National Film Registry
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- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonAn athlete swings Indian clubs.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsCharles KayserJohn OttThree men hammer on an anvil and pass a bottle of beer around.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsWilliam K.L. DicksonThe earliest extant sound film. William K.L. Dickson stands in the background next to a huge sound pickup horn connected to a Thomas Edison phonograph recorder. As he plays a violin, two men dance in the foreground. This film was made to demonstrate a new Thomas Edison machine, the Kinetophone. These machines were Kinetoscope peepshow viewers mated with Thomas Edison wax cylinder phonographs. But the Kinetophone never caught on and this film was never released. The film still exists, but the phonograph soundtrack has been lost.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsFred OttA man (Thomas Edison's assistant) takes a pinch of snuff and sneezes. This is one of the earliest Thomas Edison films and was the first motion picture to be copyrighted in the United States.
- DirectorWilliam HeiseStarsMay IrwinJohn C. RiceIn a medium close-up shot of the first kiss ever recorded on screen, two fervent lovers cuddle and talk passionately at hair's breadth, just before the love-smitten gentleman decides to give his chosen one an innocent peck.
- DirectorWilliam K.L. DicksonStarsJoseph JeffersonA compilation of eight earlier films, also from 1896, that chronicle the adventure of Rip van Winkle. Rip encounters dwarf-like mountain-dwellers, gets drunk with them and awakes after twenty years, having significantly aged.
- DirectorEnoch J. RectorStarsJames J. CorbettBob FitzsimmonsBilly MaddenDocumentary film depicting the 1897 boxing match between James J. Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons in Carson City, Nevada on St. Patrick's Day. Originally running for more than 100 minutes, it is the world's first feature film.
- DirectorFrederick S. ArmitageTime-lapse photography is used to show the manual dismantling and demolition of New York's Star Theatre over a period of about 30 days.
- DirectorG.W. BitzerStarsMarcus HannaWilliam McKinleyTheodore RooseveltThe first sequence (ca. 49 ft.), views of President William McKinley speaks to the crowd during his inauguration in Washington, DC. We see crowds on Pennsylvania Ave., NW, passing by the Willard Hotel during the inauguration festivities. A military unit on horseback rides down the court of honor, the area on Pennsylvania Ave., NW, going down 15th to 17th streets. President and McKinley and his party reviews the inaugural parade from a stand here. McKinley tips his hat to the crowd as his carriage passes the Willard Hotel. Stting beside McKinley in the carriage is Sen. Marcus A. Hanna of Ohio with members of the President's special escort, Troop A of the Ohio National Guard, and aides aides with guards. The man riding alone in the second carriage is Vice President Theodore Roosevelt.
- DirectorGeorge S. FlemingEdwin S. PorterStarsEdwin S. PorterVivian VaughanArthur WhiteA fireman rushes into a carriage to rescue a woman from a house fire. He breaks the windowpanes and carries the woman to safety; after dangerous and uncertain moments he also saves the woman's son.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterStarsGilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' AndersonA.C. AbadieGeorge BarnesA group of bandits stage a brazen train hold-up, only to find a determined posse hot on their heels.
- Collection of 21 American short silent films. The films were taken from April 18, 1904 to May 16, 1904 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and document various Westinghouse manufacturing plants.
- DirectorWallace McCutcheonEdwin S. PorterStarsJack BrawnThe fiend faces the spectacular mind-bending consequences of his free-wheeling rarebit binge.
- Footage of the aftermath of the great San Francisco earthquake, which struck on the morning of April 18, 1906, destroying a large part of the city.
- From the front of a cable car, a motion picture camera records a trip down Market Street, San Francisco, California, from a point between 8th & 9th Streets, Eastward to the cable car turnaround at the Ferry Building.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsFrank PowellGrace HendersonJames KirkwoodAn unscrupulous and greedy capitalist speculator decides to corner the wheat market for his own profit, establishing complete control over the markets.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsFlorence LawrenceDorothy BernardJohn R. CumpsonA bored rich woman goes slumming as a domestic at a boarding house, where she falls in love with a sensitive young musician.
