Early Film
Other silent versions of Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass
Animation, the Beginning (multiple shorts). (1906-1927)
An anthology of animated films dating from 1906 to 1927. Contents: Humorous Phases of Funny Faces, J. Stuart Blackton (4 min.); La Ratelier; Fantasmagoria; Mobiliu Fedele, Emil Cohl (8 min.); Little Nemo, Winsor McCay (8 min.); Revenge of the Kinematograph Cameraman, Ladis Starevich (9 min.); Professor Bonehead is Shipwrecked, Emil Cohl (5 min.); Gertie the Dinosaur, Winsor McCay (8 min.); Dinosaur and the Missing Link, Willis O'Brien (6 min.); Sinking of the Lusitannia, Winsor McCay (6 min.); Bobby Bumps puts a Beanery on the Bum, John Bray, Earl Hurd Bray (5 min.); Out of the Inkwell: Perpetual Motion, Max Fleischer (5 min.); Modelling, Koko the Clown, Bubbles, Max Fleischer (12 min.); Laugh-o-Grams, Puss-n-Boots, Walt Disney (11 min.); Alice on the Farm, Walt Disney (7 min.); Small Town Sheriff, Paul Terry (5 min.); Felix in Hollywood, Pat Sullivan (7 min.); Oswald and the Mechanical Cow, Walt Disney (6 min.)  109 min. vhs 999:518
Animation, the Beginning, Volume 2.(1906-1925)
Classic silent animated movies dating from 1906 to 1925. Contents: Dream of a Rabbit Fiend, Gertie the Dinosaur, Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse at the Circus, Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse Discuss the Letter "G", Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse: a Duet, all by George Herriman; The Flying House, Winsor McCay; Surprise, Max Fleischer; Felix in Fairyland, Pat Sullivan; Alice's Egg Plant, Walt Disney.  68 min. vhs 999:597
Before Hollywood There was Fort Lee, N.J.
Describes the formative years of the silent screen in Fort Lee, New Jersey film production using silent films made in Fort Lee. Includes still photographs, film productions from 1907-1917, and footage from 1935 of the studios in ruins to show the rise and fall of silent filmaking in Fort Lee. It's a brief but fascinating overview of about half a dozen studios that created the modern feature film on the banks of the Hudson River. There are archival photographs aplenty, interesting tidbits about revolving stages (to maximize sunlight) and World War I coal shortages (which drove the industry to sunny Southern California), and some fascinating 'contemporary' shots of surviving buildings circa 1964. 40 min. DVD 6512
Before Mickey: Animation Anthology (1900-1928)
The enchanted drawing / James Stuart Blackton ; produced by Thomas Edison (1900, 1 min.) -- Animated painting / Edwin S. Porter ; the Edison Studio (1904, 1 min.) -- Humorous phases of funny faces (1906, 3 min.) ; Lightning sketches (1907, 2 min.) ; Princess Nicotine, or, A smoke fairy [excerpt] (1909, 2 min.) / James Stuart Blackton ; Vitagraph -- Fantasmagorie (1908, 1 min.) ; Clair de lune espagnol = The man in the moon (1909, 4 min.) / Emile Cohl ; Gaumont -- Little Nemo / Vitagraph (1911, 7 min.) ; Gertie (1914, 9 min.) / Winsor McCay / released through the Box Office Attraction Company -- Colonel Heeza Liar at bat / John Randolph Bray ; animated by Leslie Elton ; the Bray Studio (ca. 1917, 6 min.) -- Bobby Bumps, before and after / Earl Hurd ; the Bray Studio 0 (1918, 4 min.) -- Farmer Al Falfa's revenge / Paul Terry ; the Bray Studio (1916, 3 min.) -- Perpetual motion / written and directed by Max Fleicher ; produced by the Bray Studios, Inc. (Out of the inkwell) (1920, 4 min.) -- 'Twas but a dream / Raoul Barr� ; International Film Service (Hearst-Vitagraph news pictorial) (1916, 2 min.) -- Mutt and Jeff in the flood [excerpt] / Raoul Barré & Charles Bowers ; Bud Fisher Films (ca. 1918, 3 min.) -- The Gumps in Taking a ride [excerpt] / Wallace Carlson ; Celebrated Players (ca. 1920, 1 min.) -- Le garde-meuble = The Automatic Moving Company / Romeo Bosetti ; Pathe-Comica (1912, 4 min.) -- Mest' kinematograficeskogo operatora = The cameraman's revenge / Ladislas Starevitch ; Khanzhonkov (1912, 9 min.) -- Kapten Grogg bland andra konstiga kroppa = Captain Grogg among other strange creatures / Victor Bergdahl ; Svenska Bio (1920, 6 min.) -- The lost world [excerpt] / Willis O'Brien ; directed by Harry Hoyt ; First National (1925, 4 min.) -- Alice's mysterious mystery (ca. 1924, 7 min.) ; Alice rattled by rats (An Alice comedy) (ca. 1925, 8 min.) / Walt Disney ; animated by Ub Iwerks ; M.J. Winkler Pictures -- The lunch hound / [presented by] J.K. Bray ; produced by Bray Productions, Inc. ; directed by Walt Lantz and Clyde Geronimi (Hot dog cartoons) (1927, 9 min.) -- Felix the Cat in The oily bird / [presented by] E.W. Hammons (1928, 8 min.) ; Felix the Cat dines and pines / Pat Sullivan & Otto Messmer ; [presented by] Jacques Kopfstem ; animated by Messmer and Raoul Barre ; Educational Film Exchange (1927, 7 min.). DVD X7246; vhs 999:608
Before the Nickelodeon: The Early Cinema of Edwin S. Porter
Between the years 1894 to 1908, Edwin S. Porter was the leading American filmmaker. Follows his movie career, from his first job installing Thomas Edison's Vitascope machines in New York, through his business as a film exhibitor, to his job as head of Edison's movie studio. There he created story films: Jack and the Beanstalk, The Life of an American Fireman, and The Great Train Robbery. By 1909, his film technique was old fashioned. Fired by Edison, he continued making films until 1915, but he had been left behind by new directors with new techniques. Includes hand-tinted stills and segments from Porter's movies and those of other filmmakers. Includes 16 Porter shorts, including: Waiting at the Church (1906) -- Life of a Cowboy (1906) -- Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show (1902) --The May Irwin Kiss (1896) --  The Sunken Battleship �Maine� (1898) --  Jack and the Beanstalk (1902) --  Life of an American Fireman (1902-3).  1982.  60 min. DVD X116; copy 2: DVD 8229 (DVD region 2); vhs   Video/C 3637
Louise Brooks web site
[Chaplin, Charlie] Charlie Chaplin: The Forgotten Years
Charlie Chaplin was forced to leave the U.S. in 1952, and lived with his family in Switzerland until his death in 1977. For the first time, a documentary film focuses on Chaplin's later years and his work as a prolific musical composer. Interviews with family, friends and colleagues offer insight into these forgotten years through intimate memories and entertaining anecdotes. Includes newly-found footage from private archives.  Directed by Felice Zenoni. 2003. 55 min. DVD 4553
Chaplin bibliography
[Chaplin, Charlie] Unknown Chaplin.
Three-part documentary television series which observes film director Charlie Chaplin's creative processes, using outtakes of filmed rehearsals, and close scrutiny by film historians Kevin Brownlow and David  Gill. DVD includes three feature-length programs: "My happiest years"; "The great director", and "Hidden treasures."  Special features: "Making of" featurette; two rare bonus Chaplin shorts; never-before-seen clips; extra footage; interviews.  3 parts, 52 min. each. DVD 4852; also vhs Video/C 1414; vhs 999:562
Chaplin bibliography
[Chaplin, Charlie] Making of the Chaplin Mutuals.
Essay on the making of the Mutuals by Sam Gill Special feature accompanying the DVD  The Chaplin mutuals. DVD 10
Chaplin bibliography
A Christmas Past: Vintage Holiday Films, 1901-1925
This collection of nine enchanting silent films offers a nostalgic view into the Yuletide pleasures of the early 1900s. Evoking the Victorian charm of Currier and Ives prints, these picturesque comedies and tender dramas were produced as cinematic Christmas cards offered to moviegoers of the silent era. Contents: A holiday pageant at home (1901) (5 min.) / producer unknown -- A winter straw ride (1906) (7 min.) / Edison Film Manufacturing Corp. ; photographed by Edwin S. Porter -- A trap for Santa (1909) (16 min.) / Biograph Film Corp. ; directed by D.W. Griffith ; photographed by G.W. Bitzer -- A Christmas accident (1912) (15 min.) / Edison Film Manufacturing Corp. ; directed by Bannister Merwin ; written by Annie Eliot Trumbull -- The adventure of the wrong Santa Claus : an adventure of Octavius, amateur detective (1914) (14 min.) / Edison Film Manufacturing Corp. ; written by Frederick Arnold Kummer -- Santa Claus vs. Cupid (1915) (16 min.) / Edison Film Manufacturing Corp. ; directed by Will Louis ; written by Alan Crosland -- Santa Claus (1925) (29 min.) / presented by Mr. and Mrs. F.E. Kleinschmidt -- A Christmas carol (1910) (10 min.) / Edison Film Manufacturing Corp ; from the novel by Charles Dickens -- The night before Christmas (1905) (9 min.) / Edison Film Manufacturing Corp. ; directed by Edwin S. Porter. DVD 2215
The Cinematograph
The first public cinema show took place in Paris in 1895, using the cinematograph developed by the Lumière brothers. This program explains the many antecedents of the cinematograph, shows excerpts from the films of Lumière and Meli`es (who elevated film to the level of art), and sheds light on the technological advances in the art of film.  Dist.: Films Media Group. c2004.  15 min. DVD 6092
Civil War Films of the Silent Era
Contents:  The Coward / director, Reginald Baker ; cast, Frank Keenan, Charles Ray, Margaret Gibson (i.e. Patricia Palmer), Gertrude Claire (1915, 77 min.) -- The Drummer of the 8th (1913, 24 min.) -- Granddad (1913, 29 min.) Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the American Civil War was a deluge of literature, drama and movies. The years 1911-1915 also marked the passage of movies from nickelodeon theaters to movie palaces showing carefully-prepared feature films. These silent films originally produced between 1913 and 1915 feature plots centered on the Civil War and include one feature film and two nickelodeon films by pioneering producer Thomas H. Ince.  134 min. DVD 443
Ehrlich, E. "Genres: The Civil War in early film: origin and development of a genre."  In: The South and film / Warren French, editor Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 1981 (Main Stack   PN1995.9.S66.S6; Moffitt      PN1995.9.S66.S6)
Crazy Cinématographe: europäisches Jahrmarktkino 1896-1916
Features 50 short films with piano scores from early fairground and traveling cinemas which contributed to the rapid establishment of the cinematograph as a popular medium. "European Cinema of Attractions, 1896-1916" shows, in a varied sequence, rarities from the treasures of European film archives ranging from Danish anarchisit slapstick to Scottish X-ray films and a Belgium film showing a hunt. "Local films from the Greater Region, 1902-1914" presents a forgotten genre which was, in its day, was a real crowd puller ... traveling cinema. Contents: Europäisches Kino der Attraktionen 1896-1916 = European Cinema of Attractions, 1896-1916 / Musikbegleitungen von Günter A. Buchwald -- Lokalfilme aus der Großregion 1902-1914 = Local films from the Greater Region, 1902-1914 / Musikbegleitungen von John Sweeney. 165 min. DVD X767
Danish Silent Classics
The Abyss (Afgrunden)(1910)
Directed by Urban Gad. Cast: Asta Nielsen, Robert Dinesen, Poul Reumert, Hans Neergaard, Arne Weel, Oscar Stribolt. A young piano teacher, Magda, leaves her fiancé (whose father is a pastor) to follow an itinerant circus performer. The affair soon goes sour, and Magda kills her lover in a violent struggle. 37 min. DVD X770
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Ballet Dancer  (Balletdanserinden)(Denmark, 1911)
Directed by August Blom. Cast: Asta Nielsen, Valdemar Psilander, Johannes Poulsen, Valdemar Møller, Keren Poulsen. Camille is an actress and ballet dancer in love with Jean, a playwright. But he is love with a married women. The situation becomes yet more embroiled when Paul, a painter decides that he loves Camille.  45 min DVD X770
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
The Bear Tamer (Bjørnetmmeren) (1912)
Directed by Alfred Lind. Cast: Lilli Beck, Alfred LInd, Peter Fjeldstrup, Richard Jensen, Holger-Madsen. One of the only two surviving films produced by the Scandinavian-Russian Trading Company (Det Skandinavisk-Russiske Handelshus). This is a sequel to "The Flying Circus", in which Alfred Lind played the title role, wrote the script, directed and shot the film. Non-US format (PAL) DVD. 50 min. DVD 4435
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
The Black Dream (Den Sorte Dr�m) (German / Denmark, 1911)
Directed by Urban Gad. Cast: Asta Nielsen, Valdemar Psilander, Gunnar Helsengreen. This early silent Danish film features a love triangle between a circus performer, an aristocrat and a jeweler. The choice she makes, based upon love, still causes jealousy and suspicions between the two lovers which is finally settled by the playing of a card duel between the two suitors. 56 min. DVD X770
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Blind Justice (Hævnens nat) (1916)
Directed by Benjamin Christensen. Cast: Benjamin Christensen, Karen Sandberg, Peter Fjeldstrup, Jon Iversen, Fritz Lamprecht. A fugitive traveling with a baby is recaptured and separated from his child, and swears revenge on the woman he believes betrayed him. Non-US format DVD (PAL). 100 min. DVD 4432
