Cinematic Era: 1903 Vintage

The second film in the series shows the same girl in a brisk calisthenic exercise.

This is in every respect a stunning picture, though somewhat bohemian in subject. It depicts in six scenes, six lively hours at New York City's famous Tenderloin dance hall, "The Haymarket." In every particular the much talked-of resort is reproduced exactly. The interior and exterior are both shown as they are. The first scene shows the opening of the hall, with the sidewalk crowds of girls and men. The second is the dance, showing the various forms of the waltz in vogue in New York. Then comes a fight in the wine room, then the eviction of the riotous young men, and finally a boisterous can-can and a raid by the police.

Another early short presenting the workings of the Postal Service.

A stationary camera looks on as two dapper gents play a game of chess. One drinks and smokes, and when he looks away, his opponent moves two pieces. A fight ensues, first with the squirting of a seltzer bottle, then with fisticuffs. The combatants wrestle each other to the floor and continue the fight out of the camera's view, hidden by the table. The waiter arrives to haul both of them out.

A hapless man tries to get undressed only to find himself magically layered in even more clothes. There is no credited director for this film. Modern attributions go to either Alice Guy or Ferdinand Zecca, according to the PG archives.

Exotic street scene with men riding camels.

In a room filled with jugglers' properties of enormous size a prestidigitateur dressed in eccentric costume enters with his assistant. The servant, believing that he would be comfortable in an armchair, sits down in it, but finds that it conceals a bucket of water, in which he falls. The juggler brings a large empty cask and puts it upon a table and fills it up with several pails of water.

The murder scene from the Broadway play 'King of the Detectives'.

“These views [cf. No. 349 to 353] were taken at the New Circus in Paris and represent the various movements of the Cake-Walk executed by a troop that had the greatest success. The length of these views varies between 21 and 25 m."

Boys play a rough game of leap frog.

Worker women carrying baskets.

On April 30, 1903, one hundred years to the day after the signing in Paris of the Louisiana Purchase agreement, President Theodore Roosevelt is in St Louis, Missouri, to dedicate the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which did not open until one year later. In this brief and choppy film, Roosevelt is visible in the center of the front row of a grandstand, which may also be the speaker's platform. He sits, talks to a neighbor, stands as if to salute the crowd, and seems to sit again. He keeps his right hand on the brim of his top hat. Meanwhile, open carriages go in front of the grandstand and stop.

Part of Charles Urban’s Unseen World programme (1903), this microcinematographic short begins with a frog swimming in a tank, then focuses on its webbed foot. The final section reveals a magnified view—about 500×—of blood coursing through the tiny veins, offering Edwardian audiences a vivid first glimpse of living circulation in motion.

The following is a scene-by-scene description of the film: The camera was positioned on the southeast corner of O'Farrell Street and Van Ness Avenue, and pans from north to west to south, and then back to west. [Frame: 0100] The view is north on Van Ness Avenue toward the approaching band and cavalry. Students of Whittier School are in the foreground. [0604] The band passing at left is led by conductor Paul Steindorff. [0900] Following the band are the Cleveland Grays, a noted black cavalry troop, led by Captain Young, the first black graduate of West Point. [1398] After a cut in the continuity of the film, the President's carriage approaches along the west side of the avenue.

Two sports are seen drinking beer and arguing as to the qualities of certain prize fighters. They make a bet, and to prove it, each pulls his favorite pugilist from his pocket, and they set them on the table. A hot battle ensues, in which one of the midgets is knocked out. The sport whose favorite won the fight takes the money with a look of satisfaction, and replaces his man in his pocket. The loser looks very much disgusted as he picks up his man and puts him back in his pocket. Very mystifying.

A magnificent picture of this boat making a run and starting the water from a least a dozen nozzles at once...