- DirectorJ. Stuart BlacktonStarsPaul PanzerGladys HuletteA drowsy pipe-smoker attempts to nap, only to be tormented relentlessly by the mischievous Princess Nicotine and her fairy companion.
- 19101h 40mNot Rated5.8 (143)StarsJames J. JeffriesJack JohnsonBilled as the "Fight of the Century", reigning champion Jack Johnson takes on former champion James J. Jeffries in a gruelling 15-round beatdown.
- 191011mUnrated5.7 (535)ShortDirectorJames Young DeerStarsLucille YoungA frantic child reports to the tribal chief that her father killed her mother. The tribe chases and captures the man, dragging him back for tribal justice.
- 19117mNot Rated7.1 (1.9K)ShortDirectorWinsor McCayJ. Stuart BlacktonStarsWinsor McCayJohn BunnyMaurice CostelloCartoon figures announce, via comic strip balloons, that they will move - and move they do, in a wildly exaggerated style.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsElmer BoothLillian GishClara T. BracyA tender young woman and her musician husband attempt to eke out a living in the slums of New York City, but find themselves caught in the crossfires of gang violence.
- DirectorGeorge NicholsStarsMarie ElineEthel WrightJames CruzeAn indictment of the evils of child labor, the film was controversial in its time for its use of actual footage of children employed in a working mill.
- DirectorLaurence TrimbleStarsJohn BunnyFlora FinchLeah BairdWife plots to cure her husband of his inveterate poker playing.
- DirectorSidney OlcottStarsR. Henderson BlandPercy DyerGene GauntierAn account of the life of Jesus Christ according to the New Testament, told as a series of tableaus interspersed with Bible verses.
- DirectorHarold M. ShawStarsMartin FullerMrs. William BechtelWalter EdwinA young boy, opressed by his mother, goes on an outing in the country with a social welfare group where he dares to dream of a land where the cares of his ordinary life fade.
- DirectorT. Hayes HunterEdwin MiddletonStarsBert WilliamsOdessa Warren GreyWes JenkinsModeled after a popular collection of stories known as "Brother Gardener's Lime Kiln Club," the plot features three suitors vying to win the hand of the local beauty.
- DirectorLawrence MarstonEdwin ThanhouserStarsWilliam GarwoodMarie ElineFlorence La BadieA messenger boy is wrongfully accused of stealing bonds worth $20,000.
- DirectorAlice GuyStarsFraunie FraunholzMarian SwayneA man must marry by noon or lose his inheritance. It's 11:50 a.m. and he can't find his fiancée.
- DirectorGeorge VeditzStarsGeorge VeditzGeorge Veditz, one-time president of the National Association of the Deaf of the United States, outlines the right of deaf people to sign instead of speak.
- DirectorGeorge Loane TuckerStarsJane GailEthel GrandinWilliam H. TurnerWith aid from her police-officer sweetheart, a woman endeavors to uncover the prostitution ring that has kidnapped her sister and the philanthropist who secretly runs it.
- DirectorReginald BarkerStarsWilliam S. HartJ. Frank BurkeClara WilliamsThe bandit Jim Stokes, wanting to go straight and settle down with his new bride, strikes a bargain with the sheriff for his freedom.
- DirectorLouis J. GasnierGeorge B. SeitzLeopold WhartonStarsPearl WhiteArnold DalyCreighton HaleWith the help of a private detective, Elaine tries to catch the masked criminal mastermind The Clutching Hand, who has murdered her father.
- DirectorWinsor McCayStarsWinsor McCayGeorge McManusRoy L. McCardellThe cartoonist, Winsor McCay, brings the Dinosaurs back to life in the figure of his latest creation, Gertie the Dinosaur.
- DirectorEdward S. CurtisStarsStanley HuntSarah Constance Smith HuntMrs. George WalkusCombining fact and fabrication, Edward S. Curtis' dramatization of the life of the Kwakiutl peoples of British Columbia revolves around a chief's son, who must contend with an evil sorcerer in order to win the hand of a beautiful maiden.
