All Films

The Story of Time

1951 • 10 min • United Kingdom

Mankind's numerous ways of measuring the passage of time through history are depicted through stop-motion animation, from ancient sundials to simple mechanical devices, up through complex modern timepieces.

Survival Under Atomic Attack

1951 • 9 min • United States of America

A Civil Defense film that focuses on what the average American can do to protect himself if caught out in the open or at home during a nuclear attack.

South Africa Uncensored

1951 • 21 min

In 1951, the Council on African Affairs produced a twenty-two minute agitprop documentary film about apartheid in South Africa, narrated by Paul Robeson and edited by Hortense Beveridge (also known as Tee Beveridge; her first complete film). South Africa Uncensored is a raw and gritty piece of black-and-white agitprop, full of firsthand testimonial footage of the appalling conditions endured by Black South Africans under apartheid. The film portrays the filth in Black shantytowns lacking proper sewage systems, the country's segregated public spaces, and the vile white leisure spectacle of enjoying forced fisticuffs between Black workers.

Fears of Children

1951 • 21 min • United States of America

Why are children afraid? Where do their fears come from? In FEARS OF CHILDREN, a young boy is afraid. His parents have difficulties with his fear. In turn, their son unexpectedly resolves these issues in unusual way. It is the 1950s after all. Things were different then. Or were they?

Isabelle aux Dombes

1951 • 9 min • France

Pialat's first film was the short Isabelle aux Dombes, shot in 1951 when the director was 26 years old. The film is an entirely silent montage of documentary footage, ragged experimental techniques — mainly some negative-image inserts — and symbolic psychodrama that's surprisingly not too different from the work that Stan Brakhage would begin making just a year or two later. Images of death proliferate throughout the film, and what started as a loose documentary soon becomes an eerie psuedo-horror piece that's obsessed with death and decay.

Pipeline to the Clouds

1951 • 24 min

Short film demonstrating water usage in all parts of American life and what steps can be taken to protect America's water supply.

Science Closer to Life

1951 • 12 min • Poland

Modern work tools are created thanks to the development of science, as a result of the transfer of knowledge between generations. A review of the tradition of Polish science from the times of Nicolaus Copernicus to the establishment of the Polish Academy of Sciences. [35mm online]

Les Tapisseries Des Gobelins

1951 • 6 min • France

In 1602, King Henri IV decided to develop French manufacturing to limit imports of products such as carpets and tapestries, of which the royal court was a major consumer. In 1662, Colbert (Minister of Louis XIV) bought the buildings and decided to create there the "Royal Manufacture of Crown furniture and tapestries", where upholsterers settled, but also painters, goldsmiths, engravers, cabinetmakers... Reserved to the furnishing of Royal Houses and diplomatic presents. To make this documentary, Alain Pol uses a new process developed by the French Lucien and Armand Roux. They had developed a color cinema technique with the "Rouxcolor" process, a patent filed in 1932. A simple process, which preceded the arrival of the American technicolor, less precise, but requiring special equipment for cinemas, which cut his career short.

Casper Comes to Clown

1951 • 7 min • United States of America

Casper befriends a bear cub with a natural talent for juggling. Soon the cub is in the circus, but a gorilla proves to be much scarier than any ghost.

The Kilties Are Coming

1951 • 52 min • United Kingdom

The Royal Kiltie Juniors perform a variety show, and are interviewed by Peter Sinclair, while McDonald Hobley speaks to their parents.

Ayer y hoy

1951 • 8 min • Argentina

This short film is the most famous Peronist propaganda piece, most likely due to the expressionist visual power of Pappier's imagery. It is based on a poem by José María Fernández Unsaín in which a couple of workers (Fanny Navarro and Pedro Maratea) compares a past of explotation and misery with the new Argentina of Peronist social justice.

Joyful Dance By Betty

1951 • 3 min

Betty Page dances joyfully.

Let's All Go to the Lobby

1951 • 1 min

Let's All Go to the Lobby (officially known as Technicolor Refreshment Trailer No. 1) is an American animated musical advertisement that was produced in the mid-1950s for Filmack Studios. It was played in theaters before the beginning of the main film or before intermission, and features animated food items urging the audience to buy snacks sold in the theater lobby. It was directed by Dave Fleischer with lyrics by Jack Tillar.

Weight Reduction Through Diet

1951 • 16 min • United States of America

Film by the National Dairy Council about how to lose weight by adjusting daily caloric intake. Discusses the dangers of being overweight and the importance of maintaining a healthy weight through proper diet. It follows a group of overweight individuals, including students and adults, who participate in a weight reduction program at Michigan State College. The program involves a low-calorie diet plan, regular physical activity, and close monitoring of food intake. The participants are taught how to select nutritious foods, control portion sizes, and make healthier choices to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. The video shows the progress of the participants over a period of several months, highlighting successful weight loss and improved overall health.

Santuário

1951 • 19 min • Brazil

Nevada Badmen

1951 • 58 min • United States of America

The "badmen" of the title in this average western from Monogram are Waller, a greedy express agent and Banker Jensen, who conspire to separate Bob Bannon from the gold found on his property. Bob's brother Jim and his two pals Whip Wilson and Texas arrive too late to save Bob from the bad guys. Hoping to flush out the killer, Whip arranges to auction off the property.

Four in the Afternoon

1951 • 15 min • United States of America

Poems narrate four afternoon vignettes; each protagonist is older than the one in the previous sketch.

Happy Weekend

1951 • 16 min

Story of an experiment in mural painting at Norton Park Junior School, Edinburgh, made by teachers at the school.

Blunden Harbour

1951 • 20 min • United States of America

“In the middle of the twentieth century, Blunden Harbour was a small village on the coast of Vancouver Island in British Colombia inhabited by a handful of impoverished Kwakiutl Indians who gained their meagre livelihood from fishing and gathering...It is a beginner's attempt to impart the rhythm and atmostphere of a place and a people.” - Robert Gardner

Dead Horizons

1951 • 8 min • France

Les Horizons Morts is Jacques Demy's first surviving live-action project. A man alone in his crumbling apartment recalls being left by his girl for another man.

The Nation at Your Fingertips

1951 • 10 min • United States of America

Promotional film introducing self-service long-distance dialing using a prototype service in Englewood, New Jersey. Demonstrates how direct dial and the new area code system enable callers to make contact instantly without operator assistance.

The Re-Inforcer

1951 • 45 min • United States of America

A Jerry Lewis home movie remake of Humphrey Bogart's The Enforcer. Joe Lasagna (Dean Martin)'s reign as a mob boss is threatened by new blood Baffo (Tony Curtis).

Crossing the Road

1951 • 11 min • New Zealand

Road safety instructional film using child actors and amusing animals.

On the Set of 'Casque D'Or'

1951 • 8 min • France

Silent footage shot on the set of CASQUE D’OR provides a glimpse of film director Jacques Becker at work.