Author Archive: Retro

Comedy about a film crew shooting a movie about guns and robbers, when real robbers turn up. Having to go home in robbers costume, they are mistakingly accused. In the end the real robbers are brought to justice.

A fairy brings two dolls to life, part of a short lived stop-motion puppet series

A young woman’s peaceful existence is shattered when she is abducted by the crew of a boat of smugglers, who then also turn against their captain.

A mild-mannered, well-meaning but bumbling janitor gets unwittingly involved in a battle between two opposing political groups, with each side trying to use him to destroy the other, and the secret police–who have already thrown him out of their office when he worked there–watching all of them.

Two Japanese artists having drawn a silk worm on a screen, the animal takes life and starts spinning its cocoon and is soon hidden in its silken prison. The cocoon being now fully in view, it suddenly splits open and a beautiful butterfly takes its flight. After having fluttered for a while the magnificent insect comes back to earth and then undergoes a number of changes, presenting to the astonished eye of the spectator the most glorious display of colors, which blend from the darkest shades into the most delicate hues. This marvelous color dream over the butterfly transforms itself once more and a charming young woman makes one soon forget the beauties of the previous wonder by eclipsing it with a most graceful and fascinating Loie Fuller dance. This feat at an end the woman disappears as by enchantment, and the last scene shows a thousand butterflies rising towards heaven.

This short 1915 Edison films stars Frank McGlynn as the famous president from his marriage to assassination by Booth.

Prof. Howe knows more about antiques than he does about love affairs and consequently he declares that Dick, his daughter’s sweetheart, is a nuisance. Howe purchases an ancient Egyptian mummy and Dick observes the delivery of the huge case. A daring scheme occurs to him. With Arvilla’s assistance he takes the place of the mummy and when Howe opens the case he hears a sepulchral voice exclaim: “Let your daughter marry whom she chooses. Rameses demands it.” Arvilla says she chooses Dick, and Howe, grasping his daughter by the hand, hastens to Dick’s house to satisfy the mummy. Dick has the time of his life in making a wild dash to his home before the arrival of the professor.

The Buddhist priest wants the Daughter of the Daimyo to become a priestess at the Forbidden Garden. The Daimyo thinks if he were in Europe that his daughter should decide on her own, but he is denunciated and has to commit harakiri. She meets Olaf, a European officer, falls in love and marries him, but after a few months he has to return to Europe. She gives birth to a child and is waiting for him, while he marries in Europe. When he comes back to Japan 4 years later, he is accompanied by his European wife.