All Films

His Merry Mix-Up

1917 • 10 min • United States of America

A summer hotel is a magnet for young marrieds as well as other couples looking to rekindle the spark. Charley Chicken Lover, the hotel proprietor, finds himself smitten with one of the newlywed brides as does another guest despite the presence of his wife and a merry chase of crossed signals and misunderstandings commences!

The Corner Grocer

1917 • 50 min • United States of America

Kindhearted Charles Wendel, who has built his pushcart grocery business into a prosperous enterprise, adopts little eight-year-old Mary Brian after her mother dies in poverty. The little girl becomes the angel of the house, beloved by all. Wendel's dream is that his son Ralph will carry on the business, but when Ralph graduates from college, he decides that he is too good for the grocery business. Instead, he goes to work in a bank where he falls prey to swindlers who convince him to forge his father's name on a $100,000 check. When the forgery is discovered, the old man covers the check at the cost of his own financial ruin. Ralph, chagrined, leaves home to make good and soon after returns, prosperous, to wed Mary and restore the fortune and happiness of the Wendel family.

Beloved Adventuress

1917 • 50 min • United States of America

Romantic melodrama of musical comedy star Juliette La Monde's thoughtless pursuit of love and pleasure with various men until her ultimate redemption through sacrifice.

I Want to Speak to Johnson

1917 • 18 min • Denmark

Nokke and Jørgensen are tram railgrinders and good friends. Jørgensen drinks too much, while Nokke in vain urges his friend to give up the bottle. When Jørgensen ends up in hospital, Nokke shows up to talk some sense into his sick friend. Regrettably, Nokke is not the sharpest knife in the drawer and as he searches for the patient, the staff is led to believe that he should be admitted himself. Will he ever get to see Jørgensen? (stumfilm.dk)

Threads of Fate

1917 • 50 min • United States of America

Abandoned as an infant on a stranger’s doorstep by her faithless mother, Marcella, Dorothea is taken in by Tom & Sarah Wentworth who in time inherit a vast coal mine in Pennsylvania. Now a young woman “Dot” falls in love with veterinarian Dr. Grant Hunter but her social climbing mother frowns on the match. Sara has set her sights on the Marquis del Carnavacchi for her daughter unaware that he is both a mobster and the lover of her errant natural mother. By chance Dot’s real father, Jim Gregory, also resides in the town and as tensions rise, he and Marcella join to save Dot from both harm and marriage to the wrong man.

The Fires of Youth

1917 • 52 min • United States of America

The Thanhouser Co. has reissued a number of its surviving films on video. FIRES OF YOUTH existed at around 52 minutes in its original release. A shortened version running just over 31 minutes has survived at the George Eastman House and has now been released by Thanhouser. Jeanne Eagels does well as the neglected young daughter in a factory town. She appears in 22 scenes and delivers a sensitive performance.

The Last of the Carnabys

1917 • 50 min • United States of America

The affluent Carnabys have now dwindled in fortune and family, leaving just Lucy and her brother, Gordon in financial straits. Situations escalate as they struggle to pay their bills and deal with Gordon's gambling debts.

Mary Lawson's Secret

1917 • 50 min • United States of America

Mary Lawson, on the run from a false murder charge finds happiness in marriage to a simple man until the day a villain from her past emerges and threatens all she’s built.

Red, White and Blue Blood

1917 • 50 min • United States of America

A hard-core socialite turns over a new leaf after spending time with a less fortunate family.

The Man from Tia Juana

1917 • 22 min • United States of America

Jack Hoxie and Marin Sais star in this 'American Girl' short. A courageous young woman must clear her boyfriend after he is framed for a hold-up.

Betty to the Rescue

1917 • 50 min • United States of America

Henry Sherwin is led to believe by mine expert James Fleming that the mine he invested all his money in is valueless, though Fleming has discovered a rich vein of gold that he keeps secret. When Sherwin dies shortly thereafter, he leaves his daughter Betty in the care of John Kenwood and his sister, Constance, who allows Betty to believe she has an income, sending her to boarding school while they surreptitiously go to work to support her. Upon her return home Fleming pursues her but she rejects him, and he tells her the mine is worthless. However, a dream leads her to believe otherwise and after much travail she discovers the truth as well as Fleming’s duplicity. John declares his long-hidden love for her, and they are wed.

