Cinematic Era: 1937 Vintage

Dazzled by the Empress Carlotta's graciousness, magnanimity and charm, a young officer in the Mexican army switches his allegiance to the Imperial government with Maximilian as figurehead. Bad move, space cadet.

A silent short documentary directed by Norman Dix.

Short animated film about wine processing.

In this 1937 Terrytoon, one of the funniest ever made by the studio, a drunk goat is scared by the appearence of three pink elephants. The goat runs into Farmer Al Falfa's house.

Indian Hindi-language social family drama film directed by Sarvottam Badami. Made under the Sagar Movietone banner it had music by Pransukh M Nayak, and the film starred Motilal, Sabita Devi, Gulzar and Pesi Patel.

Snow white and the seven dwarves short film

Scrappy and his dog Yippy are delivering newspapers that have a story about a stray-dog roundup by the city dog-pound. Yippy swallows the horn on Scrappy's bicycle, and starts honing when he tries to bark. This gets the attention of the dogcatcher who grabs Yippy and tosses him into the dog-pound. Scrappy finally gets Yippy free along with all the other dogs, who band together and take off after the dogcatcher.

This silent b&w film comprises of two separate parts and like its companion film (Cardiac X-rays), it has intertitles in gothic script (in German). The film features cineradiography of x-rays of the shoulder and elbow. The shoulder sequences last for about 12 minutes and show the subject rotating the arm in the shoulder socket this is shot front-on, rear-on interspersed with relevant x-ray cineradiography. The next sequences relate to the arm, elbow, wrist and hand (8 minutes).

Hela Urbankówna, a poor country girl, comes to the capital to look for work.

A pro-Republican propaganda film made during the Spanish Civil War. It combines documentary reporting and narrative elements.

Jean Painlevé short film examining population explosion and decline.

Based on the 'Arabian Nights', this film tells of the Baghdadi woodcutter Alibaba (M. Bose) and his magic 'Open Sesame' formula; of the hero's jealous brother Kasim and the slave girl Marjina (S. Bose). The film adapts the 1897 play, giving it a Hollywood-derived exotic flavour. An improvised 'modern' dance is inserted. The slow, mannered acting with the frontally framed tableau shots are enlivened by the dance scenes, especially the Marjina-Abdallah sequence.

Biopic on William Tindale, a English Biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his execution.

Hong Kong drama.

Short about the village of Cascais, Portugal.

The film tells the story of the development of the Abitibi at the beginning of the 20th century.

A compilation propaganda film produced during the Spanish Civil War.

The role of African Americans in the recovery years of the Great Depression is the subject of this informational short, which offers an idealized depiction of life in a segregated society. The highlight, by far, is rare footage of Orson Welles’s “Voodoo Macbeth,” produced in 1935 for the New York Negro Unit of the WPA’s Federal Theatre Project.

We begin on planet Earth, with a demonstration of measuring distances using triangulation. Then, an imaginary voyage begins from earth to the moon, on to Mars, Saturn, the closest star (besides the sun), and beyond to the edge of our universe. The film depicts imagined landscapes, and it speculates on universes beyond ours. It ends with philosophical musings about the significance of Earth.

About a puppy's failed hunt for a butterfly, drink and hoopoe.

Norman McLaren's documentary-style account of how a letter from home reaches a sailor on duty in foreign waters.

This black & white educational film is about life in China, the Japanese invasion of China, and Chinese Nationalist efforts to defend itself against the Japanese aggression. This film was made in 1937 as part of an effort to raise awareness in the then-neutral USA about Japanese intentions in the Far East.

Led by Oswald Mosley, Britain’s Fascists march through south London.

Welcome to Kensal House, a visionary gas-powered community in north-west London. Financiers the Gas, Light and Coke Company had decided to give over some of their land to the building of "working-class flats" for those living in inadequate private housing. This promotional film shows new residents extolling the virtues of the flats' ingenious design, communal amenities and vivid community life.

A schoolboy, Karo, gets involved into the struggle between Communists and Dashnaks during the establishment of a Soviet regime in Armenia.

Othman works as a bank collector and lives a quiet life, but his mother-in-law makes his life miserable. One night, he drinks too much and dreams that a gang has robbed him to steal the money he has in his possession, and that he has become accused and escaped from the police while dressed as a woman. Will the dream become reality?

This early example of a State Sponsored promotional film was made in 1936 and showcases the sunny south coast of Ireland and everything it has to offer to a first-time visitor to Ireland. Made by the Irish Tourist Association, the film briefly visits Cork City showing that from the busy shopping centre of Patrick’s Street, to the Bell tower of Shandon, Cork is an eclectic, vibrant city. It then lingers at the remote outposts of Mizen Head, Garnish, and Dunquin, as the province of Munster is further explored. The viewer discovers the variety of cultural influences the Spanish Armada had on the south of the country, and learns that only a few miles off the shore of Kinsale, Lusitania – the ocean liner destroyed by a German submarine in World War1 – sank 20 years prior to this film being made.

