1950s and earlier
Every film from the 1950s and earlier that I can recall seeing at least once at some point in my life.
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- DirectorP.J.C. JanssenSeries of photographs of the transit of the planet Venus across the Sun in 1874.
- DirectorEadweard MuybridgeStarsGilbert DommSallie GardnerThe clip shows a jockey, Gilbert Domm, riding a horse, Sallie Gardner. The clip is not filmed; instead, it consists of 24 individual photographs shot in rapid succession, making a moving picture when using a zoopraxiscope.
- DirectorEadweard MuybridgeIndividual photographs of the running of a buffalo shot in rapid succession.
- DirectorLouis Aimé Augustin Le PrinceStarsAdolphe Le PrinceA very brief film of a man playing the accordion.
- DirectorLouis Aimé Augustin Le PrinceStarsAnnie HartleyAdolphe Le PrinceJoseph WhitleyIn the garden, a man asks his friends to do something silly for him to record on film.
- DirectorLouis Aimé Augustin Le PrinceA shot of people walking on The Leeds Bridge.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsCarmencitaPerforming on what looks like a small wooden stage, wearing a dress with a hoop skirt and white high-heeled pumps, Carmencita does a dance with kicks and twirls, a smile always on her face.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsEugen SandowEugen Sandow, who claims to be the strongest man in the world, appears in the Edison Company's film studio.
- 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.
- DirectorGabriel VeyreHorses led by grooms enter the water, while a man tries to push ducks back on the water.
- 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.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsMuch to our amazement, an elegant and masterful illusionist detaches his own head effortlessly from his shoulders for a once-in-a-lifetime performance.
- DirectorLouis LumièreA skeleton dances joyously, often collapsing into a heap of bones and quickly putting itself back together.
- DirectorGeorge Albert SmithStarsLaura BayleyDorothy SmithHarold SmithBrother and sister are sent to bed on Christmas Eve, and while they are asleep, Santa Claus comes down the chimney and fills their waiting stockings with toys.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsJehanne d'AlcyGeorges MélièsAn astronomer falls asleep and has a strange dream involving a fairy queen and the Moon.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsMlle BarralBleuette BernonCarmelliA fairy godmother magically turns Cinderella's rags to a beautiful dress, and a pumpkin into a coach. Cinderella goes to the ball, where she meets the Prince - but will she remember to leave before the magic runs out?
- DirectorJ. Stuart BlacktonStarsJ. Stuart BlacktonA cartoonist defies reality when he draws objects that become three-dimensional after he lifts them off his sketch pad.
- DirectorGabriel VeyreA black and white short in which a moving rear facing camera documents people running towards it on the street.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsThe entire story of Christmastide is here depicted. The scene opens in a large boudoir of an apparently wealthy man's home. His children, assisted by their governess, are about to retire. Before lying down they hang up their stockings on the edge of the bed. The picture changes and night appears. We see the housetops of the town and angels are flying about depositing packages in each of the chimneys. Santa Claus is also busy and furnishes our little friends with numerous presents. Again a change in the picture and we see the corridor of the old village church. The sexton, an old grey haired man, stands by, while a number of lusty boys pull the rope attached to the great bell in the belfry. The bell tolling in the steeple bursts into view, after which the interior of the church is seen with the full choir accompanied by the organist and choir boys singing the Christmas hymn. Another change and the boudoir is again before us and the children are looking over their presents while their parents are receiving the congratulations of their friends who have come to visit them. The picture changes into that of the great dining hall with the guests sitting around the table and the beggar is brought in and given a place at the table. The conclusion of this beautiful subject is a pretty tableau. We cannot speak too highly of the dissolving effects of this film. One picture dissolves into the other and thus the story is continuous from beginning to the end. Artistically beautiful.
- DirectorFrederick S. ArmitageTime-lapse photography is used to show the manual dismantling and demolition of New York's Star Theatre over a period of about 30 days.
- A family of seven entertain themselves by putting on a pageant on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorWalter R. BoothStarsDaniel SmithIt's Christmas Eve. The miser Scrooge and his assistant Bob Cratchit finish their work in the office and go home. When Scrooge is going to open his front door, he sees the face of Marley's ghost in the door knocker. Inside he takes on his night dress, eats his supper, and falls asleep at the table. Marly's ghost shows Scrooge a vision of himself at a Christmas in the past. Then the ghost escorts him to the present Christmas, and the homes and families of Bob Cratchit and Fred, where Scrooge sees Bob and Fred drink to him in his absence. At last the ghost shows Scrooge the Christmas that might be. Here Scrooge has to face his own grave and the death of Tiny Tim. Confronted with this Scrooge regrets his callousness and egoism.
