The Great Train Robbery

The Great Train Robbery 1903

7.01

After the train station clerk is assaulted and left bound and gagged, then the departing train and its passengers robbed, a posse goes in hot pursuit of the fleeing bandits.

1903

The Land Beyond the Sunset

The Land Beyond the Sunset 1912

6.36

A poor young boy goes on a field trip and dreams of escaping to a land beyond the sunset.

1912

Frankenstein

Frankenstein 1910

6.02

Frankenstein, a young medical student, trying to create the perfect human being, instead creates a misshapen monster. Made ill by what he has done, Frankenstein is comforted by his fiancée; but on his wedding night he is visited by the monster.

1910

Ching Ling Foo Outdone

Ching Ling Foo Outdone 1900

4.30

The magician enters upon a stage, and removing a covering from a small table, shakes it before the audience to show that there is nothing whatever concealed inside, places the cloth upon the floor, and when he removes it five large geese are found to be swimming in the water. The magician takes the geese out of the tub, and places them on the stage, and they walk away. He again places the cloth over the tub, and when he removes it the tub disappears and a small boy stands in its place.

1900

On Dangerous Paths

On Dangerous Paths 1915

1

Viola Dana plays Eleanor, a minister's daughter who comes to New York to visit her older sister, a successful businesswoman. Eleanor manages to get a job as a nurse in a major metropolitan hospital. One night, she is called upon to look after a drunken tourist, who turns out to be her hometown sweetheart Roger (Pat O'Malley).

1915

The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots 1895

6.24

A short film depicting the execution of Mary, Queen of the Scots. Mary is brought to the execution block and made to kneel down with her neck over it. The executioner lifts his axe ready to bring it down. After that frame Mary has been replaced by a dummy. The axe comes down and severs the head of the dummy from the body. The executioner picks up the head and shows it around for everyone else to see. One of the first camera tricks to be used in a movie.

1895

The Lord and the Peasant

The Lord and the Peasant 1912

4.00

In a peasant's cot we find a fair, young maiden who is loved by an honest, true-hearted peasant lad, while yonder stands the manor of Glenwood with its noble lord, who chanced to pass by one fair day and there noble eyes met peasant meekness and love found work a-plenty to do. But maiden thought naught of my lord o' the manor, nor so much as gave him cause to hope that all his castles and lands could win her heart from the true peasant lad who had gone forth in the world to win humble living for his bride to be. It was then that Dame Poverty came knocking at the peasant's door and upon her heels crept a fever which held the young sister close within her breast only waiting for death to knock gently at the humble cot. And still no word from the loved one in a foreign land! Had he deserted his fond-hearted lassie? Weeks passed by and still no word nor sign of the one held most dear, and then my lord of Glenwood Keep came suing for her hand.

1912

The Truth About Helen

The Truth About Helen 1915

1

Helen Moore (Grace Williams) runs off with the nephew of Senator Foote, but when their car breaks down, they go to a hotel. A conference is going on there, and the boss politico is choosing his candidate for district attorney. Hugh Graham is the boss's favorite, and also Helen's ex-fiancee. The nephew tries to force himself on her and Graham hears her cries for help. When he rescues her, he is seen by his rival, Gregory, who assumes they are having an affair. He threatens to expose this, and to protect Helen, Graham withdraws from the nomination.

1915

The Innocence of Ruth

The Innocence of Ruth 1916

4.50

The young Ruth Travers, left an orphan after the death of her father financially ruined by Mortimer Reynolds, is welcomed at home by Jimmy Carter, a young millionaire who becomes her guardian. Ruth's winsome qualities gradually win Jimmy's heart. Meanwhile at a Charity Ball, Ruth meets Mr. Reynolds, who is contriving to ruin her virtue.

1916

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol 1910

6.40

Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.

1910

The Barber Shop

The Barber Shop 1894

4.92

“Interior of Barber Shop. Man comes in, takes off his coat; sits down, smokes; is handed a paper by attendant, who points out a joke; both laugh. Meantime the man in the chair is shaved and has his hair cut. Very funny.” (Edison's Latest Wonders, 1894)

1894

Jack and the Beanstalk

Jack and the Beanstalk 1902

5.91

Porter's sequential continuity editing links several shots to form a narrative of the famous fairy tale story of Jack and his magic beanstalk. Borrowing on cinematographic methods reminiscent of 'Georges Melies' , Porter uses animation, double exposure, and trick photography to illustrate the fairy's apparitions, Jack's dream, and the fast growing beanstalk.

1902

Bucking Broncho

Bucking Broncho 1894

4.20

Lee Martin, one of the cowboy stars in 'Buffalo Bill's Wild West', rides a bronco as a crowd looks on. While the horse is trying to throw Martin off its back, another cowboy stands on top of a fence rail and occasionally fires his six-shooter, to spur on both horse and rider.

1894

Dream of a Rarebit Fiend

Dream of a Rarebit Fiend 1906

6.36

A live-action film adaptation of the comic strip Dream of the Rarebit Fiend by American cartoonist Winsor McCay. This silent short film follows the established theme: the “Rarebit Fiend” gorges himself on rarebit and thus suffers spectacular hallucinatory dreams.

1906

Mr. Edison at Work in His Chemical Laboratory

Mr. Edison at Work in His Chemical Laboratory 1897

5.13

“This film is remarkable in several respects. In the first place, it is full life-size. Secondly, it is the only accurate recent portrait of the great inventor. The scene is an actual one, showing Mr. Edison in working dress engaged in an interesting chemical experiment in his great Laboratory. There is sufficient movement to lead the spectator through the several processes of mixing, pouring, testing, etc. as if he were side by side with the principal. The lights and shadows are vivid, and the apparatus and other accessories complete a startling picture that will appeal to every beholder.” (Edison Catalog)

1897

The Kleptomaniac

The Kleptomaniac 1905

4.96

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 Awakening of Ruth

The Awakening of Ruth 1917

1

Ruth Hoagland grows up on the Florida Keys with no companion other than her father, a half-witted fisherman who spends most of his time hunting for buried treasure. Vacationing yachtsman Bob Winthrop and Ruth fall in love, but Winthrop returns to New York, and after a year, has forgotten Ruth. After finding two chests in a cave, Ruth locates her father unconscious from a fall. She goes to the mainland for help, but returns with the Reverend Josiah Arbuthnot and Dr. William Strong, to find her father dead. Strong, out of kindness, offers to marry her, but Ruth declines, sure that Winthrop will return.

1917

Glenroy Bros., No. 2

Glenroy Bros., No. 2 1894

4.70

The Glenroy Brothers perform a portion of their vaudeville act, "The Comic View of Boxing: The Tramp & the Athlete".

1894