The Vanishing Lady(1896)

Pandora's Box(de)

Lulu is a young woman so beautiful and alluring that few can resist her siren charms. The men drawn into her web include respectable newspaper publisher Dr. Ludwig Schön, his musical producer son Alwa, circus performer Rodrigo Quast, and seedy old Schigolch. When Lulu's charms inevitably lead to tragedy, the downward spiral encompasses them all.

The Devil in a Convent(fr)

A priest is officiating at a convent, when suddenly he is transformed into the devil, who frightens away the nuns and turns the place into pandemonium.

The Astronomer's Dream(fr)

An astronomer has a terrifying dream.

A Nightmare(fr)

A man has a fantastical nightmare involving, among other things, a grinning malevolent moon.

The Kingdom of the Fairies(fr)

At the royal court, a prince is presenting the princess whom he is pledged to marry when a witch suddenly appears. Though driven off, the witch soon returns, summons some of her servants, and carries off the princess. A rescue party is quickly organized, but the unfortunate captive has been taken to a strange, forbidding realm, from where it will be impossible to rescue her without some special help.

Gulliver's Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants(fr)

Georges Méliès' adaptation of Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" is most distinguished, today, for being a color film of the classic story. Color was rare in 1902 (and many years after) as non-tinted color has to be hand painted on the film; this was an arduous task. Also notable is the film's short running time of approximately five minutes. Much of the original work is not covered, but viewers were expected to be familiar with the story, and enjoy the filmed highlights. There are a couple of scenes missing; according to contemporary reports, Gulliver's shipwreck was certainly included. You can do a lot in a few minutes, as Mr. Méliès includes a re-make of his own "Une partie de cartes" (1896), which already looked like something previously covered by the Lumière Brothers.

Lancement d'un navire(fr)

At the launch of a ship, of which we can only see the hull, the audience moves aside.

The Portrait(ru)

A man is increasingly unnerved by a mysterious portrait. Based on a story by Nikolai Gogol, the film is thought to have run about 45 minutes long, but only an 8 minute fragment is known to have survived.

Arrival of a Train at Vincennes Station(fr)

This lost film presumably features a train arriving at Vincennes station, eastern Paris. (Until 2020, was confused with Arrival at Joinville flipbook.)

An Up-to-Date Conjurer(fr)

A film from Méliès has him playing a magician who does a few tricks including making a woman disappear.

Ramassage du linge(fr)

Lone Wolf(sh)

A boy finds a large wolf-like dog in the mountain and they befriend. The local peasants think that it may be a real wolf responsible for the sheep pestilence. They decide to kill the animal, but the boy is worried about it and he secretly provides the dog with the food.

François Mitterrand & Anne Pingeot: Pieces of a Love Story(fr)

In the summer of 1963, François Mitterrand was going through a deep existential crisis. His political career was at a standstill and, after 19 years of marriage, the couple had grown apart. It was at this point that François Mitterrand met the woman who was to give new meaning to his life. Anne Pingeot, aged 19, was to become the companion of a lifetime, a woman who would be with him throughout his rise to power and who would remain by his side until his last breath. For the first time, Anne Pingeot has agreed to allow the fragments of this passionate love story — hundreds of letters and a diary — to be shown on television, before being donated to the National Library.

The Clock Store(en)

The various clocks and watches in a clock store dance, ring alarms musically, and otherwise entertain us in an after hours presentation.

Dunechka(ru)

Melodrama based on the autobiographical screenplay by Svetlana Shafranskaya. A love story of a 12-year-old girl who goes on a tour with the theatre in which her father works. This love will bring her much trouble, disappointments and grief, but at the same time will awaken her soul, make her happier and wiser.

Summoning the Spirits(en)

A bearded man hangs up a wreath and, like any good magician, waves his hands inside of it and under it to show us it's only a wreath…

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat(fr)

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote(en)

Toby, a cynical film director finds himself trapped in the outrageous delusions of an old Spanish shoe-maker who believes himself to be Don Quixote. In the course of their comic and increasingly surreal adventures, Toby is forced to confront the tragic repercussions of a film he made in his idealistic youth.

Tutta colpa di Freud(it)

Francesco is a psychoanalyst grappling with three hopeless causes: a bookseller in love with a book thief, a lesbian hell-bent on becoming straight after a heartbreak, and an 18-year-old in a relationship with a much older married man. Unfortunately, these patients are also his three beloved daughters!

Andrei Rublev(ru)

An expansive Russian drama, this film focuses on the life of revered religious icon painter Andrei Rublev. Drifting from place to place in a tumultuous era, the peace-seeking monk eventually gains a reputation for his art. But after Rublev witnesses a brutal battle and unintentionally becomes involved, he takes a vow of silence and spends time away from his work. As he begins to ease his troubled soul, he takes steps towards becoming a painter once again.