- DirectorJames WilliamsonA poor young girl tries to sell matches in a snowstorm. After being robbed by bullies, she lights matches which illuminate visions of a far happier Christmas than the one she faces.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsRachel GilletGeorges MélièsA family has a sick woman at home. Her girl goes out in the snow to beg.
- DirectorG.W. BitzerStarsSidney OlcottPublic morality, late night cavorting, and a practical joke. A constable and a subway attendant are working late at night in an underground station. A well-dressed man and two well-dressed women of the night enter the platform, and they are soon in trouble for violating public decorum. Another man arrives, carrying a long package. A train arrives to our right and the man with the package boards. Soon, to the consternation of the constable, women's legs (in hose) are on full display. The constable will have none of it. Will there be an arrest?
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsA traveler at an inn is harassed by a mischievous devil in his room.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterA panorama of Coney Island, taken at night: the camera sweeps across the scene from a vantage point well above the area. It then moves in for closer views of Dreamland and Luna Park.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterIt's December 24th, and 'Santa Claus' is busy feeding his reindeer and finishing up the toys that he will soon deliver. Meanwhile, the children in a large family hang their stockings over the fireplace, and then are put to bed. But the restless children cannot sleep, and they soon start a lively pillow fight. Back at his workshop, Santa loads up everything and begins his journey.
- DirectorJ. Stuart BlacktonStarsJ. Stuart BlacktonA cartoonist draws faces and figures on a blackboard - and they come to life.
- DirectorÉmile CohlThe first all-animated film in history, a series of scenes without much narrative structure, but morphing into each other.
- StarsA.E. ColebyFactory workers make Christmas crackers, a process that is shown in detail. Later, a family gathers around the tree at Christmas and enjoys their noise-making toys. Finally, Santa Claus emerges from a gigantic cracker.
- DirectorWladyslaw StarewiczA Christmas ornament comes alive and goes to a forest where he creates and decorates a Christmas tree for the forest creatures. He then invites all the insects to come and enjoy the gifts he has prepared and to celebrate Christmas.
- DirectorWill LouisStarsRaymond McKeeBilly CaseyGuido ColucciA desperate man and two romantic rivals encounter one another at a Christmas party.
- DirectorOtto MessmerMaster Tom is lured away from his job of protecting the house from mice by the charms of "Miss Kitty". While he's gone, the mice trash the house. Complications ensue.
- DirectorRobert WieneStarsWerner KraussConrad VeidtFriedrich FeherHypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.
- DirectorCharles SheelerPaul StrandThis groundbreaking silent documentary captures the beauty and majesty of the New York City in its streets, skyscrapers, bridges, rail yards and harbors.
- DirectorWalt DisneyFour animal musicians consisting of a Horse, Cat, Dog, and Rooster set out on their own quest to try to find some fame by playing their own music. Unfortunately, everywhere they go, trouble occurs whether they are being chased by town folk, a swordfish, or being attacked by an army.
- DirectorOtto MessmerA starving actor, reduced to trying his luck in the movies, travels to Hollywood. His cat, Felix, poses as a travel bag and comes along.
- DirectorMan RayStarsKiki of MontparnasseExperimental film, white specks and shapes gyrating over a black background, a light-striped torso, a gyrating eggcrate. One of the first Dadaist films.
- DirectorHans RichterBlack and white rectangular images fade in and out of the screen. Their movement make them sometimes look like they're panning from side to side. Their movement also make the black and white individually change from foreground to background and visa versa.
- DirectorHerbert BrenonStarsBetty BronsonErnest TorrenceGeorge AliPeter Pan enters the nursery of the Darling children and, with the help of fairy dust, leads them off to Never Never Land, where they meet the nefarious Captain Hook.
- DirectorWalt DisneyStarsMargie GayAlice, at the beach with her cat, tries to solve a crossword puzzle, when Woodleg Pete, a ruthless collector of rare crossword puzzles, sees that Alice's one is missing in his collection. But while trying to steal it, he did not include Alice's cat in his calculation...
- DirectorWalt DisneyStarsMargie GayAlice and Julius are riding along on a turtle until they notice someone has left a pie to cool on their third-storey window sill. They swipe it with the aid of the turtle and his elongated neck, but are pursued by a police officer. They try to paddle away across a pond and up a river, but the officer's determined to catch them. He tricks them into his paddy wagon and they end up in prison, where the hijinks continue with a daring jail break.
