Sarah Bernhardt

Remarkable life story of Henri Diamant-Berger, a director and screenwriter whose devotion to cinema led him to collaborate with some of the greatest actors and filmmakers of his time.

As the title of this French documentary indicates, Ce Siecle a 50 Ans examines the 20th Century at its halfway point. Utilizing the archives of several European film reserves, director Denise Tua offers a fascinating mosaic of the people and events that shaped the years 1900 to 1950. Complementing the vintage film clips are three dramatized sketches, delineating the romantic customs of three different points in time. These sketches are inadequately performed, and can easily be ignored. Ce Siecle a 50 Ans both preserved and provided celluloid material for scores of future documentaries.

Nicole Védrèss' chronicle of Paris from 1900 to 1914 is brought to life through the use of original material, all authentic, secured from more then 700 films belonging to public and private collections. A few of the celebrities of the time shown are Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt, and Maurice Chevalier.

The House That Shadows Built (1931) is a short feature, roughly 48 minutes long, from Paramount Pictures made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the studio's founding in 1912. It was a promotional film for exhibitors and never had a regular theatrical release and includes a brief history of Paramount, interviews with various actors, and clips from upcoming projects (some of which never came to fruition). The title comes from a biography of Paramount founder Adolph Zukor, The House That Shadows Built (1928), by William Henry Irwin.

Stars of Yesterday documentary film.

Jean is thrown out of the house by his father, a remarried politician, out of jealousy for his friendship with his mother-in-law. He finds refuge at an artist's apartment. In the same building lives a famous fortune teller that the mother-in-law just happens to consult. With her help, Jean will be able to marry his young sweetheart and his father will solve his political troubles.

A mother loses first her son and then her husband in the trenches of France during the First World War. She devotes herself to the French cause and to helping those wounded in the war.

With family connections to some famous French artists, writers, and musicians of the time, Sacha Guitry decided to film the individuals in action, to celebrate the greatness of his culture ,threatened by Germany in the ongoing Great War.

Jeanne Doré becomes the accomplice of her son Jacques who unfortunately commits a crime to help his mistress, Fanny, find money.

A considered lost film from 1913

A considered lost film from 1913

Epsodes from the life of Elizabeth I, Queen of England (1533-1603), focusing on her ill-fated love affair with Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex.

Marguerite is a courtesan in Paris. She falls deeply in love with a young man of promise, Armand Duval. When Armand's father begs her not to ruin his hope of a career and position by marrying Armand, she acquiesces and leaves her lover. However, when poverty and terminal illness overwhelm her, Marguerite discovers that Armand has not lost his love for her.

The movie consists solely of a saber fight. Bernhardt plays a cross-gender Hamlet, and Pierre Magnier is her fellow duelist, Laertes. A few bystanders, in Rennaissance dress, stand off to the right of the screen, and in the background, next to a painted backdrop.

The Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre was a special pavilion at the 1900 Paris World's Fair which featured filmed performances presented with sound via wax cylinder recordings. Many of these short films were also presented in hand-tinted color. The performances ranged from theatre (Coquelin the eldest, Gabrielle Réjane, Sarah Bernhardt, Félicia Mallet), opera & operetta (Mariette Sully, Emile Cossira, Jeanne Hatto, Mily-Meyer, Désiré Pougaud), to café concert & music hall variety (Footit et Chocolat, Mason and Forbes, Little Tich, Brunin, Polin, Jules Moy) and dance (Blanche and Louise Mante from the Paris Opera, Carlotta Zambelli, Michel Vasquez, Rosita Mauri, Jeanne Chasles, Achille Viscusi, Christine Kerf, Cléo de Mérode).