All Films

A Series of Pictures From the Life of King Oscar II

1908 • 4 min • Sweden

Compilation of actuality footage and short films capturing public and royal scenes from the life of King Oscar II of Sweden — including arrival at Expositions, jubilees, parades, naval activities, and official receptions. Serves as a visual tribute following his death.

£100 Reward

1908 • 7 min • United Kingdom

A poor family, suffering from a lack of food, plan to sell their dog to gain some extra income. Before they act on their plan, the dog discovers some buried jewels. These turn out to be stolen, and the family are given a £100 reward.

Donnerwetter, tadellos: Schutzmannslied

1908 • 4 min • Germany

Policemen singing a song.

The Gallant Adventure of a Provincial

1908 • 4 min • Italy

A man picks up a man in drag. Short Italian comedy from 1908.

La Dolores

1908 • 13 min • Spain

A small village in Aragón, Spain, at the end of the 19th century. After being caught by her father fooling around with Melchor, an unscrupulous womanizer, being disgraced and losing everything, young Dolores is forced to take to the roads in search of work.

Han som klara' boven

1908 • 2 min

Early swedish film.

A Trip Around Gotland

1908 • 5 min • Sweden

Images of Gotland

Round Brussels in 10 Minutes

1908 • 8 min • United Kingdom

Brussels in the Belle Epoque, recorced on film in a straightforward way. Camera work and editing are purely functional. The film observes busy everyday life in the metropolis as it happens on the street (including Boulevard Anspach, Rue de la Loi, Boulevard Emile Jacqmain), in the parks (Brussels Park and Parc du Cinquantenaire) and on the markets (including Grand Place). The iconic buildings feature extensively, buildings such as the Bourse, the Law Courts, St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, Brussels' City Hall and the Parliament. After the tram ride through the Forêt de Soignes to the Congo Museum in Tervuren, the film ends with panoramic images of the city.

Get Me a Step-Ladder

1908 • 3 min

An old man attempts to hang a picture on the wall and asks for a step-ladder. His assistant takes a little too long to get it to him.

I klädloge och på scen

1908 • 7 min

Miss Inga Berentz dresses up for the entrance. An attraction of the first rank for all admirers of the borne diva. And a dance potpourri by Inga Berentz and Axel Ringvall. A scene full of playful lewdness and irresistible comedy.

Hackenschmidt-Rogers [The Great Wrestling Match]

1908 • 17 min

Documents one of the most important wrestling matches of the early 20th century between the legendary Estonian strongman Georg Hackenschmidt and the American Joe Rogers. Originally filmed in February 1908 and produced by the well-known Charles Urban, this rare footage is a significant find that offers an authentic glimpse into the golden age of wrestling. The only known film footage of a wrestling match featuring the legendary Estonian wrestler Georg Hackenschmidt, who wins this two-round title match.

The Return of the Crusader

1908 • 4 min • France

A French silent film directed by Louis Feuillade.

The Diligent Orderly

1908 • 4 min • Russia

A comedic short about a clumsy valet.

Spanish Blood

1908 • 3 min • France

A young Spaniard treats his wife with utter indifference, and, leaving her heartbroken, goes to the woman whom he has placed before her in his affections. The wife, whose pride is injured by being cast off for a courtesan, follows her husband and sees him join his sweetheart at their rendezvous. The pair stroll down the river, where they enter a small boat, and, unconscious that they are being watched by the cast-off wife from the shore, they float along while the gallant lover strums on his guitar and sings songs of love to the queen of his heart. The jealous wife keeps a close watch on them until they land on a square, where they join in the revelry with other happy young lovers.

For the Term of His Natural Life

1908 • 60 min • Australia

Adaptation of a classic Australian novel about life as a convict, this was the third feature film produced in Australian history. It is now considered lost.

Dixon-Wanamaker Expedition to Crow Agency

1908 • 43 min • United States of America

It is the only known surviving film footage from the 1908 Rodman Wanamaker-sponsored expedition to record American Indian life in the west, filmed and produced both for an educational screening at Wanamaker’s department store in Philadelphia and to document what Wanamaker and photographer Joseph K. Dixon considered a “vanishing race.” Dixon and his son Roland shot motion picture film as well as thousands of photographs (most of the photographs are archived at Indiana University). This film captures life on Crow Agency, Crow Fair and a recreation of the Battle of Little Big Horn featuring four of Custer’s Crow scouts.

Bad Apple

1908 • 32 min • Brazil

Chasse en Abyssinie: Chasse au Lion

1908 • 6 min • Belgium, Ethiopia

A lion hunt filmed in 1908 by the aristocrat Hyacinthe Octavie Frédérique Louise Irénée Rolande Pirmez. This is the oldest known film to be shot in Ethopia.

Grängesberg

1908 • 4 min • Sweden

Images from Grängesberg's mines. The ore is loaded onto trains and transported to the port of Oxelösund.

The Non-Stop Motor Bicycle

1908 • 4 min • Denmark

A young man, crazy about motorcycles, buys an Ellehammer and drives it out of the store at wild speed. During his unruly driving, he knocks over several people, all of whom set out to chase him. (stumfilm.dk)

The Tragic Corso

1908 • 13 min • France

When the father of high-born son refuses to let him marry the beautiful seafood seller, she and her brothers determine on a grisly vengeance.

Love and Fortune

1908 • 9 min • France

Created by the young but obviously ambitious French production company Lux Film, founded just two years before by pioneer Henri Joly. The film was released in the United States with the title Love and Fortune, in a version which sought to mellow the character of the male protagonist, at least judging by the synopses in the period press: the American Ascanio was always in love with Graziella, and he only lets himself think of wealth in his dreams.

Dr. William Gorgas

1908 • 1 min • United States of America

Distinguished physician and sanitation officer Dr. William Gorgas takes a train ride around Colón, Panama Canal Zone with a companion.

Nellie, the Beautiful Housemaid

1908 • 1 min • United States of America

Comedy short (only fragments remain at LoC)