- DirectorMabel NormandStarsMabel NormandHarry McCoyCharley ChaseMabel is engaged to Harry, the boss's son. The boss has an eye for Mabel too, in this gender-bending comedy of errors and mistaken identities.
- DirectorLouis J. GasnierDonald MacKenzieStarsPearl WhiteCrane WilburPaul PanzerPauline, a young maiden, must protect herself from the treacherous "guardian" of her inheritance, who repeatedly plots to murder her and take the money for himself.
- DirectorEdwin S. PorterStarsMary PickfordHarold LockwoodOlive CareyA wealthy resident attempts to dispossess squatters who live near his home, which leads to a false accusation of murder.
- DirectorWilliam Robert DalyStarsSam LucasWalter HitchcockHattie DelaroA black and white silent film based on Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel documenting the life and times of Uncle Tom.
- DirectorMaurice TourneurStarsVivian MartinAlec B. FrancisChester BarnettAfter being expelled from college, Giles runs away from home and meets and falls for a young lady.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsLillian GishMae MarshHenry B. WalthallThe Stoneman family finds its friendship with the Camerons affected by the Civil War, both fighting in opposite armies. The development of the war in their lives plays through to Lincoln's assassination and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsFannie WardSessue HayakawaJack DeanA venal, spoiled stockbroker's wife impulsively embezzles $10,000 from the charity she chairs and desperately turns to a Burmese ivory trader to replace the stolen money.
- DirectorRoscoe 'Fatty' ArbuckleStarsRoscoe 'Fatty' ArbuckleEdgar KennedyNorma NicholsFatty's brazen attempt to liberate himself from the oppression of his mother-in-law leads to a series of farcical mix-ups that threaten to ruin his marriage.
- DirectorFrank PowellStarsTheda BaraEdward JoséMabel FrenyearA married diplomat falls hopelessly under the spell of a predatory woman.
- DirectorReginald BarkerStarsGeorge BebanClara WilliamsJ. Frank BurkeAn Italian immigrant and his sweetheart search for a better life in America, but the harsh realities of life in the slums of New York City lay waste to their hopes and dreams.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsRockliffe FellowesAnna Q. NilssonWilliam SheerA boy surrounded by violence grows up to become an infamous gangster.
- DirectorStuart PatonStarsAllen HolubarDan HanlonEdna PendletonA French professor and his daughter accompany Captain Nemo on an adventure aboard a submarine.
- DirectorReginald BarkerThomas H. InceRaymond B. WestStarsHoward HickmanEnid MarkeyLola MayChrist takes on the form of a pacifist count to end a senseless war.
- DirectorMarian E. WongStarsViolet WongHarvey Soo HooMarian E. WongThe members of a Chinese family living in the US have a curse put upon them for becoming too "westernized".
- DirectorCharles SwickardWilliam S. HartClifford SmithStarsWilliam S. HartClara WilliamsJack StandingIn the wayward western town known as Hell's Hinges, a local tough guy is reformed by the faith of a good woman.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsLillian GishRobert HarronMae MarshThe story of a poor young woman separated by prejudice from her husband and baby is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.
- DirectorLois WeberStarsMary MacLarenHarry GriffithMattie WittingA young woman grows tired of providing for her family.
- DirectorPhillips SmalleyLois WeberStarsTyrone Power Sr.Mrs. Tyrone PowerMarie WalcampA District Attorney's outspoken stand on abortion lands him in trouble with the local community.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceEric CampbellCharlie is an immigrant who endures a challenging voyage and gets into trouble as soon as he arrives in America.
- DirectorMaurice TourneurStarsMary PickfordMadlaine TraverseCharles WellesleyThe wealthy but selfish parents of a lonely young girl begin to rethink what is important to them after a servant's irresponsibility results in a crisis.
- DirectorGrace CunardFrancis FordStarsFrancis FordGrace CunardEdgar KellerThe story of a two jewel thieves whose lives intersect during the course of their crimes.
- DirectorJohn EmersonStarsDouglas FairbanksEileen PercyCalvert CarterThe civilized inhabitants of a formerly "wild" western town scramble to recreate the town's rough and rowdy heyday in order to indulge the fantasies of a rich newcomer.
