The Electric Hotel

The Electric Hotel 1908

6.11

An enthusiastic young couple is astounded with modern technology's giant leaps in the fascinating field of electricity.

1908

Fantasmagorie

Fantasmagorie 1908

6.53

An animated film by French auteur Émile Cohl, one of the earliest examples of hand-drawn film animation. Drawing inspiration from J. Stuart Blackton and the Incoherents of club Hydropathes, the film, with all its wild transformations, sees our protagonist materialize a movie theatre, meet an elephant and escape from jail; A morphing, stream-of-consciousness delight.

1908

A Visit to the Seaside

A Visit to the Seaside 1908

6.30

The first successful motion picture in natural color, filmed with Kinemacolor. It is an 8 minute short film directed by George Albert Smith of Brighton, showing people doing everyday activities. It is ranked of high historical importance. Kinemacolor later influenced and replaced by Technicolor, which was used from 1916 to 1952.

1908

The Runaway Horse

The Runaway Horse 1908

5.85

A laundry man parks his horse-drawn cart to make a delivery. While he is inside, his horse sees a bag of oats and starts to eat them. By the time the man comes back outside, the horse has eaten a whole bag of oats, and has so much energy that he begins to race out of control.

1908

The Thieving Hand

The Thieving Hand 1908

6.43

A one-armed street peddler notices that a well-to-do man has dropped his ring. He returns it to him. The wealthy man is very grateful and, to show his appreciation, takes the peddler to a 'Limb Store', where he buys him a new arm. The recipient soon discovers that this new arm has a will of its own - causing him considerable embarrassment.

1908

L'Assommoir

L'Assommoir 1908

5.60

Everyman Coupeau's attempts to stop drinking are routinely thwarted by the wicked and vengeful Virginie. Based on Zola's novel, Capellani's film is about the free fall of a group of working-class French folk into degradation and tragedy due to carelessness, jealousy, and alcohol abuse. At the time of its release, L'Assommoir was hugely successful.

1908

Woman Draped in Patterned Handkerchiefs

Woman Draped in Patterned Handkerchiefs 1908

3.70

Woman Draped in Patterned Handkerchiefs is a 1908 British short silent documentary film, directed by George Albert Smith as a showcase his new Kinemacolor system, which features a woman displaying assorted tartan cloths, both draped on her body and waved semaphore-style. The patterned handkerchiefs are, according to Michael Brooke of BFI Screenonline, “presumably the same cloths featured in Tartans of Scottish Clans (1906), this time shown from various angles.”

1908

The Fatal Hour

The Fatal Hour 1908

2.50

This one-reeler has been regarded as a classic example of a Griffith thriller. It engages with the Chinese White slave traffic from the perspective of a female detective, played by Marion Leonard, whose assignment is to expose and break the traffic ring. A fragment is widely available.

1908

Deceived Slumming Party

Deceived Slumming Party 1908

5.00

Mack Sennett appears as a policeman and waiter in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

1908

Excursion to the Moon

Excursion to the Moon 1908

5.40

Segundo de Chomón's remake of Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon.

1908

The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew 1908

4.90

Based on Shakespeare's play. Petruchio courts the bad-tempered Katharina, and tries to change her aggressive behavior.

1908

For a Wife's Honor

For a Wife's Honor 1908

1.50

Irving Robertson, a successful playwright, has just received a message from out of town to witness the initial performance of one of his plays. As he is about to leave, Henderson, the manager, calls to pay a sum due him for royalties. At the same time, Frank Wilson, a friend of the family, drops in.

1908

Where the Breakers Roar

Where the Breakers Roar 1908

3.20

A group of collegiates decide to go for a splash. A lunatic, having escaped from a nearby asylum, heads for the surf, brandishing a knife. Innocent seaside fun becomes a struggle against a maniac on the water.

1908

The Tempest

The Tempest 1908

5.80

Prospero and his daughter Miranda must take refuge on an enchanted island. There Prospero, who himself has magical powers, releases the spirit Ariel from a spell, and also meets the savage Caliban. Then Prospero uses his powers to create a tempest that shipwrecks some of the persons who caused his exile.

1908

The Feud and the Turkey

The Feud and the Turkey 1908

2.00

Mack Sennett appears as a member of the Wilkenson clan in this film produced by the Biograph Company.

1908

The Hotel of Silence

The Hotel of Silence 1908

4.50

A haunted-hotel film, reviving a joke from a 1900 comic strip showing a sleeper being ejected from an electric bed.

1908