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Candle and the Moth (Evangeliemandens liv) (1915)
Directed by Holger-Madsen. Cast: Valdemar Psilander, Birger von Cotta-Schonberg, Alma Hinding, Else Frolich, Robert Schyberg. This story tells a lurid tale of sex and crime leading to the protagonist's imprisonment and reformation. Non-US format (PAL) DVD. 60 min. DVD 4434
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
The End of the World  (Verdens undergang) (Denmark, 1916)
Directed by August Blom. Cast:  Olaf Fonss, Carl Lauritzen, Ebba Thomsen, Johanne Fritz-Petersen.  The rumour spreads that a comet is on a collision course with Earth, causing rioting, social unrest, and major disasters that destroy the world in this World War I-era film. Inspired by the fear evoked by Halley's Comet in 1910. 77 min. DVD X771
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
The Flying Circus (Den flyvende cirkus) (1912)
Directed by Alfred Lind. Cast:  Rasmus Ottesen, Emilie Otterdahl, Richard Jensen, Lilli Beck, Kristine Friis-Hjort, Charles Lwaas, Stella Lind. One of the only two surviving films produced by the Scandinavian-Russian Trading Company (Det Skandinavisk-Russiske Handelshus). A protagonist must decide between a good and a bad woman, with all the danger and jealousy that ensues. Non-US format (PAL) DVD. 46 min. DVD 4435
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
The Great Circus Catastrophe (Dødsspring til hest fra cirkuskuplen) (1912)
Directed by Eduard Schnedler-Sørensen. Cast:  Valdemar Psilander, Ellen Rder, Jenny Roelsgaard, Aage Hertel. A loosely framed plot serves to connect a series of sensational scenes such as an escape from a burning hotel, a laison with a promiscuous woman and a dangerous circus act with a horse. Non-US format (PAL) DVD. 43 min. DVD 4434
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Master of the House  (Du Skal ære Din Hustru) (1925)
Directed by Carl Th. Dreyer. Cast: Johanna Meyer (Victor Frandsen); Astrid Holm (Ida Frandsen); Karin Nellemose (Karen Frandsen); Mathilde  Nielsen (Nanny Mads); Clare Schonfeld (Mrs Kryer, Ida's mother).  The story of a spoiled husband ... and an ordinary wife and mother whose life is encompassed by the four walls of her suburban home.   80 min. 999:3467
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
The Parson's Widow (Prästänkan) (Sweden / Denmark, 1920)
Director, Carl Theodore Dreyer. Cast: Hildur Carlberg, Einar Rod, Greta Almroth. In this comic melodrama a young parson wins a plum  parish in 17th century Norway, but is obliged to marry   the widow of his deceased predecessor and pretend his attractive fiancee is his sister. The pastor and his "sister" plot to kill the widow, claiming she is a witch. 60 min. 999:3418
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
The President (Prsidenten) (1919)
Directed by Carl Th. Dreyer. Cast: Halvard Hof, Elith Pio, Carl Meyer, Jacoba Jessen, Olga Raphael-Linden, Betty Kirkeby, Jon Iversen. A restoration of Carl Th. Dreyer's first feature film as director, addressing the crucial conflict between the strict moral codes of society and individual morals. The judge in a Danish town sees his illegitimate daughter facing a trial for the murder of her newborn child. When she is found guilty and sentenced to death, he asks for a pardon, but when it isn't granted he decides to free her and get her out of the country at all costs. Non-US format DVD (PAL). 89 min. DVD 4433
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Sealed Orders (Det Hemmelighedsfulde X)(1914)
Directed by Benjamin Christensen. Cast: Benjamin Christensen, Karen Sandberg, Fritz Lamprech, Amanda Lund, Hermann Spiro.  An officer's orders are stolen by a spy who is trying to seduce the officer's wife. Non-US format DVD (PAL). 85 min. DVD 4432
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Temptations of a Great City (Ved Fængslets Port)(1911)
Directed by August Blom. Cast: Valdemar Psilander, Augusta Blad, Holger Hofman, Clara Wieth. A son's relationship wth his mother is strained due to his playboy pursuits and resulting debts. Non-US format (PAL) DVD. 41 min. DVD 4434
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Towards the Light (Mod Lyset)(Germany  / Denmark, 1919)
Directed by Holger-Madsen.  Cast: Asta Nielsen, Alf Blütecher, Carl Schenstr�m, Frederik Jacobsen, Augusta Blad, Anton de Verdier, Nicolai Neiiendam, Elith Pio, Astrid Holm.  When a countess is attracted to a preacher, he refuses to have anything to do with her until she has a religious conversion.  55 min. DVD X770
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
A Trip to Mars (Himmelskibet) (1918)
Directed by Holger-Madsen.  Cast:  Nicolai Neiiendam, Gunnar Tolnaes, Zanny Petersen, Svend Kornbeck. A lavishly produced space-travel picture and a milestone in the science fiction genre. Brave Avanti Planetaros travels to the planet Mars. Once there, he falls in love with a pretty Martian and together they return to Planet Earth to spread the Martian theories of love, peace and understanding. A timely message in the midst of World War I. 81 min. DVD X771
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Dawn of the Eye.
Dist.: Films Media Group. 1997.  48 min. each installment.   For complete listing of installments in this series, See MRC Journalism videography
History Through a Lens, 1894-1919. Traces the history of the filmed-news industry from the development of the movie camera in 1895 which quickly led to newsreels shown in vaudeville and then in movie theaters twice a week. In reality, much of what was shown was staged by pre-Hollywood film studios. Film  shows the competitiveness and tricks used as news reporting got its start and includes rare footage of very early newreel films. DVD 4527; vhs Video/C 5942
Eyes of the World, 1919-1945. Hollywood's version of the news was sanitized until a program called March of Time, a theater newsreel program, established the standards still used in the industry today. As World War II progressed it provided a forum for competition between numerous news agencies. Includes newsreel footage of World War II and of D-Day, with commentary by war  correspondents. DVD 4528; vhs Video/C 5943
Dickens Before Sound
A unique collection of early film adaptations of one of Britain's favorite authors, Charles Dickens, ranging from the first extant adaptation, "Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost ," to a bonus of the very first Dickensian sound film: Bransby Williams presenting his monologue in the character of Grandfather Smallweed from Bleak House. En route, the development of cinema storytelling will be witnessed as practitioners of this wonderful new art struggle to transform a tale from page to screen. Disc 1. Gabriel Grub (8 min., 1880-1910) -- Scrooge; or, Marley's Ghost / director, Walter R. Booth (4 min., 1901) -- The Cricket on the hearth / director, D. W. Griffith (14 min., 1909) -- Oliver Twist / director, J. Stewart Blackton (9 min., 1909) -- The boy and the convict / director, David Aylott (12 min., 1909) -- Nicholas Nickleby / director, George Nichols (20 min., 1912) -- The Pickwick papers / director, Laurence Trimble (15 min., 1913) -- David Copperfield / director, Thomas Bentley (8 min. extract, 1913) -- Disc 2. Oliver Twist / director, Frank Lloyd (74 min., 1922) -- Dickens' London (12 min., 1924) -- Grandfather Smallweed [from Bleak House] / narrator, Bransby Williams (sd., 4 min. extract, 1926-1929) DVD 6045
[Disney, Walt] Alice in Cartoonland
It has been said that the Disney Studio was built on a  mouse, but it all really began with a little girl named Alice. The basic concept of the "Alice films" by Walt Disney was to place a real girl in a cartoon world. This program represents Disney's earliest experiences as a young cartoon producer when he was 20 years old and reveals his development as a director and storyteller. Contents:  Alice, the toreador (1925, 9 min.) -- Alice's egg plant (1925, 9 min.) -- Alice in the jungle (1925, 8 min.) -- Alice on the farm (1926, 9 min.) -- Alice rattled by rats (1925, 7 min.) -- Alice's orphan (1926, 7 min.) -- Alice the whaler (1927, 7 min.). DVD X1999; Video/C 7168
Early Russian Cinema. A. Drankov Studio; Pathe Freres (Moscow) ; Pathe (Moscow-Film d'Art).  New York: Released by Milestone Film & Video, 1992.
Silent films with Russian and English subtitles added.
Princess Tarakanova based on play by Ippolit Shpazhinskii, Sten'ka Razin based on song, 'From the Island to the Deep Streams', Romance with Double-Bass, Chekhov adaptation   38 min. DVD X578; vhs 999:686
Folklore and Legend. Contents:  Brigand Brothers based on poem by Pushkin ; 16th century Russian Wedding based on play by P. Sukhotin ; Rusalka based on play by Pushkin.   Drama in a Gyspy camp (Siversen, 1908) and the unreleased Brigand Brothers (Goncharov, 1912) are plein air folklore subjects, while a 16th century Russian wedding (1909) and Rusalka (1910), both directed by pioneer enthusiast Vasilii Goncharov, show how rapidly Russian cinema espoused national and cultural themes.   40 min. DVD X578; vhs 999:687
Starewicz's Fantasies. Contents:  The Dragonfly and the Ant -- Christmas Eve -- The Lily of Belgium.  Starewicz's fantasies, Wladislaw Starewicz's later puppet  animation is now better known than his brilliant beginning at the Khanzhonkov Studio. He pioneered insect-puppets in The ant and the grasshopper (1911), before turning to live-action  fantasy in a version of Gogol's Christmas eve (1913) and  contributing to the war effort with an anti-German allegory  The lily of Belgium (1915). DVD X579; vhs 999:688
Provincial Variations. Contents:  The Wedding day -- Merchant Bashkirov's Daughter.   Jewish life was one of the exotic subjects covered in provincial films like the Latvian Wedding day ( Slovinski, 1912). The  remarkably bleak melodrama Merchant Bashkirov's daughter  (Larin, 1913), set on the Volga, was based on a real murder  scandal.  55 min. DVD X580; vhs 999:689
Chardynin's Pushkin. The Queen of spades (1910) -- The house in Kolomna (1913).  The former touring actor-manager, Petr Chardynin, made an early name for himself and gave Russian cinema a distinctly cultured orientation with Pushkin adaptations like The Queen of Spades (1910) and The House In Kolomna (1913).  In the latter Chardynin's protege Mozzhukhin played both a dashing officer and a farcical cook in drag.  45 min. DVD X581; vhs 999:690
Class Distinctions. Contents:  The Peasants' Lot (1912) -- Silent Witnesses  (1914).   Despite strict censorship intended to prevent any inflammatory material from reaching the screen, many early Russian films achieved a remarkably candid portrayal of social conditions. Gonsharov's The Peasants' Lot (1912) portrayed the hardship of rural life, while an early film by Bauer, Silent Witnesses (1914) dealt frankly with servants' views of their masters in a Moscow mansion.  95 min. DVD X582; vhs 999:691 999:691
Evgenii Bauer. Contents:  A Child of the Big City (1913) -- The 1002nd Ruse (1915) -- Daydreams (1915).   Evgenii Bauer is the major discovery from early Russian cinema. In a mere five prolific years, he achieved mastery in several  genres, including the social melodrama of A Child of the Big  City (1913), erotic comedy like The 1002nd Ruse (1915) and the psychological melodrama of Daydreams (1915). Admired by his contemporaries, he raised Russian cinema to an unparalleled artistic level before his early death in mid-1917.  93 min. DVD X583; vhs 999:692
Lakov Protazanov. Contents:  The Departure of a Great Old Man (1912) -- The Queen  of Spades (1916).   Protazanov, together with Bauer the leading director of the early Russian cinema, did not shrink from controversy in either his highly successful pre- or post-1917 careers.  The  Departure of a Great Old Man (1912), about the last days of Tolstoi, provoked legal action by the outraged family.  The Queen of Spades (1916) starred Mozzhukhin in one of his most compelling roles as Pushkin's haunted hero.  95 min. DVD X584; vhs 999:693
High Society. Contents:  Antosha ruined by a corset (1916) -- A life for a life (1916) -- The funeral of Vera Kholodnaia (1919).   A panorama of Russian cinema's social impact at the height of its ambition.  Antosha Ruined by a Corset (1916) is a racy, knowing urban comdey by Russia's leading screen comedian, Anton Fertner.  A Life for a Life (1916) marked the pinnacle  of Bauer's ambition to equal lavish foreign production  standards.  And The Funeral of Vera Kholodnaia recorded the  vast public response to the early death of Russia's greatest star in 1919.  86 min. DVD X585; vhs 999:694
The End of an Era. Contents:  The Revolutionary (1917) -- For Luck (1917) -- Behind the Screen  (1917).  Between the February and October revolutions in 1917, Russian cinema reflected urgent new themes, as in The Revolutionary. But Bauer also continued his vein of tragic melodrama in what was to be his last film, For Luck, designed by and featuring as an actor the young Kuleshov.  A poignant fragment, Behind the Screen, shows the stars Mozzhukhin and Lisenko on the eve of their departure into exile.   91 min. DVD X586; vhs 999:695
[ Edison , Thomas] Edison: The Invention of the Movies.
