Compilation of 16 short films made between 1900 and 1950, in black and white and in colored versions, restored from original elements: newsreel-type documentaries, obscure Hollywood shorts, cartoons, promotional films and just plain odd bits of celluloid. Among others there are a censored Bugs Bunny cartoon by Tex Avery, a fragment of a lost John Ford silent western movie, a 1900 colored adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac with soundtrack, French commercial from the 30s and 50s with Jacques Tati and Laurel & Hardy imitators, a recently rediscovered comedy with Roscoe Arbuckle and Buster Keaton, and a Screen Song Cartoon with Lilian Roth and the famous bouncing ball by Dave and Max Fleischer.
The films
Arthème avale sa clarinette / Artheme Swallows his Clarinet - France 1912 - Directed by: unknown - Cast: Ernest Servaes - Piano Accompaniment by: Eric Le Guen - Produced by: Eclipse -
The Cook - USA 1918 - Directed and written by: Roscoe Arbuckle - Cinematography by: George Peters - Piano Accompaniment by: Neil Brand - Cast: Roscoe Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Al St. John, Alice Lake, Glen Cavender - Produced by: Comique Film Corporation - Premiere: September 15, 1918 -
All this and Rabbit Stew - USA 1941 - Directed by: Tex Avery - Written by: Dave Monahan - Music by: Carl W. Stalling - Produced by: Warner Bros. - Premiere: 20.9.1941 - Cartoon.
Amour et publicité / Love and Advertising - France 1932 - Directed by: Leo Mittler - Written by: Georges Friedland - Cinematography by: Jean Benoit - Music by: Michel Levine - Cast: Alma Mills, Claude Lehmann, Jean d'Id, Jean Rousselière -
Excursion dans la lune / An Excursion to the Moon - France 1908 - Directed, written and photographed by: Segundo de Chomon - Supervised by: Ferdinand Zecca - Piano accompaniment by: Eric Le Guen - Produced by: Pathé Cinéma -
La vie d'un grand magasin: Histoire d'une Commande / The Life of a Department Store : The Story of an Order - France 1930 - Directed by: unknown - Produktion: Les films encyclopédiques
Idylle / Idyll - France 1945 - Directed by: Jean Perdrix - Produced by: PubliService
Bonne Humeur / Good Mood - France 1945 - Directed by: Jean Mineur - Produced by: Publicitè Dufournet
Roller Catch / Roller Wrestling - France 1945 - Directed by: unknown -
Qui sera Miss Philips? / Who will be Miss Philips? - France 1950 - Directed by: Guy Brun - Music by: Gaston Lapeyronnie - Produced by: SDAC Cinéma Publicité
Ils déménagent / They're Moving - France 1950 - Directed by: Dimka - - Produced by: Films P. Rémont
Cette nuit-là / That Night - France 1935 - Directed by: unknown - Darsteller: Jacques Tati - Produced by: CP Cinéma & Publicité
By Indian Post - USA 1919 - Directed by: John Ford - Written by: H. Tipton Steck - Piano Accompaniment by: Neil Brand - Cast: Pete Morrison, Duke R. Lee, Magda Lane, Hoot Gibson - Produced by: Universal Pictures - Premiere: May 24, 1919 -
Cyrano de Bergerac - France 1900 - Directed by: Clément-Maurice - Cast: Coquelin Ainé, Mademoiselle Esquilar, Mademoiselle Kerwich - Produced by: Phono-Cinéma-Théatre -
Ain't She Sweet? - USA 1933 - Directed by: Dave Fleischer - Music by: Milton Anger - Cast: Lilian Roth - Produced by: Fleischer Studios - Premiere: February 3, 1933 -
Der Flug um den Erdball (Episode 5) - Germany 1924 - Directed by: Willi Wolff - Written by: Robert Liebmann, Willi Wolff - Piano accompaniment by: Eric Le Guen - Cast: Ellen Richter, Anton Pointner, Reinhold Schünzel, Hans Brausewetter, Paul Biensfeld, Claire Lotto - Produced by: Ellen Richter Film - Premiere: March 6, 1925
DVD features
- Arthème avale sa clarinette France 1912, 4'
- The Cook (tinted) USA 1918, 21'
- All This and Rabbit Stew USA 1941, 7'
- Amour et publicité France 1932, 26'
- La Samaritaine France 1930, 10'
- Idylle France 1945, 1'
- Bonne humeur France 1945, 1'
- Roller catch France 1945, 1'
- Qui sera Miss Philips? France 1950, 1'
- Ils déménagent France 1950, 1'
- Cette nuit-là France 1935, 2'
- By Indian Post USA 1919, 13'
- Cyrano de Bergerac (colored) France 1900, 2'
- Ain't She Sweet? USA 1933, 7'
- Rund um die Erde Episode 5 (tinted) Germany 1924, 22'
- Piano Scores by Eric Le Guen and Neil Brand
- Chapter selection
- Texts with background information
Edited by: Lobster Films
DVD authoring & DVD supervision: Serge Bromberg, Eric Lange