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog(en)

London. A mysterious serial killer brutally murders young blond women by stalking them in the night fog. One foggy, sinister night, a young man who claims his name is Jonathan Drew arrives at the guest house run by the Bunting family and rents a room.

The Hands of Orlac(de)

A world-famous pianist loses both hands in an accident. When new hands are grafted on, he is horrified to learn they once belonged to a murderer.

Sherlock Jr.(en)

A film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meagre skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend's father's pocketwatch.

Scoop(en)

An American journalism student in London scoops a big story, and begins an affair with an aristocrat as the incident unfurls.

Disappearance at Clifton Hill(en)

Following the death of her mother, a young woman returns home to Niagara Falls and becomes entangled in the memory of a kidnapping she claims to have witnessed as a child.

Hearts or Diamonds?(en)

Wealthy diamond collector Larry Hanrahan is given the opportunity to assist the beautiful, jewel-bedecked woman he admires in a Broadway café when she and her guardian are attacked by robbers. Larry is invited to visit the grateful pair, Col. Paul Gascoyne and his ward Adrienne, at the colonel's laboratory, where he is introduced to Wintermute, a chemist who produces imitation diamonds. In return, Larry asks them to view his priceless diamond collection. Although he has fallen in love with Adrienne, Larry is forced to believe that she is a thief when he is robbed by a woman wearing Adrienne's scarf. Larry finds his jewels in Gascoyne's house, but before he can escape, a group of thugs overpowers him. Adrienne assists him in contacting the police, who arrive in time to capture Gascoyne and his gang. Badly wounded, the colonel confesses that Adrienne has been his innocent dupe, whereupon Larry happily takes her to his heart.

The Bat(en)

A masked criminal who dresses like a giant bat terrorizes the guests at an old house rented by a mystery writer.

The Monster(en)

A general store clerk and aspiring detective investigates a mysterious disappearance that took place quite close to an empty insane asylum.

West of Zanzibar(en)

A magician seeks vengeance upon the man who paralyzed him and the illegitimate daughter he sired with the magician's wife.

Charlie Chan at Treasure Island(en)

Charlie Chan's investigation of a blackmail-induced suicide as a case of murder leads him into a world of magick and mysticism peopled with a stage magician, a phoney spiritualist, and a for-real mind reader.

Eerie Tales(de)

A demon, a reaper, and the ghost of a prostitute read gothic short stories and act them out.

The Mystery of the Leaping Fish(en)

Coke Ennyday, the scientific detective, divides his time into periods of "Sleep", "Eat", "Dope" and "Drinks". In fact, he overcomes every situation with drugs: consuming cocaine to increase his energy or injecting it in his opponents to incapacitate them. To help the police, he tracks down a contraband of opium (which he eagerly tastes) transported within "leaping fishes", saving a "fish-blower" girl from blackmail along the way.

Sherlock Holmes(en)

Sherlock Holmes is a master at solving the most impenetrable mysteries, but he has his work cut out for him on his latest case. As the famed detective investigates an alleged theft, he’s brought face to face with his most devious adversary yet — Professor Moriarty.

It Is the Law(en)

This silent mystery is considered a lost film.

The Ace of Hearts(en)

A romantic rivalry among members of a secret society becomes even more tense when one of the men is assigned to carry out an assassination.

Brand Upon the Brain!(en)

After returning home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.

You'd Be Surprised(en)

A diamond is stolen at a houseboat party given by the district attorney. He gives the thief a chance to return it by putting an empty box on a table and turning out the lights. When the lights are turned back on the box is gone, and the district attorney has a knife in his back and is quite dead. The police and the coroner arrive. There are several attempts made on the life of the coroner. Ruth Whitman is found hiding in a grandfather-clock, holding the gem box. She claims the box was pushed into her hands and she was pushed into the clock. The district attorney's butler/valet tells the coroner he saw who killed his employer and a few minutes later he is also murdered. The mystery deepens.

London After Midnight(xx)

The abandoned Balfour House, the owner of which was found dead five years earlier, comes back to life with the arrival of two suspicious sinister-looking tenants. This film was lost in the 1965 MGM vault fire; only a few stills exist.

The Wizard(en)

A mad doctor sews human head onto gorilla's body.

The Drums of Jeopardy(en)

The story centers around two small statuettes containing valuable emeralds, which are said to project a sinister influence on the possessor. The czar of Russia gives the statuettes to a grand duke, who, in turn, gives them to his secretary, John Hawksley. Hawksley sends them to America in a friend's possession and follows after.