- DirectorWalt DisneyStarsAnne ShirleyLittle Alice and Julius the cat operate an egg factory. The hens are a bit lazy, but Julius cracks the whip. An out-of-town chicken arrives, only she's a labour agitator, Little Red Henski from Moscow, Russia, who comes courtesy of the I.W.W. Soon she has the hens striking for "shorter hours" and "smaller eggs". Alice and Julius need to fill an urgent egg order. They spot two roosters fighting. They organize a pugilistic event, and charge each hen one egg admission. Alice and Julius fill their order and drive away ... but the load slips off, breaking all the eggs.
- DirectorWalt DisneyStarsMargie GayAlice and Julius are driving a train, which is carrying a large payroll. Pete the Bear and his gang find out about it and devise a plan to rob the train.
- DirectorSergei EisensteinStarsAleksandr AntonovVladimir BarskiyGrigoriy AleksandrovIn the midst of the Russian Revolution of 1905, the crew of the battleship Potemkin mutiny against the brutal, tyrannical regime of the vessel's officers. The resulting street demonstration in Odessa brings on a police massacre.
- DirectorWalt DisneyStarsMargie GayJulius the cat is skating on a pond when he espies a young lady break through the ice. He saves her, only to realize she's not particularly attractive, and so throws her back. Meanwhile, a kitten orphan is left in a basket by the side of the pond; Julius discovers it and takes it skating with him, afterward taking it home to Alice. They name him Oscar, and Julius tries to give the brat a bath. He then feeds Oscar and teaches him some table manners.
- DirectorHenri ChometteAn experimental avant-garde film from director Henri Chomette in which the pure elements of form are emphasized.
- DirectorRobert F. McGowanStarsJoe CobbJackie CondonMickey DanielsOn Christmas Eve, the Gang copes with hardships, helps capture a gang of thieves, and learns that Santa Claus really exists for those who wish fervently enough.
- DirectorMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackStarsKruChantuiNahA snapshot of life in the jungles of Northern Siam.
- DirectorJames W. HorneBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonAnne CornwallFlora BramleyRonald's high-school valedictory address praises books and condemns sports. His girlfriend Mary condemns his attitude. Fearing to lose her to rival Jeff, he decides to go to college and pay more attentions to sports.
- DirectorAlan CroslandStarsAl JolsonMay McAvoyWarner OlandThe son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer.
- DirectorWalt DisneyOswald wakes up grumpy and takes it out on his alarm clock, afterward trying his best to wake up the mechanical cow sleeping in the bed beside him, with limited success. They finally do get going, sailing around the barnyard offering milk to denizens of the farm. When kidnappers arrive and takes Oswald's girlfriend away, he and the cow set off to rescue her.
- DirectorHarry BaileyJohn FosterFarmer Al Falfa takes a strong drink at a speakeasy and floats up to the heavens, where he has crazy misadventures on weird planets.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsGeorge O'BrienJanet GaynorMargaret LivingstonA sophisticated city woman seduces a farmer and convinces him to murder his wife and join her in the city, but he ends up rekindling his romance with his wife when he changes his mind at the last moment.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMerna KennedyAl Ernest GarciaThe Tramp finds work and the girl of his dreams at a circus.
- DirectorUb IwerksStarsWalt DisneyMickey rides up to a cantina and does a tango with Minnie. When a big cat steals her away, Mickey gives chase, riding a drunken ostrich. At the hideout, Mickey has a swordfight with the cat.
- DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsMaria FalconettiEugene SilvainAndré BerleyIn 1431, Jeanne d'Arc is placed on trial on charges of heresy. The ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.
- DirectorWalt DisneyUb IwerksStarsWalt DisneyInspired by Lindbergh's flight from New York to Paris, Mickey builds a plane to take Minnie for a trip involving some necking, though Minnie objects to the necking.
- DirectorWalt DisneyOswald the Rabbit becomes father to a brood of unruly bunnies.
- DirectorCharles ReisnerBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonTom McGuireErnest TorrenceThe effete son of a cantankerous riverboat captain comes to join his father's crew.
- DirectorUb IwerksWalt DisneyStarsWalt DisneyMickey Mouse is a mischievous deckhand on a riverboat that is under the command of the tyrannical Captain Pete.
- DirectorJames W. HorneLeo McCareyStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyJames FinlaysonOllie and Stanley are two Christmas Tree sales reps who get into one of their usual mutual-destruction fights with a disgruntled homeowner.
- DirectorHarry BeaumontStarsBessie LoveAnita PageCharles KingA pair of sisters from the vaudeville circuit try to make it big time on Broadway, but matters of the heart complicate the attempt.
