The '?' Motorist

The '?' Motorist 1906

6.40

A magical glowing white motorcar ignores policemen, drives up buildings, flies through outer space, and can transform into a horse and carriage.

1906

The Merry Frolics of Satan

The Merry Frolics of Satan 1906

6.40

Two travellers are tormented by Satan from inn to inn and eventually experience a buggy ride through the heavens courtesy of the Devil before he takes one of them down to Hell and roasts him on a spit.

1906

The Story of the Kelly Gang

The Story of the Kelly Gang 1906

5.30

Just as Galeen and Wegener's Der Golem (1915) can be seen as a testament to early German film artistry, The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) symbolizes both the birth of the Australian film industry and the emergence of an Australian cinema identity. Even more significantly, it heralds the emergence of the feature film format. However, only fragments of the original production of more than one hour are known to exist, preserved at the National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra; Efforts at reconstruction have made the film available to modern audiences.

1906

Dream of a Rarebit Fiend

Dream of a Rarebit Fiend 1906

6.39

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

The Parish Priest's Christmas

The Parish Priest's Christmas 1906

4.80

The parish priest looks to create a Nativity scene for his church, but his congregation is too poor to afford the statuary dealer's price for a statue of baby Jesus. The miracle, then, is that the faithful's prayers are answered by the appearance of angels and the Virgin Mary, who present them with a statue.

1906

The Witch

The Witch 1906

6.20

A penniless troubadour consults witch Carabosse about his future, but offends her by paying with a bag of sand. He evades the witch's revenge, and saves the beautiful princess.

1906

Madame's Cravings

Madame's Cravings 1906

5.80

A pregnant woman steals things from others on account of her cravings.

1906

Logging in Maine

Logging in Maine 1906

5.50

The subject is the movement of cut timber from the forest to the mill. The few scenes that make up the film are loggers performing the various operations necessary to prevent logs from jamming together. The men keep them headed with the flow of the water toward the lake on which the mill is located. The activities of approximately a dozen men were photographed.

1906

A Mix-Up in the Gallery

A Mix-Up in the Gallery 1906

5.10

A photographer has an accident which not only screws up his lab but dumps a great deal of debris into the street below, causing general chaos.

1906

The Mysterious Retort

The Mysterious Retort 1906

5.40

A wizard sleeps at a table in his well-appointed sitting room. From a drawer in the table, a snake appears.

1906

The Bewitched Shepherd

The Bewitched Shepherd 1906

5.20

A young peasant leaves his cottage after a quarrel with his wife, and meets a witch. She takes him to a cavern, where after a series of encounters with goblins and other elusive creatures, he is presented with a choice of beautiful women of various races. Finally the witch makes his wife appear.

1906

Tit-for-Tat

Tit-for-Tat 1906

6.20

An entomologist guilty of trying to capture rare insects is condemned to be pinned on a giant cork.

1906

Deadly Idyll

Deadly Idyll 1906

4.00

Young lovers separate, she to a career on the stage and he to remain in the small village in which they grew up. Years pass and he is hired to be a porter for a theater company and finds her, a far different woman who does not recognize him.

1906

A Sticky Woman

A Sticky Woman 1906

5.60

A lady uses her maid to lick her stamps, when an overtly excited man notices the maid, forcibly kisses her, and they wind up stuck to each other.

1906

A Funny Shave

A Funny Shave 1906

5.60

A man is trying to shave, but grotesque faces keep appearing in his mirror.

1906

Spain

Spain 1906

5.70

This is a compilation of some of the films that Alice Guy filmed in Spain from mid-October to the end of November, 1905 (catalogue numbers 1371 to 1384) that were eventually released in early 1906.

1906