Commericial motion pictures were invented at the Edison Laboratory between 1888 and 1893. Perhaps none of the  component parts were strictly new, but the ability of Edison and his staff to reorganize them for a specific purpose was an extraordinary cultural achievement. In 1894, Edison was the sole producer of motion pictures in the world. This first disc of a four disc set contains films produced between 1889-1903. DVD 3552
Disc 1. Early Edison camera tests; Dickson greeting; Newark athlete; Men boxing; Blacksmithing scene; Barber shop; Edison kinetoscopic record of a sneeze; Athlete with wand; Sandow; Carmecita; Boxing cats; Caicedo with pole; Annabelle butterfly dance; Cockfight, no.2; Corbett and Courtney before the kinetograph; Sioux ghost dance; Buffalo dance; Hornbacker-Murphy fight; Hadj Cheriff, Arab knife juggler; Glenroy Bros., no.2; Louis Martinetti, Contortionist; Bucking broncho; Annie Oakley; Imperial Japanese dance; Robetta and Doretto; Chinese laundry scene; Band drill; fire rescue. Billy Edwards and the unknown; Dickson experimental sound film; Princess Ali, Egyptian dance; Annabelle serpentine dance; Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots; Amy Muller; John C. Rice-Mary Irwin kiss; Shooting the chutes; Fatima, muscle dancer; mess call; inventor Edison sketched by world artist; watermellon eating contest; Lone fisherman; Interrupted lovers; Feeding the doves; Morning bath; Burning stable; Mounted Police charge; McKinley parade; Going to the fire; Morning alarm; Black Diamond express; American falls; First sleigh ride; Mr. Edison at work in labaratory; Return of lifeboat. Troop ships for the Philippines; U.S. troops landing in Cuba; Burglar on the roof; Firemen rescue; Wringing good joke; Gold rush scenes in the Klondike; searching ruins for dead bodies, Galveston; The kiss; Capture of Boer battery by British; Storm at sea; Old maid having her picture taken; High diving scene; Photographing a country couple; What happened on Twenty-Third Street, NY City; Pan-American Exposition by night; Trapeze disrobing act; Burning of Durland's Riding Academy; Jack and the beanstalk; Electrocuting an elephant; Life of an American fireman; Egyptian fakier with dancing monkey; A scrap in black and white; Uncle Tom's cabin; Gay shoe clerk; Turning the tables; What happened in the tunnel; Great train robbery.
Disc 2. European rest cure; How a French nobleman got a wife through the New York Herald personal columns; Strenuous life or, Anti-race suicide; Ex-convict; Klepto-maniac; Seven ages; Whole dam family and the dam dog; Coney Island at night; Little train robbery; White caps; Miller's daughter; Train wreckers; Life of an American policeman; Police chasing scorching auto; Dream of a rarebit fiend; Three American beauties; San Francisco earthquake; Terrible kids; Kathleen Mavourneen; Getting evidence; "Teddy" bears.
Disc 3. Cohen's fire sale; Rivals; Trainer's daughter or, A race  for love; College chums; Laughing gas; Little girl who  did not believe in Santa Claus; Suburbanite's  ingenious alarm; Rescued from an eagle's nest;  Fireside reminiscences; Cupid's pranks; Tale the  Autumn leaves told (fragment); House of cards; New  York of today; How Bumptious papered the parlor; Thirty days at hard labor; Passer-by;  Totville eye; Public and private care of infants;  Unsullied shield.
Disc 4. At Bear Track Gulch; The Ambassador's daughter; A serenade by proxy; All on account of a transfer; One touch of nature; The adventure of the hasty elopement; The wonders of magnetism; Black eyes; The lone game; The unbeliever.
[Fairbanks, Douglas]Douglas Fairbanks, A Modern Musketeer.
Disc 1: Contents:  His picture in the papers / Fine Arts/Triangle ; director; John Emerson ; featuring Douglas Fairbanks, Clarence Handyside, Loretta Blake (1916, 55 min.) -- Mystery of the leaping fish / Fine Arts/Triangle ; director, John Emerson ; featuring Douglas Fairbanks, Bessie Love, Alma Rubens (1916, 20 min.) -- Flirting with fate / Fine Arts/Triangle ; director, Christy Cabanne ; featuring Douglas Fairbanks, W.E. Lawrence, Jewel Carmen (1916, 57 min.) His picture in the papers: A young man can marry his sweetheart only if he becomes famous enough to have his picture printed in the paper. Mystery of the leaping fish: A satire on Sherlock Holmes which concerns a professional incident in the life of the world's greatest scientific detective. Flirting with fate: About a struggling artist whose heart is broken when his sweetheart is promised in marriage to another. DVD X1991
Disc 2: Contents:  The matrimaniac / Fine Arts/Triangle ; director, Paul Powell ; featuring Douglas Fairbanks, Constance Talmadge, Winifred Westover, Wilbur Higby (1916, 46 min.) -- Wild and woolly / Artcraft Pictures ; director, John Emerson ; featuring Douglas Fairbanks, Eileen Percy, Walter Bytell (1917, 47 min.). The matrimaniac: Jimmy Conroy wants to marry Marna Lewis. However, her father has chosen another man for his daughter, so Jimmy and Marna entrain in an attempt to elope. Wild and woolly: Jeff Hillington is the extremely naive son of a wealthy Eastern family --he loves the old west so much he romanticizes its glories. When his father sends him to Arizona on business, Jeff expects it to be the place he read about in dime-store novels, and to appease him, the townsfolk put on a wild west show that turns real. DVD X1992
Disc 3: Contents:  Reaching for the moon / Artcraft Pictures ; directed by John Emerson ; featuring Douglas Fairbanks, Eileen Percy, Richard Cummings (1917, 62 min.) -- A modern musketeer / Artcraft Pictures ; director, Allan Dwan ; featuring Douglas Fairbanks, Marjorie Daw, Eugene Ormonde (1917, 68 min.) Reaching for the moon: A daydreaming clerk discovers that he's of royal blood. A modern musketeer: Ned Thacker is born during a Kansas cyclone and is thus imbued with the spirit of adventure. DVD X1993
Disc 4: Contents:  When the clouds roll by / United Artists ; director, Victor Fleming ; featuring Douglas Fairbanks, Kathleen Clifford, Ralph Lewis (1919, 50 min.) -- The mollycoddle / Douglas Fairbanks / United Artists ; director, Victor Fleming ; featuring Douglas Fairbanks, Ruth Renick, Wallace Beery (1920, 86 min.) When the clouds roll by: A wealthy young bachelor allows a pompous head-shrinker to influence his romantic pursuit of Greenwich Village artist Katherine Williams. The mollycoddle: A dandified American returns to his home in the wild West after being educated in England. DVD X1994
Disc 5: Contents: The nut / United Artists ; director, Theodore Reed ; featuring Douglas Fairbanks, Marguerite De la Motte, William Lowery (1921, 74 min.) -- The mark of Zorro / United Artists ; director, Fred Niblo ; featuring Douglas Fairbanks, Marguerite de la Motte, Noah Beery (1920, 80 min.) The nut: Charlie Jackson is a Greenwich Village character who invents Rube Goldberg-style contraptions. He uses them to please his friends and his sweetheart but more often than not, they backfire. The mark of Zorro: Don Diego de la Vega is the son of a wealthy Spanish Californian rancher, but in reality, he is the dashing masked-and-caped Zorro, who wages a one-man war to rescue his fellow citizens from the tyrannical Captain Juan Ramon. DVD X1995
Faust im Film (Faust in film)
A documentary of early film treatments of the story of Faust in three parts: 1. Faust and his pact with the devil. 2. Faust and the people around him. 3. Faust and magic. The accompanying textbook contains descriptions of well-known Faust films.  In German with English commentary. 1999. 36 min. Video/C 8578
[Feuillade, Louis] Fantômas (1913-1914)
Directed by Louis Feuillade.  Films from the silent serial crime saga with the evil Fantômas battling Inspector Juve.  Based on novels by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain. [Disc 1]. Fantômas (A l'ombre de la guillotine) (1913, 54 min.). Juve contre Fantômas (1913, 60 min.). Le mort qui tue (1913, 91 min.) -- [Disc 2]. Fantômas contre Fantômas (1914, 59 min.). Le faux magistrat (1914, 70 min.). Special features. Photography, Georges Guerin and Albert Sorgius.  Cast: Rene Navarre, Edmond Breon, Georges Melchior, Renee Carl, Andre Luguet, Yvette Andreyor. Special features: Photo gallery, covers of the novels, sinister crime stories of the time, illustrated filmographies, a comparison of the original novels with the films, interviews with Marcel Allain, clips from the show "Pour le plaisir" (Rendez-vous avec Fantômas, created by Georges Franju, 1966) and "Bonnes adresses pour rever" (created by Roland Bernard, 1969). DVD 5868
[Feuillade, Louis] Les Vampires (1916)
Directed by Louis Feuillade. Cast: Musidora, Edouard Mathe, Marcel Levesque, Jean Ayme, Fernand Herrmann, Stacia Napierkowska. 1. The severed head -- 2. The ring that kills -- 3. The red code book -- 4. The spectre -- 5. Dead man's escape -- 6. Hypnotic eyes -- 7. Satanas -- 8. The thunder master -- 9. The poisoner -- 10. The terrible wedding. A legendary 7 hour silent crime serial in 10 episodes describing the achievements of Les Vampires, a secret society of criminals led by Irma Vep. The gang uses kidnapping, poisonous gas, heavy artillery, sexual domination and murder to gain power over the elite of Paris. Special features: Inserted essay: The public is my master, Louis Feuillade and Les Vampires by Fabrice Zagury; For the children: a comedy sketch by the cast and crew of Les Vampires to raise funds for the French war orphans. Directed by Louis Feuillade (1916, 3 min.); Bout-de-Zan and the shirker: a comedy that features the child actor, Bout-De-Zan, from episode 8 of Les Vampires. Directed by Louis Feuillade (1916, 8 min.) 399 min. DVD 285
For listing of Griffith holdings in MRC, see MRC Movie Database
[ Griffith , D. W.] D.W. Griffith. Father of Film
An in depth look at the accomplishments of this outstanding U.S. filmmaker who transformed a carnival novelty into a new art form; presented here through silent film clips, newsreel clips and photographs, and interviews with his stars and colleagues. PAL format. British Film Institute, 1993.  153 min. total DVD X623; vhs Video/C MM439
Griffith bibliography
[Griffith, D. W.] D.W. Griffith
Contents:  D.W. Griffith: the Biograph years (29 min.) - D.W. Griffith: the feature film years (27 min.) Two films which are biographical accounts of the life and work of the early motion picture producer and director, D.W. Griffith. Both films include extensive film clips from his motion pictures. The first film focuses on the films Griffith directed while working for the Biograph Company from 1908  through 1913 and includes an interview with actress Blanche Sweet. The second film reviews Griffith's work  after he matured and includes an interview with Lillian Gish who comments upon her experiences acting in his films.   Originally produced in 1975 for broadcast on the television program Camera Three.  56 min. total Video/C 4604
Griffith bibliography
Alice Guy-Blaché
Alice Guy Blaché : cinema pioneer / edited by Joan Simon ; with contributions by Jane Gaines ... [et al.].  New Haven, [Conn.] : Yale University Press ; New York : Whitney Museum of American Art, c2009. (Main (Gardner) Stacks   PN1998.3.G89 A78 2009)
Guy, Alice. The memoirs of Alice Guy Blaché / translated by Roberta and Simone Blaché; edited by Anthony Slide Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow press, c1996. (Main (Gardner) Stacks; Moffitt; PFA  PN1998.A3 G97131 1986   PN1998.3.G89 A3 1996)
Hastie, Amelie. "Circuits of memory and history: The memoirs of Alice Guy-Blaché."  In: A feminist reader in early cinema / edited by Jennifer M. Bean and Diane Negra. Durham : Duke University Press, 2002. (Main (Gardner) Stacks; PFA  PN1995.9.W6 F467 2002)
McMahan, Alison. Alice Guy Blaché: lost visionary of the cinema / Alison McMahan.  New York : Continuum, 2002.  (Main (Gardner) Stacks   PN1998.3.G89 M39 2002)
SEE ALSO Gaumont Treasures: 1897-1913
Alice Guy
Compilation of all the films of Alice Guy from 1907-1913, arranged by year in chronological order. Looking for Alice : A documentary on the life of Alice Guy, the first woman director in the history of cinema. Through her talents and strong character, Guy became director and producer of Gaumont Studios. In 1910, she crossed the Atlantic with her husband Herbert Blaché and founded Solaxe film studios in New Jersey.  Contents: The glu pot (1907) -- Greater love hath no man (1911) -- Falling leaves (1912) -- The detective's dog (1912) -- The girl in the armchair (1912) -- The pit and the pendulum (1913) A house divided (1913) -- Matrimony speed limit (1913) -- Looking for Alice (2008). DVD X3535
La Bonne absinthe(France, 1899)
Produced by Gaumont Film Company; directed by Alice Guy   1 min. DVD X2294
The Lost Garden: The Life and Cinema of Alice Guy-Blaché.