After a parody newsreel, the title song is sung by Barbara Blake and played by Henry King and his orchestra with a Bouncing Ball.

A gag reel in the form of a news reel.

Seurasaari buildings, children playing, tanhua, Student Theatre performance at Roinila House, nature park area.

Three provincial journeymen: a shoemaker - Szydełko, a tailor's - Igiełka, and a carpenter - Wiórek, come to Warsaw, where they end up in the "Pod Apartuszkiem" inn. Soon they unexpectedly win a million zlotys in the lottery. They divide it equally and everyone goes their own way, but they agree on "Under the Apron" next year. After a year, they all meet again. The first two lost all their money, and the third settled down and married Lucia, the daughter of a carpenter.

The young pastor Peter Hell, kind and philanthropic, is the subject of gossip spread by the hateful Wurzelsepp, who was once refused marriage.

Directed by William Coldstream.

Betty Boop's runt of a suitor thinks he'll have better luck if he takes cowboy lessons at a dude ranch; slapstick results.

Scenes and images from the French Communist Party's (PCF) 1937 Congress in Arles. La Grande Espérance highlights some of the PCF's new concerns under the Popular Front: a warning against international fascism, a desire for organic unity, and the defense of national heritage and regional cultures. It also reveals the first signs of a cult of personality surrounding Maurice Thorez. La Grande Espérance was screened (and possibly re-edited) after the Liberation. A commentary was then added to the credits emphasizing the continuity of the Communist Party’s political line and the sacrifice of its activists during the war. Today, only this post-1945 version exists.

Commercially sponsored film made by Anson Dyer

GM employees rise in the morning and go to work in the factories, design studios, and offices of General Motors across the country. They receive their wages and shop for not only necessities, but some luxuries as well, in twelve cities across the country where GM factories are located. Local architecture and regional foods are highlighted. The workers then head home to their families for dinner, recreation, and bed.

Japanese horror movie from 1937.

Film directed by Mar I. Esmeralda.

An overview of the expedition to the North Pole-1 ice station under the leadership of Ivan Papanin and the air expedition led by Otto Schmidt.

Fu Manchu knockoff with Harry Agar Lyons

Film about Ghost-Cat.

The documentary presents events from the life of Józef Piłsudski that shaped the image of the Marshal as a statesman, politician, independence activist, and Prime Minister of Poland.

In a fictional country, Lena Kort, a talented singer and kleptomaniac, performs in exclusive venues. She is looked after from afar by a wealthy gentleman named Lewaso. The artist is associated with the theft of diamonds from wealthy jewelers. Checks from her wealthy guardian protect Lena from prison. While closing down an illegal gambling house, the police arrest a major fraudster, who turns out to be Lewaso. Lena falls in love with the young chemist Walter King, who helps her recover from a fatal illness. The young couple begins a new life.

A bored young millionaire who goes to live with three unemployed people gets involved in the construction of a chapel.

Han Nio is in love with Oey Koen Beng. But her money-hungry mother pairs her off with a young wealthy man, Lim Goan Tek, to finance her gambling debt. Han Nio and Goan Tek's marriage is not a happy one, despite having a daughter, Lin Nio. Han Nio is even kicked out after Goan Tek loses his money even though it is actually Eng Swan, Han Nio's brother, who commits the theft. Koen Beng's meets Han Nio again after he tries to help Lin Nio. But Han Nio is already ill, and soon dies. Koen Beng takes revenge for his lover's death by paying Goan Tek a visit. But Eng Swan, who also wants to take revenge for Han Nio's death, gets there first and kills Goan Tek.

Short documentary on how cows and bulls are selected for breeding and selling.

“30 Years of Nordisk Film” celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of Nordisk Film, featuring clips of the company’s major films from its first three decades. The first part consists of reportage films depicting important historical events such as the inauguration of King Frederik VIII in 1906 and Ellehammer’s first flight that same year. The rest of the film is a cavalcade of the greatest moments in Danish silent film history featuring the biggest stars of the time. (stumfilm.dk)

The animation film tells of the friendship of several animals. All of them gathered in the "tower" - the house that sheltered them and heated them. Friendly economy is constantly replenished with new participants, attracted by the amenities of housing. But can a house accommodate everyone? Among the inhabitants of the forest are very large animals, whose desires may not coincide with the possibilities.

This entertaining thriller from John P Howard begins on a quiet road in Eltham. A man finding a note on the ground sees a woman waving from a high window. Using a ladder he climbs up to the room but is knocked out by the villains holding the woman hostage. After they are bound and dumped in a cellar, the man finds an electrical switch and starts signalling in morse. A lamp in an upper window, going on and off, is seen by a Scout troop. They overpower the villains and rescue the hostages. The postbox and houses seen in this film remain in situ - their location being at the corner of Glenesk Road and Glenshiel Road in Eltham.