All Films

The Golden Equator

1956 • 18 min • United States of America

This short film focuses on the evolving country of Ecuador.

Project XX: The Great War - World War I

1956 • 60 min • United States of America

Alexander Scourby narrates this fascinating look at Western culture between 1914 and 1918, when the nations of Europe, and later America, plunged into a level of warfare unlike any known before. Note: Originally part of Project XX, this film was also distributed separately on 16mm for schools and libraries, qualifying it as a standalone documentary.

Spring Comes to Kashmir

1956 • 12 min • India

A short film that captures the arrival of spring in the Kashmir valley.

The Phantom Ship

1956 • 10 min • Japan

Film about a ghost ship. There is no dialogue, just music and a choir.

Men Who Have Lost Their Roots

1956 • 18 min • Hungary, France

Hungarian refugees in Austrian camps after the failed revolution in Budapest.

Let There Be Light

1956 • 12 min

Whistle and I'll Come to You!

1956 • 11 min • United Kingdom

A man finds a whistle bearing a mysterious Latin inscription, which, when blown, awakens horrors beyond human understanding. A decade before the BBC's version of M.R. James's supernatural classic came this chilling silent version from the amateur North Downs Cinematograph Society.

Prisoners of the Bobcat Ravine

1956 • 60 min • Soviet Union

Five friends are trapped in a mountain ravine with no food and water.

A Boy of India: Rama and His Elephant

1956 • 12 min • United States of America

A short film about an Indian boy who travels by elephant.

The Celestial Creature

1956 • 44 min • Soviet Union

At a concert, star tenor Obozhaev hasn’t yet arrived to the theater. Realizing his own greatness, Obozhaev prepares for the concert, but a lost cuff link and a cat cause problems.

Paris la nuit

1956 • 23 min • France

From Pigalle to the Grands Boulevards, via the Champs-Élysées, a stroll through the heart of the Parisian nightlife, until the wee hours of the morning.

Assignment: Venezuela

1956 • 24 min • United States of America, Venezuela

An American goes to work in the booming oil industry of Venuzuela.

Piripipí

1956 • 2 min • Argentina

An animated short film by Víctor Iturralde.

Four Seasons

1956 • 1 min • France

A drop of water bounces off a weave of Blizzand cloth. Figures come to life on the drop's surface, which the cloth never absorbs. An advertisement for Blizzand's raincoat.

The Story Of Television

1956 • 26 min • United States of America

Shows efforts of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in the creation, development and introduction of the all-electronic TV system; explains how science made television a working reality.

Country Life under Snow

1956 • 33 min • Japan

Depiction of the harsh life in a rural town in Yamagata.

The Mystery Of The Old Castle

1956 • 12 min • Poland

Dog detective Rex arrives at the old castle to solve the mystery of the theft of precious stones. He notices cats, who bring a mummy into a historic building. He wants to do something, but it turns out that it is just a bottle of milk. The cat's caretaker offers him a tour of the castle. Meanwhile, at night, someone kidnaps the kitten. Rex sets traps...

Atomic Achievement

1956 • 20 min

An account of Britain's vast nuclear power program for a new industrial era, and its progress to date.

Three Neighbors

1956 • 12 min • China

There are three neighbors living in a big tree, the black magpie, the squirrel, and the old rabbit. They are all selfish and have a bad relationship with each other. They often quarrel and tease each other.

What Obsticles Are Becoming for Us?

1956 • 38 min • Mongolia

In the middle of the 1950s, the harmful effects of the old social customs, rigidity, and bureaucracy in the forward development of social life were shown in a comical tone in connection with the incident where an old man with a dam entered the city to look for parts for a haymaking machine.

Nuevos horizontes

1956 • 27 min • Mexico

This documentary addresses some of the first cinematographically documented actions of Mexican indigenous politics in the mid-20th century. The narrative thread is built from the experiences of the first indigenous workers: medical personnel, specialists in engineering or agronomy and indigenous promoters. The film accounts for two key moments of the time: the foundation and start of operations of the first Indigenous Coordination Center created by the National Indigenous Institute (INI), in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas, and the relocation process of the chinanteca and mazateca communities affected by the construction of the Miguel Aleman dam.

The Factory: How a Product is Made

1956 • 13 min • United States of America

This documentary, produced by Paul Burnford, features how products are made in factories. It uses an example of a jack-in-the-box produced by Mattel.

Incubo

1956 • 9 min • United Kingdom

9 minute-long short film by Enrico Cocozza from 1956.

Theatre Masks

1956 • 2 min • United Kingdom

Dyke Richens and his partner design and make lifelike masks and animal costumes for the theatre.