Explores the life of pioneer filmmaker Alice Guy-Blache, who in 1910, while married and with her first child, founded her own production company, Solax.  Includes television interviews from the sixties, interviews with her relatives and film historians as well as photographs and excerpts from her films. 53 min. DVD X4590; Video/C 4743
A House Divided (1913)
Directed by Alice Guy-Blaché. A married couple decide to "live separately together."  13 min. DVD 645
Making an American Citizen (1912)
Directed by Alice Guy-Blaché. 10:47 min. DVD 9638
Matrimony's Speed Limit (1913)
Directed by Alice Guy-Blaché. A man must marry by noon or lose his inheritance. It's 11:50 a.m. and he can't find his fiancée.  14 min. DVD 645; vhs 999:1024
DVD 9731
Terror Island (1920)
Directed by James Cruze. Cast:  Harry Houdini, Lila Lee, Jack Brammall, Eugene Pallette. A swashbuckling inventor steers his high-tech submarine to a forbidden tropical isle to rescue the father of the woman he loves. The plot, such as it is, involves a ship of sunken pearls, a South Seas trader held hostage for the return of the idol's eye, human sacrifice, and a most peculiar tribe of Polynesians, in which the men are all African Americans and the women are blondes. 55 min.
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Haldane of the Secret Service (1923)
Directed by Harry Houdini. Cast:  Harry Houdini, Gladys Leslie, William Humphrey. Heath Haldane is an undercover operative assigned to infiltrate a band of counterfeiters within the dark alleys of New York's Chinatown. Narrowly missing death several times, he must rescue Adele Ormsby, whom he loves despite her pending marriage. Special feature: The grim game (fragment, 1919, 5 min.) / written by Arthur B. Reeve and John Grey ; directed by Irving Willat -- Filmed records of Houdini escapes (1907-ca. 1923); the illusion "Metamorphosis," performed by Houdini's brother Hardeen; 1914 audio recording of Houdini introducing his "Water Torture Cell;" "Slippery Jim" 1910 comedy short inspired by Houdini; image gallery; new film notes.  84 min.
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
The Man From Beyond (1922)
Directed by Burton L. King. Cast:  Harry Houdini, Nita Naldi, Jane Connelly. Howard Hillary is a man frozen in the Arctic. He returns to civilization 100 years later to reclaim the love of his life, reincarnated in the body of a young woman. Filmed in large part at and about Lake Placid in New York, and Niagara Falls to the brink of which the stalwart Hillary is whirled in his efforts to save his lady love. 68 min.
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
The Master of Mystery(1922)
Directed by Burton L. King. Cast:  Harry Houdini, Marguerite Marsh, Jack Burns, Ruth Stonehouse, Charles Graham. A motion picture serial starring Houdini as government agent Quentin Locke who infiltrates a corrupt patents company, only to run into the gleaming terror of its robot protector, the Automaton. In order to save the beautiful Eva Brent and find a cure for the dreaded Madagascar Madness, Locke suffers an inhuman array of tortures and physical restraints. He is chained, tied with barbared wire, padlocked in a crate and thrown in the water, tied beneath a descending elevator, strapped to an electric chair, and bound in an elaborate Oriental torture chamber.  Special features: An examination of scenes deleted by the New York Censor Board; image gallery; new film notes. Chapter titles: Disc 1. (1) Living Death -- (2) The Iron Terror -- (3) The Water Peril -- (4) The Test -- (5) The Chemist's Shop -- (6) The Mad Genius -- (7) Barbed Wire -- (9) The Madagascan Madness -- (11) The Net -- (12) The Death Noose -- Disc. 2 (13) The Flash of Death -- (14) The Tangled Web -- (15) Bound at Last [or] The Unmasking of the Automaton.  238 min.
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
The Jazz Singer(1927)
Directed by Alan Crosland.  Cast: Al Jolson, Mary McAvoy, Warner Oland, William Demarest, Eugenie Besserer, Otto Lederer, Josef Rosenblatt.  Jakie Rabinowitz is the son of a Jewish cantor. Turning his back on family tradition, Jakie transforms himself into cabaret-entertainer Jack Robin. When Jack comes home to visit his parents, he is warmly greeted by his mother, but is given the cold-shoulder by his father, who feels that Jack is a traitor to his heritage by singing jazz music. On the eve of his biggest show business triumph, Jack receives word that his father is dying. Out of respect, Jack foregoes his opening night to attend Atonement services at the temple and sings the Kol Nidre in his father's place. In motion picture history, this marks the first feature film to utilize synchronous sound. Actor Al Jolson's songs include "Toot, toot, tootsie", "Blue skies", and "Mammy".  Special features: Disc 1: Commentary by Ron Hutchinson, founder of The Vitaphone Projects and Nighthawks Bandleader Vince Giordano; vintage Al Jolson short films: "A plantation act," "An intimate dinner in celebration of Warner Bros. Silver Jubilee," "Hollywood handicap," and "A day at Santa Anita" ; radio show adaptation and movie trailer gallery; classic homage cartoon "I love to singa" which features a jazz-singing Owl Jolson. DVD 8594
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
The Jazz Singer: Astonishing Rarities
A collection of 24 rare, historic Vitaphone comedy and music shorts starring the greats of Vaudeville and the early sound era, many recently recovered and restored after being lost.  1. Elsie Janis in a vaudeville act: "Behind the lines." (7 min.) -- 2. Bernardo de Pace: "The wizard of the mandolin." (10 min.) -- 3. Van and Schenck: "The pennant winning battery of songland." (9 min.) -- 4. Blossom Seeley and Bennie Fields with the music boxes (9 min.) -- 5. Hazel Green & Company (8 min.) -- 6. The night court (9 min.) -- 7. The police quartette (8 min.) -- 8. Ray Mayer & Edith Evans in "Where East meets West" (9 min.) -- 9. Edele Rowland: "Stories in song" (9 min.) -- 10. Stoll, Flynn & Company "The Jazz mania quartet" (10 min.) -- 11. The Ingenues: "The band beautiful" (9 min.) -- 12. Foy Family in "Chips of the old block" (7 min.) -- 13. Dick Rich & His Melodious Monarchs (10 min.) -- 14. Gus Arnheim and his Ambassadors (9 min.) -- 15. Shaw & Lee: "The Beau Brummels" (8 min.) -- 16. The roof garden revue / directed by Larry Ceballos (9 min.) -- 17. Trixie Friganza in "My bag o' tricks" (10 min.) -- 18. Green's Twentieth Century Faydetts (6 min.) -- 19. Sol Violinsky: "The eccentric entertainer" (7 min.) -- 20. Ethel Sinclair and Marge La Marr: "At the seashore" (8 min.) -- 21. Paul Tremaine and his Aristocrats (9 min) -- 22. Baby Rose Marie: "The child wonder" (8 min.) -- 23. Burns & Allen in "Lambchops" (8 min.) -- 24. Joe Frisco in "The happy hottentots." (10 min.) DVD 8594: disc 2
The Jazz Singer:  How Movies Learned to Talk
Feature-length documentary on the development of sound technology by Thomas Edison, and Lee De Forest and others that eventually evolved into talking motion pictures. Looks at the role of the Vitaphone System and Warner Bros. who pioneered the first sound films. Includes excerpts from early feature and documentary sound films with commentary by experts in the motion picture field.  84 min. DVD 8594: disc 1
The Jazz Singer: The Early Sound Era
Contents:  Gold Diggers of Broadway [2 excerpts] / Warner Brothers Pictures ; director, Roy del Ruth ; scenario-dialogue by Robert Lord (16 min. 1929) --The voice from the screen / Vitaphone presents ; by Edward B. Craft (1926, 16 min.) -- Finding his voice / story by W.E. Erpi; directed by F. Lyle Goldman and Max Fleischer (1929, 10 min.) -- The voice that thrilled the world / Warner Brothers ; directed by Jean Negulesco (1943, 18 min.) -- Okay for sound / Warner Brothers. ; Vitaphone Corp. (1956, 20 min.) -- When the talkies were young / Warner Bros. ; Vitaphone Corp. ; produced and written by Robert Youngson (1955, 20 min.) Gold diggers of Broadway: Two excerpts from an early musical talkie originally considered lost. Voice from the screen: Edward B. Craft describes the development and potential of the Vitaphone process; the first successful sound recording for motion pictures. Includes a tour of the Vitaphone Studio and one of the first sound stages ever built. Finding his voice: A 1929 animated cartoon schronized to voice & sound which illustrates how sound is added to a motion picture. Voice that thrilled the world: A documentary with early talkie film clips about the development of sound in motion pictures. Okay for sound: Traces the development of sound in the motion picture industry with cameo appearances by Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Errol Flynn. When the talkies were young: Film segments from talkies with a focus on actors and actresses in the very first years of sound films. DVD 8594: disc 3
SEE ALSO Listing of Keaton Films in MRC
[ Keaton , Buster] Buster Keaton, A Hard Act to Follow.
A three part series spanning 60 years, following the astonishing career of Buster Keaton.  Written and produced by Kevin Brownlow, David Gill and Raymond Rohauer. Originally produced in Great Britain by Thames Television. 1987.
