All Films

The Girl Spy Before Vicksburg

1910 • 14 min • United States of America

The opening scene of our story shows a Union powder wagon making its way down the road convoyed by a company of mounted Union soldiers. The route of this wagon is reported to Confederate headquarters by one of its spies. Nan, a girl frequently employed by the department of the Confederate army, is called to headquarters and instructed to secure the destruction of the enemy's ammunition train just reported. Nan is fitted out with a Union uniform, mounted on a fast horse and sent on her journey, previously provided with a forged order supposedly signed by a Union general which authorizes her to pass through the lines.

The Conspiracy of Pontiac

1910 • 13 min

The story, which is well known to every school child, is taken from Parkman's History and is presented without alteration or embellishment, and in the number of people employed and in the character or the scenic mountings is by long odds the greatest Indian production yet offered under the Kalem trade-mark. It will be remembered that Major Gladwynn, Commandant of Fort Detroit in 1763, had declared his love for a young Indian girl and she had become much attached to him. At this period Pontiac was at the height of his power and had sent emissaries about the villages of the Ottawas inciting war against the whites. The final plan involved the entry to the fort of a number of picked chieftains, each carrying a shortened gun beneath his blanket. The mission was ostensibly to be one of peace, but at a signal from Pontiac the chieftains were to drop their blankets and to massacre the whites.

Ramona

1910 • 17 min • United States of America

Ramona, residing on her wealthy Spanish adoptive mother's rancho in California, falls in love with the Indian Alessandro. When Ramona is denied permission to marry Alessandro, the lovers elope, only to find a life of great hardship and unhappiness amidst the greed and injustice of the white landowners.

Faust

1910 • 18 min • Italy, France, United Kingdom

Dr Faust is continually obsessed with his quest for knowledge and absolute pleasure. One day, the demon Mephistopheles appears to him in his study in human guise and offers him a deal: a lifetime of total pleasure in exchange for the life of his fiancée Margaret. Faust accepts but is soon forced to realise the impossibility of crossing the boundaries of knowledge and the limits imposed by God.

The Delights of the Shoot

1910 • 6 min • Italy

Cretinetti goes hunting with his friends, stalking the ferocious Chicken, and produces a typical Italian slapstick, which makes your typical Keystone slapstick look like tea time at the Ritz. Raw, bone-breaking slapstick.

The Missing Bride

1910 • 10 min • France

During a wedding party, according to tradition, hide-and-seek is played in a local abandoned castle. The bride falls into a hidden corridor. As she enters a room, the door falls shut behind her. Inside, she finds a dead woman and a book that says she cannot get out of here. However, a cat taking her scarf outside is her salvation. The cat puts the searchers on the right track, and the groom finds his bride.

The Nativity

1910 • 14 min • France

A silent French film depicting the story of the nativity.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

1910 • 10 min • United States of America

Made by the Edison Manufacturing Company and directed by Edwin S. Porter, the film starred Gladys Hulette as Alice. Being a silent film, naturally all of Lewis Carroll's nonsensical prose could not be used, and, being only a one-reel picture, most of Carroll's memorable characters in his original 1865 novel similarly could not be included. What was used in the film was faithful in spirit to Carroll, and in design to the original John Tenniel illustrations. Variety complimented the picture by comparing it favorably to the "foreign" film fantasies then flooding American cinemas.

Indiscretions of Betty

1910 • 22 min • United States of America

Mabel Normand first starring role is a familiar story of a woman living beyond her means.

The Face Thief

1910 • 10 min • Denmark

When Consul Bjørn is unexpectedly summoned to a meeting in town, he leaves his wife home alone in their luxury villa. At the same time, a cunning criminal has escaped his pursuers. His gang of robbers overpower the consul, steal his clothes, and the ‘Face Thief’ impersonates the consul so that he can rob the family. But justice is served in the end, and the identity theft is revealed. (Stumfilm.dk).

