HSV - Narrative Films (Early Cinema)
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- DirectorLouis LumièreWorkers leaving the Lumière factory for lunch in Lyon, France in 1895; a place of great photographic innovation and one of the birth places of cinema.
- DirectorAuguste LumièreLouis LumièreStarsMadeleine KoehlerMarcel KoehlerMrs. Auguste LumiereA train arrives at La Ciotat station.
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsFrançois ClercBenoît DuvalAn impudent child plays a prank on a gardener innocently watering his plants.
- DirectorLouis LumièreStarsAuguste LumièreMrs. Auguste LumiereAndrée LumièreAs part of a maiden public film screening at the Salon Indien, on December 28, in Paris, Auguste Lumière pivots the centre of attention around his baby daughter, as he tries to feed her from a spoon.
- DirectorJean BovonStarsJoseph EvansMarie McLaughlinMonique BarschaA group of wizards go to the moon in this 1902 film.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsJehanne d'AlcyGeorges MélièsAs an elegant maestro of mirage and delusion drapes his beautiful female assistant with a gauzy textile, much to our amazement, the lady vanishes into thin air.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsMarguerite ThévenardBleuette BernonIn this spectacular free adaptation of the popular theatre play "La Biche au Bois", the valiant Prince Bel-Azor pursues a baleful old witch to her impregnable castle, to save the beautiful young Princess Azurine.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsZizi PapillonIn this brief "trick film" two clowns assemble an enormous magic lantern which first projects moving images, then emits dancing girls.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsFernande AlbanyJehanne d'AlcyUsing every known means of transportation, several savants from the Geographic Society undertake a journey through the Alps to the Sun which finishes under the sea.
- DirectorWilliam HeiseStarsMay IrwinJohn C. RiceIn a medium close-up shot of the first kiss ever recorded on screen, two fervent lovers cuddle and talk passionately at hair's breadth, just before the love-smitten gentleman decides to give his chosen one an innocent peck.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonWilliam HeiseStarsAnnabelle MooreAnnabelle (Whitford) Moore performs one of her popular dance routines. She uses her dance steps and her long, flowing skirts to create a variety of visual patterns.
- DirectorJames H. WhiteStarsThomas A. Edison"This film is remarkable in several respects. In the first place, it is full life-size. Secondly, it is the only accurate recent portrait of the great inventor. The scene is an actual one, showing Mr. Edison in working dress engaged in an interesting chemical experiment in his great Laboratory. There is sufficient movement to lead the spectator through the several processes of mixing, pouring, testing, etc. as if he were side by side with the principal. The lights and shadows are vivid, and the apparatus and other accessories complete a startling picture that will appeal to every beholder."
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterStarsCarl GoliathTopsyThe execution of Topsy, a female elephant, in a publicity stunt advertising the opening of Luna Park on Coney Island. Topsy was originally owned by Forepaugh Circus where she killed a drunken spectator who burned the tip of her trunk with a cigar. She was sold to Sea Lion Park in 1902 which was then sold to new owners who turned it into Luna Park. After they decided they could no longer handle her, the owners of Luna Park announced they would hang Topsy, leading to an outcry by the ASPCA. The owners then decided they would electrocute the elephant, with a backup plan of feeding her cyanide-laced carrots and strangling her with a cable.
- DirectorJ. Farrell MacDonaldStarsViolet MacMillanFrank MooreRaymond RussellOjo and Unc Nunkie are out of food, so they decide to journey to the Emerald City where they will never starve.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterTheodore Roosevelt merrily kills a mountain lion in Colorado while his press agent and photographer record the event for posterity.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterA most interesting picture at the Pan-American Exposition. The picture was taken from the north side of the Electric Tower. It presents the most perfect and diversified views of the Transportation Building, Mexican Plaza, the Stadium and the north side of the Electric Tower.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterA great feature of the Pan-American Exposition, as unanimously conceded by all visitors, was the electric illumination of the Exposition grounds at night. After a great deal of experimenting and patience, we succeeded in securing an excellent picture of the buildings at the Pan-American as they appeared when lighted up at night. All the buildings from the Temple of Music to the Electric Tower are shown, including the Electric Tower itself. The emotional and sensational effects were also secured by starting the panoramic view by daylight and revolving the camera until the Electric Tower forms the center of the field of the lens. Our camera was then stopped and the position held until night, when we photographed the coming up of the lights, an event which was deemed by all to be a great emotional climax to the Pan-American Exposition. Immediately the lights are burning to their fullest brilliancy, the camera is againt set in motion and revolved until the Temple of Music is reached. The motion is then reversed and the camera goes back until it rests on the Electric Tower, thus supplying the climax to the picture. The great searchlights of the Tower are being worked during the entire time the picture is being exposed, and the effect is startling. This picture is pronounced by the photographic profession to be a marvel of photography.