Keaton bibliography
Part 1: From Vaudeville to Movies. Buster Keaton made his screen debut in 1917. With his deadpan expression and incredible stuntwork, he quickly became an audience favorite, moving from co-starring roles in two-reelers to feature-length comedies. In 1924, he released his brilliant film The Navigator, and claimed his place with Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin as one of the three masters of screen comedy. Includes extensive scenes from his films with commentary by Keaton and his associates. 52 min. Video/C 9280
Part 2: Star Without a Studio. Successful, wealthy and world renowned, Buster Keaton was one of the top stars of the twenties. He released his comic masterpiece The General in 1926. But when his contract was sold to MGM and he lost creative control of his films, his fortunes began to slip. Fights with his producers and marital problems pushed him over the edge into alcoholism and unemployment. Includes extensive scenes from his films with commentary by Keaton and his associates. 52 min. Video/C 9281
Part 3: A Genius Recognized In the 1930s Keaton returned to MGM as a gag writer, but rediscovery of his work in 1949 by film critic James Agee transformed his life, sparking a revival of his films and a series of guest shots and television  appearances. Includes footage of the movie, The Buster Keaton story, and his appearances at the Cirque Medrano in Paris, on the television programs the Ken Murray Show, This is your life, Candid Camera and The Buster Keaton Show. Includes extensive scenes from his films and television appearances with commentary by Keaton and his associates. 52 min. Video/C 9282
Keaton bibliography
[Keaton, Buster] Buster Keaton Rides Again
Buster Keaton rides again: A documentary about the life and film career of Buster Keaton with emphasis on the making of "The railrodder." An absorbing portrait of one of the world's comic greats, it shows Keaton relaxing, telling yarns and plotting the next day's action with considerable flair despite his 70 years. When he recalls gags he employed in the past, the old scenes are replayed on the film. 1965.  80 min. DVD 1401
Keaton bibliography
[Keaton, Buster] Keaton Plus
Lesser known short films of Buster Keaton.  Includes:  Interview with Keaton -- Silent echoes: Interactive maps, Case study: The General, Case study: Cops, Tour of Keaton's L.A. -- Tributes: This is your life, Orson Welles introduces The General, Lillian Gish introduces College, Gloria Swanson introduces The General -- Photo gallery: Family photos, Vaudeville, portraits, production stills, special effects, the later years. DVD 2209
Keaton bibliography
[Keaton, Buster] The Metaphysics of Buster Keaton
Film critic Andrew Sarris explores the artistry of  Buster Keaton, both as an actor and as a film-maker, and discusses the preservation of Keaton's work with film historian Raymond Rohauer. Includes actual footage of Keaton's best to explore the dynamics that made slapstick film a universal art form.   Produced in 1970 for broadcast on the television program Camera Three. 28 min. Video/C 4607
Keaton bibliography
Keepers of the Frame
Examines the history, science and struggles of film preservation with interviews with those who are dedicated to saving this precious art form. With the loss of over 90% of silent films and 50% of sound films ever made the emphasis is on the need to preserve as much film as possible of every kind, from newsreels to home movies, as a record of life in the 20th century. Director/co-producer, Mark McLaughlin.2000. 70  min. Video/C 8592
Landmarks of Early Film. [Pt.1]
A compilation of the very earliest films from the first projections of moving images to the advent of the feature film, an area of film history often underseen, underappreciated and understudied.  Contents: Actualities (1897-1910) -- The great train robbery (1903) -- The whole dam family and the dam dog (1905) -- The golden beetle (1907) -- The policemen's little run (1907) -- Troubles of a grasswidower (1908) -- Nero, or The fall of Rome (1909) -- Winsor McCay and his animated pictures (1911) -- The girl and her trust (1912) -- Bangville police (1913). DVD 277
Landmarks of Early Film. The Magic of Méliès
A collection of M`elies films along with a documentary view of the filmmaker's life. Integrating rare photographs, early drawings and numerous motion picture clips, this film charts his life from shoe factory worker to proprietor of Paris' mystical Theatre Robert-Houdin where Melies learned the skills to become a cinematic illusionist and developed an interest in the supernatural that would influence some of his later work. Contents: L'Eclipse -- Le voyage a travers L'Impossible -- The untamable whiskers -- The cook in trouble -- Tehin-Chao: the Chinese conjuror -- The wonderful living fan -- The mermaid -- The living playing cards -- The black imp -- The enchanted sedan chair -- The scheming gambler's paradise -- The hilarious posters -- The mysterious retort -- The eclipse (The courtship of Sun and Moon) -- Good glue sticks -- Long distance wireless photography.  Includes documentary "Georges Méliès: cinema magician" by Patrick Montgomery and Luciano Martinengo, c1978. DVD 278
The Last Diva: Italy's Most Famous Silent Film Star
A documentary portrait of the Italian silent screen actress Francesca Bertini, with scenes from many of her classic films and interviews with notables of the Italian cinema such as the late Sergio Leone.  Director, Gianfranco Mingozzi.  1982. 85 min. DVD 4575
Library of Congress Video Collection
The Origins of Film. African American Cinema I ; African American Cinema II Pt. 1. African American cinema I (78 min.): Within our gates / Oscar Micheaux (1919) -- Pt. 2. African American cinema II (79 min.): The scar of shame / Frank Perugini (1926) -- Early sound short, Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake (1923) Piano score composed and performed by Philip Carli; series production, English titles for Within Our Gates, and liner notes by Scott Simon. African American cinema I: Within our gates: Tells the story of a young African-American who seeks a Northern white patron for a Southern school for Black children. African American cinema II: Scar of shame: An aspiring middle-class black composer marries a woman to rescue her from the ghetto but soon comes to shun her lower-class status. Sissle and Blake: A short film of the entertainment team of Noble Sissle (on vocals) and Eubie Blake (on piano).  DVD 643; vhs (African American Cinema I) Video/C 999:1019; Video/C 999:1023 (African American Cinema II)
Origins of American Animation, 1900-1921;   Origins of the Fantasy Feature Pt. 1. Origins of American animation (1900-1921) (83 min.): Enchanted drawing--Fun in a bakery shop--Humorous phases of funny faces--Keeping up with the Joneses (Women's styles)--Keeping up with the Joneses (Men's styles)-- Dreamy Dud--Us fellers--Bobby Bumps starts a lodge--Krazy Kat goes a-wooing--Krazy Kat bugologist-- Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse at the circus--Phable of a busted romance--Phable of the phat woman--Never again! The story of a speeder cop--Mr. Nobody home--Mary and Gretel--Dinosaur and the missing link--W.S.S. Thriftettes--AWOL or all wrong old laddiebuck--Katzenjammer kids--Gertie on tour (fragment)--Centaurs (fragment)--Tony Sarg's almanac. -- Pt. 2. Origins of the fantasy feature (130 min): The Patchwork girl of Oz (1914)--Florida enchantment (1914). Piano score composed and performed by Philip Carli; series production, English titles for Within Our Gates, and liner notes by Scott Simon. Origins of American animation: 21 complete films (and two fragments) which are samples of early animated cartoons from the first decades of this century.  Origins of the fantasy feature: Patchwork Girl of Oz: Fairy tale about munchkins in the land of Oz. A Florida enchantment: An unusual fable about a women who discovers magic seeds that transform women into men (and men into women). DVD 644; vhs Video/C 999:1021  (Origins of American Animation); Video/C 999:1022 (Fantasy Feature)
America's First Women Filmmakers ; Origins of the Gangster Film. Pt. 1. America's first women filmmakers (111 min.): How men propose / Lois Weber -- Matrimony's speed limit / Alice Guy-Blache -- A house divided / Alice Guy-Blache -- Two wise wives / Lois Weber. -- Pt. 2. Origins of the gangster film (82 min.): Narrow road / D.W. Griffith -- Alias Jimmy Valentine / Maurice Tourneur. Piano score composed and performed by Philip Carli; series production, English titles for Within Our Gates, and liner notes by Scott Simon. America's first women filmmakers: How men propose: A comedy of reversed gender expectations. Matrimony's speed limit: a young businessman thinks he must marry before noon in order to inherit a fortune. A House divided: An estranged husband and wife agree to live separately together with comic results. Too wise wives: A satire about society and woman's place in it. Origins of the gangster film: Narrow road: About an ex-convict torn between the devotion of a good woman and the lure of his criminal pals. Alias Jimmy Valentine: A remarkably realistic tale of bank heists and prison life. DVD 645;  vhs Video/C 999:1024 (America's First Women Filmmakers only)
[ Lloyd, Harold] Harold Lloyd.
Presents a guided tour through the life and work of Harold Lloyd by Leonard Maltin; interviews with celebrities and friends; vintage Harold Lloyd interviews and home movies; video biographies of Lloyd's collaborators; photo and publicity galleries; Lloyd's Academy Award speech; USC's Delta Kappa Alpha tribute; audio clips from radio segments. 180 min. DVD 6210
The Lost Reels of Pancho Villa  (Los rollos perdidos de Pancho Villa)
Intrigued by the legendary Mexican military leader Pancho Villa's little-known relationship with Hollywood, filmmaker and sleuth Gregorio Rocha goes on a search for lost footage that Villa commissioned from the American Mutual Film Company in 1914, allowing cameramen to follow him into war. The footage includes some of the first battle scenes captured in "moving pictures." Rocha documents his encounters as he scours the film vaults and back rooms of institutions across North America and Europe for the seven reels of film that immortalized Villa. His research unveils a legacy of fictional and documentary depictions of Villa dating from the silent film era, revealing a world unsure whether to venerate or to fear this imposing figure and the forces of popular revolution that he embodied.  Written and directed by Gregorio Rocha.  Presented at the International Latino Film Festival held in the San Francisco Bay Area. 2003. 49 min. Video/C MM1258
[ Lubitsch, Ernst] Ernst Lubitsch in Berlin: From Schonhauser Allee to Hollywood
Documents the life of the filmmaker from his birth in 1892 to his departure for Hollywood in 1923. Includes interviews and excerpts from Lubitsch's rarely-seen early work (both as actor and director) and offers fascinating insights into the German film industry in the silent era.  Written and directed by Robert Fischer. 2006  109 min. DVD 8874
Lubitsch bibliography
[ Lumière , Auguste and Louis] The Lumière Brothers' First Films
A look at the birth of the motion picture through 85 of the more than 1,500 films made by the Lumière Brothers between 1895 and 1897. These films include views of Moscow, New York, Paris, Saigon, and Jerusalem, vignettes of life in France, and comedy shorts. DVD 25; vhs 999:1678
[ Lumière , Auguste and Louis] Lumière Brothers: Les Pionniers du Cinema Francais. Volume I.
Employees leaving Lumière Factory -- Arrival of Express at Lyons -- Friendly party in the garden of Lumière -- Feeding the baby -- Boys sailing boats, Tuilleries Gardens, Paris -- The falling wall -- Baths at Milan, Italy -- French dragoons -- Gondola party -- Sack race -- Military review, Hungary --German hussars jumping fences -- Feeding the swans -- Boiler loading -- Le voyage dans le lune (1902) -- A la conquete du Pole (1912) -- The gipsy's warning -- Kingdom of the Fairies (1903). Video/C  DVD 7794 [preservation copy]; vhs 999:353
[Lumière, Auguste and Louis] Landmarks of Early Film
Lumière Films (1895-1897) DVD 277
[Lumière, Auguste and Louis] Les Pionniers du Cinema Francais, Volume 1
Employees leaving Lumière Factory -- Arrival of Express at Lyons -- Friendly party in the garden of Lumière -- Feeding the baby -- Boys sailing boats, Tuilleries Gardens, Paris -- The falling wall -- Baths at Milan, Italy -- French dragoons -- Gondola party -- Sack race -- Military review, Hungary --German hussars jumping fences -- Feeding the swans -- Boiler loading DVD 7794 [preservation copy]; vhs  Video/C  999:353
[ Lumière , Auguste and Louis]
See also: The Movies Begin
Lon Chaney Collection
Disc one: The ace of hearts (1921) / writers, Gouverneur Morris, Ruth Wightman ; director, Wallace Worsley -- Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928) / producer, Irving Thalbert ; writers, David Belasco, Tom Cushing ; director, Herbert Brenon. Disc two: The unknown (1927) / writers, Tod Browning, Waldemar Young ; director, Tod Browning -- Lon Chaney: a thousand faces (2000) -- London after midnight (1927) / reconstruction by Rick Schmidlin.  [The ace of hearts] Director of photography, Don Short ; art director, Cedric Gibbons ; music, Vivek Maddala. [Laugh, clown, laugh] Director of photography, James Wong Howe ; editor, Marie Halvey ; music, H. Scott Salinas. [The unknown] Director of photography, Merritt B. Gerstad ; editor, Harry Reynolds, Errol Taggart.  Cast: [The ace of hearts] Lon Chaney, Joy Leatrice, John Bowers. [Laugh, Clown, Laugh] Lon Chaney, Bernard Siegel, Loretta Young. [The unknown] Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, Joan Crawford.  Presents three of Chaney's major silent theatrical works, a documentary about Chaney and a photo reconstruction of the lost film "London after midnight."  Ace of hearts: A secret group decides to murder a citizen; the member who draws the Ace of Hearts will be the assassin. But things don't go as planned in this morality tale of intrigue, love and the sacrifice of one man (Chaney) Laugh, clown, laugh: Chaney is the circus clown who delights crowds with his performances, all the while coping with the heartache of a love that cannot be.  The Unknown: Chaney throws knives for a living -- with his feet, because he is supposedly armless. Joan Crawford is his assistant who, fearful of the touch of any man's hand, fancies him. Perhaps Chaney's most bizarre work. Lon Chaney, a thousand faces: A screen biography of Chaney's life and career including rare footage, archival photos and insightful commentary from co-stars and historians.  London after midnight: A presumed suicide could be a case of murder -- or maybe the supposed victim is alive! Chaney plays the dual roles of a Scotland Yard sleith and a vampire in this offbeat mix of horror and whodunit. DVD 2359
[ Lumière , Auguste and Louis] The Lumière Brothers' First Films
A look at the birth of the motion picture through 85 of the more than 1,500 films made by the Lumière Brothers between 1895 and 1897. These films include views of Moscow, New York, Paris, Saigon, and Jerusalem, vignettes of life in France, and comedy shorts. DVD 25; vhs 999:1678
[ Lumière , Auguste and Louis] Lumière Brothers: Les Pionniers du Cinema Francais. Volume I.
