The Black Imp

The Black Imp 1905

6.50

A traveler at an inn is harassed by a mischievous devil in his room.

1905

The Night Before Christmas

The Night Before Christmas 1905

6.14

On Christmas Eve, Santa feeds his reindeer and loads his sleigh, before going on his journey to deliver toys to the children of the world.

1905

The Palace of the Arabian Nights

The Palace of the Arabian Nights 1905

5.61

A poor but honest man wins great wealth, and the hand of a beautiful princess, after facing a series of exciting trials in the tunnels and catacombs of ancient Araby. Guided by the mysterious Khalafar, the troupe (alongside him go some cowardly scholars) encounter skeletons, fire-breathing lizards, and mirages on their journey through the lower world.

1905

The Freak Barber

The Freak Barber 1905

1

A barber cuts heads off Negro and white customers, who then dismember him.

1905

The Capture of Roma

The Capture of Roma 1905

5.60

The film recreates the final events leading to Italian unification in September 1870.

1905

New York Subway

New York Subway 1905

5.80

The camera platform was on the front of a New York subway train following another train on the same track. Lighting is provided by a specially constructed work car on a parallel track. At the time of filming, the subway was only seven months old, having opened on October 27, 1904. The ride begins at 14th Street (Union Square) following the route of today's east side IRT, and ends at the old Grand Central Station, built by Cornelius Vanderbuilt in 1869. The Grand Central Station in use today was not completed until 1913.

1905

The Kleptomaniac

The Kleptomaniac 1905

5.04

A well-dressed woman leaves her home and takes a carriage to a department store. While she is in the store, she steals several items, and is caught by store employees. Meanwhile, a poor woman with two small children steals a loaf of bread out of desperation, and she is quickly caught and arrested. Both women are taken to the police station and then into court, to see what penalty each of them must face.

1905

The Scheming Gambler's Paradise

The Scheming Gambler's Paradise 1905

5.59

A combination gambling den and bawdy house is set up so that croupiers, patrons, prostitutes, and the owner can quickly change it all into a mercantile establishment when the cops stage a raid.

1905

Peeping Tom in the Dressing Room

Peeping Tom in the Dressing Room 1905

4.30

A young man leers through a peephole in the wall separating two dressing rooms, but he is caught, and is humiliated by his victims, two pretty ladies.

1905

How Jones Lost His Roll

How Jones Lost His Roll 1905

5.00

Jones is on his way home, carrying a roll of money, when he meets a neighbor who is a notorious miser. The neighbor unexpectedly invites Jones to dinner, and serves him a large meal with plenty of wine. After dinner, the neighbor suggests a way of passing the time - and soon his real intentions become clear.

1905

Loïe Fuller

Loïe Fuller 1905

4.60

This is another short, simple dance number. It’s quite stunning and unusual though with a bat turning into a woman who proceeds to give us a skirt dance before disappearing into thin air. The dance is mesmerising with the skirt stunningly changing colour throughout the film.

1905

Dranem Performs The True Jiu-Jitsu

Dranem Performs The True Jiu-Jitsu 1905

4.70

Armand Dranem performs The True Jiu-Jitsu ("Le Vrai Jiu-Jitsu", by P. Briollet & G. Fabri / C. D'Orviet) in this phonoscene by Alice Guy. This early form of music video was created using a chronophone recording of Dranem, who was then filmed "lip singing". Guy would film phonoscenes of all three major Belle Époque celebrities in France: Polin, Félix Mayol, and Dranem.

1905

Coney Island at Night

Coney Island at Night 1905

6.00

A 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.

1905