomes an army captain for France and then is martyred after she is captured.

1900

Grandma's Reading Glass

Grandma's Reading Glass 1900

6.39

A child borrows his grandmother's magnifying glass to look at a newspaper ad for Bovril, at a watch, and then at a bird. The child shows grandma what he is doing. The child looks next at grandma's eye, then at a kitten.

1900

The Enchanted Drawing

The Enchanted Drawing 1900

6.42

A cartoonist defies reality when he draws objects that become three-dimensional after he lifts them off his sketch pad.

1900

Going to Bed Under Difficulties

Going to Bed Under Difficulties 1900

6.50

A man takes off his clothes in preparation for bed, only for new clothes to spontaneously generate, leading to comical consternation.

1900

Attack on a China Mission

Attack on a China Mission 1900

5.06

The titles tell us this film is based on an incident in the Boxer Rebellion. A man tries to defend a woman and a large house against Chinese attackers. They attack with swords, guns, and paddles. He's over-matched. What will become of the mission, its defenders, and its occupants?

1900

Le village de Namo - Panorama pris d'une chaise à porteurs

Le village de Namo - Panorama pris d'une chaise à porteurs 1900

6.10

The film is a panorama shot-scene lasting just under a minute. The panorama film, as coined by Lumière, is a moving-camera shot--usually accomplished by placing the camera on a moving transport, such as a boat or train.

1900

How It Feels to Be Run Over

How It Feels to Be Run Over 1900

5.92

As the camera looks down an open road, a horse and carriage approaches, and passes by to one side of the field of view. Soon afterwards, an automobile comes up the road, straight towards the camera. As it gets nearer, the occupants start to wave frantically, but can a collision be avoided?

1900

Explosion of a Motor Car

Explosion of a Motor Car 1900

6.10

An early trick film where a car explodes and body parts fall from the sky. A policeman witnesses and attempts to piece the remains back together.

1900

A Fantastical Meal

A Fantastical Meal 1900

6.26

A family sits down to enjoy a meal that ends up being fraught with complications.

1900

The Cabbage-Patch Fairy

The Cabbage-Patch Fairy 1900

5.00

The fairy at a cabbage patch hovers over the babies. This is a remake of Guy's 1896 film on the same subject, this time shot in 35 mm.

1900

Let Me Dream Again

Let Me Dream Again 1900

5.69

Possibly the first film to utilize the technique of focus pulling. A man kisses a beautiful and lively woman, then the image blurs and dissolves into a clear image of the man waking up to his nagging wife.

1900

Sherlock Holmes Baffled

Sherlock Holmes Baffled 1900

5.20

Sherlock Holmes enters his drawing room to find it being burgled, but on confronting the villain is surprised when the latter disappears.

1900

As Seen Through a Telescope

As Seen Through a Telescope 1900

5.46

An elderly gentleman in a silk hat sits on a stool in front of a store on the main street of town. He has a telescope that focuses on the ankle of a young woman who is a short distance away. Her husband catches the gent looking. What will the two men do now?

1900

The Kiss

The Kiss 1900

5.59

"Nothing new, but an old thing done over again and done well. Some one has attempted to describe a kiss as "something made of nothing," but this is not one of that kind, but one of those old fashioned "home made" kind that sets the whole audience into merriment and motion, and has always proven a popular subject. It is very fine photographically and an exhibit is not complete without it." -Edison film catalog.

1900

Above the Limit

Above the Limit 1900

4.33

Filming of a character sketch by the well-known vaudevillian Charles E. Grapewin. On a bare stage backed by a dark curtain, a man dressed in a three-piece suit and overcoat holds a racing program and excitedly watches a race supposedly taking place offstage.

1900

How He Missed His Train

How He Missed His Train 1900

5.60

A man misses his train due to his clothes turning into other types of clothes.

1900

Pierrette's Escapades

Pierrette's Escapades 1900

5.20

Columbine resists Pierrette's courting in favour of Harlequin in this hand-coloured short by Alice Guy.

1900