- DirectorMaurice TourneurStarsTula BelleRobin MacdougallEdwin E. ReedWith the aid and guidance of a magical fairy, two peasant children set out in search of the elusive "Blue Bird of Happiness".
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsLillian GishRichard BarthelmessDonald CrispA frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.
- DirectorWilliam WorthingtonStarsSessue HayakawaTsuru AokiEdward Peil Sr.A wild man and genius becomes a master painter's disciple, but loses his divine gift when he finds love.
- DirectorDavid KirklandStarsConstance TalmadgeBelle DaubeJack KaneA charming, attractive woman inadvertently causes a great disruption when she takes a job at a busy office by stealing the attention of all of her male co-workers--except the one she fancies.
- DirectorNorbert A. MylesStarsWhite ParkerEsther LeBarreHunting HorseThis restored silent film features a love triangle involving a Kiowa chief's daughter and ensuing conflict between Kiowa and Comanche villages.
- DirectorAnthony YoungStarsJohn J. BradleyEmile GauvreauFilms shot by newsreel companies and army cameramen are featured to tell the story of what it was like for soldiers during World War I.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsGaston GlassVera GordonAlma RubensThe matriarch of a poor Jewish family nurtures her talented son's dream of being a great violinist, but as an adult, global events call for him to postpone his dream.
- DirectorClarence BrownMaurice TourneurStarsWallace BeeryBarbara BedfordAlan RoscoeIn the midst of the French and Indian War, the eldest daughter of a British officer develops an attraction towards an Indian ally who is the last living warrior of his tribe, the Mohicans.
- DirectorGuy HedlundStarsEmil De VarneyA public service short encouraging emigrants to the US to learn English.
- DirectorFred NibloStarsDouglas FairbanksMarguerite De La MotteNoah BeeryA seemingly idiotic fop is really the courageous vigilante Zorro, who seeks to protect the oppressed.
- DirectorEdward F. ClineBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonSybil SeelyJoe RobertsA newly wedded couple attempts to build a house with a prefabricated kit, unaware that a rival sabotaged the kit's component numbering.
- DirectorOscar MicheauxStarsEvelyn PreerFlo ClementsJames D. RuffinAbandoned by her fiancé, an educated black woman with a shocking past dedicates herself to helping a near bankrupt school for impoverished black youths.
- DirectorRex IngramStarsRudolph ValentinoAlice TerryPomeroy CannonAn extended family split up in France and Germany find themselves on opposing sides of the battlefield during World War I.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceJackie CooganThe Tramp cares for an abandoned child, but events put their relationship in jeopardy.
- DirectorCharles SheelerPaul StrandThis groundbreaking silent documentary captures the beauty and majesty of the New York City in its streets, skyscrapers, bridges, rail yards and harbors.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsRichard BarthelmessGladys HuletteWalter P. LewisWhen three thuggish men are responsible for the death of his father and the crippling of his brother, young David must choose between supporting his family or risking his life and exacting vengeance.
- DirectorEdward F. ClineBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonEdward F. ClineVirginia FoxA series of mishaps manages to make a young man get chased by a big city's entire police force.
- DirectorErich von StroheimStarsRudolph ChristiansMiss DuPontMaude GeorgeA con artist masquerades as Russian nobility and attempts to seduce the wife of an American diplomat.
- DirectorWilliam C. de MilleStarsLois WilsonMilton SillsTheodore RobertsA once-timid young woman gains newfound confidence after a failed marriage, much to the chagrin of her miserable family.
- DirectorRobert J. FlahertyStarsAllakariallakAlice NevalingaCunayouIn this silent predecessor to the modern documentary, film-maker Robert J. Flaherty spends one year following the lives of Nanook and his family, Inuits living in the Arctic Circle.
- DirectorLynn ReynoldsStarsTom MixJ. Farrell MacDonaldEva NovakA government agent infiltrates a gang of Chinese immigrant smugglers and pursues their ringleader throughout the heart of the Southwestern desert.
- DirectorJohn CapstaffStarsMary EatonHope HamptonMae MurrayExperimental film done by Eastman Kodak to test the abilities of Kodachrome film stock.
