Best 1900s Films
Some of the best pictures of the very beginning of the XX century.
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- DirectorGeorge Albert SmithAn elderly gentleman in a silk hat sits on a stool in front of a store on the main street of town. He has a telescope that he focuses on the ankle of a young woman who is a short distance away. Her husband catches the gent looking. What will the two men now do?
- DirectorJames WilliamsonStarsMr. JamesMr. LepardFlorence WilliamsonThe titles tell us this film is based on an incident in the Boxer Rebellion. A man tries to defend a woman and a large house against Chinese attackers. They attack with swords, guns, and paddles. He's over-matched. What will become of the mission, its defenders, and its occupants?
- DirectorRobert W. PaulA satire on the way that audiences unaccustomed to the cinema didn't know how to react to the moving images on a screen - in this film, an unsophisticated (and stereotypical) country yokel is alternately baffled and terrified, in the latter case by the apparent approach of a steam train
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsJehanne d'AlcyBleuette BernonA young woman becomes the eighth wife of the wealthy Bluebeard, whose first seven wives have died under mysterious circumstances.
- DirectorJames WilliamsonFirefighters ring for help, and here comes the ladder cart; they hitch a horse to it. A second horse-drawn truck joins the first, and they head down the street to a house fire. Inside a man sleeps, he awakes amidst flames and throws himself back on the bed. In comes a firefighter, hosing down the blaze. He carries out the victim, down a ladder to safety. Other firefighters enter the house to save belongings, and out comes one with a baby. The saved man rejoices, but it's not over yet. Another resident appears upstairs. He jumps.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsVictor AndréBleuette BernonA group of astronomers go on an expedition to the Moon.
- 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.
- 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 Albert SmithStarsLaura BayleySmith casts his wife as a sluttish housewife who is mutilated by lighting her oven with paraffin.
- 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.
- DirectorWilliam HaggarStarsSid GriffithsWill Haggar Jr.Walter HaggarThree hunters surprise two poachers in the act. The hunters take umbrage and give chase over fences and through fields. The hunters fire away, but the poachers have guns as well, and a fight ensues with casualties for the hunters. Two cops appear and so do dogs as the chase continues. Will the poachers escape, or will they, like the game they were after, be trapped?
- DirectorLucien NonguetFerdinand ZeccaStarsMadame MoreauMonsieur MoreauThe story of Jesus Christ from the proclamation of his Nativity to his crucifixion. Impressive scenes and dynamism of the actors prelude to the Italian colossal movies of the silent period.
- DirectorWallace McCutcheonA man who has placed a personal advertisement for a prospective wife goes to wait at the meeting place that he designated. Soon a woman comes in response to the advertisement. Before the two have a chance to converse, several more women arrive on the scene. Now completely flustered, the man flees, initiating a lengthy chase.
- DirectorLewin FitzhamonCecil M. HepworthStarsBlairMay ClarkBarbara HepworthA dog leads its master to his kidnapped baby.
- DirectorG.W. BitzerIn one long take, the camera shows us the journey of a subway train as it makes its way from Union Square to the old Grand Central Station.
- A look at typical activities taking place in the Peek Frean factory: First, the workers get up steam, as supplies of milk and flour arrive. Sheets of dough are rolled, then cut, shaped, and readied for baking. The camera then continues to show further events throughout the work day.
- DirectorJ. Stuart BlacktonStarsJ. Stuart BlacktonA cartoonist draws faces and figures on a blackboard - and they come to life.
- DirectorAlice GuyThe life of Jesus Christ in 25 scenes.
- DirectorWalter R. BoothA British trick film in which a motorist ends up driving around the rings of Saturn.
- DirectorCharles TaitStarsElizabeth TaitJohn TaitNicholas BrierleyOriginally 70 minutes in running time, only 17 minutes of the world's first full-length narrative feature film survived in stills and other fragments and tell the story of Ned Kelly, an infamous 19th-century Australian outlaw.
- DirectorAlice GuyA heavily pregnant woman has a series of irrepressible cravings while walking with her family.
- Two criminals lure a doctor away from his home with a phony note about a child's illness. After the doctor rushes off, the criminals break into his house and menace his wife and child. By the time the doctor realizes what has happened, his family faces a desperate situation.
- DirectorÉmile CohlThe first all-animated film in history, a series of scenes without much narrative structure, but morphing into each other.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsArthur V. JohnsonLinda ArvidsonAdele DeGardeA drinking man arrives home, late and sozzled as usual. His wife reminds him that he promised to take their child to a play. The play proves to be a morality tale about the evils of drink; he sees the parallels in his own life and swears off the demon brew.
- 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.
- DirectorWalter R. BoothAn inventor uses a wireless controlled flying torpedo to destroy enemy airships.