- DirectorGeorge S. FlemingEdwin S. PorterStarsEdwin S. PorterVivian VaughanArthur WhiteA fireman rushes into a carriage to rescue a woman from a house fire. He breaks the windowpanes and carries the woman to safety; after dangerous and uncertain moments he also saves the woman's son.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterStarsCharles ManleyCountry rube thinks what he sees on the movie screen is real. He jumps out of his seat to try to stop a kissing scene.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterBased on the novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe: Eliza, a slave who has a young child, pleads with Tom, another slave, to escape with her. Tom does not leave, but Eliza flees with her child. After getting some help to escape the slave traders who are looking for her, she then must try to cross the icy Ohio River if she wants to be free. Meanwhile, Tom is sold from one master to another, and his fortunes vary widely.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterStarsEdward BouldenA woman being fitted for shoes exposes her ankle to the shoe clerk, who is intrigued. He kisses her, but her chaperone hits him with her umbrella.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterStarsMarie MurrayAn engaged couple, dressed in white, meet each other at a train station. When the train arrives, they get on board, and they enjoy the sights from the platform on the last car. The workers on the train are eager to help, and they make some special arrangements for the couple.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterStarsGilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' AndersonA.C. AbadieGeorge BarnesA group of bandits stage a brazen train hold-up, only to find a determined posse hot on their heels.
- DirectorWallace McCutcheonEdwin S. PorterSeven toy teddy bears of varying sizes suddenly come to life, getting in all sorts of merry misadventures.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsDavid MilesMarion LeonardMary PickfordA gang of thieves lure a man out of his home so that they can rob it and threaten his wife and children. The family barricade themselves in an interior room, but the criminals are well-equipped for breaking in. When the father finds out what is happening, he must race against time to get back home.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsFrank PowellGrace HendersonJames KirkwoodAn unscrupulous and greedy capitalist speculator decides to corner the wheat market for his own profit, establishing complete control over the markets.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsWilfred LucasClaire McDowellAdele DeGardeContinuing where His Trust (1911) leaves off, George, a slave, takes care of his deceased master's daughter after her mother's death. He sacrifices his own meager savings to give the girl a good life, until the money runs out and he tries to steal money from the girl's rich cousin.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsBlanche SweetGeorge NicholsFrancis J. GrandonWhen her father becomes ill, a young woman takes over the telegraph at a lonely western railroad station. She soon gets word that the next train will deliver the payroll for a mining company. The train brings not only the money, but a pair of ruffians bent on stealing it. All alone, she wires for help, and then holds off the bad guys until it arrives.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsMary PickfordCharles Hill MailesKate BruceA dying mother bequeaths money in trust for her teenage daughter to the pastor. When he buys the girl an expensive new hat, scandal breaks out, as local gossips assume something fishy is going on between the pastor and the pretty girl.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsElmer BoothLillian GishClara T. BracyA tender young woman and her musician husband attempt to eke out a living in the slums of New York City, but find themselves caught in the crossfires of gang violence.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsMae MarshLeslie LoveridgeAlfred PagetThe fact that an Indian tribe is eating puppies starts an action-packed battle in a Western town.
- DirectorAlice GuyStarsAlice GuyGermaine SerandYvonne SerandThe first film directed by a female director, "The Cabbage Fairy" presents a brief fantasy tale involving a strange fairy who can produce and deliver babies coming out of cabbages. Gently moving through the cabbages and using of lovely gestures, she takes one baby out of there, then makes more magic and delivers two more.
- DirectorAlice GuyStarsFraunie FraunholzMarian SwayneA married couple decide to "live separately together."
- DirectorGiovanni PastroneStarsItalia Almirante-ManziniLidia QuarantaBartolomeo PaganoCabiria is a Roman child when her home is destroyed by a volcano. Sold in Carthage to be sacrificed in a temple, she is saved by Fulvio, a Roman spy. But danger lurks, and hatred between Rome and Carthage can only lead to war.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsRené NavarreEdmund BreonGeorges MelchiorInspector Juve is tasked to investigate and capture an infamous criminal Fantomas.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsLillian GishMae MarshHenry B. WalthallThe Stoneman family finds its friendship with the Camerons affected by the Civil War, both fighting in opposite armies. The development of the war in their lives plays through to Lincoln's assassination and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan.
- DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsMusidoraÉdouard MathéMarcel LévesqueAn intrepid reporter and his loyal friend battle a bizarre secret society of criminals known as The Vampires.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsLillian GishRobert HarronMae MarshThe story of a poor young woman separated by prejudice from her husband and baby is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsFannie WardSessue HayakawaJack DeanA venal, spoiled stockbroker's wife impulsively embezzles $10,000 from the charity she chairs and desperately turns to a Burmese ivory trader to replace the stolen money.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceEric CampbellCharlie is an immigrant who endures a challenging voyage and gets into trouble as soon as he arrives in America.
- DirectorVictor SjöströmStarsVictor SjöströmEdith ErastoffJohn EkmanA stranger comes to work at widow Halla's farm.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsLillian GishRichard BarthelmessDonald CrispA frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceOlive Ann AlcornCharlie works on a farm from 4am to late at night. He gets his food on the run (milking a cow into his coffee, holding an chicken over the frying pan to get fried eggs). He loves the neighbor's daughter Edna but is disliked by her father. He rides a cow into a stream and is kicked off. Unconscious, he dreams of a nymph dance. Back in reality a city slicker is hurt in a car crash and is being cared for by Edna. When Charlie is rejected after attempting to imitate the slicker, the result is ambiguous--either tragic or a happy ending. Critics have long argued as to whether the final scene is real or a dream.