All Films

A Chairy Tale

1957 • 10 min • Canada

An ordinary-looking chair refuses to be sat upon.

A Miracle Maker

1957 • 19 min • Soviet Union

Humorous ode to corn, glorifying the dignity of corn in agriculture.

Cookery Hints AKA Cooking Tips

1957 • 2 min • United Kingdom

Little film showing a few tips on how to present food graciously. The famous husband and wife cooking team, Fanny and John Cradock, are showing some of the ways to serve savouries. The presentation of the food is as important as the food itself.

All Souls Carnival

1957 • 13 min • United States of America

Len Lye usually timed his films with great care to match their soundtracks, but for All Souls Carnival, he and composer Henry Brant worked separately, preferring to see if the score and visual track would synchronise by chance. Lye also experimented with a new Direct Film technique, drenching the filmstrip in colourful paint and marker pen.

Every Valley

1957 • 20 min • United Kingdom

A look at the transport system in the South Wales Valleys and how it effects peoples livelihoods and everyday lives.

A Visit with Pablo Casals

1957 • 27 min • United States of America

Robert Snyder's acclaimed 26-minute short following Pablo Casals in Prades during his self-imposed exile from Franco's dictatorship in Spain. In this film, Casals performs his only solo recording of the Bach Suite No. 1. The film was recorded in 1955 and beautifully filmed in 35mm black and white within the walls of the town's abbey.

There's Always a Thursday

1957 • 60 min • United Kingdom

A meek, lowly employee at a London brokerage firm sees his life change when he's suspected of being a notorious womanizer.

The Juggler of Our Lady

1957 • 9 min • United States of America

Medieval times. A juggler has little success making a living; he puts on a hair shirt and becomes an ascetic, but attracts only other ascetics. Finally, in desperation, he becomes a monk. He visits the other monks, who all glorify the Lady with their skills: cooking, painting, sculpture, etc. He tries helping them, but botches it. A festival is held for the Lady, and each of the monks offers his gift, but the juggler has nothing. Frustrated, he juggles for her, all night, alone.

The Bridge

1957 • 7 min • Germany

An early project of Norman J. Warren about a pilot on a mission to locate a bridge in Germany during World War II.

Vacation in Sylt

1957 • 19 min • East Germany

The East German documentary uncovers the postwar career of Heinz Reinefarth, the former SS general responsible for atrocities during the Warsaw Uprising who became mayor of Westerland on the island of Sylt. Combining archival footage with contemporary interviews, the film indicts West Germany for allowing former Nazi officials to return to public office.

Verlioka

1957 • 10 min • Soviet Union

A one-eyed forest bully kidnaps a girl, but her friends rush to her aid. Based on Slavic fairy tales.

A Merry Mix-Up

1957 • 16 min • United States of America

The stooges appear in triplicate as three sets of triplets who were separated a long time ago. Their reunion causes confusion and troubles for various wives and sweethearts, but it all works out in the end.

The Song of Styrene

1957 • 13 min • France

Le chant du Styrène is a 1958 French documentary film directed by Alain Resnais. The film was an order by French industrial group Pechiney to highlight the merits of plastics.

The Wolf and the Seven Kids

1957 • 10 min • Soviet Union

One day, the Goat needed urgently to leave the house. Worrying for her children, she convinces her Goats to not open the door to anyone, especially if it is not her. And so that they could recognize her, the Goat taught them a simple song, according to which the Goats could immediately recognize their mother. But the wicked Wolf, like a thief and a bully, overheard their conversation and decided to kidnap the Goats, setting off on a trick. He asked the Bear, a forest blacksmith, to give him a thin voice to deceive the Goats, obviously hiding it himself.

Niok, The Orphan Elephant

1957 • 29 min • France

Near the region of Angkor Watt, a group of children capture a baby elephant and are just growing attached to it when it is sold to a travelling safari. Pursuing the new owner, a boy manages to steal it back, and the children free it to return to its mother.

Disneyland, the Park/Pecos Bill

1957 • 48 min

Walt treats the audience to a tour of Disneyland, followed by the Pecos Bill segment of Melody Time (1948), which had been re-edited for television presentation.

Mr. Sleeman Is Coming

1957 • 43 min • Sweden

Herr Sleeman kommer is a 1917 one-act play by the Swedish author Hjalmar Bergman. The main character is an orphaned young woman who is about to be married off to an unappealing but rich old man, Mr. Sleeman, at the instigation of her aunts who have taken charge of her. Bergman infuses the situation with overtones of rueful pessimism concerning life in general.

The Fourth Anniversary Show

1957 • 46 min

Celebrating four years on television, Walt Disney first describes his 1938 meeting with Serge Prokofieff, and shows the resulting film, Peter and the Wolf. Then he joins the Mouseketeers to tell about plans for future shows.

Familiar Pictures

1957 • 10 min • Soviet Union

Shove Thy Neighbor

1957 • 7 min • United States of America

Things are peaceful in John Doormat's neighborhood until he gets a new neighbor, and the new neighbor comes with a dog that likes to grab and gnaw on John's leg every time he sees him. Doormat buys his own large mutt which chases the neighbor's pest-pet home. When the two men meet to exchange some bitter words, the neighbor's dog clamps on John's leg, and John's dog is chewing on the neighbor's leg.

Why Did the Kitten Go Away?

1957 • 10 min • Soviet Union

In a world of ventriloquists an unblinking kitten exhausted by hunger seeks solace in extreme walks on the cornice.

Notre Dame, cathédrale de Paris

1957 • 18 min • France

An in-depth tour of the cathedral, combining history, architecture and contemplation.

Paris at Dawn

1957 • 10 min • France, Netherlands

Johan van der Keuken's first film is a uniquely beautiful portrait of Paris at dawn.

Man in Flight

1957 • 46 min

The history of flight is told in a humorous animated sequence using parts of Victory Through Air Power. Walt Disney also takes viewers to Disneyland by helicopter and shows them some of the flying attractions there.