The Fifth String

The Fifth String 1913

1

Angelo Diotti, a violinist, although encouraged by the eulogy of the musical profession, fails to impress Mildred Wallace, with whom he is in love, by his efforts on the violin.

1913

Pals in Blue

Pals in Blue 1915

1

Fleeced by a pair of good-time gals, the boys are unable to pay their bar tab and end up cooling their heels in jail. Once released, the two pals decide to join the army, if only to know where their next meal is coming from. They are shipped to a remote frontier outpost, which is already a hotbed of intrigue due to the commanding officer's lust for the wife of one of his officers.

1915

Roping a Sweetheart

Roping a Sweetheart 1916

1

Vicky Weathers arrives home at the B-O Ranch, after a long sojourn in the east. Her father sends Tom and Sid, two cowboys, to the train to meet her. Both boys fall in love with the beautiful girl. Each demands that the other stay in town while Vicky is driven home. Both become fierce rivals in the game of love and en route home each insists on doing his individual share in driving the horses, which very nearly precipitates a runaway.

1916

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 1910

5.42

An early version of the classic, based more on the 1902 stage musical than on the original novel.

1910

Granny's Old Armchair

Granny's Old Armchair 1913

1

Granny Willard, seeing the end of her days approaching, begs to leave her bed and sit in her old armchair, the bumble throne about which three generations have assembled. Her favorite grandson, Tom Willard, has come in from the farm with his buxom wife to visit. So the strong arms of youth carry old age gently to the armchair in the sunlit room for a last meeting with all her kith and kin. There came the rural types known to that modest old cottage, and then that more sacred circle of grandsons with their wives and little ones.

1913

Four Minutes Late

Four Minutes Late 1914

1

Billy Garfield is a bright, young railroad engineer. He runs passenger train No. 6, and next to his locomotive, he loves Marie Shaw. They are engaged and their wedding day is set, but Jack Blake, Billy's fireman on the run, and a former suitor for Marie's hand, is jealous and plots to "fix" Billy.

1914

The Mate of the Alden Bessie

The Mate of the Alden Bessie 1912

4.00

The captain of the "Alden Bessie" was a drunken tyrant who manhandled his men upon the slightest provocation, despite the pleadings of his daughter and the first mate who loved her in his rough way, but for whom she could feel only friendship. One night the crew killed him, and marooned the mate and the captain's daughter by sending them adrift in a small boat. Days passed upon the vast expanse of ocean, and their food was all gone and death near, when land was sighted and their boat was cast up on a coral reef, and they with difficulty made the shore. Fear of death was soon supplanted in the heart of the captain's daughter by fear of a man loving her all too well. The mate, seeing this and realizing the strength of his passion, decided to live on the side of the island, but as the months passed away his loneliness overcame him and he made his way to where she sat reading. He looked over her shoulder, and saw that she read the marriage service.

1912

Danger Trail

Danger Trail 1917

1

John Howland travels to the frozen North to build a branch of the Hudson Bay Railroad. There he meets and falls in love with Meleese Thoreau who warns him that her three bloodthirsty brothers, Max, Pierre and François, have sworn vengeance against a man named John Howland, the son of a man who killed their mother, and that torture and death await him along the route to his station.

1917

Mrs. Jones' Birthday

Mrs. Jones' Birthday 1909

10.00

If all husbands have had similar experiences, it is too bad to harrow them up with the telling of this story. If they have not, perhaps it will be a warning to them to watch very carefully the birthdays and see that some appropriate gift is at home in time for the event. Not wait, as poor Jones did, until the fateful day arrives, and then have a series of unfortunate accidents overtake one and prevent him presenting the present he intended.

1909

The Understudy

The Understudy 1913

1

Stella Le Vere, an ambitious but struggling actress, is abandoned by her husband and is forced to leave her baby girl, Grace, in the care of an orphan asylum. Later, the child is adopted by a well-to-do and kindly family named Thornton, who bring Grace up in ignorance of her identity.

1913

Saved by Her Horse

Saved by Her Horse 1915

1

A party of settlers emigrating westward with a wagon train to find new homes, go into camp for the night. Tom Golden bids his sweetheart, Nell, good-bye and rides off into the hills to look for hostile Indians. Savages are discovered. Nell offers to go for help, and is captured by Indians after her horse escapes.

1915

An Angelic Attitude

An Angelic Attitude 1916

5.60

Pa is becoming increasingly crotchety, and has been crabby with Tom and with everyone else on the ranch. Then he gets a letter telling him that a young woman artist is coming to the ranch to sketch some of the scenery. The ranch hands are surprised and amused by the way that Pa's disposition improves as a result. But soon Pa and Tom are involved in a rivalry for the young woman's attention.

1916

The Sergeant

The Sergeant 1910

5.00

In this Western, the sergeant takes his commander’s daughter on a horseback ride along the Merced River (which actually might be Oregon's Clackamas River). When their horses are stolen by a renegade, they are forced to travel back to headquarters by foot and lose the trail. In the first clip, mounted troops search for the lost couple. The two are found the next day and the sergeant is disgraced. However, the sergeant proves his mettle when he escapes during an Indian attack and leads reinforcements to the rescue. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with National Film Preservation Foundation New Zealand Project in 2012.

1910

A Common Enemy

A Common Enemy 1910

3.50

A secret message is dispatched by the young daughter of a Southern family to Col. Morgan's camp.

1910

The Cowpuncher's Peril

The Cowpuncher's Peril 1916

1

Tom Meyers and his partner have a little claim near a little western town. When Tom goes to town for supplies, he falls in with Slim Padgett, a bad man, who wagers that he can outride Tom. Tom races Slim and the contest is viewed by Betty Thompson, a ranch girl. Slim angered at being defeated, follows Tom to his mine, and discovers that Tom has found pay dirt.

1916