Treccani Enciclopedia del cinema

Workers leaving the Lumière factory for lunch in Lyon, France in 1895; a place of great photographic innovation and one of the birth places of cinema.

A group of astronomers go on an expedition to the Moon.

At a tramcar in Copenhagen the piano teacher Magda Vang meets the young man Knud Svane, who falls in love with her. She is invited to spend the summer with him and his parents at the vicarage in Gjerslev. Outside the vicarage a circus troupe passes by, and Magda is saluted by the performer Rudolph Stern. In the night Rudolph climbs a ladder to Magda's bedroom. She tries to flee his advances, but after a hot kiss she surrenders, and runs away with him. Magda is hired as a dancer with Rudolph at the Empire Varieté. When Rudolph fondles a ballet dancer Magda gets furious, and starts a fight in front of the audience. Magda and Rudolph are fired. To earn some money Rudolph forces Magda to play the piano in a band at a garden restaurant. Knud turns up and recognizes her. Incognito he asks her for a private meeting. Magda thinks she is asked to sell her body and refuses, but Rudolph forces her to go. When Rudloph after a while interrupts and finds Magda with Knud, he gets furious and starts to beat her. During the turmoil she grabs a knife and stabs Rudolph in his chest. In her despair she clings to his dead body, and has to be taken away by force.

Leslie Swayne, an adventurer, in order to obtain enough money to satisfy the needs of his extravagant life, has been bribed to steal the plans of the fortification from the staff officers of the Grand Duchy of Wallenstein. This undertaking, which at one time would have seemed difficult to him, becomes very easy, due to the friendship between himself and Colonel Julius Holbein, chief of the staff, and father of Elsa, for whom Swayne has shown a great deal of friendship, and in return he has Elsa's sincere love. After a dinner held at the Colonel's, during which the villain Swayne whispered sweet words of love into Elsa's ear, he succeeds in stealing the desired documents, and, protected by the darkness of the night, he escapes. Overcome by the sad reality, the Colonel is in a desperate state of mind. Elsa tries to efface from her mind her terrible suspicions, but in going to the hotel she learns of the sudden departure of Swayne, and her suspicions are confirmed. Colonel Holbein, to whom the precious document had been entrusted, is suspected as a traitor. This man shot himself for being so wrongfully accused. Elsa is asked by the Grand Duchy of Wallenstein to leave the Duchy, and is taken to one of the stations of the domain, where she is abandoned. Possessed of the qualities of a pianist and singer, under the false name of Marjorie Manners, she becomes famous. At her first performance she receives flowers from a large number of admirers, and long applause, but the memory of her father comes to her suddenly and that recollection takes away the joy of her triumph. One evening, while she is eating on the terrace of a hotel surrounded by ardent admirers, Marjorie is surprised at the sight of a young man, sad and pale like herself, who is observing her with a languid look. The pale young man is the Prince Arthur of Wallenstein, the son of the Grand Duke, who has come to the Riviera to recuperate from a long illness, under the name of Count L'Estrange. Surprised by the divine beauty and charm of Marjorie, he is a constant visitor at the theater. One morning they chance to meet and immediately they understand each other and a sense of sympathy seems to envelop their souls. They gaze into each other's eyes and seal their unspoken troth by a lingering kiss. From that day on their love becomes more intense and soon they are married. On board a ship the living apparition of the villain, Swayne, appears before them. Marjorie faints. Arthur calls for help and in the meanwhile Swayne approaches Marjorie, begging for her pardon and love. She repulses him violently, and just at that, instant Arthur returns. Swayne, to avenge himself, advises the Prince's country that the Prince amuses himself with sweet woman while the Duchy is in danger, and the Duke of Wallenstein recalls his son home. While Marjorie and Arthur are together at the hotel the message arrives, and his wife finds out who is her husband. She realizes then that she could not hide her true name any longer, and Colonel Theubner, an old friend of her poor father, tells the Prince the truth. She gets up and departs like a crazy person, and a few days later she returns to the theater which she had left. Arthur, through the Colonel, learns Elsa's history and the reason why she is compelled to go upon the stage, but in spite of this information he continues to look for her. He finds her, pale and trembling. His eyes fixed upon her from his box in the theater. Suddenly Elsa observes his look. She becomes pale, trembles, and tries to control herself, but drops to the floor. The curtain falls; the Prince hurries to her and while he feels her getting cold in his arms, he hears these feeble words, "But my love shall never die." Poor Elsa, after so many troubles and anxieties, had taken poison, as she wished to die for him upon the stage that brought her so much applause.