Employees leaving Lumière Factory -- Arrival of Express at Lyons -- Friendly party in the garden of Lumière -- Feeding the baby -- Boys sailing boats, Tuilleries Gardens, Paris -- The falling wall -- Baths at Milan, Italy -- French dragoons -- Gondola party -- Sack race -- Military review, Hungary --German hussars jumping fences -- Feeding the swans -- Boiler loading -- Le voyage dans le lune (1902) -- A la conquete du Pole (1912) -- The gipsy's warning -- Kingdom of the Fairies (1903). Video/C  DVD 7794 [preservation copy]; vhs 999:353
[Lumière, Auguste and Louis] Landmarks of Early Film
Lumière Films (1895-1897) DVD 277
[Lumière, Auguste and Louis] Les Pionniers du Cinema Francais, Volume 1
Employees leaving Lumière Factory -- Arrival of Express at Lyons -- Friendly party in the garden of Lumière -- Feeding the baby -- Boys sailing boats, Tuilleries Gardens, Paris -- The falling wall -- Baths at Milan, Italy -- French dragoons -- Gondola party -- Sack race -- Military review, Hungary --German hussars jumping fences -- Feeding the swans -- Boiler loading DVD 7794 [preservation copy]; vhs  Video/C  999:353
[ Lumière , Auguste and Louis]
See also: The Movies Begin
Lyrical Nitrate.
A tribute to early cinema, constructed from old color tinted and toned nitrate films produced between 1905 and 1915. These are silent films with soundtrack added from old recordings, ranging from Caruso to the sounds of a glass harmonica.  In Dutch with English subtitles.  48 min. DVD 4523; also VHS Video/C 3998
[ Méliès , Georges] Georges Méliès, First Wizard of Cinema
A collection of rare and rediscovered original films by Georges Méliès. This disc contains films produced in 1899 including 9 films on the Dreyfus affair. Melies, a successful magician, began investigating film as a medium of trickery in 1896. Through inventive optical effects and elaborate sets and props, he discovered how to make objects and people appear, disappear and grow larger and smaller. While best known for his fantastic tales, Melies also produced witty advertising films and re-stagings of actual events.   Accompanied by a guide with DVD filmography and essays by Norman McLaren and John Frazer.
Disc 1, Films 1899: Films 1899: L'illusionniste fin de siècle = The conjurer (0:58 min.) -- Diable au couvent = Devil in a convent (3:09) -- Danse du feu = Pillar of fire (1:04) -- Portrait mysterieux = Mysterious portrait (1:06) -- L'affaire Dreyfus, la dictee du bordereau = Dreyfus court martial, the arrest of Dreyfus (1:07) -- L'affaire Dreyfus, a l'ile du diable = Dreyfus: Devil's Island, within the palisade (1:04) -- L'affaire Dreyfus, mise aux fers de Dreyfus = Dreyfus put in irons (1:05) -- L'affaire Dreyfus, suicide du Colonel Henry = Dreyfus: suicide of Colonel Henry (1:07) -- L'affaire Dreyfus, debarquement à Quiberon = Landing of Dreyfus at Quiberon (0:57 min.) -- L'affaire Dreyfus, entrevue de Dreyfus et de sa femme à Rennes = Dreyfus meets his wife at Rennes (1:04) -- L'affaire Dreyfus, attentat contre Maitre Labori = Dreyfus: the attempt against the life of Maitre Labori (1:01) -- L'affaire Dreyfus, bagarre entre journalistes = Dreyfus: the fight of reporters (1:07 ) -- L'affaire Dreyfus, Le conseil de guerre en seance à Rennes = Dreyfus: the court martial at Rennes (2:11) -- Cendrillon = Cinderella (5:41) -- Le Chevalier mystère = Mysterious knight (1:32)DVD 9625
See also Les Pionniers du Cinema Francais
Movies Begin, A Treasury of Early Cinema, 1894-1914
The genesis of the motion picture medium is recreated in this 5-part collection of the cinema's formative works which reveal the foundation from which the styles and plots of contemporary cinema would later evolve.
Vol 1: The Great Train Robbery. This first program includes the first blockbuster in American film, The Great Train Robbery and other significant early films by pioneer filmmakers. DVD 1096; vhs Video/C 999:1006
Vol 2: The European Pioneers. This second program includes forty formative works by Louis Lumière, Walter Haggar, R. W. Paul, George Albert Smith, James A. Williamson, James Bamforth, and other early filmmakers. Contents:  Arrival of Congress members at Neuville-sur-Saone (1895); Arrival of a train at La Ciotat (1895); Card Party (1895); Boat leaving the port (1895); Leaving Jerusalem by railway (1896); Snowball fight (1896); A fire run (1896); Niagara Falls (1896); Spanish bullfight (1897). -- B. Acres: Rough sea at Dover (1895) -- R.W. Paul: Come along do (1898); Derby (1896); Countryman and the cinematograph (1901); Chess dispute (1903); Extraordinary cab accident (1903); Buy your own cherries (1904); Motorist (1906). G.A. Smith: The Miller and the sweep (1898); Kiss in the tunnel (1899); Let me dream again (1900); Grandma's reading glass (1900); As seen through a telescope (1900); Sick kitten (1903); Mary Jane's mishap or don't fool with paraffin (1903). -- Sheffield Photographic Company: Daring daylight burglary (1903). -- Haggar and Sons: Desperate poaching affray (1903). -- Bamforth and Company: Kiss in the tunnel (1899); Ladies'skirts nailed to a fence (1900); Bitter bit (1900); Rough sea (1900). -- Williamson's Kinematograph Co.: Attack on a China Mission (1900); The big swallow (1901); Stop thief (1901); Fire (1901); An interesting story (1905) DVD 1097; vhs Video/C 999:1007
Vol 3: Experimentation and Discovery. The genesis of the motion picture medium is recreated in this 5-part collection of the cinema's formative works which reveal the foundation from which the styles and plots of contemporary cinema would later evolve. In this third program, the films presented here, ranging from the ingeniously creative to the boldly audacious, offer a sampling of the primitive masterworks from the first ten years of motion picture production that allowed the technical novelty of cinema to so quickly flourish into an artistically expressive medium. Contents: C. Hepworth: How it feels to be run over (1900); Explosion of a motor car (1900); Rescued by Rover (1905). -- L. Fitzhamon: The other side of the hedge (1905); That fatal sneeze (1905). -- Cricks and Martin: A visit to Peek Frean & Co.'s biscuit works (1906). -- Kineto Production Co.: A day in the life of a coalminer (1910). -- C. Freres: Peeping Tom (1901). -- F. Zecca: Ali Baba and the forty thieves (1902-05); Story of a crime (1901); Dream and reality (1901). -- L. Nouquet. Revolution in Odessa (1905); Aladdin or the marvelous lamp (1906). -- P. Zecca: The runaway horse (1907); The physician of the castle (1908). -- G. Velle: Magic bricks (1908). -- International Film Co.: Dewar's Scotch whiskey (1897). -- E. Porter: The gay shoe clerk (1903); Dream of a rarebit fiend (1906) DVD 1098; vhs Video/C 999:1008
Vol 4:  The Magic of Méliès. This forth program highlights fifteen fantastic works by the cinema's first special effects wizard, Georges Méliès. Contents: Untamable whiskers (1904) -- Cook in trouble (1904) - Tehin-Chao: the Chinese conjuror (1904) -- Wonderful living fan (1904) -- Mermaid (1904) -- Living playing cards (1905) -- Black imp (1905) -- Enchanted sedan chair (1905) -- Scheming gambler's paradise (1905) -- Hilarious posters (1906) -- Mysterious retort (1906) -- Courtship of Sun and Moon (1907) -- Good glue sticks (1907) -- Long distance wireless photography (1908) -- Impossible voyage (1904) -- Georges Méliès: cinema magician (1978) DVD 1099; vhs Video/C 999:1009
Vol 5: Comedy, Spectacle and New Horizons This fifth program examines some of the integral works that begin to reflect the modern day cinema. Interspersed with authentic hand-tinted lantern slides used during early theatrical exhibitions.   Contents: P. Freres: Policemen's little run (1907); Troubles of a grass widower (1908). -- A. Ambrosio: Nero, or the fall of Rome (1909). -- L. Gaumont: Onesime, clock-maker (1912). -- Vitagraph Co. of America: Windsor McCay or Little Nemo (1911). -- Solax Company: A.G. Blache. Making an American citizen (1912). -- Biograph Company: D.W. Griffith: Girl and her trust (1912). -- Keystone Film Co.: H. Lehrman: Bangville police (1913). DVD 1100; vhs Video/C 999:1010
[Mitchell, Sagar and Kenyon, James] The Lost World of Mitchell & Kenyon
Over a century ago, filmmakers Sagar Mitchell and James Kenyon roamed England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales filming the everyday lives of people at work and at play. Their films begin with the bustling streets at home in Britain and the controversial war abroad and move on to show the British workers at leisure and enjoying sports. Presents the first ever crime reconstruction film and finally the success of Mitchell and Kenyon in the U.S. and the ultimate demise of their partnership. 176 min. DVD 3603
Mason, John. "The Lost World of Mitchell & Kenyon." History Today. London: May 2005. Vol. 55, Iss. 5; p. 77 (2 pages)
[ Muybridge , Eadweard] Homage to Eadweard Muybridge
Motion studies (1877-85) / Eadweard Muybridge. DVD 1096; vhs Video/C 999:1006
[ Muybridge , Eadweard] Motion Studies(1877)
Eadweard Muybridge was one of the most preeminent and innovative photographers of his day. This videodisc contains over 900 plates from his pioneering photographic studies of movement. The animations -- The attitudes of animals in motion, the plates -- Animal locomotion, the plates -- Muybridge biography -- Early photography -- Timeline -- Movie maker. Video/D 18 (laser disc)
Nickelodia
Five rare silent films. DVD 8450
The Adventures of Billy (1911)
Billy witnesses two tramps accidentally kill someone during a robbery. The tramps lock him up and decide that he must be killed, too.
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
The Egyptian Mummy (1914)
Directed by  Lee Beggs. Cast: Constance Talmadge, Lee Beggs, Joel Day. In order to make money, a man hires a bum to pretend to be a mummy, so he can sell the "body" for scientific experiments.
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
In the Tennessee Hills (1915)
Directed by James Vincent.  Cast: Charles Ray, Enid Markey, Clayde Tracy, Fanny Midgely. After a vicious landlord evicts his frail mother, who dies as a result, Jim a young Tennessee mountaineer vows vengeance and ambushes and kills him. A posse catches Jim but his sweetheart Millie arrives in time to save him.
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1912)
Directed by J. Searle Dawley.  Cast: James Gordon, Richard Neill, Charles Sutton, Ben F. Wilson and the soldiers of the U.S. Calvary from Fort D.A. Russell, near Cheyenne, Wyoming. The third in a series of rare silent films from the early film-making period of 1911-1915. Retelling of the famous incident in the 1854 Crimean War when a British cavalry unit, because of a mix-up in orders, charged an almost impregnable Russian artillery position and was decimated.   93 min.
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Broncho Billy's Sentence (1915)
Directed by Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson. Cast:  "Bronco Billy" Anderson, True Boardman, Ernest Van Pelt, Carl Stockdale, Evelyn Selbie, Harry Todd.  In this one-reeler Western a wounded robber is taken in by a preacher and his wife, repents, and returns the money he stole. Special feature: Broncho Billy's NIles, California: then and now: Views of Niles as it was in Broncho Billy's day and in our own, set to the tune of Nell Wright Slaughter's "The Broncho Billy rag" (1914).
SEE ALSO Listing of Mary Pickford in MRC
[Pickford, Mary] Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford created a totally new way of acting that entranced audiences and left them spell-bound. She was also a creative producer and shrewd businessperson who played a pivotal role in shaping the first new media of the twentieth century. This powerful and moving production uses footage, stills, original audio interviews with Pickford and clips from her movies to tell a story that is full of joy and power, of loneliness and despair.  Written and directed by Sue Williams  Originally broadcast on the television program, the American Experience. 2005.  90 min. DVD 3785
[Pickford, Mary] Mary Pickford: A Life on Film.