The Confidence Trick

1910 • 13 min • Denmark

Jens Larsen has worked hard to become a wealthy man in America, and when he travels home to visit Denmark, the people he meets are extremely acommodating. A little too acommodating, as it turns out. The only surviving film of the Danish series about the world famous detective Sherlock Holmes that ran between 1908-1911.

Queen Margot

1910 • 8 min

Max Embarrassed

1910 • 9 min • France

In this one, [Max] is on vacation and wooing a young lady, but she and her cousin decide to play a trick on him, by getting him inside a barrel, and then tossing it into the ocean.

The Neo-Impressionist Painter

1910 • 6 min • France

A painter is seen in his studio with his model. A buyer comes in, and the painter shows him a number of his paintings, all of them based on puns, including one of a devil shooting pool. Eventually, the buyer purchases all of the paintings.

The Navajo's Bride

1910 • 15 min • United States of America

A short Western. Ivi, the beautiful daughter of an Indian chief, has three suitors. A competition will decide who gets to marry her. The winner is not Panther, who was Ivy’s favourite. But after he manages to catch a horse thief, he does wind up marrying her after all.

The Duel

1910 • 8 min • Russia

Romashov, an officer, receives an invitation from Nicolayeff, whose wife's birthday is coming up. At the birthday party, it turns out that his wife is very charmed by Romashov. During the picnic in the forest, they seclude themselves from the rest of the party and on a bench they kiss each other. Another, jealous officer, who also has a crush on her, sneaks up on the couple. Sensing this, they flee, but the woman leaves behind her fan, on which Romashov has written a declaration of love. The jealous officer gives the fan to Nicolayeff, who then challenges Romashov to a duel. During the duel, the lover deliberately fires into the air and is shot. Based on the novel by Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin.

Max's First Job

1910 • 7 min • France

Recommended by a friend of the Ambigu Theatre, Max is summoned to Joinville studios. His first role is that of a husband who comes home late.

The Lad from Old Ireland

1910 • 12 min • United States of America

A young man leaves Ireland for America, but doesn't forget home.

The Expert Hunter

1910 • 4 min • Denmark

Dressed in his finest hunting gear and carrying a rifle over his shoulder, Oscar Stribolt leaves home to go hunting. On his way, he meets an old woman whose attempt at making contact he abruptly rejects. She takes revenge by casting a curse upon him. (stumfilm.dk)

The New Teacher

1910 • 6 min • Denmark

Master Spag rejoices when he is offered the position of house teacher for the baroness’ two sons. However, he is hardly inside the door before the naughty boys start running circles around him. (Stumfilm.dk)

Max Skiing

1910 • 4 min • France

In a snowy Alpine district Max takes his first lessons in the art of skiing. He leaves the hotel with his skis fixed to his shoes, and his efforts and contortions to get through the door of his room are absurdly ludicrous. Finally he manages to get out and we see him making frantic efforts to maintain his equilibrium on the fairly gentle slope.

The Two Brothers

1910 • 12 min • United States of America

In Camarillo, principality of the Spanish dominion, there lived two brothers, Jose and Manuel. Born in a noble Spanish family and reared by a mother noble in both station and character, they were vastly different morally. Jose was a dutiful son and upright young man, while Manuel was the black sheep. It was on Easter Sunday morning during the processional that Manuel appears in an intoxicated condition and foully ridicules the priests and acolytes as they enter the chapel of the old mission. At this the mother's pride is hurt beyond endurance and she exiles her profligate son from her forever. Manuel is shunned as a viper and while making his way along the road, meets Pedro, the notorious political outlaw, who sympathizes with him and offers him inducements to join him, and so takes him to his camp. Meanwhile, Jose woos and wins the Red Rose of Capistran and the day for the wedding is set.

The Woman Hater

1910 • 13 min • United States of America

A man is captured by Indians after swearing off all women.

Petit Chantecler

1910 • 8 min • France

Émile Cohl uses stop-motion animation to tell about life on the chicken farm.