All Films

The Picture of Dorian Gray

1915 • 22 min • United States of America

The Thanhouser Company's two-reel adaptation of Oscar Wilde's eponymous novel. “The plot is unusual, and even though none of the familiar epigrams of the author find their way into the subtitles there is an artistic flavor to the production. Dorian's picture shows evidence in the passing years of his selfish, dissipated life, though his own countenance remains unchanged. Harris Gordon handles the leading role effectively, and Helen Fulton was pleasing as the ill-fated young actress who won Dorian's heart." - The Moving Picture World, July 31, 1915.

The Fate of Number One

1915 • 13 min • United States of America

Their demand for money having gone unheeded, Garibaldi and his gang wreck Number One. Howard, who attempts to interfere, is battered into insensibility. The criminals then place a note in the man's pocket warning the railroad officials to heed their demands in the future.

The Girl Engineer

1915 • 12 min • United States of America

A crooked mine owner attempts to hijack his rival's shipment of ore, but Helen foils his plot by jumping onto the engine and pulling the throttle wide open, eventually exposing the unscrupulous villain.

The Pay Train

1915 • 11 min • United States of America

Helen, overhearing Tony and his accomplices plotting to derail the pay train and steal its money, is thrown into a cattle car; grabbing a revolver which one of the men has dropped, she shoots the wire controlling the semaphore arm, which then swings up and flashes the danger flag, thus averting disaster in the nick of time.

My Valet

1915 • 33 min • United States of America

The parents of a wealthy young man arrange for him to marry a woman he has never seen. When he meets and falls for a young woman he convinces his valet to switch places. The idea is that the valet will make a bad impression on the fiance, the wedding will canceled and the hero can marry his true love. There is only one problem, his love and unseen fiance are the same woman.

Trilby

1915 • 59 min • United States of America

The hypnotic Svengali controls the singing voice of a young starlet, but he cannot control her heart. This 1915 Maurice Tourneur film is a version of the famous du Maurier novel. It was later done in a more famous 1931 film named Svengali with John Barrymore. The later film obviously changed the title due to the huge presence of its star.

The Brave Deserve the Fair

1915 • 20 min • United States of America

Tom Martin and Leo Binnis arrive in a small mining town. Andy Johnson, his wife and daughter, Vicky, are also seeking a western home. Jim Brown, a cattleman, poisons the water holes to kill off the wild horses that are eating the range bare, and Johnson and his wife drink from the water hole and die.

The Builder of Bridges

1915 • 50 min • United States of America

Edward Thursfield, chief engineer of the bridge building firm of Henry Killick and Company, is building the largest concrete bridge in the world. Employed in the New York office is a young man named Arnold Faringay. Arnold sees an opportunity of using money from the payroll for a big deal.

Her Mother's Secret

1915 • 50 min • United States of America

Lloyd Kent returns to his hometown after twenty years a wealthy man. All the while he was gone, he held the memory of his sweetheart, Emily Lester though she jilted him in a moment of anger and married his rival, John Rand. Emily is now a widow in diminished circumstances with an 18-year-old daughter, Betty, who is the image of her now careworn mother in her youth. Because of that memory Lloyd is drawn to Betty who is flattered despite her love for her neighbor Hal Edwards. Betty, realizing the situation, finds one of her mother’s old gowns and helps transform her appearance closer to her girlish self. Lloyd is swept away with renewed love and both couples happily paired with the proper partner.

Hogan Out West

1915 • 13 min • United States of America

After arriving in a hostile Western town, Hogan meets the Wild West head-on. A shack loaded with dynamite aids his return to urbanity. "Plenty of western color helps to make the production an attractive one apart from its comic attributes. In this film Charles Murray as Hogan is his usual comical self." -The Moving Picture World, March 13, 1915.

Broncho Billy's Teachings

1915 • 12 min • United States of America

Broncho Billy, a young clergyman, is struck on the head and left for dead by his partner, just after they have struck it rich on a mining claim. He is found by a young Indian girl and taken to the Indian camp where he is nursed back to health. During his convalescence he teaches the girl the commandment, "Thou Shalt Not Kill," and the motto, "Forgive and Forget."

