All Films

The Secret of the Far Away Island

1958 • 28 min • Soviet Union

The adventures of the pioneer Petya, the islander Doom and the scientific Soviet submarine in the southern seas. The boy Doom lived on the island, he was looking for pearls in the sea. Grandfather showed him the knife of their ancestor, Chief Batuallo. On the handle was scraped an island, and on it a mountain with two peaks. The grandfather said that there are many pearls around this island, and Doom sailed for a search. A thunderstorm began, and the boat dumped once to this island, but there a large shark attacked him.

Railroaders

1958 • 22 min • Canada

A film about winter railroading in the Canadian Rockies and the men who keep the lines clear. The stretch between Revelstoke and Field, British Columbia, is a snow-choked threat to communications. The film shows the work of section hands, maintenance men, train crews and telegraph operators.

Along the Coast

1958 • 26 min • France

Tongue-in-cheek look at the French Riviera, especially in summer when it overflows with tourists. Reviews its history and famous visitors; displays its faux-exotic buildings, its crowded beaches, its trees and monuments; and, pokes fun at the colors women wear and the vagaries of fashion. The film celebrates the use of "Eden" as a place name, suggesting that paradise comes to the coast after all are gone, perhaps only on a remote island beach.

The Boy from Napoli

1958 • 21 min • Soviet Union

The tale of the poor boy Ciccio, the magic globe and the Blue Fairy, who defeated the wicked witch and returned the globe to people that fulfills good wishes.

Four Tales on a Mouse

1958 • 46 min

Walt Disney takes us inside Mickey Mouse's photo album and explores the various relationships Mickey has had, including his friends Donald Duck and Goofy, his faithful dog Pluto and his girlfriend Minnie.

Magic and Music

1958 • 48 min

The Slave in the Magic Mirror returns to host this look at one of his favorite subjects: the magic of music.

Uns mahnt ein November

1958 • 45 min • East Germany, Germany

A historical GDR review of the events of the November Revolution in Germany in 1918.

The Diamond Finger

1958 • 27 min

A yaksha gets revenge on the devadas who insulted him with the help of his diamond finger. Told through traditional khon dancing.

4 Artists Paint 1 Tree: A Walt Disney 'Adventure in Art'

1958 • 16 min • United States of America

Four Disney artists paint their own interpretations of a tree, and explain their techniques and methods.

The Adventures of Mr. Pastry

1958 • 30 min

Interested in becoming a serious actor, Mr. Pastry (Richard Hearne) seeks out the services of a down-and-out Professor (Buster Keaton) to help him become the dramatic thespian he hopes to be.

Petia and Little Red Riding Hood

1958 • 20 min • Soviet Union

A boy finds his way into the Little Red Riding Hood cartoon in order to save the girl from the Big Bad Wolf.

The Restaurant of Many Orders

1958 • 18 min • Japan

Based on the story by Kenji Miyazawa in which two hunters get lost in the woods and discover a strange restaurant which makes a number of increasingly strenuous demands.

Bridges-Go-Round 2

1958 • 4 min

Accompanied by ambient electronic music, this visual experiment presents New York with its industrial architecture as an unknown dystopian city. With everyday urban elements the author creates impressive abstract collages which evoke an extraterrestrial gloomy valley.

The Quest

1958 • 36 min • Canada

This short film is a re-enactment of the critical year in Dr. Frederick Banting's life when he discovered insulin for the treatment of diabetes at the University of Toronto. It depicts the odds against which he and his assistant, Charles Best, worked; the scepticism of other doctors and the final victory that gave thousands of diabetics hope for a healthier life.

Free Radicals

1958 • 5 min • United States of America, New Zealand

In this powerful abstract film with a soundtrack of African drum music, Lye scratched "white ziggle-zag-splutter scratches" on to black leader, using a variety of tools from saw teeth to arrow heads. The first version of the film won a major award at the International Experimental Film Festival Held in Brussels in 1958 in association with the World's Fair. Stan Brakhage described the film as "an almost unbelievably immense masterpiece".

The Tender Game

1958 • 5 min • United States of America

Inspired by the song Tenderly Jack Lawrence and Walter Gross, a tender animation on a florist and a sweeper that she falls madly in love.

An Adventure in Art

1958 • 48 min

This is Walt Disney's tribute to the artists in his employ. Inspired by Robert Henri's The Art Spirit, four of Disney's artists created their interpretations of the same tree, an old oak that once stood on Barham Boulevard in Burbank.

The Salvage Gang

1958 • 52 min • United Kingdom

Four children try to raise money to replace a broken saw, taking them on an unexpected journey through the capital.

Date with Dizzy

1958 • 10 min • United States of America

A Hubley stand-in instructs iconic trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie on scoring a short commercial for an instant rope ladder.

A Medida do Tempo

1958 • 10 min • Brazil

Animations (only parts in nuclei in the film) and images, many of them archival and foreign, illustrate that the notion of time is associated with movement and its measurement is performed by the rotation of the Earth around its axis and the Sun. The angle of inclination of the Earth in this last movement also marks the climatic seasons. From the need for greater accuracy in measuring time, gnomons and solar quadrants arose, for whose reading the duodecimal numbering is used. Based on this numbering, time zones and mechanical measuring devices were established, illustrated by the clock mechanism with a church bell. The evolution of astronomy determines the creation of more accurate electronic devices for the evaluation of time, such as the meridian telescope, the Markowitz chamber, the electronic oscillators and the telescope, with which astronomers work at the National Observatory.

Prime Time

1958 • 2 min • United States of America

This was another sample promotional film, which Lye offered to television stations. He scratched some dramatic black-and-white abstract images, hand-coloured them, and combined them with African drum music. The film gives us a taste of what Free Radicals would have looked like if it had been made in colour rather than black-and-white.

Stork Raving Mad

1958 • 6 min • United States of America

A far-fetched tale about a baby who doesn't want to be delivered and a stork who goes a little goofy in the process. The stork has a rush delivery, but the baby isn't ready to settle down yet.

Jorinde und Joringel

1958 • 20 min • East Germany, Germany

In ancient times, an old sorceress lived in a mysterious castle who turned any girl who approached a man into a bird. One day, Jorine falls under the spell, is turned into a nightingale and locked in a cage. Her friend Joringel dreams that he can free her with the help of a miracle flower. After much trouble and danger, he finds the flower and frees Jorine and the other enchanted girls.

Anticipation of the Night

1958 • 42 min • United States of America

First person view of a man, seen only in shadow, attempting to connect with the world around him. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.