Sunny Jane

1917 • 50 min • United States of America

Tomboy Jane Dwight’s father strikes oil on their farm and becomes smitten with young millionaire James Thornton when he comes to purchase the land. She heads off to a posh boarding school, returning a year later with fancy airs thinking it will impress James, but he preferred the original Jane. Will she realize in time to keep his interest?

Sashka the Rider

1917 • 28 min • Russia

The last surviving fiction film from Wladyslaw Starewicz's wartime associtation with the Skobelev Committee

Barbary Sheep

1917 • 50 min • United States of America

Arriving with her husband in Arabia, Katherine Wyvrne is ready for romantic times in the exotic Middle East, but her aristocratic husband prefers to be out hunting "Barbara sheep" than fulfilling his wife's desires. She soon meets up with the dashing Arab chief Benchaalai and falls for his charms, but he has a much more sinister goal in mind for her than romance.

Lonesome Luke on Tin Can Alley

1917 • 22 min • United States of America

Luke is a pickpocket, hiding out from the cops in a dive in the slum part of town. He later winds up in a boxing match which again brings the law on his tail.

Lily's Fugue

1917 • 38 min • France

After falling in love with a young man (Edouard Mathé), Lilie/Lily abandoned her family and eloped, only to comes back with an illegitimate child.

Arms and the Girl

1917 • 50 min

Ziegfeld Follies headliner Billie Burke starred in a handful of silent films, of which Arms and the Girl was the second. Burke plays an American lass who journeys to Europe to be reunited with her fiance. Not only has her sweetheart been unfaithful, but she arrives on the continent just as World War I breaks out.

The Camera Cure

1917 • 14 min • United States of America

A couple fires there butler over a misunderstanding. When the husband is sent off to hire a new one, he spends most of his time annoying a women in the park. Unbeknownst to him his former butler is there and take a picture of him which he intends to use to get his job back.

The Babes in the Woods

1917 • 50 min • United States of America

A story within a story, including a passage from Hansel and Gretel.

The Inner Shrine

1917 • 50 min • United States of America

Bad woman turns good, but as a recent widow finds her past a roadblock in terms of accepting remarriage.

The Spindle of Life

1917 • 50 min

When Mrs. Harrison arrives in Harborsport for her vacation, she announces her plan to marry Gladsome, her daughter, to Vincent Bradshaw, the son of her financial advisor James Bradshaw. To keep Gladsome from socializing with the local fishermen, James drives them from his property, but they organize under her and force their way back. Arrested for rabble-rousing, Gladsome is bailed out of jail by James and later meets "Alphabet" Carter, a vacationing financial wizard, for whom she has an immediate attraction.

Musty's Vacation

1917 • 15 min • United States of America

Musty Suffer, finding a meal ticket, resolves to take a vacation while eating is free. The café owner, however, discovers Musty’s face does not compare with the photograph on the ticket. Musty goes out to have it altered, thinking less of the face than he does of the meal ticket. He is completely recast in a steel foundry and returns to enjoy the free meals only to find that the restaurant has closed.

Her Soul's Inspiration

1917 • 50 min • United States of America

A girl who loves dancing more than anything must prove her identity in order to keep her inheritance.

A Daughter of the Poor

1917 • 50 min • United States of America

A young girl, Rose Eastmen lives with her lazy Uncle, who works as a janitor in a publishing house. Lacking education, both Rose and her Uncle are susceptible to the socialist ideas of writer Rudolph Creig. One day Rose encounters Jack Steven's the wealthy son of the publishing house, working on his car. She believes he is a common laborer, and begins seeing him. Through her exposure to Jack, Rose begins to realize the rich are not such an abominable people. Rudolph has also reached this conclusion after learning Steven's has published his book. Now with a hefty royalty check and success, Rudolph is able to marry Rose.