- DirectorUb IwerksStarsWalt DisneyThe demons of hell play music for Satan, whose delight turns to wrath when an insubordinate refuses to become food for Cerberus.
- DirectorWalt DisneyUb IwerksStarsCount CutelliWalt DisneyCarl W. StallingMickey, a hot dog vendor, meets and quickly falls for Minnie the "Shimmy Dancer". He serenades her by performing the song "Sweet Adeline", much to the dismay of Kat Nipp, who is trying to sleep.
- DirectorWalt DisneyA band of dwarfs dance while they work and play in the forest.
- DirectorUb IwerksWalt DisneyMickey Mouse runs a cheap opera house and performs on stage as a snake charmer, a belly dancer and a long-haired pianist.
- DirectorWalt DisneyStarsWalt DisneyCarl W. StallingThe clock strikes midnight, the bats fly from the belfry, a dog howls at the full moon, and two black cats fight in the cemetery: a perfect time for four skeletons to come out and dance a bit.
- DirectorBurt GillettUb IwerksStarsMarjorie RalstonCarl W. StallingMickey Mouse is a singing lifeguard. Minnie Mouse is the damsel he must rescue before she is swept out to sea.
- DirectorUb IwerksStarsWalt DisneyThe season series of Silly Symphonies continues, with squirrels storing nuts and corn, crows stealing it, beavers building a dam, ducks migrating, and the like, as the first snows fall.
- DirectorWalt DisneyStarsWalt DisneyConductor Mickey Mouse and his animal friends put on a concert.
- DirectorWalt DisneyStarsWalt DisneyMickey comes onstage to the applause of an unseen audience and plays various classical tunes on the violin, after some minor mishaps. During a sad song, he is overcome with emotion and has to stop.
- DirectorHarry BaileyJohn FosterWaffles the Cat and Don Dog set out on an adventure to find the North Pole.
- DirectorWalter LantzStarsPinto ColvigThe sheriff runs Oswald the Rabbit out of town; but then Oswald finds the sheriff's infant son out in the desert.
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsMarcellite GarnerWalt DisneyLee MillarSummertime, and Mickey takes Minnie on a picnic. While Pluto is chasing a rabbit, and Mickey and Minnie are doing a courtship dance, every animal in the woods is busy making off with their picnic food. And then the rain comes.
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsWalt DisneyMarcellite GarnerAnother barn dance. Minnie plays piano; Mickey plays fiddle, then percussion, then harmonica. Mickey dances with the huge Patricia Pig.
- DirectorUb IwerksThe bugs of summer frolic and dance.
- DirectorJames Sibley WatsonThe images on the screen tell it all. In a drawing room, the clock shows two on an afternoon. Adulterous lovers cling; her husband is due home momentarily, so he leaves. She goes to a table to play solitaire, sitting on her departed lover's hat. She removes it and sets it on the table as her husband enters. She denies anyone has been with her, except her lover. She and her husband go into the bedroom. The lover comes back for his hat. The married couple returns to the drawing room, and the men confront each other, with cigarettes, pistol, and puns, while she sits at the table. Is there anything anyone can do for the other in this satire on the needlessness of talking pictures?
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsMarion DarlingtonWalt DisneyMarcellite GarnerIn the last of the Silly Symphonies season cycle, bears hibernate (or try to), raccoons sneeze, moose swim, and pretty much everyone ice skates. Everyone gathers around the groundhog to see what happens.
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsBeatrice HagenJayne ShadduckPinto ColvigMickey runs radio station ICU from his barn. His friends play various musical numbers. A cat wanders in and starts yowling (which sets Pluto, who was listing from his doghouse, off). Mickey puts it out, but it, and several kittens, keep coming back in, playing with the equipment, running through the musicians (chased by a broom-wielding Mickey, who does a great deal of damage himself), and generally making a mess of things.
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsWalt DisneyPinto ColvigMarcellite GarnerA fun day at the beach. While Mickey, Horace, and Clarabelle go swimming, or try to, Minnie lays out a picnic. Pluto discovers why you shouldn't chase a crab. Everyone digs in to lunch. Mickey throws Pluto a string of sausages; he dives after them, and comes up with an angry octopus instead, who crashes into the picnic.
- DirectorWilfred JacksonBurt GillettStarsWalt DisneyMickey, apparently shipwrecked, is on a raft; he washes up on a tropical island, where a banana tree takes care of his hunger. He then discovers a piano that washed ashore, and begins playing it. The animals come around; a gorilla, after playing a 4-hands piece with his feet, destroys the piano. Mickey runs away and accidentally wakes a lion. The lion chases Mickey to a stream, where he jumps onto a rock that turns out to be right next to a crocodile. The lion lunges for Mickey, misses, and ends up in the croc. The rock Mickey is on turns out to be a giant turtle.