A man and his wife are seated at a table in their happy New Jersey home. A huge mosquito appears and buzzes about their heads. The man seizes a broom handle, making a smash at the singing insect. He misses it, hitting his wife a stinging blow that knocks her to the floor. Then they combine their efforts to kill the terrible insect. As they miss the mosquito each time they make a blow, the weapons used hit something else in the room. Pictures, mirrors and other household effects of this kind are quickly demolished. The man then stands upon the table and endeavors to catch it. His wife strikes at it, but hits her husband instead, knocking his feet from under him, smashing the table through which he falls. The woman finally wounds the mosquito, and as it falls to the floor, the man jumps on it, when a terrific explosion takes place, great clouds of malarial gas escaping and wrecking the room. This is a side splitter and will keep any audience in roars of laughter.

The scene takes place in front of a barrack, where a young soldier is on duty --most laughable and comical

Algiers, place du Gouvernement (now place des Martyrs): panorama of a square and its traffic (seen from a tramway)

Silent film.

Merrymakers at Luna Park, Coney Island enjoying a ride on the famous camel, "Holy Moses."

Firemen on roof playing hose. Smoke & ladder visible. Pan across ground level of gutted building with some posters visible.

This is a very humorous and a very natural scene. Two mischievous small boys rig up a fake camera with a piece of stove pipe and a box, and persuade a gushing old maid to sit for her picture. When she is carefully posed, the camera emits a flood of soot and she is thoroughly covered. The small boys dance with glee.

A filmed record of a fan dancer performing a dance using two white sheets suspended from poles which she frantically twirls around herself to create a succession of patterns.

A dealer in statues hustles a drunkard who retaliates by breaking all the statues, the Dealer rushes off for the police but upon his return with the officers finds all the statues back in their place intact, the police take away the Dealer whom they think has been humbugging them.

Elks champions Cake-Walk.

This short film, produced in the United Kingdom and France in 1903, showcases a lyrical journey across the Atlantic. Witness an orange-red sunset and a blue night sky as the ship sails towards a triumphant entry into New York Harbor. The film concludes with spectacular shots of Niagara Falls, enhanced by an iron-blue toning that emphasizes the power and omnipresence of water.

A small boy is smoking his first cigarette in the door-yard of a cottage. Fearing detection, he jumps into a barrel. His parents see the smoke rising from the barrel, rush out of the house and drench the youngster with water. The finish is very laughable.

Shows a number of young men and women playing leap-frog. The men stoop over and the girls jump upon their backs and are bounced until they fall off. The young men then line up in a row for a novel race. Each man picks up the girl in front of him and run into the surf and back to the beach again. As they reach the water with the girls on their shoulders, the breakers interfere with their progress and they fall head first into the water. Picking the girls up again, they make a dash for the beach, but many become exhausted before reaching the starting point, and let the girls fall. A number of girls are next shown, skylarking on the beach. A camera fiend, seeing a chance for a fine picture, sets up his camera and starts to focus it. The girls spy him, rush up behind the "fiend" and run both him and the camera into the water and give him a ducking. When pulled in by one of the life-guards he presents a pitiable appearance.

Entry in a series about the United States Postal Service.

We have just received from our operators accompanying President Roosevelt on his great tour of the Pacific Coast, a splendid series of films covering his reception in San Francisco. The weather was all that could be desired, and the films are, therefore, very fine photographically. There are five scenes in all, as follows: 3. President Roosevelt in his carriage, with mounted escort, passing up Market Street. A good picture of the President, and a spirited subject throughout.

Continuation of the previous one.” [cf. n ° 27] Panorama of the quays and the city.

A negro woman is washing her three-year-old baby in a tub of water. The child seems to enjoy it until he gets some soapsuds in his eyes, when he makes some very comical facial expressions. Background shows a typical native yard and hut.

A couple of guys sort letters into pigeon-holes, another empties sacks of post and stamps the letters before passing them to a portly chap who is undoubtedly the star of the show.

