The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York travelled to New Zealand in 1901 to thank New Zealanders for their contribution to the Boer War. Only a short fragment remains of a much longer film.
A short clip of street life in the French village Chamonix.
A street level view from the sidewalk, looking along the length of 23rd Street. Following actuality footage of pedestrians and street traffic, the actors, a man in summer attire and a woman in an ankle-length dress, walk toward the camera.
Our presidential hunter runs across the landscape and falls down in the snow, gets up with his rifle, and gazes upward at a treed animal which isn't in the camera's view. He fires a shot into the tree, then leaps on the ground to grab the fallen prey, a domestic cat, finishing it off with wild blows of his hunting knife while his companions, a photographer and a press agent, record the event that will be reported far and wide as a manly moment. Teddy then rides out of the forest followed by two companions afoot, never mind that they all originally arrived afoot. Perhaps it was funnier in its day than it is now, but apparently shooting cats was regarded as funny in those days. The larger point was to use a minor whimsy as a political criticism, in this case of Teddy Roosevelt's easy manipulations of the press. It was based on two frames of a political cartoon that had appeared in the paper a mere week before the film was made.
The President of France and entourage on a pier's promenade.
Firefighters ring for help, and here comes the ladder cart; they hitch a horse to it. A second horse-drawn truck joins the first, and they head down the street to a house fire. Inside a man sleeps, he awakes amidst flames and throws himself back on the bed. In comes a firefighter, hosing down the blaze. He carries out the victim, down a ladder to safety. Other firefighters enter the house to save belongings, and out comes one with a baby. The saved man rejoices, but it's not over yet.
In 1901 people in Belfast paid their tram drivers in carrots.
The scene opens in the bedroom of Mr. Nation, husband of the famous Carrie Nation, the “Kansas Saloon Smasher”. Mr. Nation suddenly arises from the bed and picks up a crying infant from the cradle, and walks it up and down the floor. He suddenly steps upon a tack, becomes infuriated, and throws the baby back into the cradle…
A man, objecting to being filmed, comes closer and closer to the camera lens until his mouth is all we see. Then he opens wide and swallows camera and cinematographer. He steps back, chews, and grins.
Some naughty scenes from a balcony.
Shows a bedroom in a hotel. On the wall of the room is a conspicuous sign "Don't blow out the gas." A hayseed enters the room, accompanied by a bellboy. The boy deposits the Rube's bag and umbrella, turns a somersault, and vanishes through the door. The Rube then removes his hat and coat and places them upon the table. They immediately vanish. He then blows out the gas. The scene then instantly changes to a funeral procession, headed by Reuben's hearse, and followed by the carriages of his country friends. Strictly up-to-date picture. (Edison Catalog, 1901)
Pathé film number 380, also known as "What Happened to the Inquisitive Janitor" (US) and "Peeping Tom" (UK). It should not be confused with its remake from 1905 also titled What is Seen Through a Keyhole, a film now considered lost. As a janitor is cleaning a hotel, he decides to peek through the keyholes to observe some of the guests in their rooms. In room 8, a woman is busy making herself look more attractive, and the janitor enjoys watching her. There are also some interesting things going on in the other rooms on the floor.
A convicted criminal dreams about his past the night before his execution.
Filmed in 35mm and in black and white, this short silent film was produced by the English film pioneer R. W. Paul, and directed by Walter R. Booth and was filmed at Paul's Animatograph Works. It was released in November 1901. As was common in cinema's early days, the filmmakers chose to adapt an already well-known story, in this case A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, in the belief that the audience's familiarity with the story would result in the need for fewer intertitles. It was presented in 'Twelve Tableaux' or scenes. The film contains the first use of intertitles in a film.
A chemist carries out a bizarre experiment with his own head.
The scene opens in an artist's studio, the artist asleep in his chair. A large old fashioned clock opens and a young lady comes out and awaking the artist, requests him to paint her picture. While the artist is executing the work a clown comes from the clock, takes in the situation and begins to make love to the lady. The artist detects him and compels him to desist his love making. He continues to paint. The clown becomes interested and asks the artist to allow him to paint the picture, and begins smearing a whitewash brush over the canvas, when lo, a most perfect image of the young lady appears. The image then steps down from the frame, joins the young lady in the studio, and the figures, each a perfect counterpart of the other begin to dance to the great astonishment of the artist. The clown the by waving his hand causes the figures of the two girls to merge into one. The artist then assumes his seat and awakens from his dream with a great shock.
A magician does tricks with the aid of his assistant, the Human Pump.
These three scenes were inspired from a comedy in four acts of the same name by Edmond Audran, performed for the first time at the Théâtre de la Gaieté in Paris on 21 October 1896. A novice, from a very poor convent, is forced to marry to be entitled to an inheritance from his rich uncle. The prior, wanting to take advantage of this opportunity, finds a solution. The novice will marry an automaton and return to the convent. But a real young woman decides to take the place of the doll.
A group of miners (including a sole black worker) exits the colliery gates.
An inventive use of slow-motion filming helps hammer home the gag as an unconvincing 'Indian chief' hopes to dissolve some trapped wind with a popular brand of indigestion powder.
