Seminary Girls

"This scene shows almost the entire Fire Department led by the Chief, responding to an alarm. The horses, said to be the finest of their kind in the country, present a thrilling spectacle as they dash rapidly by, flecked with foam, and panting from the exertion of their long gallop"--Maguire & Baucus catalogue. 50 ft. strip, filmed November 14, 1896, in Newark, New Jersey.

Frankenstein, a young medical student, trying to create the perfect human being, instead creates a misshapen monster. Made ill by what he has done, Frankenstein is comforted by his fiancée; but on his wedding night he is visited by the monster.

Porter's sequential continuity editing links several shots to form a narrative of the famous fairy tale story of Jack and his magic beanstalk. Borrowing on cinematographic methods reminiscent of 'Georges Melies' , Porter uses animation, double exposure, and trick photography to illustrate the fairy's apparitions, Jack's dream, and the fast growing beanstalk.

Porter's sequential continuity editing links several shots to form a narrative of firemen responding to a house fire. They leave the station with their horse drawn pumper, arrive on the scene, and effect the safe rescue of a woman from the burning house. But wait, she tells them of her child yet asleep in the burning bedroom...

“Showing the entire height of this wonderful structure from the base of the dome and return, with the great Paris Exposition in the background, looking down Champs de Mars. A most realistic picture.” According to Edison film historian Charles Musser, this film features the first camera tilt among the company's surviving oeuvre.

Annabelle (Whitford) Moore performs one of her popular dances. For this performance, her costume has a pair of wings attached to her back, to suggest a butterfly. As she dances, she uses her long, flowing skirts to create visual patterns.

Members of the New York state militia enjoy some relaxing time during a meal break.

The famous Seal Rocks at Golden Gate Park are here shown. Sea lions in their wild state are lying on the rocks and swimming and diving in the water.

Ten horse-drawn pieces of equipment of the Buffalo Fire Department pass by a stationary camera that looks down a broad avenue as they come toward it...

Four men each hold a large slice of watermelon, and have a race to see who can finish eating first. All four move quickly, but one man seems to be pulling ahead of the others. Soon the contestants begin to hinder one another's efforts.

Shows a party of young people in front of a barn door, searching for the red ear, which is discovered, and the penalty exacted from one of the group who resists payment of the forfeit, thereby creating confusion and merriment. The group is animated, and is made up of real farmer boys and girls. During the progress of husking, the farmer arrives wheeling his little daughter to the sport on a barrow.

A fellow in a wide-brimmed hat, with a willowy stick for a rod and a baited hook, sits down on a plank hanging over a bridge above a stream. He sticks the rod under his seat and picks up his bottle to take a swig. Behind him creeps a joker who removes the large flagstone that's holding the fisherman's plank in place.

The camera shows a view of the American Falls and Goat Island.

“The watchful father disturbs a dream of bliss, and the bucolic lover is taught a lesson. He made a great hit.” (Edison film catalog)

This holiday-themed melodrama released by Edison Studios in 1910 concerns Robert, a young man who leaves his mother’s home in New England to forge a career in the big city. When he achieves “fame and fortune” six years later, his proud mother can’t wait to welcome him home for Thanksgiving. Robert, however, intends to stay in the city to enjoy a holiday feast with his society friends and beautiful fiancée. When Mom decides to pay a surprise visit on Thanksgiving Day, she is saddened to find that her son is so ashamed of her that he relegates her to an upstairs room, out of sight and out of mind.

A young, dark-haired woman performs a dance inspired by George du Maurier's character Trilby, in an early modern dance style reminiscent of Isadora Duncan. She dances barefoot without stockings and is dressed in a long, flowing gown bound across the bosom in Grecian style, with inside fringe and a draped cape hooked to her wrist. She also wears what appears to be a garland headpiece. Holding her gown with one hand throughout, the dancer performs a series of kicks and turns with leg kicks front and back, rocking, and round de jambe.