A static shot of a river disguised as a very big puddle. The film is about a minute long, and for probably fifty seconds of that one minute we gaze blankly at the puddle. An occasional breeze causes its surface to ripple. The trees on the other side of the puddle can be seen reflected in the water. Nothing happens. Then more nothing happens. Then a bit more nothing.

A remarkable exhibition by Gus Keller, novelty bag puncher of the New Polo Athletic Association. In seven scenes with dissolving effects. A. Single, B. Knee, C. Floor, D. Double, E. Aerial, F. Triple, G. Double Floor.

A porter is endeavoring to clean the windows of a store, when a rather stout lady begins to shake rugs from a window higher up. The porter is annoyed at this, and seizing the rug, gives it a tremendous pull, dragging the lady from the second story window to the sidewalk. She jumps to her feet, more angry than hurt, and to get even, pulls the porter and ladder over backwards; but he is evidently made of India rubber, for as soon as he strikes the ground the ladder bounds upright again with him on the top. He then empties a large pail of water on the housekeeper's head to cool her temper. A very humorous film.

Shows a large open barge loaded with people of every nationality, disembarking at Ellis Island, N. Y. A most interesting and typical scene.

A celebratory country dance.

A prestidigitator, one of the best, is about to perform a number of illusions and brings to his aid a pack of playing cards. He selects the King of Spades, endows him with life and seats him at the table with himself, and they proceed to play a game of cards. The King of Spades shows a disposition to be ugly and is immediately squelched. This is a remarkably good picture, interesting from start to finish.

An organ-grinder is playing beneath the window of a cranky old woman. She objects strenuously. The organ-grinder, egged on by Hooligan, keeps on playing until a policeman appears.

The camera was placed to encompass a set of the backstage dressing room of a burlesque show. There are three chorus girls and one featured dancer in the dressing room as the film starts. A man in evening attire, accompanied by a waiter with a tray, several glasses, and a bottle of champagne, is ushered in by the doorman. The rest of the film is devoted to the group as they drink and carouse until the man walks over to wall telephone and makes a call. While he is talking on the phone, one of the chorus girls throws the champagne bucket at him, ending the film.

Turn of the century rugby league.

Presumably the woman is Betsy Ross, and she's quite a pretty woman with tumbling dark hair and coltish legs. She dances energetically, but it all looks spontaneous and un-choreographed meaning that there's not a lot of rhythm to her movements.

The "Patrol" is seen chasing a row-boat containing river pirates. The pirates are pulling at the oars with all their strength, but a few shots from the Police Boat weaken their nerves and they give up. When the "Patrol" comes up near them, it lowers a dory and a number of policemen make the capture. As the pirates are landed on the Police Boat a fierce fight takes place between them and the police, but the latter overcome the offenders and land them safely on the boat.

Showing two typical concert hall knock-about teams in a very poor performance. It ends up in their being egged by the audience.

Seeing New York by Yacht.

A beautiful panoramic view of lower New York from Barclay Street to Battery Park, showing a beautiful stereoscopic effect of the sky-scrapers in the business section of the city.

Mary Jane tries to light the oven. When she's unsuccessful, she plays around, getting black boot polish on her face. She mugs before a mirror. Then, it's back to work. When the stove still won't light, she pours in paraffin, winks at the camera, and lights a match. Kaboom! Is there any rest for the foolish, even in the grave?

A circus ring located outdoors next to the pavilion at Luna Park is shown. Two performers work with a large circus horse, doing acrobatics on and off his back. There is also a ringmaster. The horse goes around the ring, carrying the performers on its back while they exhibit their agility. A large number of spectators can be seen in the background at the pavilion railing.

A newly married couple who are on their honeymoon have something else to do than to admire nature. A tunnel comes and their conversation gets very animated, but suddenly they are interrupted by a guard who asks them for their tickets.

A young man is courting his lady fair with the handicap of a toy poodle dog between them. The girl seems to prefer the dog, and when the young man is bitten on the finger that completes his vexation.