Cinematic Era: 1908 Vintage

The seven-minute film takes place inside a classroom where some cops are learning English.

The Baseball Fan is a Comedy short.

Dog Rover, from Rescued by Rover fame, chases a kidnapper's car and while he is in a pub, drives it safely home and thus saves the baby.

A short documentary film released in France.

Two criminals lure a doctor away from his home with a phony note about a child's illness. After the doctor rushes off, the criminals break into his house and menace his wife and child. By the time the doctor realizes what has happened, his family faces a desperate situation.

A man gets cajoled into working as a sideshow wrestler.

It would have taken more than the wonderful powers of deduction of a Sherlock Holmes to have dispelled the mystery that shrouded the disappearance of a case of jewels at the home of Robert Jenkins, a wealthy stockbroker, and although they were eventually brought to light, it was through a most remarkable accident.

The director Mario Gallo made the first film with an argument from Argentina, although the opinions of scholars are not coincident as to their temporal order.

Leah, a Jewish woman fleeing persecution in Hungary, arrives in the town and captures the heart of Rudolf, the local magistrate's son. They plan to marry and escape to America for a better life, agreeing to meet at a cross in the forest. However, the schoolmaster, Nathan, an apostate Jew who harbors his own secrets, overhears their plan. He inflames the villagers' fears and tricks Rudolf into believing Leah will betray him for gold, leading Rudolf to renounce her. A heartbroken Leah, now forsaken, bestows a curse upon Rudolf and his future children before retreating into exile.

Caught off-guard by Indian mutineers, a British soldier saves his last bullet for his daughter, lest she be taken.

An episodic narrative displaying examples of humankind's brutality, from the story of Cain and Abel through the Hague Convention of 1907.

A dancer enchants a leacherous king but rebuffs his advances, resulting in his vengeful anger.

Barcarola is a 1908 Brazilian film directed by Júlio Ferrez. It was the first "sound" film in Brazil, that is, with actors dubbing themselves live, behind the screen, based on already recorded images. Premiered on September 1, 1908. It was produced by the company William e Cia. The film was inspired by the operetta "Les contes d'Hoffmann", by composer and cellist Jacques Offenbach. The film's synopsis is unknown, but given the name, which references the song "Barcarolle", it is very likely that it is inspired by the third act of Les contes d'Hoffmann. Like many films from this era, Barcarola is considered a lost film, with only one surviving image, taken during the film's production.

In this funny picture we see the vacuum cleaner, the modern dust eradicator, performing some very droll tricks. As soon as the fellow turns on the air then the fun begins. It is all accomplished through some clever trick photography. First we see two attendants start out to do a cleaning job, and while they stop to take some refreshments, two men, who happen to be passing, take the machine and start down the sheet to have some fun. They meet a woman with a dog on a leash, and at a turn of the wheel, the dog and its mistress are quickly drawn into the spout. Next a nursemaid comes sauntering down the street, and when they level the spout at her she meets the same fate. A girl and her lover are the next to disappear off the face of the earth, and still they go along, looking for more victims. (Moving Picture World)

Elephants at work in Burma.

Macbeth usurps the Scottish throne by murdering his predecessor.

A young boy’s toys come to life through animation.

Into a photography studio full of large fantastic machines steps an elderly couple. The bearded proprietor explains the equipment and gives them a demonstration: he starts machines whirring, and projects a painting of three women onto a large screen; suddenly the women begin to move. The customers are impressed. First the women sits in the special seat: she's projected onto the screen, and her good nature comes out in the laughing image. Then it's the man's turn, but the machine discloses a vastly different nature in him. Will his reaction threaten our proprietor's inventions?

For a short comedy of rare merit this subject is unexcelled. A chalk line series of grotesque caricatures enacted in the land of puppets. A fickle maiden gets herself into numerous embarrassing complications with her host of admirers, but the artist with lightning rapidity overcomes all obstacles and brings the maiden out victorious.

An office worker takes desperate measures in an attempt to get up on time in the morning.

A stop-motion film from Émile Cohl with tin soldiers, children's drawings and cannibals.

