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 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

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

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

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

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

The Enchanted Drawing

The Enchanted Drawing 1900

6.38

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

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

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

The House That Jack Built

The House That Jack Built 1900

4.71

A cleverly conceived picture of a little boy and girl with building blocks. The little girl has erected a pretty structure, which the boy proceeds to demolish with pokes of his fingers. When the demolition of the house is completed, the film is shown in reverse, and the little building comes back to its original form in a most marvellous manner.

1900

The Magic Book

The Magic Book 1900

6.20

Characters from a large magic book come to life.

1900

Le duel d'Hamlet

Le duel d'Hamlet 1900

5.32

The movie consists solely of a saber fight. Bernhardt plays a cross-gender Hamlet, and Pierre Magnier is her fellow duelist, Laertes. A few bystanders, in Rennaissance dress, stand off to the right of the screen, and in the background, next to a painted backdrop.

1900

As Seen Through a Telescope

As Seen Through a Telescope 1900

5.50

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

Up-to-Date Spiritualism

Up-to-Date Spiritualism 1900

5.66

In this subject a "comique eccentric" enters the drawing room inhabited by spirits. He tries to take off his coat and hat, but these garments return to his head and shoulders as soon as he takes them off. The chairs, his umbrella, his hat, etc., fly away in different directions and by various methods. (Star Film Catalog)

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

How It Feels to Be Run Over

How It Feels to Be Run Over 1900

5.90

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

A Railway Collision

A Railway Collision 1900

4.10

The scene is a railroad track on the side of a steep mountain, with a tunnel in the background, toward which a train is running at a high rate of speed. At this instant the audience is appalled at the sight of a second train rushing out of the tunnel. Both trains are on the same track and traveling toward each other at a high rate of speed. They collide. Cars and engines are smashed into fragments and thrown down the steep incline. (Edison Catalog)

1900