- DirectorCharles ReisnerStarsLionel BarrymoreWallace BeeryJackie CooperJackie wants to throw a Christmas party for his friends on his football team, but doesn't know how to go about it. His fellow stars at MGM decide to help him out.
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsBarbara BrewsterGloria BrewsterPinto ColvigDelivery boy Mickey encounters Minnie washing clothes and singing. He stops for a quick song and dance with her. Meanwhile, Pluto gets tangled up in tar. Mickey sends a beehive flying; it lands on his mule, who kicks Mickey's instrument-filled wagon into the air. He plays a march or two on the piano with Minnie, with many animals playing along.
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsWalt DisneyLee MillarMickey takes Pluto fishing in a boat on a lake, but they aren't too successful. The fish mock them, and even steal the bait can. Finally, the game warden spots them (Mickey had ignored the "no fishing" sign) and gives chase.
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsGeorge MagrillBarbara BrewsterGloria BrewsterAt Christmastime, Mickey Mouse, Minnie and Pluto are beset by an enormous litter of bratty orphan cats.
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsPinto ColvigMarion DarlingtonWalt DisneyMickey's hunting, along with a characteristically playful and distracted (and uncharacteristically talkative) Pluto. Pluto fetches a forked branch, and Mickey shoots, mistaking it for antlers, but Pluto is OK. Then they find a moose, and Mickey's gun fails but they escape when Pluto does an impression of Dumbo, with Mickey riding.
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsJack MercerPurv PullenMae QuestelAn extremely large Old King Cole sings his story. His "fiddlers three" turn out to be the Three Blind Mice. And his book is Mother Goose, which illustrates Little Miss Muffett, Jack and Jill (they meet Simple Simon at the top of the hill), Humpty Dumpty, Little Jack Horner (his pie also contains the four-and-twenty blackbirds), Little Bo Peep, Little Boy Blue (his horn brings the sheep home, one of which falls in black mud and becomes Baa Baa Black Sheep), and Hey Diddle Diddle.
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsMarcellite GarnerWalt DisneyMickey is driving a taxi. His first fare is a very large gentleman. Mickey stops traffic and gets a tongue-lashing from the officer. The cab runs into some bad road, bounces the fare down to almost nothing, then bounces the customer right out of the cab. Mickey pulls up to the curb and picks up his second passenger, Minnie. She plays her accordion while they ride. The cab gets a flat tire, and Mickey uses a pig to pump it up. Snake oil salesman Pegleg Pete happens by and pours some of his elixir into the car; it takes off without him, crashes, loses its wheels, and lands on a cow. The cow takes off, crashes into a barn, and then a poultry shed.
- DirectorWilfred JacksonStarsPinto ColvigWalt DisneyFlorence GillA black duckling is rejected by its mother, a hen, but manages to prove his worth when a tornado threatens the hen's chicks.
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsPinto ColvigMarcellite GarnerLucille La VerneTwo children wander the forest and get lured into a witch's house.
- DirectorWilfred JacksonStarsPinto ColvigWalt DisneyMarcellite GarnerMickey and his friends are staging a sort of olympics in a makeshift stadium on his farm. The main event is a sort of quadrathlon, with running, pole vaulting, rowing, and cycling. Mickey gets a late start due to some foul play by Pete, and that's not the only foul play.
- DirectorJan Kucera
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsClarence NashEsther CampbellPinto ColvigA jealous stump threatens two trees that are in love by starting a forest fire. When the rain comes and puts out the fire the forest revives and celebrates the wedding.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsWallace FordLeila HyamsOlga BaclanovaA circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsGreta GarboJohn BarrymoreJoan CrawfordA group of very different individuals staying at a luxurious hotel in Berlin deal with each of their respective dramas.
- DirectorWilfred JacksonStarsWalt DisneyPinto ColvigMarcellite GarnerMickey (and Pluto) are delivering a grocery order to Minnie. She pretends not to notice for a while, but when he gets hit on the head by an iron, she drops her pretense and rushes to his side. Mickey then helps with the dinner preparations, but Pluto steals the turkey, and a chase ensues. There's also a 4-layer cake that you just know is going to get ruined spectacularly.
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsPinto ColvigWalt DisneyPurv PullenWhen Pluto eats a bar of soap and ends up with a mouth full of suds, the neighborhood thinks he's caught rabies.