A.E. Weed

A family moves out to the 'peaceful' suburbs where everything goes wrong, including the mother-in-law moving in.

We see three pretty actresses in a surprisingly spacious and clean dressing room, backstage at a theatre. Their costumes indicate that the entertainment on offer here is something less than grand opera: one actress is dressed somewhat demurely, but another is in (by 1904 standards) a skimpy chorus-girl costume, whilst the third is dressed like the principal boy in a panto: fully covered, but in a form-fitting outfit that makes clear her feminine charms.

This short, otherwise unremarkable feature is of some interest because of the way that it unabashedly caters to the tastes that it perceived in its audiences. Besides combining the elements of the risqué 'blue' movies of the era with the popularity of movies about fires, it also attempted to use the combination to get extra mileage out of it. The movie's title summarises the setup, and most of the footage shows firefighters using ladders to rescue stage girls, clad in portions of their costumes, from an upper level. Although it all seems pretty tame by today's standards, it no doubt provided its male viewers with some brief moments of excitement as the various women hurried down the ladders with their costumes in disarray. (IMDb)

A high board fence is shown covered with theatrical posters. The one in the center shows the head and shoulders of a pretty girl. An old farmer and his wife are strolling along, the old gentleman being a little ahead. He looks at the picture of the girl and fancies he sees the eyes winking at him. He puts on his glasses to make sure that he is not dreaming, when the girl leans forward with an expression as if inviting him to have a kiss. (Biograph Catalog)

A corset maker -- for those of you who don't know what that it, it was a tight of highly reinforced girdle which gave the wearer an 'hourglass' figure -- has her model come in and wear one of her wears. The well-dressed customers enter and examine the corset on a mannequin.

A small stage has a backdrop of a city street, sidewalks, a park, and buildings. From stage right, a boy leads a blind man onto the stage, helps him kneel with his hat and cane in front of him. The boy hands a sign, "pity the blind" around the man's neck and leaves. A fellow in a bowler hat passes by, dropping a coin in the blind man's hat. Then two well-dressed women enter, talking.

Several young women stand on a pedestal and remove one garment at a time until there is a large pile of clothing beside them.

Three girls in evening costumes seated about a table blowing bubbles. As the bubbles are formed the young ladies drop them on the table and blow them across the surface.

[A]n excerpt from the novel by a chap named Marchmont in which the hero, a fellow with the heroic name of Hamylton Tregethner attempts to dissuade a fellow soldier from insisting on a sword duel for some unexplained offence.

A parade by denizens of one of the Oriental Concessions, The Pike, St. Louis.

A deranged man who believes he is Napoleon escapes the asylum and leads his keepers on a wild chase.

A woman stands in front of a building, a chair to her left, dressed in black, full skirt, quarter sleeves, and a scooped bodice. Her hair is piled high. She bows slightly, and, with finger cymbals, begins to dance the cooch.

Alphonse and Gaston are in an American barber shop. They interrupt business with their exaggerated politeness, and the waiting customers throw them out of the window.

It's a very windy day, and the pedestrians passing by the Flatiron Building are having considerable difficulty in keeping their hats from flying off.

Alphonse and Gaston are in a Western saloon and are forced to dance by a cowboy, who urges them on by shooting at their feet.

Seeing New York by Yacht.

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.

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.

Film taken from a boat heading down the Hudson is shown at varying speeds, often giving a sense of rapid transit.