Body and Soul (1925)
Genre : Drama, Romance
Runtime : 1H 33M
Director : Oscar Micheaux
Writer : Oscar Micheaux
Synopsis
A minister is malevolent and sinister behind his righteous facade. He consorts with, and later extorts from, the owner of a gambling house, and betrays an honest girl, eventually driving them both to ruin.
The first part tells the story of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land, his receipt of the tablets and the worship of the golden calf. The second part shows the efficacy of the commandments in modern life through a story set in San Francisco. Two brothers, rivals for the love of Mary, also come into conflict when John discovers Dan used shoddy materials to construct a cathedral.
Oswald's sweetheart is stolen by a schoolyard bully, so he has to fight him during recess to win her back.
Experimental silent homage to the origins of cinema, recreating the apparent disappearance of a French photographer in the 1920s.
William K.L. Dickson brings his hat from his one hand to the other and moves his head slightly, as a small nod toward the audience. This was the first film produced by the Edison Manufacturing Company to be shown to public audiences and the press.
Charlie is a clumsy waiter in a cheap cabaret, suffering the strict orders from his boss. He meets a pretty girl in the park and tries to impress her by pretending to be an ambassador. Unfortunately she has a jealous fiancé.
Harry and Willie are scammed into buying the Thomas Edison studio lot by a man named Gorman. They decide to follow Gorman's trail to Hollywood where, unbeknownst to them, he has taken the identity of a foreign film director. The lads wind up as stunt doubles in film the which Gorman is now shooting, while the conman tries to have the bungling pair done away with before they realize who he really is.
Successful middle-aged farmer Samuel Sweetland becomes widowed, then his daughter marries and leaves home. Deciding he wishes to remarry, Sweetland pursues some local women he considers prospects.
Betty, the rebellious daughter of a millionaire, decides to marry the penniless Jean—against her father's will—and runs away to France and lives a life of luxury on the profits from her father's business. Pretending his business is crashing, her father finally puts a stop to her behavior, which forces Betty to support herself by getting a job in a night club.
Larita Filton is named as correspondent in a scandalous divorce case. She escapes to France to rebuild her life where she meets John Whittaker. They are later married, but John's well-to-do family finds out Larita's secret.
Both Jack Sander and Bob Corby are boxers in love with Mabel. Jack and Mabel wed, but their marriage is flat. The young wife looks to Bob for comfort.
Based on the novel 'Elsker hverandre' by Aage Madelung, the film follows various lives, one of which is Jewish girl Hanne-Liebe, as she grows up, and experiences the pains of living as a Jew in Russia, leading to a revolution.
Two neighboring kings addicted to gambling, Ranjit and his cousin Sohat, vie for the same beautiful young woman, Sunita, daughter of the hermit Kanwa.
A short film depicting the execution of Mary, Queen of the Scots. Mary is brought to the execution block and made to kneel down with her neck over it. The executioner lifts his axe ready to bring it down. After that frame Mary has been replaced by a dummy. The axe comes down and severs the head of the dummy from the body. The executioner picks up the head and shows it around for everyone else to see. One of the first camera tricks to be used in a movie.
When lifelong best friends Leo and Ulrich return home after completing their military training, Leo meets the stunning Felicitas at a railway station and is mesmerized by her beauty. A scandal follows, for which Leo is sent away. Returning home three years later, he discovers that much has changed.
Arbuckle escapes the watch of his domineering wife and heads for Coney Island. Keaton arrives that same day with his attractive, and rather easy, girlfriend, who is immediately stolen from him by St. John.
Oswald would like to see Mlle. Zulu the Shimmy Queen but he's short on cash. Seeing the more stately gentlemen being admitted without tickets, he tries to fool the bouncer into thinking he's important by puffing up his chest and striding in. It doesn't work, and he's forced to try a second plan, sneaking in under another patron's shadow. He gets caught and spends his time being chased by the bouncer throughout the theater.
Oswald is with his mates in a fox hunt, but he finds his horse is stubborn and won't let him ride at first. Meanwhile, the sly fox outwits the dogs and riders in pursuit at every turn.
Oswald is riding along on his horse having a merry old time when the two of them fall down a hill, right up to a castle. Oswald whistles for the princess, who blows him a kiss as she appears on a balcony. He reaches her by lassoing the balcony and tying the other end of the rope to his horse's tail, using it as a tightrope. A rival knight suddenly appears and Oswald falls off the balcony, startled. He manages to climb back up and the two fight for the princess.
Oswald is off to see his sweetheart when he is passed by a rival in a faster car. He takes the lead, though, when both drivers encounter a mud puddle; Oswald isn't afraid to get a little dirty, while his competitor is. Oswald arrives and serenades his love, hampered by the animals in the yard. The rival shows up and they fight over the girl, during which time she slips away with a third suitor.
Oswald the Rabbit enters an airplane race with a makeshift aircraft and ends up riding a dachshund lifted into the air by balloons. Meanwhile, his peg-legged rival tries to cheat his way to victory.