Old Man Drinking a Glass of Beer - 1897

Tom Green was a comedian and arranger of pantomime harlequinades at the Brighton Aquarium, where it is likely he ran into director G.A. Smith as he exhibited his early films. Smith employed Mr. and Mrs. Green to perform in his comedies at 10 shillings a time.
In this film, Green is on his own performing what is known as a 'facial', that is a piece direct to camera showing changing facial expressions. The ability to get close up to the star was a great advantage that film had over the stage and early filmmakers were keen to exploit it. Here Tom Green quaffs a glass of beer and gets progressively drunker and more leery. (Bryony Dixon)

The World's First Caterpillar Track (1908, UK)

(The only surviving materials of this title feature German intertitles).
Mud has defeated many a conquering army. In the days of horse-drawn transport or ponderous and hugely heavy steam-powered engines, R. Hornsby and Sons nippy little petrol-driven caterpillar track must have seemed like the technological development of the century.
In this promotional film, shot in Grantham, Lincolnshire and delivered by the company in a spirit of optimism reminiscent of an edition of 'Tomorrow's World', the little vehicle is put through its paces, making light of its load over clay, mud, soft sand, marshy land and streams. It leaves the horse-drawn load stuck in a bog, and ends the display turning gleefully on the spot in a celebration of manoeuvrability.
7 or 8 years later, could years of trench warfare have been shortened if the engineers had been encouraged by the British military? (Bryony Dixon)

Dreams of Toyland (1908, UK)

This is quite a creative little film, but it doesn't really go anywhere, At eight minutes long it has just four scenes; the first shows a small boy and his mother entering a toyshop where an attentive shopkeeper shows the excited boy a variety of toys. This scene seems to go on forever, and is unfortunately marred by the fact that the boy stares directly at the screen as if the director is issuing an instruction to him. Then, when mother and son leave the shop, people can be seen peeping from neighbouring shop doorways. The following scene shows the boy being put to bed and we are immediately shown the dream he has about all the toys his mother has bought for him. It has to be said that this kid seems to have some kind of anger management issues judging by the things the residents of Toyland get up to in his dream. Golliwogs and bears wrestle on the floor, dolls are run over by buses, other dolls are sat on by a horse while one unfortunate chap is pecked by a goose in the most painful area imaginable .
This is a pretty good example of a filmmaker mastering a process (stop-motion) and then putting it to use into a film without giving any real thought as to how to make the best use of the process.

The Thieving Hand - 1908

Details

Country: USA

Language: English

Release Date: 1 February 1908 (USA)

Filming Locations: Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co: Vitagraph Company of America

Technical Specs

Runtime: 5 min  | USA: 5 min (16 fps)

Sound Mix: Silent

Color: Black and White

Aspect Ratio: 1.33 : 1

A one-armed street peddler notices that a well-to-do man has dropped his ring, and the peddler returns it to him. The wealthy man is very grateful, and to show his appreciation he takes the peddler to a 'Limb Store', where he pays for a new arm to be attached where his own is missing. But the man soon finds out that his new arm seems to have a will of its own, as it does some things that cause him considerable embarrassment.