Mark Cousins' "Story of Film" (II)
THE EARLY POWER OF STORY (1903-1918) - How thrill became narrative
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18 titles
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorAndré CalmettesCharles Le BargyStarsCharles Le BargyAlbert LambertGabrielle RobinneFrance, at the end of the sixteenth century. Henry III decided to eliminate his rival, the Duke of Guise, and, therefore, calls him in the castle of Blois. The mistress of the duke, warned of the King's intentions, informs him, but the noble, sure of his own authority, went there anyway. In Cabinet-Vieux castle Duke is stabbed by guards of the King, while he attends the murder hidden behind the curtains. Eventually, Henry III does burn the duke body to discard.
- DirectorSiegmund LubinDirector Lubin was first Jewish-American filmmaker. In the film, Moses uses his last pennies to help a friend in need. 25 years later the men meet again. The film is remarkable in its depiction of tradition in the face of oppressive circumstances.
- Woman insists on getting an education over the objection of her fiancé, who finally is forced to admit he is wrong.
- DirectorGeorges HatotStarsAndré Deed
- DirectorN.G. ChitreP.R. TipnisRamchandra Gopal TorneyThe film about the Hindu saint Pudalik is based on a Marathi play by Ramrao Kirtikar. The entire 'film' is 'played' out on Grant Road, Bombay.
- DirectorDhundiraj Govind PhalkeStarsD.D. DabkeAnna SalunkeGanpat G. ShindeThe film opens with a Ravi Varma like tableau showing King Harishchandra, his wife Taramati and his young son. The king is teaching his son archery. They go on a hunt. The king enters an area controlled by the Sage Vishwamitra. Three furies appear before the king caught in flames. The king tries to rescue them. These fairies try to seduce the king into renouncing his kingdom for his love of truth. The king endures much hardship including being banished from his kingdom before a god appears to reassure everyone that the whole narrative was merely a test of the king's integrity.
- 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.
- DirectorYevgeny BauerStarsNina ChernovaA. UgrjumovV. DemertA young, rich woman decides to dedicate her life to helping the poor, but a tragic incident changes her life.
- DirectorYevgeny BauerStarsVera KaralliAleksandr KheruvimovVitold PolonskyA grief-stricken ballerina becomes the obsession of an increasingly unhinged artist.
- DirectorYakov ProtazanovStarsTamara DuvanIvan MozzhukhinVera OrlovaWhile hosting a game of cards one night, Narumov tells his friends a story about his grandmother, a Countess. As a young woman, she had once incurred an enormous gambling debt, which she was able to erase by learning a secret that guaranteed that she could win by playing her cards in a certain order. One of Narumov's friends, German, has never gambled, but he is intrigued by the story about the Countess and her secret. He soon becomes obsessed with learning this secret from her, and he starts by courting her young ward Lizaveta, hoping to use her to gain access to the Countess.
- DirectorRalph InceStarsRalph InceAnita StewartGladden JamesThe fighter is a "second-rater" and loses his fight for the championship title. After his defeat he goes downhill very rapidly until he meets the captain of the sloop "Wasp," which is manned by desperadoes. The captain is a second edition of Wolf Larsen, of Jack London's story, a very bad man. The down-and-out fighter ships with the captain and goes to sea with him. On an ocean steamer, a young heiress and young man, newly married, are going abroad on their honeymoon The steamer founders in mid-ocean, all hands going down with it except the young couple, who escape in a life-boat. Later they are picked up at sea by the "Wasp." The captain takes advantage of the girl's helpless position, after setting her husband to work in the forecastle. The young couple try to reason with the captain by promising him a liberal reward. The ex-fighter, now a sailor of the sloop crew, takes their part. While he is fighting off the captain and some of his gang, the young husband and wife manage to escape from the sloop in one of the dories. They are later picked up by another steamer and saved. While they are getting away, their protector fights off the captain and his villainous desperadoes, and finally falls dead in the struggle. The last seen of the young couple is a view of them in the cabin of another steamer, thinking of what may have befallen the man who sacrificed his life for them.
- DirectorWilliam FosterStarsWilliam FosterLottie GradyEdgar LittersonThe first race comedy made inaugurating the chase idea, later copied by Lubin, Keystone Cops,etc..
- DirectorD.W. GriffithMack SennettStarsMack SennettHarry SolterFlorence LawrenceAn upper class drawing room. A gentleman breaks the curtain pole and goes in search of a replacement, but he stops into a pub first. He buys a very long pole, and causes havoc everywhere he passes, accumulating an ever-growing entourage chasing him, until he escapes them through a bit of movie magic, only to discover that the pole has already been replaced.
- 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.