In the Park

1915 • 15 min • United States of America

A tramp steals a girl's handbag, but when he tries to pick Charlie's pocket loses his cigarettes and matches. He rescues a hot dog man from a thug, but takes a few with his walking stick. When the thief tries to take some of Charlie's sausages, Charlie gets the handbag. The handbag makes its way from person to person to its owner, who is angry with her boyfriend who didn't protect her in the first place. The boyfriend decides to throw himself in the lake in despair, so Charlie helps him out.

Patsy's Elopement

1915 • 15 min • United States of America

The ninth chapter in the Patsy Bolivar series

Ambrose's Little Hatchet

1915 • 6 min • United States of America

Mack Swain is making a dress for Louise Fazenda. He discovers his dressmaker's dummy requires his adjustment, so he pulls out his hatchet for the job. Through the window shade, onlookers -- including her husband -- see him as killing a woman.

In Humble Guise

1915 • 30 min • United States of America

After a lover's quarrel, writer Grace Hunt goes vacationing to a seaside resort where she decides to swap identities with a student.

For the Honor of the Crew

1915 • 20 min • United States of America

Robert Brent and Dick Morgan, the former wealthy, the latter poor, are chums at one of the big colleges until they both fall in love with Viola Scott, a college girl.

The Human Chain

1915 • 13 min • United States of America

Deering and his gang rifle the station safe and gain possession of some valuable gems; Helen seizes the package and throws it into the river. In order to recover the package, a human chain is formed by the railroad men, which Helen climbs down and attempts to catch the package with her feet. Meanwhile, Deering and his men have boarded a launch, and succeed in grabbing both Helen and the package. Morton takes over a freight train, captures the crooks, and rescues Helen and the gems.

The Girl Who Might Have Been

1915 • 22 min • United States of America

Dance hall girl, Daisy Wellington, is dismissed after falling ill. A young ranchman takes her to his cabin and helps her recover. She falls in love with him but ultimately sacrifices her newfound life by returning to the dance hall to earn money to bring his wife out west after the ranchman's savings are stolen by bandits.

The Avenger

1915 • 49 min • Sweden

Hämnaren (The Avenger) was made in 1915, and was rediscovered in Berlin in 2001. It begins with a woman named Ester, who is reading a letter and crying. The letter says that a man named George won't marry her, because he knows his father would never allow him to marry a Jewish woman. Ester dies of childbirth, and possibly a broken heart. Her suitor Jakob takes care of her son, who is named Josef, and sends George a note, accusing him of causing her death

Fatty’s Reckless Fling

1915 • 13 min • United States of America

Left alone by his wife, Fatty joins a poker game across the hall from his apartment and is left to face the law when the game is raided by police. He is given shelter by a neighbor, Mrs. Kennedy, leading to suspicions that they are romantically involved.

Buckshot John

1915 • 50 min • United States of America

A sheriff and his posse shoot it out with a gang of robbers headed by Bad Jake Kennedy. The surviving robber, Buckshot John, won't tell where the gang's loot is hidden and gets 30 years in prison. Halfway through his sentence he "gets religion" and in order to save his soul, decides to tell where the gang has hidden its stash of gold. However, a phony clairvoyant, The Great Gilmore, finds out about John's intentions and tricks him into revealing where the gold is. When John finds out what happened, he decides to break out of prison and take care of matters himself.

Mr. 'Silent' Haskins

1915 • 20 min • United States of America

Lon 'Silent' Haskins competes for the affection of a woman who recently inherited ownership of the local watering hole.

The Wild Goose Chase

1915 • 40 min • United States of America

Two American grandfathers in France try to arrange marriages for their grandson and granddaughter by promising them money. The young ones refuse and run off to join a theatrical group where they fall in love and marry as their grandparents had intended.

The Governor's Daughters

1915 • 55 min • Sweden

An important man's death brings forth a secret, revealing a daughter from another woman, previously unknown to his wife - and bringing about the meeting of the two sisters.