All Films

A Horse's Tale

1954 • 6 min • United States of America

Sugarfoot, the faithful old plow-horse, fearing his days and place on the farm are numbered since his master had purchased a tractor, destroys it. The farmer is outraged and banishes Sugarfoot from the farm. Sugarfoot is determined to make the money needed to buy his master a new tractor, and he becomes a movie-double for a screen Wonder Horse of the Movies, and makes enough money to buy a new tractor. The farmer forgives him and, as a reward, takes him to the movies, where Sugarfoot sees the star-horse getting all the credit for all of Sugarfoot's stunt-doubling.

Little Straw Bull

1954 • 11 min • Soviet Union

Animated adaptation of a Ukrainian folk tale. Forest thieves — a bear cub, a hare, and a fox — keep sneaking onto a grandfather’s homestead, causing trouble for him and his granddaughter. To teach the little bandits a lesson, the grandfather builds a straw bull and covers its sides with tar. He sets the bull out on a clearing. The curious thieves gather around the strange creature, and one by one get stuck to its sticky, tar-covered sides…

Baby Butch

1954 • 7 min • United States of America

An alley cat is foraging for food when he sees Tom's house and decides it's a rich haul. He dresses as a foundling baby and lands on the doorstep. Tom takes him in and Butch proceeds to raid the fridge between Tom's babying him. What he doesn't know is that Jerry's going to grab the ham Butch swiped every chance he gets.

La Tigra

1954 • 59 min • Argentina

The film narrates the encounter between "La Tigra", a woman known by that nickname in the cafes of the port area for her character and her sharp claws, and Luis, a student of Fine Arts. There will be born a strong, passionate and necessarily brief relationship during which each of them will peek into the world of the other, until then unknown, unable to overcome the hostility of the same. Luis is unwilling or unable to leave his bourgeois stability and "La Tigra" is unable to leave an environment in which the malevo Olivera is the dominant figure.

A Dangerous Prank

1954 • 10 min • Soviet Union

Weegee's Coney Island

1954 • 14 min • United States of America

1954. USA. Directed by Weegee. Part of Weegee’s New York. “Weegee (Arthur Fellig) filmed, Amos Vogel edited. The preciousness of the avant-garde shown at Cinema 16 was interrupted by this breath of fresh air. Weegee’s panorama of the crowd may be the greatest single shot in cinedom.” – Ken Jacobs

Howdy Doody and His Magic Hat

1954 • 7 min • United States of America

A UPA adaptation of the television series (1947-1960) dummy-cowboy, Howdy Doody. Filmed in both 35 and 16mm (for immediate television use in the event theatre exhibitors balked at showcasing a television character,) the plot has Howdy Doody in quest of a magic cowboy hat that will make him invincible. Filled with predominant variations of colors and designs and abstract-color designs as Howdy chases the elusive hat. Finally capturing it, he uses the hat's magical powers to become a rodeo star.

From Sociable Six to Noisy Nine

1954 • 21 min • Canada

The film looks into the meaning of various forms of conduct in children from six to nine years and suggests ways in which parents may guide them through a challenging, often trying phase of development. In a family with three children we observe how the parents cope with often baffling situations

The Devil’s Jest

1954 • 60 min • United Kingdom

An aristocratic widow discovers that her former lover, a medical officer in the British army, is secretly a German spy.

Scotched in Scotland

1954 • 15 min • United States of America

Would be detectives, the stooges get a job guarding a Scotch castle while the owner is away. The servants are crooks intent on robbing the castle of its valuables. Though they do their best to frighten the boys off, the stooges prevail and expose the crooked goings-on.

One Little Indian

1954 • 16 min • Canada

This short puppet animation from the fifties tells the story of Magic Bow, a First Nations boy endowed with magic gifts. Magic Bow is in the big city for the first time, thrilling audiences with his tricks at the Wild West Rodeo. Outside the arena, cars, trucks and buses zip by at dizzying speeds. With the help of some savvy city dwellers, Magic Bow learns a few important traffic rules to help him navigate the streets safely.

Puppy Tale

1954 • 7 min • United States of America

Jerry rescues a bag of puppies from the river. Most of them run away as soon as Jerry releases them, but one stays behind. Jerry tries to get rid of it, but ultimately takes pity and invites the frisky pup inside, where he has to hide it from Tom, who keeps throwing it out.

A Goat-Musician

1954 • 10 min • Soviet Union

The film makes fun of incompetent hack composers who replace real creativity with an unabashed compilation. The goat-composer completes work on a new work, the theme of which is suggested by the Donkey and the Ram. The author's concert of the composer is preceded by the performance of the Gray Wolf-musicologist. He admires the creation of the venerable Goat-fool. But when the animal orchestra performs a slightly modified song "Once upon a time there was a gray goat fool", the audience begins to leave their seats…

Decision for Chemistry

1954 • 37 min • United States of America

Surveys the role of chemistry in American life and the central role of the people, products, and plants of Monsanto.

Man Is in Pain

1954 • 5 min • United States of America

A woman reads Philip Lamantia's poem (from which the film gets its title), which evokes masculine angst as the hand acts out the scenario of the poem.

Kappa Kawatarou

1954 • 19 min • Japan

A kappa village is devastated by a large storm during festival preparations. With no fish in the river, the village is weakened. Kawatarou and his girlfriend head the mountains to find anything to bring back.

An Arrow Flies Into a Fairy Tale

1954 • 29 min • Soviet Union

Income Tax Sappy

1954 • 17 min • United States of America

Tax cheats Moe, Larry and Shemp decide they're so good at cheating the government, that they start a business as crooked tax advisors. They become rich, but an undercover agent from the IRS gets the goods on them, and its off to jail for the stooges.

On the Forest Stage

1954 • 11 min • Soviet Union

The animated film was created based on the fables of Sergey Mikhalkov "Cautious birds" and "Hare in the hops." Drake with his assistants arranges a performance on the forest stage for animals. He tells fables about forest dwellers from the stage.

Tara, The Stonecutter

1954 • 8 min

An animated cartoon dramatizing a Japanese folktale about a stone-cutter whose successive wishes to be a rich man, an emperor, the sun, a storm cloud, and a mountain are all granted, until finally he wishes to become himself again and is a happy man.

The Awakening

1954 • 26 min • United States of America, United Kingdom

"The Awakening" is a 1954 short drama film of Douglas Fairbanks Presents anthology series based on Nikolai Gogol's short story "The Overcoat".

Sea Urchins

1954 • 11 min • France

Underwater photography, magnified close-ups, and film through microscope present the sea urchin, a complex creature. We see their mouth and five teeth close and open. After injecting one with gelatin, the shell is removed and we see the muscle structure, digestive tube, and reproductive organs. Magnified stems reveal suction cups; stems lengthen and contract allowing the sea urchin to move. We see microscopic calcareous stems; at their ends are jaws with various uses. Cilia everywhere are in constant motion, stirring up water and debris. African music on the soundtrack suggests a shuffle dance.

My Little Duckaroo

1954 • 7 min • United States of America

Daffy Duck is a Wild West outlaw named "The Masked Avenger", righter of wrongs and doer of heroic deeds. Porky Pig is his sidekick. Together, they seek to arrest Nasty Canasta, a villain whose crimes include gag-stealing and square dancing in a round house.

From A to Z-Z-Z-Z

1954 • 7 min • United States of America

Ralph is a daydreamer... and he is quick to adapt his current surroundings into new, adventurous dreams.