Works, By Title: S-X (136)

Total: 364 works

The Countryman And The Cinematograph

Considered one of the earliest known examples of a film within a film, the surviving footage is incomplete, missing both beginning and ending. Was remade by Edwin S. Porter for Edison, as Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show.

The Cruel Mother (La marâtre/The Stepmother)

Relax - it's not an attack on motherhood. It's just another shot at the traditional whipping post: the stepmother. No new ground covered here, as everyone who's been subjected to fairy tales learned that stepmothers are evil (usually long before learning what the word 'stepmother' means). But be warned that the child beating scenes are not for the squeamish.

The Curse of Quon Gwon

Featuring rich costumes and the conflict between tradition and modernism (a theme that, 10-20 years later, would become a staple of the Shanghai film industry), it's a pity so little remains of this.

The Delights of the Shoot

Not clear what's going on, but it appears that Cretinetti goes on a hunting trip with his lover and her husband. Then the two lovers conspire several ways to dump on hubby, so they can do the hanky panky. Fast-moving slapstick, but no laughs.

The Devil's Castle/The Haunted Castle/The House of the Devil (Le manoir du diable)

The Devil plays tricks, some (bats, shifting furniture) later used in the 1902 'The Farmer's Troubles in a Hotel'. [Star Film 78-80]

The Doctor's Bride/An Evil Thought Thwarted

Geezer Alert! Next time you old farts are out cruising for young hotties, carry along this flick to show her why a boring bourgeois baldy's better than a hot young hunk. Guaranteed to thwart her evil thoughts - and let you put yours in action. Or at least give you both a good laugh.

The Game-Keeper's Son (Le Fils du garde chasse)

The game-keeper's son witnesses his father's death while chasing a poacher, then picks up the pursuit himself. Interestingly, it's not clear whether the father is murdered, or dies accidentally after failing to stop in time - and then the same ambiguity occurs again at the end.

The Garage

Sight gags and synchonized acrobatic gags from the comedy duo of Arbuckle and Keaton - lacking the wildness and zaniness that Al St. John contributed, but still funny. Dark comedy creeps in when Keaton's character is pleased with the effect of adding toxic wood alcohol (methanol) to his drink - a not uncommon practice in those days of Prohibition when industrial alcohol was all that was available. The practice results in blindness, respiratory paralysis, or death. And in 1927, the government increased the toxicity of such industrial alcohol “to root out a bad habit”, according to a Prohibition proponent - by “legalized murder.”, as it was described by a Prohibition opponent.

The Girl And Her Trust

A dull rerun of Griffith`s earlier invasion-call-rescue thriller "The Lonedale Operator". But Lonedale`s smart tough cookie is replaced by a different type of girl: she doesn`t hesitate to accept a gift from a man who sees it as a prelude to romance, then scoffs at his plea for a date (without returning the gift), and then offers his gift to another man, who she then slaps when he presumes the gift offer is a prelude to romance. After thus establishing the character, in what is known in cinematic terms as, "a scan`lous cock-teasing bitch", the film then shows her pointlessly risking her life to save the company`s money, thus further expanding the character to be a "brain-dead bootlicker", and leaving no doubt that, with these two traits, a bright future awaits her in the corporate world.

The Suburbanites

Funny slapstick spoof of suburban life, using titles dripping in irony. Doesn't feel outdated, because films on this topic haven't changed much.

The Surprises of a Flirtation (Les surprises de l'amour)

A father and two sons pursue the same dame. Even though this release date is not in Linder's early period, this is not Max, the dapper and loveable upper-class twit.

The Taking Of Luke McVane/The Fugitive

Luke McVane is some geek that moves so slow you wonder what kind of “horse” this cowboy is really on. Wearing his virginity on his sleeve, he goes starry-eyed over the town floozy when she hoochie coochies for a saloon full of drunken cowboys. When Garcia takes her as private property, Luke remembers Broncho Billy And The Greaser and jumps at his chance to score nookie points. But, unlike Broncho Billy, this square flips his roscoe once too often, so the town figures the strange mad dog needs to be put down, and he ends up a lamster. Suddenly the nerd's looking less hero, more antihero - and this sleepy little flick turns out to be better than expected.

Note:
  • The Miracle Cure: Although the wounded sheriff initially had to be carefully helped into the saddle, when Apaches are spotted just a short while later he needs no help mounting the rear of a running horse!
  • An Equal Opportunity Employer: This work is marked as one featuring an “ethnic stereotype” because of the opening standoff with unruly knife-toting Garcia. But it must be noted that closer inspection of the background in later scenes shows an unusual twist for a film of that era: cowboys in similar Mexican garb join the Deputy's posses for lynching Luke McVane and for exterminating Native Americans.

The Tramp And The Dog

One tramp, one dog, one minute: decide for yourself the cinematic possibilities...

The True Jiu-Jitsu (Le Vrai Jiu-Jitsu)

The Phonoscène was an antecedent of music video and is regarded as a forerunner of sound film. It combined a sound recording with a film shot with actors lip-synching to the sound recording. The recording and film were synchronized by a mechanism ('Chronophone') patented by Léon Gaumont in 1902.

The Truth Behind the Ape-Man (La vérité sur l'homme-singe)

Notable for an early use of inter-cutting for comic effect (in a running gag), and the manic performance of the uncredited lead as ape-man (shades of Harpo). Also impressed by how efffective the wordless storytelling was. Or maybe not: almost all the online reviews I read were either baffled or off the mark. But if you're feeling the need for clues, there's a detailed breakdown at: https://centuryfilmproject.org/2016/06/13/the-truth-behind-the-ape-man-1906/