Frankenstein

Frankenstein 1910

6.04

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

The 'Teddy' Bears

The 'Teddy' Bears 1907

5.60

A combination of the story of Goldlocks and the Three Bears with the true story of how Teddy Roosevelt spared a bear cub after killing its mother while hunting, an event which led to the popularization of the teddy bear. Goldilocks goes to sleep in the bears' home after watching six teddy bears dance and do acrobatics, viewing them through a knothole in the wall. When she is awoken by the returning bear family, they give chase through the woods, but she runs to the aid of the Old Rough Rider, who saves her.

1907

The Great Train Robbery

The Great Train Robbery 1903

7.00

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 Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots 1895

6.17

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 After that frame Mary has been replaced by a dummy.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

A Japanese Peach Boy

A Japanese Peach Boy 1910

1

The story begins with the finding of a wonderful peach which comes floating down a small stream and is brought to shore by a little Japanese woman, who takes it to her home. It there transpires that she and her husband are still mourning the loss of a baby, and the wonderful peach when it is cut brings healing to their sorrow, for as the father's hands separate the two parts of the luscious fruit, between them miraculously appears the figure of a tiny baby.

1910

The Kiss

The Kiss 1896

5.22

They get ready to kiss, begin to kiss, and kiss in a way that brings down the house every time.

1896

Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel 1909

2.80

One of the first, of not the first, film adaptation of Grimm's fairytale.

1909

Rescued from an Eagle's Nest

Rescued from an Eagle's Nest 1908

5.48

A woodsman leaves a hut followed by a woman with their baby. Nearby some men chop down a tree. The baby is left outside the hut, but an eagle flies away with it.

1908

Santa Claus vs. Cupid

Santa Claus vs. Cupid 1915

5.40

A desperate man and two romantic rivals encounter one another at a Christmas party.

1915

Faust and Marguerite

Faust and Marguerite 1900

3.81

Marguerite is seated in front of the fireplace, Faust standing by her side. Mephistopheles enters and offers his sword to Faust, commanding him to behead the fair Marguerite. Faust refuses, whereupon Mephistopheles draws the sword across the throat of the lady and she suddenly disappears and Faust is seated in her place.

1900

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

His Mother's Thanksgiving

His Mother's Thanksgiving 1910

4.50

This holiday-themed melodrama released by Edison Studios in 1910 concerns Robert, a young man who leaves his mother’s home in New England to forge a career in the big city. When he achieves “fame and fortune” six years later, his proud mother can’t wait to welcome him home for Thanksgiving. Robert, however, intends to stay in the city to enjoy a holiday feast with his society friends and beautiful fiancée. When Mom decides to pay a surprise visit on Thanksgiving Day, she is saddened to find that her son is so ashamed of her that he relegates her to an upstairs room, out of sight and out of mind.

1910

What Happened on Twenty-Third Street, New York City

What Happened on Twenty-Third Street, New York City 1901

5.30

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.

1901

Men Boxing

Men Boxing 1891

4.10

Experimental film fragment made with the Edison-Dickson-Heise experimental horizontal-feed kinetograph camera and viewer, using 3/4-inch wide film.

1891

The Active Life of Dolly of the Dailies #5: The Chinese Fan

The Active Life of Dolly of the Dailies #5: The Chinese Fan 1914

5.00

An early Thomas Edison short. A young woman is kidnapped while attending a play in Chinatown. A reporter attends another play in Chinatown, is likewise kidnapped and rescues the young woman. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2011 in partnership with the National Film Preservation Foundation New Zealand Project.

1914

What Happened to Mary

What Happened to Mary 1912

1

The forerunner of all serials, What Happened to Mary was a series of twelve monthly one reel episodes, each a complete entity in itself, revolving its immediate dramatic and melodramatic problems within the framework of a single episode and designed more for story and suspense situations than action.

1912

Fun in Camp

Fun in Camp 1899

3.75

“Showing a group of soldiers and Red Cross nurses being amused by a number of small children who are riding upon the backs of trick bears. A remarkably fine picture, with U.S. Infantry camp in the background.” (Edison film catalog)

1899