The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog (1905)
Genre :
Runtime : 5M
Director : Edwin S. Porter
Synopsis
A portrait of the Dam family.
A barmaid plies a swell with smiles and with cherries from a box that's just been delivered. When she refuses a cherry to a roughly-dressed tradesman who runs a tab at the bar, he pays off his debt in a huff, using all his week's pay. He then storms penniless and without provisions into his ill-furnished house where his wife and two children, ill-clad and ill-fed, cower. Is there any hope for him and for his family? If he does realize how low he's sunk, what help is there to lift him up? Will the family ever know the taste of cherries?
Experimental color film that shows a magician and his assistant making objects and people appear and disappear. Then they stack up some blocks and a moving picture of a little girl appears on them.
"'Neidert,' of national fame, does stunts on his wheel that are simply wonderful. Makes his bicycle rear up
A wealthy, callous moneylender finds a terrifying way to learn about money's limitations.
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.
Three girls are taking a bath in a quiet, shady spot along a beautiful stream. Another young lady in bathing attire reclines on the bank. The latter suddenly discovers two hoboes coming toward the bathers and immediately gives the alarm. They throw water over the hoboes, who gather up the clothes of the fair bathers and make off, compelling the bathers to walk home in barrels. In order to conceal themselves as much as possible they hold the barrels rather high.
An early sound-synchronized short of a rooster crowing.
Alice Guy shoots a travelogue documentary all around Spain.
A hapless man tries to get undressed only to find himself magically layered in even more clothes.
In certain sections of New York City large numbers of Jewish and Italian push-cart vendors congregate so closely along the sidewalks that they interfere with traffic. Policemen keep them moving. The picture shows how the frightened peddlers hurry away when a bluecoat appears. Some of the carts are piled high with fruits of all kinds, and it is interesting and amusing to see the expressions of combined fear and anxiety on the faces of the men as they hurry away; the fear of being arrested if they stand, and of losing some of their wares if the carts strike an obstruction in the street. Very fine photographically. (Edison film company catalog)
Cute one-trick doggie show. The backdrop is beautifully detailed, yet the illusion of depth is humorously broken by the balloon bouncing off the set.
During the Paris Commune, a boy runs across trouble at the barricade.
A woman performs the tango.
The innkeeper's daughter is in love, but her mother has already decided that she is going to be married to another man.
A despondent-looking man sits behind a table that holds a drink and a gun. He hesitates, thinks things over, starts to take a drink, and then puts down the glass. Then he picks up the gun and raises it to his temple.
An impecunious chap is unable to pay his rent, whereupon he is ejected, but all his furniture is retained and he is allowed to remove only his rolling bed. Pulling this a few blocks, he is exhausted and lies down on the bed to rest. He is soon the center of attraction, and the crowd continues to gather, when the police order him away, and as he refuses to move he is started off by the officers, who guide him for a time, but are forcibly deterred by indignant citizens from further interference. The impecunious man and his bed, which gains momentum as it runs down the inclines, cause much excitement en route, and finally arrive at the business center, where it comes to a stop alongside the walk. Our friend has purloined a fur coat and an auto horn on his tour, and now presents a modern chauffeur. (Gaumont catalogue)
A bullfighter dances with a woman.
The kids of a game-keeper get into a chase with rifles.
A four-year-old saves the day.