Charity Ball

The Acrobatic Fly

February 1910 •English

Propped upon the tail-end of a match, a housefly performs astonishing feats, alternately juggling a series of objects - a blade of grass, a cork, a miniature dumbbell… Most extraordinary of all is the sequence in which the fly spins a ball twice its own size, while a second fly perches on top. In the final sequence, the fly repeats some of its earlier tricks while apparently seated on a tiny chair.

Pack Train at Chilkoot Pass

January 1898 •English

During the Alaska gold rush, one way to reach the Klondike was over the Chilkoot Pass. A stationary camera is placed to see a ways down the curving trail. A pack train comes into view and passes in front of us, led by a man on horseback. Eight loaded mules follow, then another cowboy on horseback and a man walking, then eight more laden mules, another cowboy, then nine more mules, a cowboy, and still the pack train stretches as far as the eye can see. A solitary man watches from atop a hillock.

The Georgetown Loop (Colorado)

July 1901 •English

Georgetown, 1901. A silver-mining town at 8,500 feet near the crest of the Rockies. Hooked somehow to the rear of a four-car passenger train is a camera that pans the scenery and, when the train goes around curves, looks ahead to see the engine and passenger cars: the passengers wave hundreds of white handkerchiefs out of the train's left-side windows for the benefit of the camera. The town comes into view; the tracks are above the town, so the camera looks down on dozens of modest rooftops as it pans the area. (AMB 1901, copyrighted 1903.)

From Show Girl to Burlesque Queen

September 1903 •English

The film opens on a dressing room set with a mirror, dressing table, and chair center stage and a folded dressing screen on the left. A smiling, dark-haired woman enters through the door on stage right, unbuttoning a full-length polka-dot costume. As she undresses, she frequently looks directly at the camera and smiles. She removes her sash or cummerbund, the top with its trailing sleeves, and her skirt, leaving her clothed only in a sleeveless chemise. Smiling directly at the camera, she mischievously slips a strap of the garment off one shoulder, then ducks behind the screen.

Poultry-Yard

January 1896 •French

Two girls do one of their chores. Standing alongside a tree-lined farmhouse, two children who are about ten and four years old toss grain to a flock of about 50 domesticated ducks. A woman watches them briefly and then moves on. The older girl has her grain in a bucket, the younger one's grain is in her apron. The children stay in one spot, as does the camera; it's the ducks that move around. Chickens are in the background; only one braves the ducks' territory.

Chicago Police Parade

September 1896 •French

Walking four abreast, in groups of six rows, 144 of Chicago's finest parade past a stationary camera. Each of the six groups that pass is escorted by an officer. All are men, all are white, all look tall, all wear identical high-buttoned uniforms and badges and carry a nightstick. Almost all sport mustaches. Behind the police comes a horse-drawn carriage.

Daughter of Mobius

January 1981 •Korean

Daughter of Mobius shows the struggles of an independent women living in the early 80s - an era when it was much more difficult for women to be independent. The movie follows a 29-year-old single woman - who at the time was the object of social prejudices - through her daily life, showing the sights of Seoul in the early 80s and the life of the woman, in documentary style.

Niagara Falls

September 1896 •French

A stationary camera looks west across Niagara Falls from the United States' side (the Niagara River rushes toward the falls from right to left). Virtually overlooking the falls and surrounded by the swift current not far from the camera is a small island where six or eight tourists watch the water, talk, and move about.

Spanish Bullfight

January 1900 •English

With a crowded arena in the background, a stationary camera records a bull charging a picador astride his horse. An attendant on foot throws stones at the rump of the horse to get it to move. Various toreadors run past the bull to try to get him to charge or at least run about.

Rough Sea at Dover

January 1896 •English

The surf pounds against a breakwater on which are visible several people standing. The wall looks to be about 20 feet above sea level and extend at least 100 feet into the water. A large wave rolls picturesquely along the wall toward the shore. Smaller waves follow. Then the scene changes to river water flowing. We see both shores: in the foreground a log and tree branch are visible; on the far shore, there appears to be a low wall with trees beyond it. The camera is stationary in both shots.

The Derby

May 1896 •English

The Trick Cyclist

September 1901 •English

A comic short in which a tramp attempts to ride a bicycle, tumbling repeatedly before giving up in despair. A skilled rider then takes the stage, performing rope-jumping tricks while balanced on the wheel. Often attributed to British film pioneer R.W. Paul. Although Thomas Edison has sometimes been mistakenly named as director, he was never credited as director on any films.

R. F. Outcault Making a Sketch of Buster and Tige

March 1904 •English

Buster Brown creater R.F. Outcault sketches his creation. Part of the Buster Brown series for Edison film studio.

Hollywood the Unusual

April 1927 •English

If you love beautiful and zany architecture you will marvel at the gems offered in this amusing short subject from the golden age of Hollywoodland. It happily cuts to the many residential and commercial districts showing off the 'fantasy architecture' that flourished during California's building boom.

In the Shadow of the Machine

November 1928 •German

The film was produced as a compilation film. Blum reported in “Film-Kurier“ (5.11.1928): "It will be assembled from excerpts of partly unpublished Ukrainian films. […] Some American footage has also been used. To get material as impressive as possible, a number of films, 0-60, have been viewed." Based on ideas by Dziga Vertov, and largely assembled from the last reel of his film 'The Eleventh Year', this compilation presents an explicit critique of the very technology that Vertov sought to praise, stressing the dark side of industrialization—hands mangled in workplace accidents, train wrecks, coffins—and connects to a particularly German concern with the negative effects of technology stretching from the Romantics to Heidegger, Horkheimer, and Adorno in the twentieth century.

Japonaise faisant sa toilette

July 1899 •French

A young woman in traditional Japanese attire fixes her hair and kimono while her servants assist her.

Voltige à cheval à Prague

January 1899 •French

A group of riders demonstrate equestrian vaulting, or voltige, on the outskirts of Prague.

Palace of Electricity

January 1900 •English

A panoramic shot, making a full circle, at the 1900 Paris Exposition. It begins and ends looking at the front of the Palace of Electricity. As it pans, first we see a workman hosing down the promenade. Men and women walk past, all wearing hats. We see the base of the Eiffel Tower, which the Palace faces. A couple strolls. A mother and daughter walk passed, father is slightly ahead wearing a boater. Three men in uniform walk toward the camera as it comes to a stop facing the Palace.

Panorama of Eiffel Tower

January 1900 •English

“Showing the entire height of this wonderful structure from the base of the dome and return, with the great Paris Exposition in the background, looking down Champs de Mars. A most realistic picture.” According to Edison film historian Charles Musser, this film features the first camera tilt among the company's surviving oeuvre.

A Nymph of the Waves

December 1900 •English

A woman in ballet slippers wearing a large white hat and a long white dress - with ruffles, puffy sleeves and petticoats - dances across water with roiling waves behind her. She holds the edges of the skirt with her hands, lifting and twirling, sometimes exposing her bloomers and a dark garter on one leg. Her style combines ballet with the exuberant kicks and twirls of a burlesque dance hall. With churning waves behind her, the water seems to wash beneath her feet. The film of the dancer, "M'lle. Cathrina Bartho" (1899), is superimposed on that of the water, "Upper Rapids, from Bridge" (1896).