All Films

The Absolving Death

1918 • 50 min • Italy

In La morte che assolve, we see Elextra Ragio in two roles: Maddalena, a mother repudiated by her cruel husband Falco, a professional loan shark, and their daughter Erica, who is adopted by an American lady. As an adult, Erica is subjected to the advances of Count Giancarlo, who had once saved her life, and has to face a distressing encounter with the father who abandoned her. Melodrama brings out family values, and the supreme value of love.

American Buds

1918 • 60 min • United States of America

Letters from the late mother of orphaned sisters Jane and Katherine seem to indicate that their father is Capt. Bob Dutton. Under orders from his superior, Colonel Harding, to acknowledge the children or quit the service, Dutton accepts responsibility for them. Shocked by his presumably checkered past, Cecile Harding, Dutton's fiancée and the colonel's daughter, breaks their engagement. One evening Jane surprises Capt. Robert Duncan, Dutton's rival for Cecile, stealing Bob's papers.

The Marriage Lie

1918 • 50 min • United States of America

Left alone and penniless after her father dies, Eileen Orton attempts suicide. Douglas Seward, who must be married to obtain the position he seeks, befriends Eileen and offers to support her if she will pose as his wife.

Jack Spurlock, Prodigal

1918 • 60 min • United States of America

George Walsh plays the "prodigal" hero in this fast-moving star vehicle from the Fox factory. An incurable cut-up, Jack Spurlock throws a college campus in an uproar when he shows up the first day of classes with his pet bear. Needless to say, Jack is immediately booted out of college, infuriating his big-businessman father (Dan Mason).

Western Blood

1918 • 50 min • United States of America

Ranch owner Tex Wilson supplies horses to the government. While on his way to Los Angeles to take care of business, Tex sees a girl, Roberta Stephens, on a runaway horse. He rescues her and they strike up an acquaintanceship.

The Stranger

1918 • 14 min • United States of America

After a luckless prospecting trip, Billy starts homeward across the desert, mounted on his little burro with his pick, shovel and pack strapped up behind him. Finally he comes in sight of Red Dog Gulch and, hungry and thirsty, he pushes on toward the city. Susie is the daughter of the town drunkard. She starts out on her horse for a little ride, and a little way from town is attacked by Pedro and Little Casino, two Mexicans, who try to steal her horse. Billy happens along, runs the Mexicans off and takes Susie back to town.

The Daredevil

1918 • 50 min • United States of America

When Roberta Carruthers' father, Capt. Carruthers, is killed in France during the war, she comes to live in the US with her uncle. When she finds out that her uncle is under the impression that his brother had a son and not a daughter, she decides to disguise herself as a male, and calls herself Bob.

The Soul of Buddha

1918 • 50 min • United States of America

Theda Bara plays a Javanese priestess who elopes with an English military officer (Hugh Thompson). Bara's Bavahari becomes a celebrated dancer but is murdered onstage by a vengeful Buddhist priest (Victor Kennard).

The First Law

1918 • 50 min • United States of America

When her surgeon father loses his fortune, Norma Webb (Castle) turns her family home into a boarding house.

True Blue

1918 • 60 min • United States of America

True Blue begins with the marriage of black-sheep British nobleman Gilbert Brockhurst to the daughter of a Western rancher. When he learns that he has inherited his father's title and estate, Brockhurst deserts his wife and young son Bob. Upon attaining adulthood, Bob becomes the boss of his grandfather's ranch.

Lawless Love

1918 • 50 min • United States of America

Vaudeville artist LaBelle Geraldine and her dancing partner, Freddie Montgomery, are stranded in Arizona when their troupe breaks up. In order to raise money, Geraldine orders Freddie to impersonate masked bandit Black Jim so that she may turn him in and collect the $2,000 reward. When the real Black Jim holds up her coach, Geraldine, believing that he is Freddie, boldly pulls out her gun, whereupon the bandit shoots her in the wrist and takes her to his cabin. Later Freddie, too, is captured, but when members of the gang insult Geraldine, he refuses to protect her. Gradually Black Jim falls in love with her, and she comes to admire him so deeply that instead of seizing a chance to escape one night, she returns to warn him of the gang's plot to kill him.

The Bells

1918 • 50 min • United States of America

A murderer is driven slowly insane by a sequence of coincidences and suggestive events which will not allow him to escape his own sense of guilt for his crime.

A Weaver of Dreams

1918 • 52 min • United States of America

Unrequited love rules the day as both wealthy Judith Sylvester and her invalid aunt pine for men who got away, but happiness lays ahead for one while hopeful dreams sustain the other.

Love Your Neighbor!

