Rough Sea at Dover

Rough Sea at Dover 1896

5.05

The surf pounds against a breakwater on which are visible several people standing. The wall looks to be about 20 feet above sea level and extend at least 100 feet into the water. A large wave rolls picturesquely along the wall toward the shore. Smaller waves follow. Then the scene changes to river water flowing. We see both shores: in the foreground a log and tree branch are visible; on the far shore, there appears to be a low wall with trees beyond it. The camera is stationary in both shots.

1896

Come Along, Do!

Come Along, Do! 1898

4.70

Come Along, Do! is an 1898 British short silent comedy film, produced and directed by Robert W. Paul. The film was of 1 minute duration, but only forty-some seconds have survived. The whole of the second shot is only available as film stills. The film features an elderly man at an art gallery who takes a great interest in a nude statue to the irritation of his wife. The film has cinematographic significance as the first example of film continuity. It was, according to Michael Brooke of BFI Screenonline, "one of the first films to feature more than one shot." In the first shot, an elderly couple is outside an art exhibition having lunch and then follow other people inside through the door. The second shot shows what they do inside.

1898

The Countryman and the Cinematograph

The Countryman and the Cinematograph 1901

5.30

A satire on the way that audiences unaccustomed to the cinema didn't know how to react to the moving images on a screen - in this film, an unsophisticated (and stereotypical) country yokel is alternately baffled and terrified, in the latter case by the apparent approach of a steam train.

1901

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

An Over-Incubated Baby

An Over-Incubated Baby 1901

4.90

An up to date idea and a great picture. The professor sits in his laboratory with his newly invented baby incubator. A mother who is anxious for the growth of her child enters, places her baby in care of the professor, who promptly places it in the incubator. An alcohol lamp is lighted under the apparatus, but the professor evidently gets his machine too hot, for in a few seconds the top is opened and the baby taken out. To the great anger of its mother it has grown about two feet in height and has long hair and a full beard. (Edison Catalog)

1901

Whaling Afloat and Ashore

Whaling Afloat and Ashore 1908

6.00

A short documentary about industrial whaling. The surviving footage runs for approximately 12 minutes.

1908

A Chess Dispute

A Chess Dispute 1903

5.84

A stationary camera looks on as two dapper gents play a game of chess. One drinks and smokes, and when he looks away, his opponent moves two pieces. A fight ensues, first with the squirting of a seltzer bottle, then with fisticuffs. The combatants wrestle each other to the floor and continue the fight out of the camera's view, hidden by the table. The waiter arrives to haul both of them out.

1903

The Waif and the Wizard

The Waif and the Wizard 1901

6.50

The Waif and the Wizard features the same young man who appeared in Undressing Extraordinary (and who might be early filmmaker Walter Booth). It's another early example of a two-shot film along the lines of Paul's earlier film Come Along Do!. The young man plays a magician who, after completing his act, agrees to go home with the young boy from the audience who helped him perform his tricks. At the boy's home he finds a sick sister and a worried mother being threatened with eviction by her landlord.

1901

A Railway Collision

A Railway Collision 1900

4.10

The scene is a railroad track on the side of a steep mountain, with a tunnel in the background, toward which a train is running at a high rate of speed. At this instant the audience is appalled at the sight of a second train rushing out of the tunnel. Both trains are on the same track and traveling toward each other at a high rate of speed. They collide. Cars and engines are smashed into fragments and thrown down the steep incline. (Edison Catalog)

1900

Artistic Creation

Artistic Creation 1901

6.00

An artist draws the head of a pretty girl, takes the drawing off the paper and places it on a small table, turning the image into the head of a real woman. He then continuous drawing the lady, one body part after the other.

1901

A Sea Cave Near Lisbon

A Sea Cave Near Lisbon 1896

5.06

The water beats relentlessly against the Hell's Mouth (Boca do Inferno), one of the main natural attractions of Lisbon's west coast, filmed from above almost in a vertical plunge onto the deep, rocky ground.

1896

Cupid at the Washtub

Cupid at the Washtub 1897

4.30

A playful variation on A Soldier's Courtship, producer Robert W. Paul's smash hit from the previous year, this film spies on a young man trying to tease a kiss from a young girl doing the washing at a tub. For his efforts, the man receives a dunking in the tub himself and much hilarity follows.

1897

The Arrest of a Bookmaker

The Arrest of a Bookmaker 1895

4.10

A man strolling in a city street is attacked by three assailants. A policeman comes to the rescue and the men struggle with each other.

1895