All Films

The photographer Ralph Steiner, who had been making abstract avant-garde films in the late 1920s, contributed his own parody of American economic life with PANTHER WOMAN OF THE NEEDLE TRADES, OR THE LOVELY LIFE OF LITTLE LISA (1931). The film, which opens with Jehovah (Morris Carnovsky) creating the world out of a test tube, proceeds to present a short history of the universe before the birth of Elizabeth Hawes (1903), the heroine of the film’s title. It then follows her career from childhood seamstress to Parisian designer of haute couture via a college education at Vassar. Reminiscent of Robert Florey’s THE LIFE AND DEATH OF 9413—A HOLLYWOOD EXTRA (1928) in terms of its art direction and elliptical narrative style, PANTHER WOMAN is a parody of the all-American success story, a young woman’s fantasy of a glamorous career in an age of diminishing possibilities. (via: http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/2902/Avant-Garde-Film.html)

A documentary short by Theodor Luts.

A short series of vignettes synchronized to Mendelssohn's "Spring Song" from animator Cy Young (here credited as "Sy Young").

The Unlucky Butterfly. A early Japanese animation short.

A Terrytoons cartoon released February 8, 1931.

A wealthy socialite, Claire Rutherford (Beatrice Touzeau), visits her former lover, Tony Iredale (James Alexander), one night. The next day Tony is arrested for the murder of a bookmaker the night before.

A musical film directed by Fred Paul.

Telefunken commercial by Hans Fischerkoesen.

Comical interaction between a little girl who comes to buy sweets and a candy man.

The poppy flower in its psychedelic glory.

This silent film follows a freshman through the course of her first year at the college

𝖠𝗆𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗎𝗋 𝖼𝗈𝗅𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖿𝗂𝗅𝗆 𝗈𝖿 𝖩𝖺𝗏𝖺 𝗍𝖺𝗄𝖾𝗇 𝖻𝗒 𝖬𝗋𝗌. 𝖯𝖺𝗍𝗋𝗂𝖼𝗄 𝖭𝖾𝗌𝗌, 𝖥.𝖱.𝖦.𝖲. 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗐𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖡𝖺𝗍𝖺𝗏𝗂𝖺 (𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝖩𝖺𝗄𝖺𝗋𝗍𝖺), 𝖬𝗈𝗎𝗇𝗍 𝖯𝖺𝗉𝖺𝗇𝖽𝖺𝗒𝖺𝗇, 𝖪𝖺𝗐𝖺𝗁 𝖪𝖺𝗆𝗈𝗃𝖺𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖡𝗈𝗋𝗈𝖻𝗈𝖽𝗎𝗋 𝗍𝖾𝗆𝗉𝗅𝖾. 𝖥𝗂𝗅𝗆 𝗈𝖿 𝖩𝖺𝗏𝖺 𝖻𝗒 𝖬𝗋𝗌. 𝖯𝖺𝗍𝗋𝗂𝖼𝗄 𝖭𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝗌𝗁𝗈𝗐𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖡𝖺𝗍𝖺𝗏𝗂𝖺 (𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝖩𝖺𝗄𝖺𝗋𝗍𝖺), 𝖬𝗈𝗎𝗇𝗍 𝖯𝖺𝗉𝖺𝗇𝖽𝖺𝗒𝖺𝗇, 𝖪𝖺𝗐𝖺𝗁 𝖪𝖺𝗆𝗈𝗃𝖺𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖡𝗈𝗋𝗈𝖻𝗈𝖽𝗎𝗋 𝗍𝖾𝗆𝗉𝗅𝖾. 𝖲𝖼𝖾𝗇𝖾𝗌 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗅𝗎𝖽𝖾 𝗐𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗇 𝗐𝖺𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖼𝗅𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗌, 𝖡𝖺𝗍𝖺𝗏𝗂𝖺 𝗆𝖺𝗋𝗄𝖾𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝖺𝗅, 𝗆𝖺𝗋𝗄𝖾𝗍 𝗉𝗈𝗋𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌, 𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗋𝖺𝖼𝖾𝖽 𝗋𝗂𝖼𝖾 𝖿𝗂𝖾𝗅𝖽𝗌, 𝗋𝗂𝖼𝖾 𝖽𝗋𝗒𝗂𝗇𝗀, 𝗁𝗈𝗍 𝗌𝗉𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗀𝖾𝗒𝗌𝖾𝗋𝗌, 𝖿𝗅𝗈𝗐𝖾𝗋 𝗆𝖺𝗋𝗄𝖾𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖺 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝖼𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇, 𝗈𝗑𝖾𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗆𝖺𝗋𝗄𝖾𝗍 𝗉𝗈𝗋𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌, 𝗁𝖺𝗋𝗏𝖾𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖼𝖾𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗅 𝖼𝗋𝗈𝗉𝗌, 𝗍𝖾𝗆𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝖺𝗋𝖼𝗁𝗂𝗍𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾, 𝗐𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗇 𝗉𝗅𝖺𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗋𝗂𝖼𝖾, 𝗉𝗅𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗋𝗂𝖼𝖾 𝗉𝖺𝖽𝖽𝗒, 𝖺 𝗐𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗋𝖿𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗃𝗎𝗇𝗀𝗅𝖾 𝗀𝗈𝖺𝗍𝗌.

Commercial featuring an animated Karl Gerhard.

Halloween costume party made on the evening of October 31, 1931.

Veteran vaudevillian regales the audience with highlights from his comedy travel monologue and introduces "His Modern Art Choir," A Russian group he met while traveling in the Soviet Union who sing a traditional Russian song and an American standard.

Flip the Frog is a café employee who performs with the band, makes soup and delivers food to patrons.

This is a non-narrative film, comprised of shots that "portray a certain young man in the terms of the things that he likes", such as the flow of the tide on a seashore, the motion of finely-tuned machinery, and sunlight shining through the fronds of a palm.

Shadow on the Mountains (Arthur Elton, 1932) is a classic English pastoral, with impressionistic views of the English countryside as it expounds the virtues of farming and shepherding.

Newsreel about the opening of the casina in Vina del Mar (Chile).

The breeding cycle of the bittern, the cryptically plumaged relative of the herons.

A girl with an alcoholic father struggles to fit in.

A man in love with a noble lady tries to get close to her with the help of cats.

The relationships between the stained glass rosettes and the floral forms, between the architectural geometry and that, random, of the branches of trees form a dazzling catalog of plastic obsessions of an era.

This 10-minute short was produced by the Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles, CA. Basically what we have is a history lesson on everything to do with water. We learn how it comes from the clouds, what happens to the snow on the mountains, how streams keep flowing and other things including how it gets to the faucet for us to drink.