1918 • 48 min • Denmark

There’s an uproar in the small fishing village, as the greedy businessman Consul Warming forces the fishermen to work both day and night. The kind-hearted Pastor Strøm defends the men, but he’s immediately suspended and eventually goes to the dogs. When a violent storm puts both the consul and his daughter – Strøm’s beloved – into danger, the vicar from the sea defies both his position and the forces of nature to save them. (Stumfilm.dk)

Two-Gun Betty

1918 • 50 min • United States of America

Ranch owner Jack Kennedy is in need of some cowhands. Young Betty Craig, a friend of Jack's sister Florence, bets her that she can disguise herself as a man and get a job at the ranch, fooling all the cowboys As "Bob Craig", she gets hired, but although Jack and the cowboys aren't fooled by her "disguise", they decide to have some fun with "Bob" and put her through a series of practical jokes to test "Bob's" mettle. However, things don't turn out quite the way the boys expected--and Betty has an even bigger surprise in store for them.

Occultism

1918 • 10 min • United States of America

A Mutt and Jeff Cartoon. The mismatched pair find themselves dabbling in the title pursuit.

The Yellow Dog

1918 • 60 min • United States of America

In the small shipbuilding town of Danforth, Albert Walker realizes, to his distress, that German sympathizers, spies and draft evaders, by voicing doubts about the United States' involvement in the war, are having a disastrous effect on the patriotic spirit of the townspeople.

Love's Conquest

1918 • 50 min

As described in a film magazine, determined that her son Francesco (Verdi) will have every advantage of a successful reign when he grows to manhood, Duchess Gismonda refuses all offers of marriage. A sudden danger to her son prompts her to offer her kingdom to the man who rescues the child. Almerio (Foote) braves the dangers of the lion's den to save the child, but because he is a slave the Duchess refuses to fulfill her vow. Gradually, she learns to love him, and after he assumes the guilt for a murder that she committed, Gismonda confesses to the crime and in the presence of her people makes Almerio her consort.

The Henpecked Husband’s Birthday

1918 • 8 min • Denmark

In the main protagonist’s household, his wife, Ilsebil, calls all the shots. Even on his own birthday he cannot get a word in edgewise, and when some friends invite him out for the evening, his wife takes the key to the front door so he cannot get out. Later that night, the henpecked husband seizes an opportunity to escape, but when he finally returns home he is in for a nasty surprise. (stumfilm.dk)

My Cousin

1918 • 50 min

Sincere but struggling sculptor Tommasso (Caruso--bushy moustache, gawky) works in an ornamental plaster shop, but his masterpiece on the side is a bust of his cousin Caroli (Caruso--no moustache, polished), who is the Metropolitan Opera's leading tenor. Tommasso hopes to marry his model Rosa, but her father, restaurant owner Pietro, wants her to find someone more settled and money-conscious, such as the greengrocer Lombardi down the street. Tommasso, he says, throws away his money, such as for a pair of tickets to take Rosa to the opera to see his famed cousin. After the opera, the cousins cross paths in the swanky Galeotto's restaurant, but when neither recognizes the other, Tommasso is generally mocked and Rosa believes him a liar and unworthy. Tommasso must recover his reputation and make a sale, preferably the Caroli bust to his cousin, in order to win Rosa back.

The Turn of the Wheel

1918 • 50 min • United States of America

While visiting Monte Carlo with her aunt, Rosalie Dean meets a young man, Maxfield Gray who is ready to kill himself because of his losses at the roulette wheel. She stops him from doing so, and lends him some money to win back what he's lost. He does, but they're only happy for a short while before Max is arrested for the murder of his ex-wife in the States.

100% American

1918 • 14 min

A girl wants to go to a ball, admission one Liberty Bond, but rather than go herself, she loans the bond to a girlfriend. A soldier and a sailor find out and take her to the ball with them.

Rosemary Climbs the Heights

1918 • 50 min • United States of America

Rosemary van Voort lives in the countryside with her elderly Dutch parents. The wooden dolls she carves so beautifully catch the eye of a group of artists who are having a picnic in the area. Among them is aspiring opera singer Ricardo Fitzmaurice. Rosemary is convinced to move to New York City where she becomes wildly successful, but when the temperamental Madame Fedoreska, who is in love with Ricardo, becomes insanely jealous of his growing affection for Rosemary she threatens to kill her. When Madame turns up shot to death, the police look at Rosemary as a suspect--and even worse, she has no alibi.

The City of Tears

1918 • 50 min • United States of America

Chorus girl Rosa Carillo (Carmel Myers) finds herself in dire straits when the troupe she works with is disbanded and her last fifty dollars is stolen. Artist Billy Leeds (Earl Rodney) offers to take care of her, but she's leery of his proposition. Instead she finds work with an Italian grocer, Tony Bonchi (Edwin August). One of the other ex-members of the troupe has Tony arrested on a trumped up charge. Rosa returns to Billy and offers herself to him if only he'll get Tony out of jail.