The Great Train Robbery

The Great Train Robbery 1903

7.00

After the train station clerk is assaulted and left bound and gagged, then the departing train and its passengers robbed, a posse goes in hot pursuit of the fleeing bandits.

1903

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland 1903

6.00

This is the first movie version of the famous story. Alice dozes in a garden, awakened by a dithering white rabbit in waistcoat with pocket watch. She follows him down a hole and finds herself in a hall of many doors.

1903

The Infernal Cauldron

The Infernal Cauldron 1903

6.28

A green-skinned demon places a woman and two courtiers into a flaming cauldron.

1903

The Melomaniac

The Melomaniac 1903

6.70

The leader of a marching band demonstrates an unusual way of writing music.

1903

The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ

The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ 1903

6.32

The story of Jesus Christ, from the proclamation of His Nativity to His Ascension into heaven. Impressive staging and beautiful hand-coloring distinguish the film from its Passion-play counterparts; Its scale and dynamic crowds prelude the Italian epics to come.

1903

Don Quichotte

Don Quichotte 1903

5.10

An early Pathé version of Don Quixote told in 15 chapters.

1903

Life of an American Fireman

Life of an American Fireman 1903

6.10

Porter's sequential continuity editing links several shots to form a narrative of firemen responding to a house fire. They leave the station with their horse drawn pumper, arrive on the scene, and effect the safe rescue of a woman from the burning house. But wait, she tells them of her child yet asleep in the burning bedroom...

1903

Electrocuting an Elephant

Electrocuting an Elephant 1903

2.70

This is a film taken of the execution of Topsy, an elephant employed to help build Luna Park on Coney Island.

1903

The Sick Kitten

The Sick Kitten 1903

5.67

A simple scene of two rather flamboyantly-dressed Edwardian children attempting to feed a spoonful of medicine to a sick kitten. The film is important for being one of the earliest films to cut to a close-up, then back again to the same medium shot as before.

1903

The Kingdom of the Fairies

The Kingdom of the Fairies 1903

6.90

At the royal court, a prince is presenting the princess whom he is pledged to marry when a witch suddenly appears. Though driven off, the witch soon returns, summons some of her servants, and carries off the princess. A rescue party is quickly organized, but the unfortunate captive has been taken to a strange, forbidding realm, from where it will be impossible to rescue her without some special help.

1903

Apparitions

Apparitions 1903

5.40

Alone in his room at an inn, a lustful old man is haunted by spirits.

1903

The Oracle of Delphi

The Oracle of Delphi 1903

5.40

A box of valued jewels is placed inside the tomb of Delphi. A thief breaks into the tomb and steals it, but soon the ghost of Delphi appears and puts a curse on him.

1903

New York City 'Ghetto' Fish Market

New York City 'Ghetto' Fish Market 1903

5.00

A fine panoramic view of this busy market on a Friday morning. Immense throngs of people are passing along the stands and making their purchases of fish.

1903

Jupiter's Thunderballs

Jupiter's Thunderballs 1903

5.20

With godly entrapments, Zeus appears on the horizon, engages Hermes as an audience, and tries to throw some thunderbolts. They fizzle. Hephaestus tries to make some repairs but succeeds only in heating the bolts and burning Zeus's hands. Zeus conjures nine muses, but do their incantations help? He dismisses them as well as a visiting Pan, and his fits of pique become counter-productive. Can he get his powers back?

1903

The Gay Shoe Clerk

The Gay Shoe Clerk 1903

5.47

A woman being fitted for shoes exposes her ankle to the shoe clerk, who is intrigued. He kisses her, but her chaperone hits him with her umbrella.

1903

An Extraordinary Cab Accident

An Extraordinary Cab Accident 1903

5.90

A man and a woman talk beside a street near a corner where a cop stands. Just as a horse-drawn cart rounds the corner, the man backs off the sidewalk saying good-by to his companion. The horse and cart flatten him and continue on, out of the camera's stationary range. The cop runs after the cab, the woman dashes to the body. The cop brings back the driver; is the victim dead?

1903

The Infernal Cakewalk

The Infernal Cakewalk 1903

5.60

Pluto, having seen the earth, comes back home amazed at the success of that well-known dance, the "cake-walk." He has brought back with him two noted well-known dancers, who start their favorite dance amidst the flames.

1903