- DirectorFred C. NewmeyerSam TaylorStarsHarold LloydMildred DavisBill StrotherA boy leaves his small country town and heads to the big city to get a job. As soon as he makes it big his sweetheart will join him and marry him. His enthusiasm to get ahead leads to some interesting adventures.
- DirectorCharles BryantAlla NazimovaStarsAlla NazimovaNigel De BrulierMitchell LewisSalome, the daughter of Herodias, seduces her step-father/uncle Herod, governor of Judea, with a salacious dance. In return, he promises her the head of the prophet John the Baptist.
- DirectorSolomon Sir JonesChurches, schools, and other locations in Clearview, OK; Muskogee, OK; Guthrie, OK; Langston, OK; and Bristow, OK.
- DirectorLewis H. MoomawStarsWilliam DillsAlbert Van AntwerpEva GordonFollowing a shipwreck, a family of prospectors become separated from their infant daughter in the Klondike. Years later, the grown-up daughter begins to unravel the truth about her heritage.
- DirectorErich von StroheimStarsGibson GowlandZasu PittsJean HersholtThe sudden fortune won from a lottery fans such destructive greed that it ruins the lives of the three people involved.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsGeorge O'BrienMadge BellamyCharles Edward BullAfter witnessing the murder of his father by a renegade as a boy, the grown-up Brandon helps to realize his father's dream of a transcontinental railway.
- DirectorHerbert BrenonStarsBetty BronsonErnest TorrenceGeorge AliPeter Pan enters the nursery of the Darling children and, with the help of fairy dust, leads them off to Never Never Land, where they meet the nefarious Captain Hook.
- DirectorBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonKathryn McGuireJoe KeatonA 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.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsDouglas FairbanksJulanne JohnstonSnitz EdwardsA recalcitrant thief vies with a duplicitous Mongol ruler for the hand of a beautiful princess.
- DirectorFred NibloCharles BrabinChristy CabanneStarsRamon NovarroFrancis X. BushmanMay McAvoyA Jewish prince seeks to find his family and revenge himself upon his childhood friend who had him wrongly imprisoned.
- DirectorKing VidorGeorge W. HillStarsJohn GilbertRenée AdoréeHobart BosworthA young American soldier witnesses the horrors of the Great War.
- DirectorNoel M. SmithStarsRin Tin TinNanetteCharles FarrellA fire in the mountains drive a wolf pack into a nearby desert where they will terrorize the local residents.
- DirectorFred C. NewmeyerSam TaylorStarsHarold LloydJobyna RalstonBrooks BenedictA nerdy college student will do anything to become popular on campus.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMack SwainTom MurrayA prospector goes to the Klondike during the 1890s gold rush in hopes of making his fortune, and is smitten with a girl he sees in a dance hall.
- DirectorMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackStarsMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackMarguerite HarrisonThe struggles of a hardscrabble Iranian nomadic tribe as they journey through bleak country to reach the grasslands that will save their livestock.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsIrene RichMay McAvoyBert LytellA society woman believes her husband is having an affair, a misconception which may have dire personal consequences for all involved.
- DirectorHarry O. HoytStarsWallace BeeryBessie LoveLloyd HughesThe first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures still roam.
- DirectorRupert JulianLon ChaneyErnst LaemmleStarsLon ChaneyMary PhilbinNorman KerryA mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer.
- DirectorAlbert ParkerStarsDouglas FairbanksBillie DoveTempe PigottSeeking revenge, an athletic young man joins the pirate band responsible for his father's death.
- DirectorAlfred E. GreenStarsColleen MooreLloyd HughesVera LewisElla Cinders, oppressed and abused by her stepmother and stepsisters, wins a contest for a film role in Hollywood. When the contest turns out to be fraudulent, she determines to stay and achieve Hollywood stardom the hard way.
- DirectorClarence G. BadgerStarsRaymond GriffithMarian NixonVirginia Lee CorbinA southern spy during the Civil War, he must try to capture a shipment of gold. His task is complicated by the two sisters, the Indians and a firing squad.