The Sprinkler Sprinkled

The Sprinkler Sprinkled 1895

6.80

A gardener is watering his flowers, when a mischievous boy sneaks up behind his back, and puts a foot on the water hose. The gardener is surprised and looks into the nozzle to find out why the water has stopped coming. The boy then lifts his foot from the hose, whereby the water squirts up in the gardener's face. The gardener chases the boy, grips his ear and slaps him in his buttocks. The boy then runs away and the gardener continues his watering. Three separate versions of this film exist, this is the original, filmed by Louis Lumière.

1895

Men Think Only of That

Men Think Only of That 1954

5.60

Alfred is in love, but shy. Desperate not to have the audacity to express his passion to the woman of his dreams, Nicole, a young dairyman, he enthusiastically accepts the proposal of Don Juan to make his sentimental education.

1954

Onésime gardien du foyer

Onésime gardien du foyer 1914

1

Seated comfortably in the green pastures near his home, Batty Bill is suddenly presented with a baby, but with his usual dull wits he is slow to realize the catastrophe that has befallen him. When he does so, the giver of this great gift has disappeared. Poor Batty Bill endeavors to leave the baby everywhere, but without success. Ultimately he is, as he thinks, more successful, and is able to give the baby over to the police. A little later he is about to be married, when the police come and insist upon him taking his child. The indignation of his prospective wife is very amusing, and the whole thing causes a great joke from end to end.

1914

Calino s'endurcit la figure

Calino s'endurcit la figure 1912

1

There is one joke in this slapstick from Jean Durand's comedy unit at Gaumont: Calino wants to win a boxing match, and decides that he needs to toughen up one part of his body: no glass jaw for him! So he subjects his chin to various punishment, all of which he endures with no sign of discomfort.

1912

This Pretty World

This Pretty World 1957

4.00

Pépito runs a gang of thugs with authority. He has a natural son, Gaston, a professor of literature in Aix-en-Provence, whom he has hardly ever seen. Gaston announces himself for Christmas, and Pépito decides to make him look good by moving into his headquarters: a château where the crooks will be able to exercise their talents as composers.

1957

To Catch a Spy

To Catch a Spy 1957

5.00

The blueprints of an aeroplane built from an ultra-secret metal are stolen from national security. French secret service agent Walder believes that the documents are now in Switzerland, in the hands of a man named Lindbaum. The latter agrees to hand over the blueprints in return for a large sum of money. Another agent, Francis Coplan, is sent to Switzerland to handle the deal, but Lindbaum only has half of the documents because he was double-crossed by Kalpannen, an international crook. With the help of Heidi, a Swiss correspondent, Coplan sets out to identify the members of Kalpannen’s gang, only to find that they have all been murdered…

1957

The Pumpkin Race

The Pumpkin Race 1908

5.50

Early slapstick short from Louis Feuillade involving runaways, except that, instead of it being a runaway horse (see Griffith's THE CURTAIN POLE for an example), it is a cartful of what appear to be hundred-pound pumpkins that get away, rushing hither and yon, down sewers, up chimneys, pursued by the drayer, a couple of other people and a very unwilling donkey.

1908

Replay

Replay 1977

6.20

When François' wife Cecile was leaving him because of his affairs with other women, she had an auto accident. In this drama, he makes uses of her amnesia to try to win her back and misleads her at every turn in her quest to recover her memories.

1977

Dawn Devils

Dawn Devils 1946

5.00

A lieutenant, at the head of a commando ready to land in France, finds among his men a maquisard who had tried to kill him in the past.

1946

The Banknote

The Banknote 1907

4.60

A rich man rewards a tramp for defending him from muggers with a large sum of money in the form of a single bank note. Nobody can cash the big bill the tramp is carrying and hilarity ensues.

1907

Calino polygame

Calino polygame 1911

1

Against a painted backdrop of palm trees, Clément Mégé accepts an Arab's offer of three Black wives out of a tent. He takes them back to Paris, where they wreak havoc not only on his apartment, but his favorite bistro.

1911

Un nuage

Un nuage 1913

1

Léonce and Suzanne are having a very sweet supper together. But then Leonce refuses to give her a puff on his cigarette. She snatches it and blows smoke in his face; They quarrel. Leonce regrets it, but he is locked out of the boudoir. Only when a mouse gets into her bed, terrifying Suzanne, is there any hope of reconciliation.

1913

The Beautiful Trip

The Beautiful Trip 1947

9.50

She dragged out a more than mediocre life in the port of Antwerp; he is a renowned pianist-virtuoso. These two solitary beings, totally different, meet by chance on a liner and gradually realize that they complement each other harmoniously.

1947

Onésime et son collègue

Onésime et son collègue 1914

1

Batty Bill has some bachelor apartments. He also has a friend, who has fallen in love. These lovers adjourn to Batty Bill's apartments, where unfortunately for Batty Bill, they are traced by the wrathful father, who spites his wrath on the furniture and contents. While doing this, he is discovered by Batty Bill, who, in his humble endeavors to stop the damage, becomes himself the object of the father's fury and is chased through all sorts of ridiculous mix-ups, from roof to roof and through shops alike.

1914

Zigoto et le château mystérieux

Zigoto et le château mystérieux 1912

1

Berthe Dagmar is kidnapped and Lucien Bataille is almost immediately on the case: examining the road with a magnifying glass, putting a straw hat on a horse, climbing a high gate, and duckwalking across a parapet. Nothing will stop him in his quest to.... well, whatever it is he's doing.

1912

Onésime et le pas de l'ours

Onésime et le pas de l'ours 1913

1

The fact that the Four Arts Club were organizing an international competition of modern dances was welcome news to Simple Simon. When he ascertained that the dances would include the Cake Walk, Serpentine Crawl. Piccadilly Flop, Tango, the Wriggly Wriggle, and the Bear Dance, he selected the latter. Simon resolved to seek a teacher in its native haunts. He wandered up the mountainside and chanced upon a strolling Bruin, which he decided to capture. Learning to dance in the ordinary way holds sufficient excitement for most people. Simon, however, found that the bear dance provided unsuspected thrills. He made rapid progress, so much so in fact he won the prize.

1913

Spring

Spring 1909

5.00

This darling compilation of Feuillade's 'Le Printemps' series embodies the joyous feeling of dancing out of winter into the spring.

1909

Onésime et son âne

Onésime et son âne 1913

1

Ernest Bourbon discovers that a shower of gold coins fall from his donkey's hindquarters -- I've phrased that as politely as I can. Now rich, he moves to the city, dresses well and hires servants. Unlike the one about the goose that lays the golden eggs, he treats his benefactor well, even though the donkey doesn't seem to enjoy the process.

1913