Frankenstein

Frankenstein 1910

6.00

Frankenstein, a young medical student, trying to create the perfect human being, instead creates a misshapen monster. Made ill by what he has done, Frankenstein is comforted by his fiancée; but on his wedding night he is visited by the monster.

1910

The Great Train Robbery

The Great Train Robbery 1903

7.00

After the train station clerk is assaulted and left bound and gagged, then the departing train and its passengers robbed, a posse goes in hot pursuit of the fleeing bandits.

1903

How Jones Lost His Roll

How Jones Lost His Roll 1905

5.00

Jones is on his way home, carrying a roll of money, when he meets a neighbor who is a notorious miser. The neighbor unexpectedly invites Jones to dinner, and serves him a large meal with plenty of wine. After dinner, the neighbor suggests a way of passing the time - and soon his real intentions become clear.

1905

The Kiss

The Kiss 1896

5.20

They get ready to kiss, begin to kiss, and kiss in a way that brings down the house every time.

1896

Newark Athlete

Newark Athlete 1891

4.40

Experimental film fragment made with the Edison-Dickson-Heise experimental horizontal-feed kinetograph camera and viewer, using 3/4-inch wide film.

1891

Monkeyshines, No. 1

Monkeyshines, No. 1 1890

4.90

Experimental film made to test the original cylinder format of the Kinetoscope and believed to be the first film shot in the United States. It shows a blurry figure in white standing in one place making large gestures and is only a few seconds long.

1890

Dickson Experimental Sound Film

Dickson Experimental Sound Film 1894

6.27

William K.L. Dickson plays the violin while two men dance. This is the oldest surviving sound film where sound is recorded on the phonograph.

1894

The Kleptomaniac

The Kleptomaniac 1905

5.20

A well-dressed woman leaves her home and takes a carriage to a department store. While she is in the store, she steals several items, and is caught by store employees. Meanwhile, a poor woman with two small children steals a loaf of bread out of desperation, and she is quickly caught and arrested. Both women are taken to the police station and then into court, to see what penalty each of them must face.

1905

Fencing

Fencing 1892

3.40

Early Edison short showing two men fencing.

1892

The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots 1895

6.20

A short film depicting the execution of Mary, Queen of the Scots. Mary is brought to the execution block and made to kneel down with her neck over it. The executioner lifts his axe ready to bring it down. After that frame Mary has been replaced by a dummy. The axe comes down and severs the head of the dummy from the body. The executioner picks up the head and shows it around for everyone else to see. One of the first camera tricks to be used in a movie.

1895

Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze

Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze 1894

4.90

A man (Thomas Edison's assistant) takes a pinch of snuff and sneezes. This is one of the earliest Thomas Edison films and was the second motion picture to be copyrighted in the United States.

1894

A Hand Shake

A Hand Shake 1892

3.50

William K.L. Dickson and William Heise shake hands in this early experimental film.

1892

Blacksmithing Scene

Blacksmithing Scene 1893

5.56

Three men hammer on an anvil and pass a bottle of beer around. Notable for being the first film in which a scene is being acted out.

1893

Life of an American Fireman

Life of an American Fireman 1903

6.10

Porter's sequential continuity editing links several shots to form a narrative of firemen responding to a house fire. They leave the station with their horse drawn pumper, arrive on the scene, and effect the safe rescue of a woman from the burning house. But wait, she tells them of her child yet asleep in the burning bedroom...

1903

Dickson Greeting

Dickson Greeting 1891

4.80

William K.L. Dickson brings his hat from his one hand to the other and moves his head slightly, as a small nod toward the audience. This was the first film produced by the Edison Manufacturing Company to be shown to public audiences and the press.

1891

Annabelle Butterfly Dance

Annabelle Butterfly Dance 1894

5.40

Annabelle (Whitford) Moore performs one of her popular dances. For this performance, her costume has a pair of wings attached to her back, to suggest a butterfly. As she dances, she uses her long, flowing skirts to create visual patterns.

1894

The Land Beyond the Sunset

The Land Beyond the Sunset 1912

6.40

A poor young boy goes on a field trip and dreams of escaping to a land beyond the sunset.

1912

Faust and Marguerite

Faust and Marguerite 1900

3.80

Marguerite is seated in front of the fireplace, Faust standing by her side. Mephistopheles enters and offers his sword to Faust, commanding him to behead the fair Marguerite. Faust refuses, whereupon Mephistopheles draws the sword across the throat of the lady and she suddenly disappears and Faust is seated in her place.

1900

Annabelle Serpentine Dance

Annabelle Serpentine Dance 1895

5.90

In a long, diaphanous skirt, held out by her hands with arms extended, Broadway dancer Annabelle Moore performs. Her dance emphasizes the movement of the flowing cloth. She moves to her right and left across an unadorned stage. Many of the prints were distributed in hand-tinted color.

1895