Inspector Juve is tasked to capture the infamous criminal genius Fantômas who, ruthless and particularly elusive, changes his appearance and holds Paris' high society in a crippling grasp.

An epic Italian film, "Quo Vadis" influenced many of the later movies.

Virtuous Mabel rejects the improper advances of a villainous cad. The furious villain and his henchmen then seize Mabel and chain her to a railroad track. Mabel's anxious boyfriend turns for help to the great Barney Oldfield, who jumps in his racing car and speeds to the rescue.

An army pilot is on a visit at the home of another army pilot in the neighboured country. He falls in love with his sister. After the outbreak of a war between the two countries, her brother is killed by her friend in a battle, he is killed by some friends of her brother. She engages her with her brother's friend who was there, but then she finds out about that battle.

Cabiria is a Roman child when her home is destroyed by a volcano. Sold in Carthage to be sacrificed in a temple, she is saved by Fulvio, a Roman spy. But danger lurks, and hatred between Rome and Carthage can only lead to war.

A 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.

The 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.

Assunta Spina is a tragedy set in Naples at the beginning of the twentieth century. Assunta and Michele are in love but others come between them and there is much jealousy. They fight and Michele is sent to prison for two years for assault. Nevertheless, because Assunta still loves Michele she is vulnerable when Federigo offers to help Michele but only if Assunta becomes his mistress. Michele is released early from prison, finds Assunta and Federigo together and kills Federigo. When the police arrive, Assunta takes the blame for Michele's crime.

Wealthy Mrs. Khromova has a natural daughter, Musya, and an adopted daughter, Nata. The merchant Zhurov is in love with Nata, and hopes to marry her, but she is non-committal. When Zhurov introduces his friend Prince Bartinsky to the family, both young women soon fall in love with the dashing but irresponsible prince. The prince is in love with Nata, but because of his enormous debts, he decides to marry Musya to get her dowry, and he allows Nata to marry Zhurov. All the while, Mrs. Khromova remains very uneasy, fearing that marriage is unlikely to cause the self-indulgent prince to change his ways.

Frau Menichelli performs the part of Frau Natka, a Russian countess with a troublesome past and an uncertain future. She was married to a revolutionary and the matrimony ended in tragedy.

Four historical tales depict the ongoing human struggle against prejudice and inhumanity.

In the wayward western town known as Hell's Hinges, a local tough guy is reformed by the faith of a good woman.

Max causes havoc when he joins other skaters on a frozen lake.

A frail waif, abused by her brutal boxer father in London's seedy Limehouse District, is befriended by a sensitive Chinese immigrant with tragic consequences.

Forced into marriage by his uncle, a man decides to fool him by marrying a life-like mechanical doll instead.

In 16th-century Prague, a rabbi creates the Golem - a giant creature made of clay. Using sorcery, he brings the creature to life in order to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution.

Hypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.

As Jean is walking across the countryside in search of work, he helps and befriends a young woman, Françoise, who is having trouble controlling the cow that she is leading. Jean finds work at a local farm, but he soon finds himself caught in the middle of the conflicts in Françoise's family. Her uncle Fouan has just decided to divide everything that he has amongst his two sons and his daughter, hoping that he can then spend the rest of his life at ease. But the details of the division only create bitterness, rivalry, and intrigue.

The Tramp cares for an abandoned child, but events put their relationship in jeopardy.