Author Archive: Retro

Undersea adventures in a submarine by a dreaming fisherman who encounters mystical underwater creatures at odds with him. A parody on Jules Verne’s novel.

Ponchinella the servant [called “Harlequin” in the English language version] rescues his girlfriend from a gang of decadent aristocrats, who have transformed her into a mechanical doll.

Two youths unharness a man’s donkey, letting the cart tip up, and the pumpkins inside roll down the street. The owner and his donkey then pursue the pumpkins through a variety of obstacles until they catch up with them.

Based on an early 13th century myth, this short film tells the story of a Jew who is forced to walk throughout eternity having refused water to Christ on his way to Calvary. He falls asleep and sees a vision of himself as a youth, when he refused the water Christ asked of him; he plods on and runs into Satan who beats him with his staff; he makes his way through a frightful storm. On and on he goes, forced to walk through time until the Second Coming.

A restless young girl yearns to leave her rural environment and “get away from it all”. One day she stumbles upon a film crew shooting a western near her home. She makes friends with the film’s leading man, who encourages her to try her luck as an actress. So she leaves her small town and goes to the big city to break into the picture business. However, things don’t turn out quite the way she planned.

Factory workers make Christmas crackers, a process that is shown in detail. Later, a family gathers around the tree at Christmas and enjoys their noise-making toys. Finally, Santa Claus emerges from a gigantic cracker.

Charles Randolph was bombastic and haughty, but with no real courage, and what was worse, a heavy drinker. His sister Agnes and mother were the only survivors of an old and distinguished fighting family. Agnes is high-spirited and lovable, and at the beginning of the Civil War, Charles is carried away by the enthusiasm, and urged by Agnes, procures a commission in the Confederate service and is assigned to General Lee’s staff. Members of the same regiment are Lieutenants Wheeler and Carter, both good-natured rivals for the hand of Agnes. The story opens with the departure of the boys with the regiment for General Lee’s headquarters, taking with them a large Confederate flag which Agnes has just completed. In Lee’s tent Charles is given sealed dispatched and launched on a most important mission. It is a perilous undertaking, and during the course of the journey he becomes panic-stricken with fear, and drinks heavily, hoping to [...]