Three burglars invade a house, kill two people, and blind a third person, a woman. The police arrest the wrong man.

Who killed this man to rob him of his money in this notorious neighborhood of Paris? The usual local scoundrel such as the one that has almost been lynched by the mob and arrested by the police? Not at all. In fact the poor man is innocent, even though appearances are deceiving. The real culprit is a respectably-looking man who, to divert suspicion, has put some blood of his victim on his fingers and some of the stolen money in his pockets while he was asleep.

Dog Rover, from Rescued by Rover fame, chases a kidnapper's car and while he is in a pub, drives it safely home and thus saves the baby.

Released the same week than Selig's version, they both were the first film versions of the popular play, adapted from Ellen Wood's 1861 novel.

A young peasant finds himself rejected by a beautiful girl and vows to take revenge on a fortunate rival. On Christmas night, when the girl's favorite goes under his fiancée's window to sing her a love song, the other kills him with a shotgun.

A lost newsreel with a self-evident title. One of the first films made on the territory of modern Belarus.

Early Balkan footage.

One fine day at a barbershop that has stupid staff and very rude customers.

A young boy’s toys come to life through animation.

Macbeth usurps the Scottish throne by murdering his predecessor.

“The barbaric negro inhabitants of an African village are shown in their various forms of activity, the first view being a photograph of a number of children of all sizes, shapes and degrees of African beauty. Following this is a match between two giant negro wrestlers, who first fence with slicks and then grapple with each other. The start of a caravan is next pictured, the handling of the huge camels being well demonstrated. A British courier next comes into view and the African, presumably sheiks, attack him. A short sham fight takes place, and he escapes. Now a religious procession of natives is shown, with their tom-toms and curious devices for making curious music. The last is a photo of a comical looking African infant playing with a kitten.” (Moving Picture World)

Journey of a camel caravan encountering a tribe of Bicharyn Arabs who perform and offer a glimpse of their children.

Short reportage

In ancient Egypt, a princess is executed after being caught in an affair with a Theban warrior, with her soul sealed inside a vase. Centuries later, a professor in Boston brings the vase to his home, with chaos ensuing.

This early silent era film was released in France circa 1908 by Segundo de Chomón. It is partially hand coloured and shows several Japanese characters and eventually a worm change into a butterfly which while flapping it's wings changes colours as it flies.

As a newsboy is playing a game on the sidewalk with a friend, two men come near to them, and then stand in a position where they cannot be seen from the sidewalk. When an attractive woman walks past them, the two men follow her. Sensing that they have bad intentions, the newsboy follows them to see what they are up to. When his suspicions are confirmed, he tries to come up with a plan to protect the woman.

For a short comedy of rare merit this subject is unexcelled. A chalk line series of grotesque caricatures enacted in the land of puppets. A fickle maiden gets herself into numerous embarrassing complications with her host of admirers, but the artist with lightning rapidity overcomes all obstacles and brings the maiden out victorious.

Hélène, the daughter of a wealthy shipowner, receives a letter from Jean, her lover, who wants to see her to find out her father's answer about their marriage. The father refuses and Jean must embark. The father goes to the boat and sabotages it.

The silent Spanish version of the story of Don Juan Tenorio.

A gang of lawless freebooters who terrorized the country and made travel in the mountains a hazardous pastime hold up a stylish landau in which are seated an old gentleman, a duenna, and a pretty young Senora. The inevitable happens; all are relieved of their valuables, and while the gentleman and duenna are sent on their way, the girl is held a prisoner.

The King has the archbishop murdered, then repents.

An impoverished father, with his young son and daughter, begs for food in a marketplace. When a merchant angrily turns them away, their plight attracts the attention of a woman of charity. Calling shame upon the unkind merchant, she buys the poor family some food, talks with the family, and adopts the two children. Marketplace workers, witnessing the scene, give the father work as a sign carrier.

The goddess Minerva is jealous of the young Arachne who is more clever it in weaving. Out of spite, Arachne Minerva rushed into hell, then transforms into a spider that will forever spinning its web.

A serpentine dancer is bathed in alternating hand-colored frames underneath an elaborate archway.