By the age of seventeen, Mary Pickford had become the first actress to achieve international superstardom. By the time she was thirty, she was the first and only woman ever to own a major movie studio. With comedic and tragic talents and business acumen, Mary Pickford was the consummate movie star of the 20th century. This definitive documentary combines an abundance of previously unseen footage from Pickford's own archive with exceptional research to demonstrate why she and her films remain touchstones of film history.  2000.  99 min. Video/C 7224
Les Pionniers du Cinema Francais, Volume 1
Contents: Employees leaving Lumière Factory -- Arrival of Express at Lyons -- Friendly party in the garden of Lumière -- Feeding the baby -- Boys sailing boats, Tuilleries Gardens, Paris -- The falling wall -- Baths at Milan, Italy -- French dragoons -- Gondola party -- Sack race -- Military review, Hungary --German hussars jumping fences -- Feeding the swans -- Boiler loading -- Le voyage dans le lune (1902) -- A la conquete du Pole (1912) -- The gipsy's warning -- Kingdom of the Fairies (1903). DVD 7794 [preservation copy]; vhs  Video/C 999:353
Les Pionniers du Cinema Francais, Volume 2
Contents: Whence does he come? (D'ou vient-il? 1905) -- Scenes of convict life (Au bagne, 1905) -- A father's honor (L'honneur d'un pere, 1905) -- Fun after the wedding (Noce en goguette, 1911) -- The runaway horse (Le cheval emballe, 1907) -- Revolution in Odessa (La revolution en Russie, 1905) -- Down in the deep (Le pecher des perles, 1904) -- The astronomer's dream (Le reve de l'astronome, 1905). 60 min. total. DVD 7795 [preservation copy]; vhs Video/C 999:354
View "Astronomer's Dream" (Le rêve de l'astronome) (Attributed to Georges Méliès, but more likely a 1905 Pathé version)
Polissons & galipettes
Presents a fresh and impertinent composition of twelve licentious short films from early last century. Back then, these oddities in the heritage of cinema were screened in the waiting rooms of brothels. Special features: Histoire du cinéma clandestin des maisons closes (45 min.) -- Tout art est érotique (29 min.) Short films originally produced in 1905-1935.  144 min. DVD X4897
SEE ALSO Listing of Edwin S. Porter films in MRC
[ Porter , Edwin S.] Before the Nickelodeon: The Early Cinema of Edwin S. Porter
Between the years 1894 to 1908, Edwin S. Porter was the leading American filmmaker. Follows his movie career, from his first job installing Thomas Edison's Vitascope machines in New York, through his business as a film exhibitor, to his job as head of Edison's movie studio. There he created story films: Jack and the Beanstalk, The Life of an American Fireman, and The Great Train Robbery. By 1909, his film technique was old fashioned. Fired by Edison, he continued making films until 1915, but he had been left behind by new directors with new techniques. Includes hand-tinted stills and segments from Porter's movies and those of other filmmakers. Includes 16 Porter shorts, including: Waiting at the Church (1906) -- Life of a Cowboy (1906) -- Uncle Josh at the Moving -- Picture Show (1902). 1982.  60 min. DVD X116; copy 2: DVD 8229 (DVD region 2); vhs   Video/C 3637
Les Premiers pas du Cinéma: Un Rêve en Couleur (Discovering Cinema: Movies Dream in Color
Historical survey of the development of color in motion pictures with early films included in special features to illustrate the main points of technological and artistic development. Coloriage =Coloring:Forgerons (1895, 0:32 min.) --Mort de Marat (1897, 0:38 min.) --Danse serpentine (1898, 0:51 min.) --Execution de Jeannne d'Arc (1898, 0:41 min.) --Danseurs espagnols (1898, 2:01 min.) --Metamorphoses du Papillon (1904, 1:21 min.) --Fee aux Fleurs (1905, 1:07 min.) --Sorcier arabe (1906, 2:45 min.) -- Synthes`e additive =Additive synthesis:Inauguration du Campanile de San Marco (1912, 11 min.) --Essai trichrome du Dr. Doyen (1912, 0:40 min.) --Essai couluer de Sonia Delaunay (1928, 0:24 min.) --Jeunes femmes prenant le The (1937, 3:11 min.) --Synthese soustractive =Subtractive synthe`sis: Wonderland of California (1930, 6:50 min.) --King of Jazz (1930, 3:34 min.) --Cucaracha (1934, 19:37 min.) --Becky Sharp (1935, 2:46 min.) --New York (1938, 5:03 min.) DVD 4651
Les Premiers pas du Cinema: A la Recherche du Son (Discovering Cinema: Learning to Talk)
Historical survey of the development of sound in motion pictures with early films and extracts from films included in special features to illustrate the main points of technological and artistic development. Son direct =Live sound:Quand madelon (1917, 3:19 min.) --Pere la Victorie (1917, 3:55 min.) --Chamber mystery [extract] (1920, 8:15 min.) --Miss Venus [extract] (1921, 4:58 min.) --Ain't she sweet (1933, 7:13 min.) --Son sur disque =Sound on disc:Lucia Di Lammermoor (1908, 4:01 min.) --Donna e Mobile (1908, 2:29 min.) --Carmen 'Air du Toreador' (1910, 4:17 min.) --Legende du Roi Gambrinus (1911, 2:37 min.) --Marseillaise (1911, 2:48 min.) --Nursery favorites (1913, 5:29 min.) --Chanteur de jazz (1927, 6:53 min.) --Son optique =Optical sound:Snappy tunes (1923, 6:51 min.) --Theodore Case test film (1924, 0:32 min.) --Ma he's making eyes at me (1925, 1:36 min.) --Arthur Conan Doyle (1927, 10:37 min.) --Governor Young hails greater talkie season (1928, 2:29 min.) --Finding his voice (1929, 10:12 min.) DVD 4652
Retour de flamme. une seance de cinematographe
Presents seminal films in the early development of motion pictures in France and the United States with each film preceded by extensive optional historical commentary.
Disc 1: Sortie d'usine (France, 1896) -- Arrivee d'un train (France, 1897) -- Partie de cartes (France, 1896) -- Louis Lumière vous parle / directed by George Sadoul (France, 1948) -- Stolen jools / directed by William C. McGann (USA, 1931) ; cast: Wallace Beery, Buster Keaton, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy (USA, 1931) -- L'ecrin du Rajah / directed by Gaston Velle ; produced by Pathe (France, 1906) -- Titanic (docu., USA, 1912) -- Kid's auto race in Venice / directed and written by Henry Lehrman ; produced by: Keystone Film Company ; cast: Charles Chaplin, Henry Lehrman (USA, 1914) -- Meet me down at Coney Isle / produced by Fox Magic Carpet of Movietone (USA, 1932) -- La Fievre des echecs = Chess fever /directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin ; cast: Vladimir Fogel, Jose Raul Capablanca (USSR, 1925) -- Le pompier des Folies-Berg?ere ; cast: Josephine Baker (France, 1928) -- Celles qui s'en font / directed by Germaine Dulac (France, 1930) -- Tulips shall grow / direction and cinematography by George Pal ; produced by Paramount Pictures (USA, 1942) -- Mighty like a moose / directed by Leo McCarey ; produced by: Hal Roach Studios ; cast: Charley Chase, Vivian Oakland (USA, 1926) -- Un monsieur qui a mange du Taureau / directed by: Eugene Deslaw ; produced by Victor Films (France, 1935). Bonus feature: "Der Flug um den Erdball" = "Le raid en avion" (1st episode, serial) / production, Ellen Richter ; realisation, Willi Wolff (1924, 24 min. ; cast, Ellen Richter, Anton Pointner, Reinhold Schunzel, Hans Brausewetter, Paul Biensfeld, Claire Lotto). DVD 9633
Disc 2: Those awful hats / direction, David W.Griffith ; cast, Mack Sennett (1909, 2:55 min.) -- The mystery of the leaping fish / direction, John Emerson ; cast: Douglas Fairbanks, Bessie Love (1916, 26:27 min) -- Chase of the monkey (1909, 4:00 min.) -- For her mother's day (1906, 2:26 min.) -- Kiriki, Japanese acrobats / direction, Segundo de Chomon (1907, 2:37) -- La Marseillaise / interpreted by Mr Note from the Opera (1907, 2:37) -- Week-end ; cast, Fernandel (1938, 2:16l) -- Clo-Cloche ; cast: Michel Simon (1935, 2:09 min.) -- Play safe / direction, Dave Fleischer (1936, 7:19 min.) -- Stolen kisses (1920, 2:17 min.) -- Paris fashion (1926, 5:40 min.) -- Black and tan / direction, Dudley Murphy ; cast: Duke Ellington (1929, 18:11 min.) -- Three films by cartoonist O'Galop: Petites causes grands effets ; Pour resister a la tuberculose ; La circuit de l'Alcool (1918, 6:00 min.) -- Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pride / direction, Percy Pembroke ; cast, Stan Laurel (1925, 19:42 min.) -- Porky's preview / direction, Tex Avery (1941 6:18 min.). Bonus feature: "Der Flug um den Erdball" = "Le raid en avion" (2nd episode, serial) / production, Ellen Richter ; realisation, Willi Wolff ; cast, Richter, Anton Pointner (1924, 24 min.) DVD 9634
Disc 3: What a whopper! / directed by Charles Parrott ; written by Hal Roach ; produced by Rolin Films ; cast: Snub Pollard (USA, 1921, 12:44) -- Au pays des colosses et des pygmees / directed by Aurelio Rossi (France, 1925, 8:31) -- Cartoon factory / directed by Max & Dave Fleischer (USA, 1924, 7:52) -- Le cochon danseur / produced by Pathe (France, 1907, 2:22) -- Madame Babylas aime les animaux / directed by Alfred Machin ; produced by Pathe comica (France, 1911, 3:44) -- Actualites burlesques / directed by Gilles Margaritis ; produced by Pierre Braunberger (France, 1948, 16:19)-- Six publicities / directed by Robert Lortac (France, 1920, 8:31) -- The great train robbery (USA, 1903, 10:46) / directed by Edwin S. Porter ; written by Scott Marble ; produced by Edison Manufacturing Co. ; cast: Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson, Walter Cameron (USA, 1903, 10:46) -- Danse serpentine dans la Cage aux fauves (France, 1900, 2:04) -- Kobelkoff (France, 1900, 1:22) -- Hollywood steps out / directed by Tex Avery ; produced by Warner Bros. (USA, 1941, 7:38) -- Never weaken / directed by Fred Newmeyer ; produced by Hal Roach Studios ; cast: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis (USA, 1921, 23:34) -- Jazz Hot / cast: Django Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli et le Qintette du Hot Club de France (Great Britain, 1939, 6:19). Bonus feature: "Der Flug um den Erdball" = "Le raid en avion" (3rd episode, serial) / production, Ellen Richter ; realisation, Willi Wolff (1924, 24 min. ; cast, Ellen Richter, Anton Pointner (1924, 24 min.)DVD 9635
Disc 4: I'll say she is / avec Marx Brothers (1931, 4:36 min.) -- Peine du Talion = Talion punishment (1906, 4:12 min.) -- Alice in Wonderland / avec Viola Savoy (1915, 27:43 min.) -- Trois soundies = Three soundies (8:00 min.): Playmates (1944) -- Male order (1941) -- Sheik of Araby / avec Spike Jones (1944) -- Crue de la Seine = Seine flood (1910, 4:26 min.) -- To spring / Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising (1936, 8:58 min.) -- Femmes deputes = Women deputies / avec Madeleine Guitty (1912, 7:33 min.) -- MGM promp reel / Laurel et Hardy (1936, 8:30 min.) -- Gosses de la butte = Montmartre's kids (1916, 3:51 min.) -- Joie de vivre / Anthony Gross (1934, 8:56 min.) -- Lizzies of the field / avec Billy Bevan ; production, Mack Sennett (1924, 9:29 min.) -- Philips broadcast / production, George Pal (1938, 4:58 min.) Bonus feature: "Der Flug um den Erdball" = "Le raid en avion" (4th episode, serial) / production, Ellen Richter ; realisation, Willi Wolff (1924, 21:58 min). DVD 9636
Disc 5: Artheme avale sa clarinette / Eclipse ; cast, Ernest Servaes (France, 1912, 3:54) -- The cook / Paramount ; producer, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle ; cast, Fatty Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Al St. John (USA, 1918, 21:00) -- All this and rabbit stew / Warner ; producer, Tex Avery (USA, 1941, 6:28) -- Amour et publicite / Sedif ; producer, Leo Mittler ; cast, Claude Lehmann, Alma Mills (France, 1932, 25:30) -- Excursion dans la lune / Pathe ; producer, Segundo de Chomon (France, 1908, 6:45) -- La samaritaine (docu., France, 1930, 9:30) -- Publi-cine: Idylle (1945) ; Bonne Humeur (1945) ; Roller catch (1945) ; Qui sera Miss Philips (1950) -- Ils demenagent (1950) -- Cette nuit-la / cast, Jacques Tati (1935) (France 7:30) -- By Indian post / Universal Film ; producer, John Ford ; cast, Pete Morrison, Magda Lane (USA, 1919, 13:20) -- Cyrano de Bergerac / producer, Clement-Maurice ; cast, Coquelin Aine (France, 1900, 2:00) -- Ain't she sweet / Fleischer Studios ; producer, Dave Fleischer ; cast, Lillian Roth (USA, 1933, 7:13) Bonus feature: "[Der Flug um den Erdball]" = "Le raid en avion" (5th episode, serial) / production, Ellen Richter ; realisation, Willi Wolff ; cast, Ellen Richter, Anton Pointner Wolff (1924, 21:56) DVD 9637