In the 1849 American West, seductive outlaw Jack Morgan falls in love with Mollie, an innkeeper's daughter, already coveted by stagecoach driver Dick. After robbing Dick's stagecoach, Jack is chased by a posse of horsemen. Wounded, he finds refuge with Mollie, who hides and nurses him back to health. Hunted to a burning barn, Jack attempts to escape but is shot dead by Dick. Mollie finds him dying in her arms. Between romance, betrayal, and pursuit, the film intensely blends drama and adventure.

A little girl, who is preparing to receive her first holy communion, is seen leaving the church with the rest of her companions and starting home with her nurse maid. She being of a jovial disposition, we see her rolling a hoop, skipping rope and romping until she is completely exhausted. Coming to a spring in the park, she stops and bathes her head in the cold water, and not being physically capable of withstanding the shock, she contracts a cold. By the time the maid gets her home she is extremely ill, and her mother puts her to bed and sends for a doctor, who, upon arriving, prescribes and pronounces her case as serious. The little sufferer is compelled to remain in bed for days, and when the time comes for her to go to her first communion she is unable to attend.

Woman Draped in Patterned Handkerchiefs is a 1908 British short silent documentary film, directed by George Albert Smith as a showcase his new Kinemacolor system, which features a woman displaying assorted tartan cloths, both draped on her body and waved semaphore-style. The patterned handkerchiefs are, according to Michael Brooke of BFI Screenonline, “presumably the same cloths featured in Tartans of Scottish Clans (1906), this time shown from various angles.”

In this interesting picture we are given a vivid idea of the principal incidents connected with the Dreyfus case, which caused such a stir in military circles in the year of 1894. Alfred Dreyfus, an officer on the general staff, was charged with selling secrets to a foreign power. He was tried and judged guilty on flimsy evidence, and sentenced to imprisonment on Devil's Island, where he remained for eight years, until his influential friends, who took up his case in earnest, proved it was a plot formed by other officers, who subsequently confessed to having forged the documents.

This French film isn't that well known today but it will mainly appeal to those film buffs with a thing for early cinema or those wanting to see some fantasy sequences but those there will probably be disappointed. The film runs just a few seconds short of four minutes as several women are dressed up as bees dancing around their hive. The "Queen Bee" goes to take a nap and she's attacked by a spider. The spider sequence is what gets this film a mention by fantasy fans but sadly this scene takes place around the 3:13 mark and lasts just a few seconds.

The Proposal: The gentleman burglar walking with his lady love. They admire the grandeur and beauty of nature. He proposes and she accepts. She does not suspect his occupation. Turning Over a New Leaf: The thieves' den. The gang drinking and playing cards. The gentleman burglar arrives. Announces his coming wedding. Apprises them of his decision to quit his life of crime. He bids them good-bye and departs. Engaged to Another: Reception hall of the girl's home. A rival lover sues for her hand. She informs him of her engagement to another. He leaves her in sadness. Two Years Later: The gentleman burglar returns with his bride to her father's house.

In a living room, four contemporary couples from the time the film was shot dance a waltz under the direction of a violinist (Linder). They begin a minuet and their costumes change in a sudden. A man enters and seems interested in what he sees, casts a spell and everything disappears. Transforming himself into the devil, the visitor takes the violinist with him to hell, where he creates a large piece of silk out of a cauldron. The fabric unrolls, revealing a young woman in a silk dress that starts dancing the serpentine. While she dances, other women join in a synchronized ballet, before all of them vanish into bursts of flames.

The Germans were not far behind when if came to experimenting with sound and the surviving discs seem like a curious anachronism because they closely resemble the Vitaphone discs from the mid-1920s: about sixteen inches in diameter and the track started from the center and the needle moved out.

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.

A sheriff apprehends a bank robber and recovers the money. On the way back to town, the sheriff loses the recovered money in a crooked card game. The bank robber helps him recover it.

Two gypsy lovers sneak away from camp at night. The man proposes, the woman refuses. He then murders her with a knife. The body is immediately discovered. The distraught man then leaps off a cliff to the rocks below.

A Segundo de Chomón trick film.