Disc 6: Le pecheur de perles / Pathe ; producer, Ferdinand Zecca (France, 1907, 7:32) -- Suspense / Rex Films ; producer, Lois Weber ; cast, Lois Weber, Paul Valentine (USA, 1913, 10:08) -- Balloonland / Celebrity Pictures ; producer, Ub Iwerks (USA, 1935, 6:42) -- Films irreverencieux: Facheuse meprise ; confession / Pathe (France, 1905, 2:13) -- Bip...Bip...Bip...Ici Paris / cast, Pauline Carton (France, 1950, 8:14) -- Post no bills / Hal Roach ; Pathe Exchange ; producer, Ralph Cedar ; cast, James Parrott, Marie Masquini (USA, 1923, 13:03) -- Making an American citizen / Solax ; producer, Alice Guy Blaché (USA, 1912, 10:47) -- Makin' 'em move / Van Beuren Corp. ; producer, John Foster (USA, 1931, 7:16) -- Chasse à la girafe en Ouganda / Pathé ; producer, Alfred Machin (docu., France, 1910, 6:39) -- The pest / Amalgamated Prod. Corp ; producer, Jess Robbins ; cast, Stan Laurel, Glen Cavender (USA, 1923, 22:24) -- Gregor et ses Gregoriens / producer, Roger Lion ; cast, Stephane Grappelli (France, 1930, 3:41) -- Publicites: Le bon boa (1935) ; Brillantine cadoricin (1950) ; Massacre de la musique (1955) ; Ma femme de menage est une sorcière ; cast, Jean Carmet (1955) (France, 4:28) Bonus feature: "[Der Flug um den Erdbal]l" = "Le raid en avion" (6th episode, serial) / production, Ellen Richter ; realisation, Willi Wolff ; cast, Ellen Richter (1924, 21:06) DVD 9638
Credits and other information from the Internet Movie Database
Armatage, Kay. "Sex and snow: landscape and identity in the God's country films of Nell Shipman." In: American silent film : discovering marginalized voices / edited by Gregg Bachman and Thomas J. Slater.  Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, c2002. (Main (Gardner) Stacks; PFA   PN1995.75 .S59 2002)
Silent Britain
A journey through the first three decades of British cinema, when the cinema was silent and hugely popular. Cecil Hepworth's Rescued by Rover was re-shot twice as the original negative wore out, while The Battle of the Somme released in 1916, was watched by an estimated 20 million people. Britain had its share of glamorous starlets and leading men including Ivor Novello, Betty Balfour, Henry Edwards and Chrissie White and Blair, the world's first canine movie star, who lit up the screens. Fully illustrated throughout with film clips from the first British sex comedy in 1898 to Britain's first talkie in 1929-- Hitchcock's Blackmail. 88 min. DVD X1887; also DVD 6214
The Silent Feminists: America's First Women Directors
Unbeknownst to many, women have been directing feature films since the silent era of the American film industry. Such directors as Lois Weber, Frances Marion, Dorothy Arzner, Kathlyn Williams and Alice Guy-Blaché were a significant presence in the early days of Hollywood. Utilizing film clips, rare photos and interviews with survivors of the era, this documentary pays fond tribute to these pioneers. Dist.: Direct Cinema . c1993. 45 min. Video/C 8986
Silent Shakespeare
King John (Britain, 1899, 3 min.) / directed by Walter Pfeffer Dando...[et al.] -- The Tempest (Britain, 1908, 12 min.) / directed by Percy Stow -- A Midsummer night's dream (USA, 1909, 11 min.) / directed by James Stuart Blackton and Charles Kent -- King Lear (Italy, 1910, 16 min.) / directed by Gerolamo Lo Savio -- Twelfth night (USA, 1910, 13 min) / directed by Charles Kent, produced by J. Stuart Blackton -- The Merchant of Venice (Italy, 1910, 10 min.) / directed by Gerolamo Lo Savio -- Richard III (Britain, 1911, 22 min.) Cast: Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Dora Senior (1st film). "Cast unknown" (2nd film). William V. Ranous, Maurice Costello (3rd film). Ermete Novelli, Francesca Bertini (4th film). Florence Turner, Charles Kent, Julia Swayne Gordon, (5th film). Ermete Novelli, Francesca Bertini (6th film). James Berry, Alfred Brydone, Sir Francis Benson (7th film). In the early days of the cinema, pioneer filmmakers created these seven charming films based on the plays of William Shakespeare. Considered a "lowbrow" medium, the fledgling movie industry sought to elevate its status by immortalizing the classics and hiring the actors of the day. Most of these early photoplays were only one or two reels long but whatever they gave up in language and length, they made up for in exuberance, cinematic artistry, visual wit and bravura acting. Some films feature original hand-stenciled color. DVD 230; vhs Video/C 999:2305
Suffragettes in the Silent Cinema
In the days before movies could talk, silent films spoke clearly of sexual politics. This rare and wonderful assemblage of silent era footage opens a historic window on how filmmakers on both sides of the women's suffrage issue used the exciting new medium to create powerful propaganda and images about women. Through clips from films like 'A lively affair' (1912), 'A busy day' (1914), and 'What 80 million women want' (1913), the film raises key issues about the struggle for gender equality and the portrayal of women in the media, which remain as fascinating, engaging, and relevant today as yesterday. 36 min. DVD X1309
Norden, Martin F.  ""A Good Travesty Upon the Suffragette Movement": Women's Suffrage Films as Genre." Journal of Popular Film and Television 13:4 (1986:Winter) p.171
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The Vicar of Wakefield (1910 & 1917). Based on the novel by Oliver Goldsmith.  Vicar of Wakefield / producer, Edwin Thanhouser (1910, 13 min.) -- Vicar of Wakefield / producer, Edwin Thanhouser, director, Ernest C. Warde (1917, 90 min.)  Original music composed and performed by Raymond A. Brubacher. Cast: Martin J. Faust, Frank H. Crane, Anna Rosemond, William Garwood, Marie Eline, Bertha Blanchard, Lucille Younge, William Russell (1st film); Frederick B. Warde, Kathryn Adams, Robert Vaughn, Boyd Marshall, Morgan Jones (2nd film)  Edwin Thanhouser adapted Goldsmith's well-known novel to the screen twice. This first film produced in 1910 had to be simplified and distilled down to one reel of story, which was done better by Thanhouser than any other studio of his time. The second film, produced after Thanhouser affiliated with Pathe in 1916, was a feature-length film. The elaborate production includes incidents vividly remembered by the novel's readers, such as the green spectacles, the debtor's prison, the sham marriage and the burning of the vicarage. DVD 5864; vhs  999:2840
Noel Burch's ideosyncratic discussion of the early development of international cinema.
Great Britain 1900-1912: Along the Great Divide.
Uses extremely rare and obscure films to explore the origins of cinema in Great Britain. Examines the development of filmmaking techniques and how the early films reflected the social concerns and class divisions of British society of the period. Buy your own cherries (1904) -- The Dead boys home for the holidays (Williamson, 1903) -- Rescued by Rover (Hepworth, 1904) -- The tramp and the baby's bottle (c.1900) -- Modern pirates (1906) -- A Free ride (Hepworth, 1903) -- When extremes meet (1905) -- Charles Peace (1905) -- A Desperate poaching afiray (1903) -- Muggins V.C. (1909) -- Attack on a mission station (1900) -- The Flying dispatch (1912) Video/C.1406:1 Pt. 1
United States 1902-1914: Tomorrow the World.
Examines early filmmaking in the United States. Shows how America's immigrant masses were the earliest audience for films but also the ridiculed and stereotyped subjects of these films. Illustrates how American filmmakers discovered narrative but avoided social content and criticism as the middle class came to dominate the film audience. Includes excerpts from numerous early films. Levi and Cohen, the Irish comedians (Biograph, 1903) -- Rube and Fender (Porter, 1903) -- Uncle Josh at the moving picture show (Porter , 1902) -- Another job for the undertaker (Porter, 1901) --Rube in the subway (Porter, 1905) -- The Streets of New York (Porter, 1905) -- How they do things on the bowery (Porter, 1902) -- Down the hotel corridor (Biograph, 1903) -- The heathen Chinese and the Sunday school teacher (Biograph, 1904) -- Skyscrapers (1906) -- Execution of Czolgosz (Port er, 1901) -- How they rob men in Chicago (Biograph, 1902) -- Raid on a cockfight (Biograph, 1906) -- The female crook and her easy victim (Biograph, 1905) -- Subub surprises the burglar (Porter, 1903) -- Gold is not all (Griffith, 1910) -- Romance of an umbrella (1909) -- The Italian (1914) -- Detective Barton's triumph (1914) Video/C 1406:2 Pt. 2
Denmark 1910-1912.
Examines the psychological realism and innovative filmmaking techniques exhibited in early Danish silent films. Shows how the creativity of key figures in early Danish cinema and the feminism and liberal sexual attitudes in Denmark contributed to the sophistication found in those early films. Bride of death (Bjorn, 1912) -- The Shop assistant (Bjorn, 1911) -- The Abyss (Gad, 1910) -- The Flying circus (Lind, 1912) -- Dr. Gar el Harna (Sonneaer-Sorensen, 1911) -- The Strongest (Conneaer-Sorensen, 1912) -- The Dangerous ape (Bjorn, 1911) Original music, Annick Nozati ; editing by Anita Fernandez and Florence Bon. Video/C 1406:3 Pt. 3
France 1905-1922: The Enemy Below.
Examines the appeal of early French cinema to the working class audience and the populist themes that dominated the earliest films. Shows how bourgeois values found their way into popular cinema only with the devastations of the First World War. Pour me some brandy (Gaumont, 1907) -- Feting Josephine (Pathe, 1904) -- Child of the Bamcade (Guy, 1907) -- Street-roughs strike (Gaumont, 1909) -- A Factory drama (Gaumont, 1909) -- The Incendiary (Zecca, 1905) -- Madame has her cravings (Gaumont, 1907) -- A Child of Paris (Petter, 1913) -- Les Vampires (Feuillade, 1915) -- Judex (Feuillade, 1917) -- Vendemaire (Feuillade, 1918) -- The Tenth symphony (1918) -- Crainquebille (Feyder, 1922) Video/C 1406:4 Pt. 4
U.S.S.R. 1924-1928:  Born Yesterday.
Explores the prominence of themes of social disorder, change, and experimentation in post-revolutionary Soviet cinema of the 1930's. Examines the sexual division of labor in the home. Includes excerpts from rare films that are virtually unknown in the West.  The House on Trubnaya Square (Barnet, 1928) -- The Cigarette-girl of the Mossel prom (Zhelyabuzhsky, 1925) -- Katka's apples (Ermler, 1926) -- The Devil's wheel (Kozintsev, 1926) -- Kino-eye (Vertov, 1924) -- Lace (Yutkevich, 1928) -- Remnants of an empire (Ermler, 1929) Video/C 1406:5 Pt. 5
Germany 1925-1932: Under Two Flags.
The social workers' movements, influenced by the achievements of the young Soviet cinema, created the German Workers' Film. This remarkable movement for a "populist" cinema had much in common with similar efforts in other fields but was ultimately replaced by more palatable and cheerful films. People on sunday (Wilder, Siodmak, Ulmer, 1930) -- The Outcasts (Lamprecht, 1925) -- A Working woman's way forward (1929) -- Our daily bread (Jutzi, 1929) -- Mother Krausen's journey to happiness (Jutzi, 1929) -- Two worlds (Hochbaum, 1929) -- Bookkeeper Kremke (Harder, 1930) -- Kuhle Wampe (Brecht, 1932) -- Berlin Alexanderplatz (Jutzi, 1930) Video/C 1406:6 Pt. 6
World War I Films of the Silent Era
These four silent films explain essential news and propaganda functions of the movies during the Great War of 1914-1918. In those days before television and radio, fiction films in movie  theaters were the most widely shared public experience while  news films presented the most detailed and potent images of  military life and front line action. Some news films were  faked but some was authentic, obtained at great risk by  daredevil combat cameramen. Contents:  Fighting the war / photographer, Donald C. Thompson (1916) -- The log of the U-35 / Lothar von Arnauld de la  Periere (combined 1919 British version and 1920 American versions of original 1917 German film titled: Der Magische  Gurtel (The Enchanted circle) -- The secret game / William C. de Mille (Paramount) with Sessue Hayakawa, Florence Vidor,  Jack Holt, Charles Ogle (1917) -- The moving picture boys in   the Great War / narrator, Lowell Thomas (1975). DVD 1016